Her Three Wilde Champion Men (Wilde, Nevada 2)

The entrance into the sheriff’s office opened, and in walked Byrd with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I guess you’re here to get your Wilde girl out of my jail. Sorry. A man’s got to eat. I had to get my lunch and coffee.”

Brandon felt an eruption explode inside him, and his legal training flew out the window. There was no way he would be able to keep his calm. Not now. Not when it came to Shelby. He grabbed Byrd by the shirt and pulled him in close until they were nose to nose. “You motherfucker. I know you’re a dirty cop and I will get you. You have exactly thirty seconds to release my client to me.”

Obviously shaken, Dirty Byrd stumbled backward, eyes wide. The sheriff was clearly not used to people being so aggressive and challenging him.

Brandon watched Alex and Justin step forward, like always, the best backup a brother could ever have.

The sheriff, who normally put up such a hard-ass front, was compliant at the moment. He jumped to the door to the cells and unlocked it.

Brandon bet the man’s current change of demeanor was due to his concern about being investigated by him. That was going to happen, but only after he made sure Shelby was cleared of all charges.

In a split second, Byrd returned with Shelby. “Here she is.”

She smiled weakly, and Brandon could see that Jim had told the truth. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Justin and Alex went to her, placing their arms protectively around her.

“Brandon, sorry about this.” Byrd’s tone was sickly sweet. “I thought you could take a little joke.”

What a slime ball. “This is no joke, Sheriff. Trust me.” Brandon would

’ve loved to unleash his own fists, not to mention Justin’s and Alex’s, on the sonofabitch, but his legal side, his logical mind, finally kicked in. Pummeling Byrd wouldn’t help Shelby’s case one iota. He turned to his most important client in his whole career. “Let’s get you out of here, sweetheart.”

“No hard feelings?” The creep’s eyes danced from him to his brothers, back and forth.

Brandon stared Byrd down. “Let this be a lesson to you, Sheriff. Don’t mess with us Champions.”

“Damn right, bro,” Justin said, opening the door and walking Shelby out with Alex.

“Damn right,” he agreed and followed them out.

Chapter Fourteen

Yesterday, Shelby had been locked away inside the Elko County Jail. Now, she was back at the Champions’ family cabin for the second time. That had been Brandon’s idea. Justin and Alex had agreed with him that the cabin would be better than back at her house. They thought she would be safer there since the real killer was still on the loose. Plus, they told her that it was one of the most peaceful places in the area. She could relax and clear her head of all the mayhem she’d gone through already.

They were right on one point. This place was tranquil, but she was far from serene. Brandon had helped her into bed last night, but had left without a word. It had sent her into a tailspin, which wasn’t hard to do given everything else she was facing.

She looked around the space, realizing this might be her home for a while. “Mind if I head out to the back porch? I’d like to see the sunset.”

“Certainly. I’ll join you in a minute,” Brandon said. “I’m about finished in here.”

She nodded to her lawyer, who was standing in the kitchen, and walked out the back. Closing the door behind her, she saw the sky soften as the sun dipped behind the peaks of her native Northern Nevada. The blues morphed into hues of lavender, pink, and orange.

Taking a seat in one of the chairs on the porch, Shelby felt an odd kinship to the fading day. She still couldn’t seem to wrap her head around any of what had happened. She’d dreamed of spending more time with the three sexy brothers, but not like this. She sighed, knowing she had already fallen for the trio. What did it matter if Justin was right or wrong about his brothers warming up to a Wilde way of living? It didn’t. Her nana’s gun was in a plastic bag in Byrd’s possession.

Alex and Justin were chasing down every lead they could find on the drug lords. So far, they knew the cartel had Wilde in their crosshairs, especially Austin, but nothing had surfaced that pointed to the syndicate having anything to do with the murders of Lucille and Trixie.

She couldn’t see how, no matter Brandon’s continual pep talks, she would be able to escape the crash headed her direction.

Her brothers had called. Both were working to get emergency leave. Her dads and mom were on an environmental safari in the outback. She wouldn’t be able to contact them until Monday, and according to her last call from them, that might be iffy. Maybe that was for the best. Why worry them?

She’d called the Horseshoe Bar and Grill, where her sister worked, but they’d told her that Carolyn had taken leave. Her sister was off to God only knew where again. Carolyn had always marched to her own drum.

“You need a distraction, Shelby,” Brandon said, bringing out another tray of food and a bottle of wine with two glasses. This one was stacked high with cheeses and crackers.

“Who told you the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach?”

“My mom,” he confessed with a smile, sitting in the chair right next to hers. “Was she wrong?”

She shook her head and loaded up a cracker with a piece of sharp cheddar.