Southern Storm (Southern 3)

“You can call Grady,” Jacob says. “He’s on duty now, and he said he’ll be swinging by when he can.”

“Great idea,” Beau says and sends him a message. “Okay, Mrs. Mayor, it’s time to greet the people.” He grabs my hand, and we walk around, saying hello to everyone. Beau poses for some pictures while people actually talk to me. It is nothing like the dinner that I attended.

I get more hugs that day than I have ever gotten in all this town. I have men coming up to me, telling me they miss the bar and that they are excited it’s reopening. I have the women asking me if I would ever think about having ladies’ night where some of them are talking about having dancers come in.

I laugh and look over at Beau, who is looking down at his phone. “What’s up, Grady?” The smile on his face disappears. “What? Where?” He looks at me, and then I see Jacob running over to us.

“Don’t make a scene.” I hear Jacob beside Beau, my eyes going from one to the other.

“What’s happening?” I ask, and Beau looks at Jacob.

“We have to go, and it has to be quiet,” he says, and the two of them are walking away. I run to keep up with them, and it’s like we are young all over again. Me chasing them.

“You are not coming with us,” Jacob says over his shoulder, and then Beau looks over his.

“You stay here, and I’ll call you as soon as we know something,” he says, and I glare at him. “Don’t look at me like that, Savannah.” He stops right next to Jacob’s car, and now Kallie is walking over to us followed by Casey and Olivia. “You have all these people here.” He points at the crowd. “You can’t just leave.”

“One-half of these people are here to meet the ‘hot mayor’ as one of the women said. Two, there is something going on, and you are hiding it from me, and …” I fold my hands over my chest. “I don’t like it.”

“What’s going on?” Kallie asks from beside me.

“I have no idea,” I say to her. “But these two got phone calls and were off running to leave.”

“Listen,” Jacob says. “We don’t have time for this.” He looks at Kallie. “I have to go; it’s police business.”

“Then why is Beau going?” she asks the question I want to ask.

“It’s better for everyone that you just tell them or else …” Casey says. “I’ll be the one left here with three pissed-off ladies.” He looks at them. “I can barely handle that one.” He points at Olivia who just shrugs. “I can’t handle the other two as well. Especially Kallie who will get back at me, and Savannah, well, she pours my drinks when I come here. I don’t want her to poison me.”

“Oh my God,” Beau says, pulling at his hair. “We need to go, so get in the truck.”

“You could have saved all this time,” I say, getting into the back and squeezing in when Kallie gets in followed by Casey and Olivia sits on his lap.

“This is so illegal,” Olivia says, but she flies back when Jacob backs up and speeds off.

“Where are we going?” Kallie asks, and Beau looks over at me, and my stomach sinks.

“What happened now?” I ask him, ready for whatever good that was coming my way in the past two weeks is now going to be taken away from me.

“Someone was just caught trying to burn down the mayor’s house,” he says, and the gasps in the truck are mostly from the back seat. I feel Kallie’s arms around me. “Grady was there to pick up the stuff I forgot. He thought he saw something but wasn’t sure, but when he walked into the house, he smelled the gasoline.” The tears are now just running down my face.

“The good news is that after a little bit of a chase, he got the guy,” Jacob says. “But before we get there, you have to promise,” he says and then looks at me through the rearview mirror. “The both of you.” He looks now at Beau. “That you will not fly off the handle when we get there. This is still a police investigation, and we don’t really know anything right now.”

“Who is it?” Beau asks between clenched teeth. My body starts to shake, but I don’t have to wait long because we pull up to the mayor’s house, and there are five patrol cars with their lights all going. I get out of the truck as soon as he puts it in park, and I walk around. Beau grabs my hand before I can run and see who it is. I don’t have to see him, but I can hear him shouting at the top of his lungs.