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Showing up would ment that she was more than just a casual little fuck, she adnoring Janey and Alex’s concerned looks, she strode through the restaurant back to the office and started putting receipts together to begin the paperwork for the night

She often finished up in the office while Alex and Janey went on hoet a cab He wasn’t happy, again It seeue had lost the ability to please anyone who ht with a scowl

Da what any man felt?

The day she’d met Zeke Mayes, she admitted to herself God, she was such a fool for him It was insane, completely pathetic actually

She looked up as the door to the office opened and Janey and Alex stepped inside She knew that look on her friends’ face, and she knew that evidently she hadn’t hidden her emotions as effectively as she had hoped Great, now Janey would have questions And what Janey knew, Alex would know What Alex knew, he would probably say so to Zeke about And well, didn’t she just kno private Zeke was?

"Everything okay, Rogue?" Janey asked casually as Alex closed the door behind theue pushed the receipts back as Janey looked at her in surprise

"Sheriff Mayes has no idea who killed Joe and Jai, and Lisa won’t let me help" She rubbed at her te, but that wasn’t as digging gouges out of her soul

"Forensics hasn’t co on it, and the coroners haven’t finished their tests on the bodies yet We should know soue shook her head "Grander" Her lower lip trembled despite her battle to keep her e that was a bitch She would have to bury the boys with no one to corandmother the same way

How had she let this happen? How could she let herself care for a rief?

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Janey erly in one of the chairs

Her forest green eyes were soe of suspicion in thes, when she wasn’t talking That was the risk you took when you let someone become your best friend

"Yes, there is," she said softly "Don’t ask questions"

It was the closest she could co

Alex snorted as Janey’s lips coue"

"It’s very fair," she told her friend "I have to deal with fath to deal withperson that?" Janey asked her

"No" Rogue shook her head, her voice roughening "I’ the one person that should understand I need tis out on , silent mos or anything else"

She couldn’t risk it

"Rogue?" Alex spoke then "I can leave the rooo no further, you know that"

No, she didn’t know that She knew ossiped worse than women And she knew Janey Before she knew it, the entire Mackay clan would be privy to Zeke’s secrets, and that whole privacy rule he had would be shot to hell and back Hell, she felt sorry for his forhtly "I just want to get these receipts finished and head ho day and it doesn’t look as though things are going to get any better for a while"

They were likely to get worse It was nor to threaten or attempt to commit bodily harm on an officer of the law, and she knew one she wanted to shoot with his own gun

Janey sighed "You’re sure there’s nothing we can do?"

Rogue looked down at the receipts, then back up to her friend "I need a few days off actually The bar is going to hell right now and I need to straighten a few things up"

The bar was the one place she knew Zeke wouldn’t enter He ht to question her, but he wouldn’t do it again Too public, and of course, no one could knoas trying to fuck the little bar whore

Fucking Nadine Grace and Dayle Mackay God, she had never hated them as much as she hated theue to smile

"I need at least four days,her alive out of her syste for hiain and get her heart straightened out Long enough to avoid prison because of her homicidal tendencies toward one man

"Five days" Janey nodded "But you promise you’ll be back after that?"

"I’ll be back after that," Rogue pros squared away That’s all"

She could feel Alex’s stare, it was like a laser that cut straight through the lies she was telling

"Fine Five days" Janey sighed as she stood up "You can leave tonight’s receipts I’ll harass Natches andHe can work for his share of the profit for the next few days But don’t think I don’t knohat’s going on, Rogue"

Rogue’s head jerked up to stare back at her "What’s going on?"

Janey leaned forward "The plague A plague known as redneck male stupidity Want to know the cure?"

Uh-oh, Janey’s smile was all teeth It was a Mackay smile and never boded well

"There’s a cure?" she asked warily She was intrigued now