A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) by Darynda Jones

Sun also knew the girl had made it her personal mission in life to make Auri’s life a living hell. If not for Cruz and Sybil, Auri would be miserable at Del Sol High.

She was about to quote their favorite motto—What would Lisbeth Salander do?—when she rethought it. Somehow cutting a bitch seemed a bit harsh in this situation.

Until the girl looked straight at Sun, an adult in a sheriff’s uniform, and unleashed a cheeky sneer.

Sun’s irritation skyrocketed. “Did that girl just sneer at me?”

Auri looked over her shoulder. “That’s Lynelle. She sneers at everyone.”

Sun drew in a deep breath. She couldn’t do anything that might get them both arrested. Thus, in lieu of doing jail time, she asked her daughter, “What would Hermione Granger do?”

Wearing a Cheshire grin, Auri turned toward Lynelle, lowered her head, and said softly, “She would leviosa a bitch.”

“Damn straight she would.”

They fist-bumped, but Auri’s gaze didn’t waver. She stared until Lynelle’s sneer faltered and the girl turned away.

“See?” Auri said. “She’s only as good as the sheep that follow her.”

Sun hugged her again. “She’s vindictive, though. Be careful with that one.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.”





11


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As soon as Sun got back to her cruiser, she grabbed her phone, clicked on messages, and scrolled until she found Levi. This was no longer just about the case or even about his health. If he wasn’t worried about the aftereffects of his being run down by a truck, she wasn’t, either. But Auri was a different story.

She texted as fast as her fingers would let her. Listen asshat, you can either text me back or call me. I don’t care which, but if I don’t hear from you within the hour, I swear to God I’m calling in the dogs and hunting your ass to the ends of the Earth. Auri is devastated and worried and heartbroken and you suck for doing that to her.

She almost felt better as she headed toward the station. Her phone rang, sending her pulse through the roof. She looked at the caller ID. It wasn’t Levi.

“Hey, Quincy,” she said into the phone.

“Hey, boss. What are you doing?”

She pulled onto Main. “Praying my child’s sass helps her become the CEO of a large company someday and not a shot caller in prison.”

“Word. So, Randy escaped.”

“Seriously?” She slapped a palm against the steering wheel. “Damn it. That’s all we need. Put out a BOLO, coordinate roadblocks for both I-25 on-ramps, and call in everyone. Everyone. Who’s Randy again?”

Quincy sighed. “My partner-in-petty-crimes. How can we partner up if he keeps escaping?” After a long silence in which Sun had no words of solace for him, he asked, “So, is everything okay?” The implications of that question were multifaceted, but now was not the time to go into their night of debauchery.

“I really had my heart set on waking up rich today. Other than that, everything’s peachy. I’m pulling up to the office now.”

“See you soon.”

She walked into the building and headed straight into the bullpen. Besides Anita manning the front office, only Rojas and Quincy were in.

“How are you doing?” she asked Rojas. He was sitting at his desk, going over the surveillance tape from the looks of his screen.

“Occasionally, I have a shooting pain in my left elbow.”

“On the case?”

“Nothing yet, but I just got started on this one.”

“Anything from the state crime lab?”

“Not yet, but they said they probably wouldn’t get started on it until this morning.”

She nodded, then looked at Quincy. “Anything new on Seabright?”

“They’re going to lower his meds today. Try to wake him up.”

“Okay. Good. Stay on that.” She headed into her office to get settled.

Quincy followed her and stood in the doorway. “We good, boss?”

“Wonderful. I had to put on my sunglasses just to open the refrigerator this morning. Other than that, it’s all good.” She swallowed a couple of painkillers, then dropped the bottle into her desk drawer.

“I mean, you know, concerning—”

“Quincy.” She walked from behind her desk and stood in front of him. “Last night is on both of us. You were right. It was worth a shot.”

He nodded. “I agree. And just for the record”—he glanced over his shoulder then turned back to her—“you look amazing naked.”

She laughed and pressed a palm to her temple. “So do you, handsome.”

Anita, Sun’s admin and confidante, walked in from the front followed by one of Levi’s cousins. All the Ravinder men, aside from Levi and, surprisingly, Wynn, were stocky with sallow complexions and muddy brown hair. Joshua was no exception.

“Joshua Ravinder would like to have a word with you,” Anita said, “if that’s okay, Sheriff.”

He ripped off a faded baseball cap and stepped forward to shake her hand.