Need You for Keeps (Heroes of St. Helena, #1)(64)
“Someone, huh?” Jonah said, because this had Warren written all over it.
“They wouldn’t reveal their source, but if you ask me the timing is weird. Problem is, police records don’t lie, and now we have you tied to her charity event two months before the election. It’s not going to look good.”
Jonah didn’t care how it looked. All he cared about was what this would mean to Shay’s charity walk. He didn’t know a lot about her life before coming to St. Helena, but he knew enough to understand that she’d had it hard. Hosting this event and leasing that space were huge leaps of faith for her.
It was also a great event for the town. So many people had donated their time. He didn’t want to cancel it before he had the facts. All the facts. And that meant talking to Shay.
“Give me a day to figure this out,” Jonah said, climbing out of bed and heading toward the bathroom.
The sheriff considered that long and hard, giving a heavy exhale. “I can give you until five. But I need your decision by end of the day. I already have Kelly from Civic Services calling to see if she should retract the event permit, and the mayor is breathing down my neck to protect the town from corruption.”
Warren probably fed his dad an earful, and even though the mayor was, for the most part, a decent guy, officiating a charity event that Warren tried to sink might come off as disloyal. Even worse, it might appear as though dear old Dad didn’t think his son had good judgment. Easier for the man to just eliminate the event altogether.
“You’ll hear from me by five,” Jonah agreed. He could work with that. It would give him enough time to talk to Shay, read the report, and figure out what was going on. Making a decision based on hearsay and speculation never ended well.
“Just remember, son. This one is on you. No matter which way it swings, it will all fall to you.”
Which was what Warren had most likely been planning on.
Jonah ended the call and immediately dialed Shay. Sent to voice mail, he strode to the window and looked out. Her car was gone, but the porch light was still on and—
What the hell?
Lining his street, in nearly every yard, were BE THE BOOTY: VOTE WARREN FOR SHERIFF signs. And in case there was any lingering doubt as to exactly who had decorated the neighborhood, on Estella’s lawn stood a larger-than-life cutout of Warren dressed like a smarmy Uncle Sam and pointing. The caption read, WARREN WANTS YOU.
Twenty minutes and sixteen unanswered calls to Shay later, Jonah pulled up to the station. On his way in he grabbed a copy of the Sentinel off his desk and headed straight for the locker room. Warren should have started his shift fifteen minutes ago, but since his cruiser was still in the lot, Jonah figured the mayor’s son was taking his time primping for his adoring public.
“You want to explain this?” Jonah said, crossing the room and tossing the morning paper on the locker room bench, working hard to keep his anger in check.
“Yeah, I saw that this morning. Tough break,” Warren said, not even sparing the front page a glance.
“Are you going to man up and tell Sheriff Bryant you leaked Shay’s police records or do I need to?” Because someone sure as hell was going to fess up, and if Warren was too much of a *, then Jonah didn’t mind setting the record straight.
He had no idea what Shay was feeling right now. Or even if she knew. Which left him fighting a fight where he didn’t know the rules.
This kind of story was bad news all around. That it was released a few days before the walk wasn’t a coincidence, it was a strategic shot, pure and simple. What Jonah couldn’t figure out was the target. Him or Shay.
A few calls around town and he knew Estella had brought the original article to Nora’s attention, which prompted the Facebook post. A post he should have known about before this morning.
“Last I heard, police records, for the most part, are public. So nothing to leak.” Warren slipped on his duty belt, seemingly unconcerned that in his attempt to get back at Jonah for . . . whatever . . . he’d crushed Shay’s chances of opening her rescue. “Just goes to show first impressions can be misleading. I mean, who would have expected your cat-lady girlfriend was a thief?”
First impressions were misleading, but not how Warren was implying. A few weeks ago, Jonah wouldn’t have even blinked at the accusation against Shay, but after getting to know her, he knew there had to be more to the story.
“What’s your end goal, Warren?” Jonah asked, getting more than a little up close and personal. “To discredit Shay and discredit me in the process?”
“I don’t have an end goal, Deputy,” Warren said, buttoning his shirt. He was lucky Jonah thrived on control. Otherwise Jonah would knock the prick out and be done with it. “Other than to be sheriff. And while you’re off getting your fix with the girl next door, I’m out fixing this town’s problems.”
“That’s just it. You’re so busy trying to win votes you don’t really see what this town needs.”
Warren slammed his locker door and spun to face Jonah, getting so close Jonah felt his fist clench. “Ever since you came back to town, you walk around like you’re some kind of f*cking god. So noble and self-sacrificing. You’ve convinced people that your shit doesn’t stink. Well, that shit you stepped in, it stinks, man, and this time there is no getting past it.”