Page 10 of Carlos
Then Hannigan stood up. “I’m taking medical leave until my interim contract is up. Santiago would be filling in for me anyway, but I have no doubt he’ll be your new sheriff soon. Maybe then this town will get back to normal.”
Hannigan made to exit but paused at the double doors leading out of the conference room the VDMC called Church. He looked to Steel. “I am sorry for my involvement in…everything,” he hedged. “If I had worked with you instead of against you when I first arrived, maybe not so many people would have gotten hurt.”
Carlos had no doubt Hannigan was including his wife, daughter, and himself in that number.
“I’d like to go see Conner, if that’s all right.” It took Carlos a moment to realize Hannigan was speaking directly to Lucky.
Lucky stared at the man for a tense minute. “I’ll never forgive you for the way you treated Harper or for pointing your gun at Scotty.” Though it looked like it pained him, Lucky admitted, “But you risked your life to save Harper and Conner is your grandson. Harper wants me to let bygones rest, but that’s not the type of man I am. As long as she’s happy and wants you around, I’ll deal. But I don’t trust you, Hannigan. I never will.”
Hannigan gave a sad nod before leaving the room.
Lucky picked up his phone. “Will’s on the gate, right?”
Bulldog nodded. “Sara’s downstairs. She can take him.”
It only took Carlos a second to follow along with what Bulldog already understood. Lucky wanted a prospect with Hannigan while he visited with Harper and Conner since Lucky wasn’t available to. Carlos wondered where Scotty was, though figured he was with Lila. Those two were thick as thieves.
After Lucky finished texting, he put his phone down on the wooden table before him. “Looks like there’s a new sheriff in town, boys!”
As his brother and friends cheered, Carlos looked across the table at Jeff. His co-worker and friend looked equally as enthusiastic. There was no resentment on his face at all. Carlos really hoped that was genuine.
When Sheriff Longhill had had his stroke, Carlos had arrogantly assumed that he’d get the job. He’d of course been worried for his boss, but he’d also made assumptions. When the council had announced they were bringing in an out-of-town retired detective to become sheriff for the rest of Longhill’s term, Carlos had been…resentful. And that was before Hannigan had ever stepped foot in Mount Grove.
Eric Clapton’s version of I Shot the Sheriff suddenly rang out and Carlos’s head snapped towards his brother.
Bulldog grinned widely at him, holding up his phone with a little shake. “Been waiting for years to set that as your ringtone, fratellino.”
Carlos and Bulldog had always had a good relationship. He loved his brother. Recent events had not changed that. It would kill Abby, as well as their mother, if Bulldog ended up in prison. The law did not care that Bulldog was protecting his woman or avenging the heinous wrongs done to her.
In that moment, though, it had been as it had always been with them. Pride shone off of Bulldog, just as it had when Carlos had first gotten his badge at eighteen.
Steel eventually calmed everyone down. “I know we’re all excited to see Hannigan go, but I do have to acknowledge how hard that must have been for him. It’s not easy for a man to admit his faults.” He gestured to the chair Hannigan had vacated across the long table from himself. “Sheriff Santiago.”
It was so weird to hear that. For years, it had been all he’d wanted. Did he deserve that title anymore? He wasn’t clean. There was blood on his hands, even if he had not been the one to put it there.
Stiffly, Carlos stood and moved seats. He was ambitious enough to want the job and position. He wanted to be his town’s sheriff. Was he still worthy of it?
He looked to Jeff. “Are you okay with this?”
Jeff nodded, a wide smile on his clean-shaven face. “You deserve this,” he told Carlos. “You care about this town and its people more than anyone I know. Besides, being sheriff is a young man’s game. I’d be honored to be your deputy sheriff.”
While the sheriff position was elected, Carlos would have the right to choose his own number two. As Longhill had chosen Carlos.
Carlos nodded. “Of course. There’s no one else I’d want at my back.” The response was immediate and true. The only exception was perhaps Danny, but he was still too young and green. Maybe in a few years when Miller was ready to retire.
“We need to get you caught up on some things,” Steel told Carlos. “Mainly that we have a new member of our family.”
Carlos was confused by this statement. He’d been removed from the club over the past couple of months, but not that removed. He’d have known if one of the ol’ ladies was pregnant because his mother would have been over the moon about the addition.
“There’s a boy. His name is Ollie. From what we’ve been able to piece together and from what little he’s divulged, his mother is one of the Black Python’s club whores. It’s possible he’s been there his entire life. When I saw King slap him for no reason, I stepped in. His mother’s a consenting adult, but he’s an innocent kid. We brought him home with us.”
Carlos blinked. “You kidnapped him?”
“We got her permission,” Ghost sneered. There was obvious disgust on his face and in his voice. “Bitch was fucking a member—openly and in front of him—and couldn’t get rid of her kid fast enough. The boy’s better off without her.”
Carlos felt his stomach roll. In front of her kid? That was some fucked up shit. Carlos had never been one for voyeurism. He’d seen the club brothers out in the open with a hang-around or a Honey at their parties over the years. It was not for Carlos. Hell, Bear had been the worst exhibitionist until he’d become a married man. He’d loved an audience. Not anymore. According to Bear, Tessa was his and his alone. No other man would ever see or touch her in a sexual way. Bear was also a dad now.
Carlos wasn’t. At this rate, the closest he would ever be to being a father was being an uncle to his nieces and nephew. Even if he did have a kid, he couldn’t imagine being so sexually flamboyant that he’d have sex in front of them. And no doubt, Ollie’s mother hadn’t just been ‘having sex’. It was likely the very definition of a down and dirty fucking.