Free Wildcat by Cheyenne McCray Page B

frowned at her brother. “How in the hell did you pay for it?”
    He shrugged and used his knife to slice the plastic straps around the cardboard. “Don’t worry. It’s taken care of.”
    “What do you mean, don’t worry?” If there was one thing Catie couldn’t stand, it was to be told to butt out of something she considered to be her business.
    “I said, don’t worry about it.” Steve spoke through clenched teeth and gave her ‘the look’ that said they’d discuss it when they didn’t have company.
    Her gaze shot to Jarrod. He had his thumbs hooked through his belt loops and was watching Steve cut open the box. “Need some help getting that inside the house?” Jarrod asked.
    “Sure.” Steve gave a quick nod. “If you have the time.”
    “I’ve got all day.” Jarrod winked at Catie. “I can help you install it if you’d like. I’ve got some experience there.”
    Catie raised her hands in exasperation. Here she thought she’d be escaping his incredible masculine magnetism, at least for the rest of the day. Sure, the sex was great, but she needed time to gather her wits. Needed space away from this man who turned her inside out and made her feel like a simpering little fool.
    “All right.” She moved to the screen door and propped it open. “You two men enjoy tearing up the place. Just don’t expect me to serve anything fancier than a pitcher of iced tea and a box of macaroni and cheese.”
    Jarrod flashed her a quick grin. “I like mine extra cheesy.”
    “I’d like lemon, but no sugar in my tea, Cat,” Steve called out as he ripped the cardboard away from the new water heater.
    Shaking her head, Catie headed into the house and let the screen door slam behind her.
    Men .
     

Chapter Seven
    It was late Monday afternoon by the time Jarrod drove his truck to the Sheriff’s office. It had been a tough day all the way around.
    Considering he hadn’t been able to convince Catie to go out with him during the week, Jarrod was in a pisser of a mood. How the hell was he supposed to wait until Friday to feel her, to taste her, to slide into her heat? His cock throbbed as he guided his truck into his designated parking spot, and he clenched his jaw as he threw the vehicle into park, got out, and headed into the building that housed his office.
    He’d spent Sunday helping Steve Wilds put in the heater and had hoped for more time alone with Catie, but she’d managed to thwart him at every turn. Finally he’d told her he’d be there Friday night and would pick her up at seven, end of story.
    Apparently it was going to take some work to tame his little wildcat.
    Jarrod only nodded to the receptionist as he passed her, then shut the door to his office a little too hard before settling in at his desk. Brogan’s info was due—and sure enough, he found Rocky’s e-mails the minute he signed on. Frowning, Jarrod went through the facts on each suspect, one by one.
    First up was Jake Reynolds, who wasn’t really a suspect in Jarrod’s mind, but Jarrod had spent too many years on the lines not to consider all his options. Reynolds had a virtually sterling record, first as a sheriff’s deputy and then as an agent with Customs for the past decade. The only tarnish on the man’s otherwise shiny profile was a drug deal that went bad while he was with Customs. Reynolds had been seriously wounded and ended up in the hospital for a good month, and the perp got away with the dope. IA had performed a thorough investigation, but Reynolds had come up clean.
    His frown deepening, Jarrod continued on down to the next name.
    Kev Grand had several tickets for speeding and had been thrown in the Douglas City Jail once, after a drunken brawl where the local tavern had been trashed. Grand was well known as a bit of a hot head and vigilante, taking matters into his own hands when it came to keeping UDAs, undocumented aliens, off his property. But the man had never been noted to use extreme measures and had not been cited