I wore a scowl as I raised my gaze, getting ready to give Broadrick a telling off for following me again only to be shocked when past his tight-fitting jeans, and thin but warm-looking jacket it wasn't Broadrick. But someone new.

He had the muscles to be a former military member but held an overwhelming gruffness to him that Ridge's men didn't portray. His stubble was too thick, his jawline too severe, his eyes too beady.

Those were definitely not Broadrick's eyes. While he matched the man in build and persona-both seemed to love wearing a slightly irritated expression-their eyes were totally different. This man's were too deep, a dark brown color that hinted at suspicion. Broadrick could glare at you, but behind his eyes there was always warmth.

The unknown man stepped up to the desk and stared at Officer Bradley. Man, what would it be like to walk around all glary like that and get things done? I needed to practice my squinty eyed stare.

"Can I help you?" Bradley said, but you could tell it killed him to ask first.

The newcomer continued to stare and then laid his hand on the desk, propping himself against it like he owned the place. Definitely needed to work on my stance, too. "What officer is in charge of your courtesy drop ins?"

"Courtesy of what?" Officer Bradley asked.

The man's glare deepened. I didn't think he could appear more menacing, but somehow he did. "Antonio Franco. I'm here on a skip."

Hmm. Bounty hunter.

That explained a lot. Most people wouldn't realize it, but there were big differences between police, private investigators, and bounty hunters. Hunters were all... beefy and tough. They jumped into the fray, slammed people to the ground, and cuffed them before asking any questions. I aspired to be one, eventually. They were pretty kick-ass.

Antonio turned, and his gaze met mine. "You like what you see?"

I flipped my head to the side and smiled. "Maybe."

He grinned. At least I figured it was a grin. The glare he'd given Officer Bradley eased and almost tipped up on one side. I'd count it.

But that made my grin turn into a frown. What was I doing smiling and getting all "maybe" with the opposite sex when Broadrick was out running loose in town? Although, he hadn't reached out to me since the Chinese food almost twelve hours earlier. What did he want from me?

Okay, obviously I'd lost my mind. I wanted to find the man, kiss him, then hit him. One thing I knew for sure was I couldn't let him back into my heart. It took too long to get him out the first time. I couldn't make the same mistake. I'd be better off taking my chances with Mr. Grump Antonio Franco.

Honestly, men in general made my head hurt.

"Anderson will see you now," Officer Bradley said between his teeth.

I immediately stood and slipped my phone back into my pocket, getting ready to walk by the bounty hunter with as much sway in my hips as I could muster without falling on my ass.

Officer Bradley held out his hand. "Not you, Vonnie. Mr. Franco."

I reared back, almost stepping on the aforementioned Franco's foot. "Excuse me?"

The bounty hunter placed a large, warm hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, kid."

Kid?

Was he fucking kidding me? I twisted around to get away from his presence and stomped halfway back to my chair. Two things kept me from sitting again. Someone squished an enormous piece of gum on the chair, right where my ass had been earlier. I swear it wasn't there when I sat down for the first time. I swiped at my ass, but my hand came back clean.

Jerks. They surrounded us in this town.

The second thing that kept me standing held much more interest. The most important development was Officer Bradley, leaving his post to show Antonio Franco to the back conference room. They used it as a backup interrogation space when needed.

So that's where Detective Anderson had been hiding.

But more interesting was that while jerk face Bradley gave a personal introduction to the bounty hunter to the town detective, he left his post vacant.

Not sure how long I'd have to peek around, a luxury not normally offered, I snuck past the front and strolled over to Anderson's desk like I belonged there. It didn't take much. I'd been in the police station more than once. Normally for questioning or picking Katy up from questioning. Snooping hadn't been on the list in my past visits, but it hit the charts at number one this time.

Anderson had an old beat-up chair placed next to his desk, and I threw myself into it with a huff. No one came running. I stared straight ahead but let my gaze fall on the desk's top. Papers littered the space, but that wasn't the important part.

A heart-shaped, red and black box with a big yellow sticker which said "Evidence" and then "Jones" handwritten under it sat in a police-issued Ziploc baggie. What a horrible place to leave something so interesting.

Horrible for them.

Huge score for me.

Didn't they have an evidence room?

And why did a box of chocolates count as such important evidence that it had a special place on Anderson's desk?

With a heavy thud, a door closed to the side of me and Officer Bradley walked out of the conference room he'd deposited Franco. I released my hold on the arm of the chair and slithered under Anderson's desk, making my body as small as possible.

"Hey, Bradley, did you get the quick toxicology report back from the morgue on those chocolates?" Anderson's voice rang out from the short hallway. In my haste to get hidden, I'd missed him opening the door and leaning his head out to find the officer again.

Damn it. No way I'd get out undetected now. Shit. They were bound to have questions about why I was hiding under a desk.

Bradley turned on his heel. "Yup, nothing on trace from the quick results. Common candy ingredients with no show of toxins. I left the report on your desk."

"Bring it in, please," Anderson said.

I jerked back under the desk, getting as far to the back as possible. Bradley stopped, his feet a few inches from my toes as he rummaged at Anderson's desk.

Why would they run toxicology on candy? And if they thought that was part of the problem, why would it come back clean? Who killed Jalinda Jones? Or better yet, what?

The candy was obviously important, and I didn't want to miss out on important clues. Bradly ruffled papers and carried one to the conference room. The second his shoes were out of sight I crawled out from under the desk, surveyed the empty space, and thanked the good lord for the small police force. With one last glance, I grabbed the box of candy before slipping back under the desk.

Officer jerk face's feet stopped at the conference room door and then turned to return to his post. The one he did a terrible job watching. I ripped open the zippered bag, clenching my teeth when the plastic crinkled in my hands.

Without taking the box from the plastic bag, I slipped my hand under the top and found a few balls of chocolate.

"Vonnie," Officer Bradley called.

I opened my mouth to answer and then bit my lip. Grabbing one candy, I slipped it in my coat pocket and leaned to the side to watch Bradley. He stood by his desk, looking at the chair I'd vacated, and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What the hell?" he asked before walking past his desk toward the two large front doors of the precinct.

Time to move.

I closed the box, zipped it up as best I could, and found myself once again crawling out from the desk.

My heart thundered in my chest as I searched for an exit. The one to the side had a bright red label on it, giving me a much-appreciated warning of an alarm. Definitely not a safe route. Since I wasn't under arrest and didn't plan to end my day that way, I had only one way to make my escape.

Out the front.

I took a deep breath, dropped the evidence bag on Anderson's desk with a flick of my wrist, and strolled back to the waiting area.

Office jerk face Bradley closed the front door behind him, blocking my path. "Where you been?"

"Me?" I asked, turning to look behind me.

"Cut the shit, Vonnie," Jerk face said, tapping his foot and glancing behind me like he expected the building to be on fire. A vein in his forehead throbbed.

"Dude, calm yourself. I had to use the bathroom." The lie came right out of nowhere, but damn, it made me proud of myself.

Look at me, being all devious.

Unfortunately, Bradley's eyes furrowed. "You can't just leave the station."

Shit.

Shit.