The Joy of Revenge by Sheila
Chapter 93

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Sébastian

While Joy

twirled happily inside her new store, I grabbed the box of pastries I had requested from Xavier, exited through the wall panel, and walked to my side of the warehouse through a sliding steel door. I entered the store through the back entrance to replace an anxious Stanley waiting for me at my office.

"Dom, the Undersheriff is here. I told him to wait for you, but he wouldn't listen. They've already begun their search," Stanley said nervously.

"How about you make a pot of your famous coffee, Stanley, served with Bo's finest eclairs," I said, handing him the box, "while I handle this."

Stanley nodded his head and quickly walked to the office kitchen, grateful he was excluded from the whole predicament..

With Stanley out of the way, I messaged Link to be on standby while I casually walked to the front of my store where Jack was overseeing the search. His deputies had K-9 units sniffing through all the merchandise.

"Undersheriff," I greeted him, extending my hand. He took my hand and shook it warmly. "Sorry, I was out back overseeing the new couch Mrs. Wheeler ordered. What is this all

about?"

eyes. I had a

Jack handed me a sheet of paper, lowering his head unable to look me in the eye feeling he didn't like having to do this, but they had to make their story stick.

"A search warrant? Why?" I asked shocked as I scanned through the document.

"I have to apologize for this, Dom," Jack said. "I gather you heard what happened at Marla's?"

I looked at him confused, pretending not to know.

"It says here you're looking for drugs. Why do you think I have drugs and what does all of this have to do with Marla?" I asked. "Where were you last night?" Jack asked without answering me.

"I was here helping Virtue set up her store," I said, stating my alibi. "You can go check out Virtue's. Everything is hung and folded ready for the store's opening tomorrow. You can even

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what happened to Marla? I've been trying to get in touch with her since yesterday, but she won't answer my calls."

"Nine people are dead, Dom. All of them were doing undercover work for us," he said. "We suspected Marla to be part of a drug trafficking ring and have been doing surveillance. Last night, we had a narcotics buy operation, but it went terribly wrong. We believe Marla had trained mercenaries with her." I shook my head in disbelief.

"B-but she had financial problems. She couldn't buy herself a new car or pay for tuition. This is why I decided to help her out. I bought her a new car and paid her tuition in full, so she wouldn't have to worry about money," I explained, my mouth quivering as if I was about to

cry.

"She fooled you, Dom. Hell, she fooled all of us. It was just a front," he replied. "We did a check and we discovered she has property up in Fargo. Her mother has been going back and forth readying their new house. They were about to leave New Salem, Dom." He placed a hand on my shoulder in an effort to console me. "I'm sorry you had to hear this from me." "I-It-told her I loved her... that I would take care of her," I mumbled. "She even told me she loved me..."

"I'm actually surprised to hear you and Marla are dating. I thought you and Nicole were... you know," Jack said, hoping the change in subject would help lighten the mood.

"I think she's dating Noah," I said, taking a handkerchief from my pocket. I wiped my eyes discreetly, making it look like I was having trouble controlling my emotions.

Oh yeah?" Jack asked. It was his turn to be confused.

"It's none of my business, but I kind of assumed since she went out of town with him without even telling me," I said. He nodded his head.

"Oh... Now I remember," he said. "These past several days have been the worst I have ever seen. I grew up here and I have never seen anything like this before." I nodded my head absent-mindedly, sniffling loudly, lowering my head.

"Undersheriff, all clear," one of his deputies announced. I raised my eyes and saw his team walking towards us with Stanley beside them.

"Undersheriff, we have some coffee and pastries for you," Stanley said.

"That's mighty nice of you, Stanley, but we better get on qu

way," Jack said. "Thank you,

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Dom, and sorry for the inconvenience."

As Jack and his deputies exited, I buried my face in my hands and cried, appearing to be heartbroken.

"Dom, what happened?" Stanley asked shocked. I wiped my eyes and blew my nose before

answering.

"Marla played me for a fool."

Jack

I felt awful having to conduct a search at Dom's, but I needed to clear his name or people would start thinking Dom was part of

this drug trafficking ring. He, Bo and Chip were such nice guys. This was the least I could do to help him out.

"Men, I'll see you at the station," I said. Since I was already here, I decided to visit Virtue. I haven't seen her in days. "Undersheriff, if you can, bring back a box of eclairs," one of my deputies said as he boarded.

his K-9 into his truck.

"I'll see," I replied, waving at them. I peeked through the glass windows of Virtue's boutique," impressed with its sleek and chic design. Finally, New Salem had a taste of city living. Sure,

Bismarck was close by, but it didn't hurt to have some of that modern day appeal.

