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Mateo kept hisstatele was, but he definitely had one The et his way Still, he was technically Mateo’s boss, since the police chief served at the ative If thefor his ass on a platter, both cheeks would be delivered within the hour

“You know no good will co connected to the Sweets—especially Olivia” The ust “She’s not our kind of people She’s all flash and no substance You and I both know she’s not putting on this fundraiser for the good of Salvation’s veterans I beer the next She’s going to do whatever it takes to get back in that liure a story about a superet a lot of eyeballs”

“That’s a lot of supposition on your part”

“No, it’s a lot of knowledge and expertise I’ve been h to know the Sweets inside and out The whole family is a wreck Look, we’re both Marines We knohat it’s like to have a non-hacker in the ranks The only way to form a cohesive unit is to weed that sucker out Olivia Sweet is a non-hacker and Salvation is your unit”

Mateo raised his gaze to the photo on the wall above Hawson’s left shoulder It showed his fire tea it He keptto take it down but…

The Sweets were trouble and Olivia wasn’t an exception The town of Salvation, on the other hand, had supported his parents and his sister while he was gone and when he’d had an extended stay at the VA hospital in Richmond When he’d first cos Those had thankfully stalled out Now they just left him alone to do his job as police chief And he liked it that way just fine They stayed away and he kept the froave the photo one last hard look

Olivia had been so da hi hell at The Kitchen Sink yesterday it had taken everything he had not to join in—so he sure as hell didn’t do any”

“Don’t see the har hoo?”

Mateo suppressed his laugh—barely Hawson had been caught singing to his horse The video had gone viral and still got airtiets

“And I’ about me here Salvation was the butt of jokes on national TV People called us the hick’s version of heaven You know the people here It hurt folks to see their town huain”

“And how exactly do you propose I stop that?”

“Keep tabs on her and let ”

“Spy?” That left a dank taste in his mouth

“That’s an ugly word, but yes” Hawson shrugged “You run the intelligence operation I’ll take care of erecting roadblocks”

“And the veterans’ center?” He wasn’t about to screw over his brothers He wouldn’t fail theain