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there
shaking her head for a long minute. Her gaze drifted to his. What
he saw caused his breath to hitch. Emotion filled her green eyes,
threatening to spill over her long lashes to flushed cheeks.
    “ I am so sorry, Taylor. There’s no excuse for this kind of
unwarranted behavior.”
    “ You have nothing to be sorry about, and I’m the one who’s
sorry for lashing out at you.” He matched her gaze, and arched his
brows.
    She smiled and
briefly closed her eyes. “Thank you for that.” Her chest heaved as
she tore her gaze from his.
    “ Now…” She took her cell from its case on her belt and flipped
it open. “I’ll take care of this. Why don’t you put on some
coffee?”
    It was like she had an internal switch. In seconds flat she
went from vulnerable, maybe even approachable, to the professional,
the don't-fuck-with-me agent from the head office.
    Taylor shook his head as he strolled over to the entrance. The
angry red letters flashed before him. And
they say bikers are trash.

Chapter
Six
     
    The full-bodied
aroma of fresh brewed coffee swirled around Dianne’s senses as she
stepped inside the shop. Guilt squashed the enjoyment of this
welcome assault. The shop lay in various stages of disarray. Some
things were in the midst of being put together, others lay in
scattered piles across the cement floor.
    She’d always
had a hard time with protocol for carrying out search warrants. The
sight before her was just one more mess to add to the never-ending
list over the years. This time seemed different, almost
personal.
    “ Why don’t we talk in here?” Taylor stood at the door to his
office. “I’ve sort of put everything back together in
here.”
    She couldn’t
bring herself to look at him and kept her eyes downcast as she
passed him into the office. He didn’t have to move anything in
order for her to sit down this time. In fact, papers were stacked
in neat piles along the wall in front of filing cabinets.
    Once she was
seated, he poured her a coffee.
    “ I’ve sent for a crew to come clean up the windows. They’ll be
here within the hour.” She sipped at her coffee.
    “ So what happens now? Do I need to camp out here to prevent it
from happening again?”
    “ No.” She matched his serious expression. “I’ll make sure the
men include your shop on their watches. If anyone tries anything,
we’ll catch them.” She hoped he saw the sincerity
intended.
    “ So, just what happened this morning to get everybody all riled
up?” Taylor took a seat behind his desk.
    A shiver ran
through her body, the photo stamped to her memory. “We found
another picture on the bulletin board.”
    “ Damn. How’d he get it in the post office again?”
    “ That’s the million dollar question.” She sighed and leaned
back in her seat. “There are guards posted on all exits 24-7.
Whoever this guy is, he’s good.”
    “ I’m not sure if I want to know…what was the picture of this
time?”
    Her stomach
turned. “It’s getting worse. He’s got her tied to a cross.” She
stifled the urge to sob for the poor girl. “He carved ‘Jezebel’
across her stomach.”
    She watched his
hands clench into fists as she talked.
    “ The fucker’s going to crucify her? We got to find this
guy.”
    “ And fast.”
    “ How can we get the town to see it’s not me? They’re wasting
precious time.”
    “ I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.” She
drained her cup and set it next to the coffee machine. “I think
I’ve come up with a way to convince these people that you want to
see Casey found just as much as they do.”
    “ You do, do you?” Sarcasm laced his remark. “Just what do you
have in mind?”
    “ I think you should head up a Watch Team.” She straightened her
stance and held her chin firm.
    Taylor burst
out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding.
    “ I’m dead serious.” She put on her best cop face.
    He raised a
brow as he studied her. “Come on, Dianne, who’s going to want to