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“But…” I let out a breath, deliberately not correcting her that it was the Rockley County Sheriff’s Department and not a police station. I may have done some googling while waiting for a fight training lesson yesterday. The photo of the sheriff on the department’s website was damned fine. I also may have saved it into the photo folder on my phone. “Why do I need to do a ride-along when we both know I got rave reviews from that season of SEAL Team Charlie? That was super similar to this. I can do this. I can—”
“It’s not about whether or not you can do this. It’s about the optics, remember? Besides, getting in tight with local law enforcement is always a good idea on location. If you have any problems, it won’t hurt to be on a first-name basis with the chief.”
“Sheriff,” I mumbled. “Fine. I get your point. I’ll spend the day riding with him. Thank you.”
“The week. It’s for a whole week until primary filming starts. He knows to work around your work schedule.”
My hands were sweating. “A week?” I cleared the panicked squeak out of my throat. “Why a week? Isn’t a day plenty of time?”
“It’s just a few hours a day around the other things on your schedule. I know you have choreographing for the fight and climbing scenes, fitness training sessions, wardrobe fittings, and blocking meetings. So, really, it won’t be more than a few hours a day with the cop. Ask lots of questions. Seem interested in doing the best job representing his… industry, or whatever, you can. He’ll eat it up.”
After getting off the call and making my way over to the wardrobe trailer, I remembered my centering techniques. Just because I’d made a terrible first (and second… and third…) impression on the sheriff, didn’t mean I couldn’t turn things around.
I was Finn Heller. America’s beloved boy next door. I was known for my charm and ease.
And if he didn’t like it, well, too bad. My only goal was doing what I needed to do for this film so I could move on to what mattered the most.
And that wasn’t Sheriff Declan Stone.
5
Declan
I was running on two hours of sleep, a giant cinnamon roll from the new bakery, and a vat of coffee. To say my mood was less than ideal would be an understatement.
So when one of my brothers called to ask me a favor, I was inclined to tell him where to shove that favor. The only thing that kept me from biting his head off was the knowledge I owed him one. A big one. He’d been the one to offer pro bono legal help to my partner when all the shit had gone down with the department’s bribery scandal back in LA. And even when Nick had been clearly guilty of the charges against him, my brother Patrick had given him a strong defense and had negotiated an impressive plea deal for him.
I owed Patrick big-time, and seeing Tess, Nick’s ex-girlfriend, on my stoop last night was a reminder of it.
“Can’t I have one of my deputies do it?” I asked with a sigh. “You have no idea how high-maintenance Finn Heller is.”
Patrick laughed. “No way. I promised her he’d get the best man on the force. One has to assume that’s you, Peanut.”
Leave it to one of my brothers to be loving and condescending in the same breath. “How do you even know this agent? Is she a client?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you she’s Olivia’s tennis partner at the club. She and her husband are friends of ours. In fact, you’ve probably met them at the holiday party before. Iris is tiny, and her husband is a giant. Olivia always makes rude jokes behind their backs about the physics involved during sex.”
That rang a bell. I remembered the husband more than the wife. Sexy as hell, but a pompous jackass who name-dropped in every sentence.
“Yeah, okay. Whatever. But this is a big ask, so now you’re going to owe me one.”
His warm, familiar laughter made me smile. Moving away from my family had been the only downside to my relocation to Colorado.
“That’s not how this works,” he said. “We’ll be even if anything. Don’t you remember when Nick wanted to bribe the judge on his case?”
Heat flooded my face. My partner had hidden his corruption incredibly well until he’d been caught. Then it had seemed like almost a game to him.
My hesitation must have betrayed my emotions because Patrick’s voice dropped the teasing tone. “It’s okay, Dec. You know I’m used to shit like that. He wasn’t even close to the worst of my clients. And I was happy to do that for you. Okay?”
I was the youngest of five boys. They’d always been just as protective and loving toward me as my parents had been.
