No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(91)
“You think you’re going to accomplish that by shacking up with Dawson Reed?”
“Sadie has a right to work—and even sleep—with anyone she wants, Sly,” Thomas interrupted. “You two have been split up for some time. That’s no longer any of your business.”
“I’m not supposed to care?” he argued.
“Caring is one thing. Creating a problem is another.”
“So I’m the problem? What about the restraining order? She knows how that looks—accusing me of stalking her, of being dangerous.” He wiggled his fingers like he was impersonating a bogeyman.
But he was dangerous. Maybe Sadie was the only one who truly believed it, but she was absolutely convinced. That was another reason it scared her to think he could take Jayden this coming weekend.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll forget about the restraining order, so long as you fulfill a few of my requests.”
He looked around as if he was wishing for a beer, despite the fact that it was only ten-thirty in the morning. “I’m all ears,” he said when he couldn’t find an unopened can.
“I want you to stay away from Dawson, quit trying to make his life miserable.”
“I haven’t done shit to that asshole,” he growled.
Maybe he hadn’t done what he wanted to do, but he’d done what he could. “You called the state and tried to convince them not to let him bring his sister home.”
A smile slashed his face as if the mere mention of that was some sort of victory. “I was acting as a concerned citizen.”
“You’re not a concerned citizen. You identified yourself as a police officer and implied you had insider knowledge to suggest that Dawson was guilty. You understood you’d be taken seriously and that you could severely damage his chances to get his sister released, and that’s not fair. You don’t know anything about him, nothing more than what’s in his police file, anyway. And he’s had enough trouble. I don’t want to make his situation any worse, just because he was nice enough to try to help me.”
“Help you?” His gaze swept down over her breasts. “Believe me, he’s getting what he wants out of that deal.”
Sadie squared her shoulders. This wasn’t a topic she cared to discuss in front of Chief Thomas, but she doubted Sly would let her out of it, so she dived in. “If you’re talking about sex, he could get that from plenty of other women, Sly. You’ve said it yourself. Women have a thing for him. It’s not as if he’s hard to look at.”
A glint of surprise and possibly jealousy flashed in his eyes as he rubbed the beard growth on his cheeks. “Got a soft spot for the guy you’re riding these days, do you?” he said when he finally dropped his hand.
“How Sadie feels about Dawson also has nothing to do with this conversation,” Thomas broke in. “She can fall in love with him, sleep with him, marry him, whatever. None of that’s illegal, which means none of it’s your concern—or the concern of the department.”
Afraid that Sly would reject her offer out of hand, Sadie hurried to get back to the conversation. “Not only will I drop the restraining order, I’ll accept your last offer of child support and no alimony.” She wanted to bring up the issue of Sly exercising his parental rights this weekend, but she knew the moment she let him know she didn’t want him to take Jayden, he’d make sure to insist. Her best chance of keeping her son out of his company was to pretend she would welcome the break—so she could spend the weekend alone with Dawson. That was how she planned to handle it if he asked when he could come get Jayden tomorrow.
His bloodshot eyes latched onto her face. “So now you’re in a hurry to get it over with.”
“Yes. That way we can wrap up the divorce and be done with each other.”
Sly spat at the cement as if it were her words that’d left a bad taste in his mouth and not the alcohol he’d drunk before bed. “He doesn’t need you to come over here and beg for him. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here, Sly. I doubt he’d agree with it if he did. This is me talking. I want to...to stop what’s happening before it goes any further. I don’t like that you’re out to get him. He’s never done anything to you.”
Sly sprang to his feet. “Except hire a specialist to try to prove me guilty of arson!”
“I’m behind that! It has nothing to do with him.”
“Bullshit! He’s coaching you and helping you and loaning you money and shit.”
Chief Thomas, a dark scowl on his face, rose to his feet. “If you didn’t set that fire, you have nothing to worry about. So what if Sadie and Dawson have hired an independent investigator?”
Sly’s mouth opened and closed twice before he managed to say, “Silver Springs can handle the investigation! We have competent personnel. You’ve said so yourself.”
“That’s true. But if Sadie and Dawson want to pay for someone else to redo the same work, I’m fine with it, because being ‘fine with it’ proves that the department isn’t trying to hide anything, that we’re not merely trying to cover your ass. That aspect should appeal to you, too. If their arson inspector can’t prove you’re guilty, you’ll never have to worry about this popping up again.”