“On my way.”
He always had a uniform ready to go, so in less than ten minutes he was headed into town. Calling his dad from the road, he told him what was up. He’d left the door unlocked for them and he’d be home as soon as he could. They knew the drill. Deciding Paige wouldn’t care, he parked in the diner’s parking lot instead of the designated municipal parking to unload the quad and hit the trails.
Knowing the two riders he was after were riding recklessly, with no regard for laws or common sense, he had to be careful in the corners, but Matt kept a good pace. He was glad the trails wouldn’t see too much use until later in the day because if the riders ran into Drew first and tried to outrun him, somebody could get hurt.
When he came to a junction, he stopped and shut his machine off so he could listen. He thought he could hear a machine coming from the east, so he backed into the trees a little and waited. Best case scenario was him witnessing the breaking of laws with his own eyes.
But the machine that slid to a stop at the intersection was the police department’s and Drew Miller spotted him right away. “They must have come through here. You didn’t see them?”
“I drove the ATV route through town in my truck and then I rode in from the diner, so they didn’t get by me. They must have passed through here already, which means they’re between us and Josh.”
“Shit.” The police chief shook his head. “All he can do is yell at them.”
They hauled ass then, with Drew in the lead since he knew the trails a little better. This being the main trail, it was a little wider and they slid through the corners, steering with the throttle.
Matt kept his body loose, leaning when he needed to and jumping the water bars. It felt good, even if they were out there hunting for a couple of jerks who thought they were special and could ruin it for everybody.
Suddenly Drew’s machine was sliding as he braked hard and Matt followed suit, coming to a stop alongside the police chief. Josh Kowalski’s quad was broadside across the trail ahead and he was reading the riot act to the two riders. They were all off their machines, helmets off, and one of the guys took a swing at Josh.
Josh dodged it but his buddy jumped in and caught him with a left. Josh staggered back one step, then put the guy on the ground with one hit. He started to get back up, urging his friend to hit him, but Drew yelled to get their attention. The guys turned around and Matt saw all the fight go out of them when they saw the uniforms. They were busted and they knew it.
The assault was enough for handcuffs, so Drew read them their rights. They probably wouldn’t be charged for the machine mayhem, but if the damage was substantial, they’d pay some hefty fines and be banned from riding the trails in the future. Since most of the reports that would accompany those incidents technically happened outside of Drew’s jurisdiction, Matt would get to do those honors. Which also meant Matt would get to do the paperwork.
While Drew called for a cruiser which, luckily, could get within an eighth of a mile from their location by road, Matt started the process of questioning the pair about their activities of the morning. They admitted to the things Josh and Drew knew about and Matt had no doubt more complaints would be waiting when they got back.
The most important thing, of course, was that Josh and the other club’s president would be able to assure the landowners that the rogue riders who’d disrespected their property had been caught and wouldn’t be back. Land closures meant trail closures and nobody wanted that.
“Since I’m taking them in for assault and the rest of it’s pretty much paperwork, why don’t you go ahead and take off,” Drew said. “We’ve got to get these idiots back to the station. Josh and Andy are going to take care of towing their machines out and we’ll hand them over to Butch for impound. The paperwork can wait and you’ve got family coming.”
“Normally I wouldn’t, but it’s a two-hour drive for them. I owe you one, though.”
By the time he rode back to the diner and loaded up, then drove home, another hour and a half had passed, so he wasn’t surprised to see vehicles in his driveway. Instead of going through the house, he walked around the outside, then stopped at the sight of Hailey sitting with his family on the deck, laughing with them.
He watched them for a minute, trying to sort out how he felt about her being there and looking so at home, until Bear spotted him.
*
HAILEY HADN’T BEEN sure what to do when Matt’s family pulled into his driveway. She assumed he’d called them to let them know what was going, but it still felt awkward to be out in the yard and not say anything to them. Especially when Bear ran over, all excited to show off his company, and they all looked at her.