The Sheriff's 6-Year-Old Secret by Donna Clayton

Author:Donna Clayton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

All was quiet at Smoke Valley. All, that is, except for the one bar that was located on a side street just off the main road cutting straight through the rez. Nathan heard the muffled music blaring as he drove by the drinking establishment. He glanced at his watch. The business would close in about thirty minutes, and then the rest of his late-night shift would prove uneventful, he was sure.

One of the problems in the police department recently was the fact that there was only one officer on duty during the night shift. Nathan didn’t think that was safe, no matter how peaceful the rez seemed. So he’d come up with the swing schedule that necessitated each one of his officers taking an evening shift one night every two weeks to supplement the regular third-shift officers. The men and women working for him didn’t seem to like the idea much, but when he presented the schedule and they saw that he was willing to take his turn in the rotation, they more readily accepted the change.

On Nathan’s night shifts, he asked his grandfather to come to his house to stay with Charity. He wanted her to sleep in her own bed so that her routine wouldn’t be broken and she’d be well rested for school.

He was just reaching to call in to the dispatcher his intention of taking a quick break for a cup of coffee when his radio crackled.

“Nathan, you there?”

A quick flash of irritation had him issuing a sigh. He’d been attempting to get all three of his dispatchers to learn the formal police system of numbered codes used to make communicating by radio clear, concise and more efficient. However, something in the man’s tone told Nathan not to argue the point at this time.

“I’m here,” he said.

“George from the Rusty Nail just called in.”

Stress. That was what he heard in the dispatcher’s voice. Nathan knew that George was the owner of the bar.

“Trouble?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah. A fight. Sounds like a bad one, too. Want me to make some calls? Get some extra help in here?”

“Let me check it out first. I’m on my way.” Then he pressed the button on the mike once more. “Walt,” he called to the other officer on patrol for the night, “if you can hear me, get yourself over to the Rusty Nail.”

The surge of adrenaline pumping through Nathan’s veins heightened his awareness, quickened his responses. He made a precise three-point turn, the thought of a coffee break forgotten as he flipped on his lights and siren and headed back toward the bar.

When Nathan pushed his way into the dim and smoky confines of the building, the tension in the air was so crisp and the patrons so quiet, it would have been impossible not to realize that something ominous was going down. Heads swiveled in his direction when the door shut behind him.

He assessed the situation in an instant. Two groups of young men were facing off. He knew

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