River narrowed her eyes at the man standing before us in a law enforcement uniform. "Beth Winters," she lied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who are you?"
He looked at her for a long time, his eyes lingering on her face, and I had a sudden feeling of rage I forced myself to quell. The way he was looking at her....if his eyes had gone anywhere else but her face, I would have beat his ass right there in the street, cop or no cop.
"Jed Easton," he said. "Sherriff Easton, that is."
River's mouth was drawn tight and I saw her tapping her fingers against her side, tucked up underneath her crossed arms. She was irritated, that much I could tell; I wasn't sure if it was at me or Jed, or maybe at Jed for arriving right when she was about to tell me to fuck off.
I should have been grateful for Jed's timely arrival.
Except I wasn't.
Not only because Jed was a douchebag, but because part of me wanted River to tell me to fuck off. It's what I deserved.
"What brings you to West Bend?" he asked, his eyes still on River.
"Vacation," she said. "Taking in the sights, you know. Small towns like these are a passion of mine."
"And this Saint boy," Jed said. "He's an acquaintance of yours?"
My blood boiled, and I clenched my fists. I was going to lay this asshole out for calling me boy.
River's eyes widened and she looked at me. "I'd hardly call him a boy," she said, smirking. "Hung like a fucking horse. I'd say he probably has several inches on you." She leaned closer to Jed and raised her eyebrows. "Knows how to use them real good, too."
I had to keep my jaw from dropping, listening to River talk. No girl had ever taken up for me.
Hell, no one in my life had ever taken up for me. If there's anything I was used to doing, it was fighting my own battles.
I didn't know what the fuck to think about this girl.
Jed's face was red as he turned away from her and faced me. "You watch yourself," he said. "This town doesn't need your kind here causing trouble - not you or your brothers."
"Fuck you, Jed," I spat.
He smiled and nodded, then turned to leave. I watched him through narrowed eyes as he paused, then turned back toward us. "Oh - one more thing. Give your mother my father's regards," he said.
My heart racing, blood pumping loudly in my ears, I barely registered River's hand on my arm. "Fuck!" I said loudly, enough that a couple passing on the sidewalk stopped and stared.
Fucking Jed.
"River, I - " I started, but she interrupted me, holding her hand up.
"Whatever it is," she said. "I don't want to know. It's none of my fucking business."
"River, I didn't mean to - "
She shook her head. "Just because I defended you, doesn't mean I'm okay with you being a dickhead," she said. "I just don't like bullies, and that guy strikes me as a bully."
"One of the worst kinds," I agreed.
"Thanks for the ride, Elias," she said, the car keys dangling from her fingers. She turned to leave.
I stood there and watched her walk away. Jesus Christ. I wasn't used to having to watch my attitude, make sure I didn't snap at people.
I was used to dealing with subordinates, people I was in charge of in the Navy. Most of them fucking got out of my way.
I felt a pang of regret. Shit.
This is not how I'd planned on spending the rest of the day, dealing with family bullshit. I'd planned on spending it screwing the absolute hell out of River, but I'd fucked that part up.
I needed to fix it, I thought. Later. I would fix it with her.
Everything else was eclipsed by the thought of what Jed had said. And what the rental manager had mentioned. My mother had some questions she needed to answer.
Between whatever bullshit was with her, and Silas' cryptic crap, there were too many fucking secrets.
***
RIVER
It's none of your business.
Elias' words echoed in my head as I closed the car door and walked back up to the bed and breakfast. After I'd left him in town, I'd waited and watched him stride off back to his car like a man on a mission.
Angry at the world, I told myself. And he didn't even fucking realize it.
What the hell did I care, anyway? He was right; it wasn't any of my fucking business. Just because I was sleeping with him - no, scratch that since we hadn't even screwed yet-didn't mean I needed to know who he was. I was taking some time here in West Bend, just a few days, and that was that.
This was just a break from my normal life.
I needed to remember that.
A couple of days off the grid and I would get back to it. I needed to get back to it. Monday, when I didn't show up for filming, the studio would be fucking pissed. We were near the end of this film, and they'd probably figure I went off the deep end or something, lost my damn mind, with everything that had just happened with Viper. They'd film without me in the meantime, but someone would be looking for me. Soon.