All Chapters of The MC President’s Wanted Woman: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Nadine’s POVRoy was on television when Dale came in for Leanne’s bag.I had been holding a piece of toast over a plate so she could take it without reaching across the table. She stopped with her hand halfway up. On the screen, Roy stood beside a white pickup with his company’s name across the door. He wore a clean blue shirt, and somebody had clipped a microphone near the buttons.“I’ve known Grant a long time,” he said. “You hear something like this, you keep thinking somebody’s made a mistake.”Leanne looked at me. I put the toast down before I dropped it.The woman interviewing him stood just outside the picture. She asked what he would say to the sheriff’s family.“They’ve got people here who care about them. Whatever they need.”Dale walked between us and the television. He had Leanne’s overnight bag in one hand. The pale stripe along its side had a dark smear near the bottom, and one of her shirts was caught in the zipper.“What are you doing with that?” she asked.“Getting it

Claire’s POVNick was giving orders through his phone when I reached his office. He looked at Lilly beside me, then turned toward the window.“If anybody from the sheriff’s office turns up, you call me. I don’t care who it is.”Lilly leaned against my leg while he listened. She had followed me from the couch because she wanted to know where Teo had gone. I had come to ask the same thing.“Teo will call me when they’re done,” Nick said. “I’ll let you know.”He ended the call and set the phone on his desk. Lilly went around it to him, but stopped when he didn’t hold out his hand.“Are you busy?”“Come here, honey.” He moved his chair back so she could stand between his knees. “What do you need?”“Where’s Uncle Teo?”“He went out with Rafe. They’ll be back later.”“He didn’t tell me.”Nick rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “He had to go in a hurry.”I watched his face while he spoke to her. When she asked whether she could wait in his office, he looked at me before answering.“Get your

Claire’s POV“Dale too?” I asked.“Both of them,” Ortega said through Nick’s phone. “Glen was arrested at the truck. Dale went behind the trailers, and an officer caught him there. They brought him back in handcuffs and put him in a separate patrol car. Neither man left the yard except in police custody.”I sat down before he finished. Sarah pulled the chair beside mine closer to the table. Across the hall, Evan was helping Lilly gather her markers; I had told her we needed a few minutes with Ortega, and she had made me promise to come get her afterward.“And Leanne?”“On her way to the hospital. Our officers were with her until the ambulance left.”“Have you found Haskett?”“Not yet. We’re looking for him.”I bent forward with my hands between my knees. Nick moved toward me, but I caught the edge of his shirt and kept him beside the chair.“She’s out,” I said.“Yes, Claire.”Ortega asked us to pass any further contact to him and Torres. I looked up at Nick.“He doesn’t have her.”Nic

Claire’s POV“Mommy, you’re bending it.”I loosened my grip on Lilly’s drawing. One corner had caught beneath the strap of my bag, and I couldn’t get it free while she held my wrist.“Let go a second, baby.”“You’ll drop it.”“I won’t.”Nick took the bag off my shoulder with his right hand. I worked the paper loose, and he settled the strap back over my shoulder. I smoothed the drawing against my skirt, but the crease stayed across the yellow sun.Lilly rubbed it with her thumb. “Now it’s got a line.”“We can lay it flat inside.”She took it back before I could try again.Rafe came up from parking the car and held the funeral-home door. Nick waited while I got Lilly moving, his left arm still supported against his body.“Mrs. Bennett?”The funeral director stood beside the guest book. I had spoken to him four times that week, but it took me a moment to answer.Three weeks had passed since Nick and Teo visited Nadine and Leanne in the hospital. Teo had brought them to their rooms at th

Nick’s POVThe pancake batter slid toward the edge of the counter when I tried to hold the bowl steady with my left hand.“Don’t,” Claire said behind me.“I’ve got it.”“You’ve got batter on your boot.”I looked down. A pale stripe ran from my jeans to the toe. Lilly crouched beside me, fascinated.“It looks like bird poop.”“Thanks, peanut.”She laughed, but it didn’t last. She stood and pulled the hem of Claire’s shirt. “Can we go see Daddy’s flowers today?”Claire’s hand stopped halfway to the paper towels. “Not today, sweetheart.”“Tomorrow?”“We’ll talk about it.”“But the picture could get wet.”“The funeral man tucked it under the ribbon,” I said. “Remember? He made sure it wouldn’t blow away.”“Rain isn’t wind.”“No, ma’am. It isn’t.”Claire put down the towels, crouched, and opened her arms. Lilly walked into them without another word. I used my good hand to drag the bowl away from the edge. My shoulder hurt so badly I wanted to throw the fucking thing across the kitchen.“Pa