Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 138

Slade

He drove by the sheriff’s station, and saw that man’s office was closed, and the lights were off; he must be on the day shift. There was a female officer sitting at a desk, chatting with another officer. A quiet night here in the town of Greenville, he supposed.

Slade cruised on through the town right out to where he knew that man lived. The lights were still on, he was still up, it seemed. Slade got out of his car, and took a casual stroll around the edge of the property, something he’d not done previously when watching the man. He had sat in his car and waited in the hope that the man would lead him to Ori.

Peirce, however, was not so stupid, and had stayed put all night long, just like the other officer, Ross, had. Neither one of them had risked going to see Ana. He now knew her name to be Ana Forester, which was the name on the café window along with Maddie’s. He figured Maddie had offered her the use of it. He also knew Londyn’s last name was Forester and could only presume so was Zara’s.

There was nothing unusual out here in the sheriff’s yard, and his truck’s engine was also cold when Slade put his hand on the hood. It appeared he’d been home all night, in other words. He could hear that man talking on the phone with someone; arguing actually. Slade could also hear that he was pacing around inside his home while on the phone.

From what Slade could hear of the conversation, Peirce was trying not to yell at the woman on the other end of the line. There was some sort of dispute over visitation rights. The woman, clearly the mother of his children, so his ex-wife, had decided not to hand the children over to him for his weekend access this coming long weekend.

He was very unhappy about it. She, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care that he wanted to see his children, going on about she didn’t want her children around his mile-long list of girlfriends. He was arguing that there had been just one in the whole time he’d been here, and she’d seen fit to ruin that herself.

Which, Slade heard, had only made that woman laugh. She obviously enjoyed knowing that she’d ruined his relationship.

He strolled up to the front door and pressed the doorbell. He didn’t care that it was after midnight; the man was up and didn’t look to be going to sleep anytime soon. He was too worked up, Slade could only imagine..

He opened the screen door, before Peirce could open the actual door, so it would be easier to step inside the house. He heard him grate out that there was someone at the door, and the woman yelled ‘it better bloody not be that woman’. And then there was nothing. Someone had hung up the phone.

He was leaning casually on the door frame when the sheriff opened the door, and he frowned right at Slade even as his phone started ringing once more. “Can I help you, Mr Southerland?” he asked, recalled who he was.

“Mm, you can,” Slade stated. “I’d like to come in for a private one-on-one chat.”

“Do you know what time it is?” Peirce countered. He didn’t appear afraid that Slade was at his door in the wee hours of the morning.

“I don’t really care about that. If I can’t sleep, you can’t, it’s that simple in my world. Are you going to get that?” he indicated to the man’s phone, which was now ringing in his hand. “It’s very annoying.” He could see the caller I.D. ‘ex-wife’ it read.

“No,” Peirce stated simply. “What do you want?” he asked once more.

“Some answers to be honest,” Slade stated and leaned off the doorway, “We can do this the polite way, or I can make you tell me what I want to know.”

“Are you threatening me, Mr Southerland?”

“I would certainly think so.” Slade nodded and then put a hand on the man’s chest and pushed him inside the house, stepped inside himself and closed the door. “It’s cold outside.” He commented and walked passed Peirce and further into the house.

It wasn’t a large home, and the front door led right into the living area on his right and the kitchen to his left, open planned, and he frowned at the picture of Ori and Peirce on the refrigerator. “Well, look at that.” He murmured and pointed right to it “I believe you lied to me Peirce, that is Oriana and yourself.” He walked over and plucked it from the refrigerator, to get a better look at it.

It was the two of them standing together, smiling in front of what could only be the town’s Christmas tree. She looked happy, and this man had ruined that.

“You’re trespassing,” Peirce grated out.

“Mm and you’re, from what I hear, a cheating asshole.” He turned his eyes to the man and held up that picture, “She looks very happy in this, barely a month ago. I hear she dumped your ass, for cheating on her. ‘he grated out, “Who the hell cheats on a woman like this?”

“Yourself, I believe, isn’t that why she left you?”

“No, I would never cheat on Oriana, wouldn’t even have looked at another if I had her in my bed, a proper relationship. Like what I’ve heard you had with her,” Slade stared at the man.

“And what do you know about Ana and I?” Peirce asked right back.

“A lot, this town’s folks talk, and a week ago you and Ana were the talk of the town, or more precisely you were. They are all disappointed in you more than a little. After all the effort you went to, to get Ana to agree to date you.”

“I was a mistake.” came the answer.

“I don’t care for that…why did you do it?” he rolled his aura over him a little more to get what he wanted to know. Kept pushing it at him until the man uttered the words.

“I thought I was getting my family back, it was my ex-wife.”

Slade shook his head. “You didn’t get that at all, from what I just heard.”

“No, it was just a ploy to break Ana and I up, and it worked.” Peirce told him. “I should have known better.”

Yes, he should have, “You’re an asshole, she trusted you,” and Slade knew she would have had to trust him. There was no way he saw her sleeping with anyone she didn’t trust. “Then you broke that trust, I should break you for it, don’t you think?”

“I made a mistake. I’m also the law around here. I can arrest you for this.”

“Your word against mine. I also think you’ll find my reputation is intact, yours not so much. You have to know you deserve this,” he snarled and twisted that man’s arm until he heard it crack, heard that man cry out in pain. “Deep down inside you know you deserve a beating, for what you did. You’re likely very lucky

Ana didn’t do it herself. I’m only assuming she didn’t because your ass is not in the hospital right now. My girl can fight damned well, even against someone your size. She would have won. Think yourself lucky. That, this, is all the punishment you get. In my world, you’d be headless and in a ditch in the woods somewhere.”

He let go of the man and stepped back. “You’ll only stay lucky if she doesn’t want that. Because if she asks me to,” He yanked the man around and looked right at him. “I’ll come right back here and do as she requests. That is not a threat lawman, just so you know. It’s a promise.”

He shoved that man away from him and banged from the house. “Come and arrest me. See what you get in return.” He called out over his shoulder. He had no fear of the human police. This was a small town with

all of six officers, and he could handle all of them on his own.