Sovereign Sheriff. Cassie Miles

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СКАЧАТЬ “I’m the law in this county. You’d be wise to cooperate.”

      Danny pulled back his chin like a turtle retreating into his shell. “What do you want from me?”

      “First, you tell Princess Saida that you’re sorry.”

      He glared at her. “Yeah, right. Sorry.”

      As apologies went, that was pathetic. But Jake didn’t press for more. He nodded to Wheeler. “Take off the cuffs.”

      As soon as Danny’s hands were free, he made a grab for his camera that was still resting on the table.

      Jake snatched it away. “You don’t get this until you answer some questions.”

      “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

      Jake looked toward the princess. “Go ahead.”

      “Thank you, Sheriff Wolf.” Apparently, Saida thought that using his title gave more gravity to her interrogation. “Let’s start at the beginning, Danny. When did you arrive in Wind River County?”

      “As soon as I knew the princes were coming here.” Proudly, he said, “I have good contacts in Europe, and they told me about the COIN summit. I was one of the first on the scene. The publicity from the explosions and shootings were a bonus.”

      “And you’ve been taking pictures ever since you arrived.”

      “You know I have. That’s my bread and butter.”

      “Huh,” Deputy Wheeler said. “Can you really make a living doing this?”

      “I get decent bucks for pictures of royalty, especially in Europe. The COIN princes have a lot going for them—they’re handsome, titled and single.”

      It dawned on Jake that Danny’s photos might come in handy. He might have caught something that would help the investigation. He went to the side table and picked up his sister’s laptop. “Show us some of these moneymaking photos.”

      “With pleasure.” Danny rubbed his hands together, talking while he plugged his digital photo card into the laptop. “Right now, I’m on assignment from a British tabloid. They’re picking up my expenses. Whatever they don’t use, I’m free to sell elsewhere. Here we go. That’s from a couple of days ago.”

      The first photo showed only two people. One of them was a woman who worked at the resort. With her was one of the twin Cavanaugh princes, probably Antoine. They appeared to be holding hands and didn’t seem aware of the camera.

      Saida cooed. “That’s so sweet.”

      Jake ignored the fact that Danny probably hadn’t gotten a release for this picture. It wasn’t his problem unless somebody pressed charges. “Let’s see a group shot.”

      “Why?”

      “You claim to be the best. Let’s see what you can do when there’s competition.”

      Danny scrolled through several other pictures until he found one of both Cavanaugh princes standing with other people around. Jake recognized a couple of faces in the crowd. Burt Maddox, the former sheriff, was talking to one of the guys who worked for him. Chad Granger, a troublemaker who’d been in and out of jail, slouched at the edge of the crowd. Sheik Efraim was walking away. There were other faces he’d like to identify.

      “That’s enough.” Danny removed the photo card. “If you want to see more, you need a subpoena.”

      The little weasel knew his rights. Jake didn’t need to get embroiled in a lawsuit with a British tabloid. But he was short on suspects; Danny’s photos could help. “I’d appreciate your consent.”

      “I’ll make a deal,” Danny said. “Let me use that photo of you and Saida on the porch. That shot is a moneymaker, worthy of front page in the tabloids. And on the entertainment TV programs.”

      “It’s all right with me,” Saida said. “I can deal with it.”

      “I can’t.” The most difficult part of Jake’s campaign for sheriff had been the publicity. Some of his Arapaho ancestors believed that when someone took your picture they captured a piece of your soul. “Print that photo, and I’ll sue.”

      Danny backed off. “No need to get all self-righteous and litigious.”

      Jake wished he didn’t have to care about public opinion. He wanted to be his own man. But he was sheriff, and that meant he had to hold to a certain standard of behavior. Not that the photo of him and Saida was porn, but he couldn’t afford to be front-page news in a tabloid.

      The princess spoke up, “Danny, I have a question for you.”

      “Shoot.”

      Though her voice stayed calm, she betrayed her nervousness by twisting the black onyx ring on her pinkie. “How did you find out that I was coming to Wyoming?”

      “I’ve got my sources,” Danny admitted. “And I’m staying close to the resort so I’m on top of things. It wasn’t hard to find out that you’d made a reservation. You’re a celebrity. Three or four of the staff mentioned your arrival.”

      Jake believed him. The Wind River Ranch and Resort was a high-class place, but Dumont was a small town where gossip spread faster than wildfire. If the women on the staff were anything like his sister, they’d be excited about the princess. Unfortunately, Danny’s information wasn’t much help in pinpointing the men who came after Saida.

      “You heard I had a reservation,” she said. “Then what did you do?”

      “I was at the private airfield when your plane landed. I thought I might get some pictures, but you hustled into the rental car too fast.”

      “At the airfield,” she said, “did you notice anyone else watching my plane arrive?”

      He folded his arms across his skinny chest and leaned back in the chair. “Maybe I did.”

      Now they were getting somewhere. Jake was tempted to step in and take over the interrogation, but Saida seemed to be asking the right questions.

      “Tell me about these others who were watching,” she said. “What did they look like? What kind of vehicles were they driving?”

      Danny smirked. “This is important, huh?”

      She sat in the chair beside him. Though she didn’t actually touch him, she reached out with the full force of her personal charisma. “I must know what you saw and who you saw.”

      Danny’s expression changed. Gazing at her, he seemed to be melting. An involuntary smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. His smug attitude disappeared as he leaned forward, wanting to be close to her.

      And the princess reeled him in. Her left hand rested on the table, just beyond his grasp. With the other hand, she raked her shimmering black hair away from her cheek as she tilted her head to one side. She lowered her eyelids and slowly looked up at him.

      A worshipful sigh pushed through his lips. “Oh, Saida.”

      “Please СКАЧАТЬ