I saw her behind the counter with Chip. They were huddled together in front of what looked.

like a cash register or a computer of sorts.

I tried the door and it swung open. Might as well walk inside.

"Virtue honey, it's like playing with a tablet," Chip said. "You use this to scan, press amount, then press pay, then the cash drawe should open."

Virtue took a tag and scanned it. Then, she tapped on the screen following Chip's instructions, but the cash drawer wouldn't open

"Do you

have one of these at the pub?" She asked, frustrated. Her voice was music to my ears. I felt myself relax from all the pressure from the past several days.

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He uses the same one in his shop." Chip quickly took his phone out from his pocket. It was. surprising to see him in an old shirt and faded jeans.

He raised his eyes and saw me staring at them. "How long have you been standing there, Jack?" Virtue jumped, turned her head towards me, then smiled.

"Dom told me he helped you set up shop," I said. "I'm impressed."

"Yes, he did," Virtue said, nodding her head. "Now he has to teach me how to work this thing before I open tomorrow." She eyed her cash register with disdain. "How can I help you,

Undersheriff?"

"Just wanted to see you," I said honestly. She blushed and smiled brightly.

"Have you had breakfast?" She asked. "How about I treat you to a cup of coffee and a pastry? I haven't seen you since Saturday and a lot has happened since then. Plus, I need a break from this thing before I throw it out the window."

"Virtue, can I take a shower here?" Chip asked while clicking away on his smartphone.

"Of course you can," she answered. "You can even get dressed in my office."

"Going somewhere?" I asked Chip. He nodded his head.

"I have to meet up with Dan," he answered while scrolling through his phone. "Uhm, Virtue, Dom says he'll teach you how to use the POS system after lunch. Apparently, he's not feeli well." Chip's voice sounded baffled.

"Yeah, about that, I had to break some bad news to him about Marla," I admitted.

"You tell Virtue all about it, Jack," Chip said. "Because I need to take a shower."

"Lock the door behind us," Virtue instructed. "Don't worry. I have a key." She reached under

the counter and took out a small red-orange bag. After Dan mentioned one of her purses was worth more than what I made in a month, I wondered how much this

one cost.

She walked over to me and placed her hand around my arm. She was wearing dark blue jeans, an asymmetrical blouse and red orange sandals which matched her small purse while her hair cascaded over her shoulders... always so beautiful.

At Bo's Cafe, I told her what happened last night and she was shocked beyond words.

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an accident, but this-

"No need to worry," I assured her. "We're looking for her. There's no place where she can

hide."

She placed a hand on my arm. "Of course, Jack."

I was just beginning to enjoy myself when my phone began ringing. I muttered a curse under my breath. It was the Sheriff.

"I just got a call from the hospital," the Sheriff said. "Another o to Theodore Cohen. I need you to bring whoever that is here." of Pete's men tried to get

"Got it," I said and hung up. This was bad. There was an ongoing war between Pete and Liam. Pete had men from neighboring states, but because this was such a small town, it was difficult for any one of them to blend in. "Virtue, as much as I'd love to stay, I, unfortunately, need to get back to work."

"I understand. I hope you can drop by tomorrow" she said. "It'll be my grand opening. If you see Liam, tell him if he has time to

please stop by."

"I will. If you see someone suspicious, don't hesitate to give me a call. Take care, Virtue."

I waved goodbye, feeling light on my feet. She always had that affect. It was like she was sunshine on a gloomy day.

As I started my truck, I saw Bo handing Virtue a box of pastries. She smiled at him, waved her goodbyes before exiting Bo's and

walking back to her shop.

then

From the corner of my eye, I saw a man in a black sweatshirt walking towards her. I didn't recognize him from anywhere. I quickly exited my truck and ran towards her, silently praying I could get to her in time.

He stopped her and handed her something. But before he could run off, Virtue grabbed the

sleeve of his black sweatshirt.

"Who are you?" I heard her ask. He raised his hand to strike her, but I grabbed his arm in time, twisting it behind his back.

"Get off of me," the man cried. "I'm just a delivery man."

"I'm taking you to the station." I said, handcuffing him. I noticed Virtue staring at a small 5/6

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note. "What does it say, Virtue?"

Instead of answering me, she handed me the note with a troubled look on her face. I glanced at the small piece of paper, my

eyes narrowing at the brief message.

"I'll see you soon. P"

Chapter Comments

Luna-Mom

Oh dear Virtue you better lay down some very serious ground rules and boundaries. pronto

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