Page 28 of Playing With Danger

“Three shots of espresso?” I demanded to know.

“Yup.”

“So you were trying to kill me today by giving me a heart attack.”

“The drama with this one never ends,” Hayden mumbled.

He wasn’t wrong, but still… my poor heart.

Seeing as my antics no longer fazed Hayden and I’d run out of steam I listened as he sorted dinner with Valentine. Then I listened to them talk about some basketball tournament that was coming up to raise money for the Hope Center while my eyes drooped, and it began taking longer and longer to open them between blinks.

My eyes were closed and I was almost snoozing when I heard, “What’s going on with you and Soph?”

As interested as I was in Valentine’s answer, his delay meant I was drifting back to sleep when his response yanked me back to consciousness.

“Didn’t have her number so I came by to talk to her about the liquor store incident.”

A disappointment I had no business feeling washed over me. In my tizzy I hadn’t thought of why he was there. But if I’d been in my right mind, I would’ve thought to ask. However, I was in an altered caffeinated state and had not been clear headed the whole day. That included me leaving Hot Java convincing myself I’d had a third pseudo-date with a hot cop who didn’t seem to mind I was a tad bit on the crazy side.

“Why do you need to talk to her about that?”

“The guy Sophie took down was bonded out. The same day the kid he was using as a distraction was beat to shit. Could be a coincidence but the detectives on the case can’t find Ackerman to question him.”

Cold suffused my body.

“Is Sophie in danger?”

My eyes came open, and when they did they immediately locked with Valentine’s.

“No.”

“How firm is that no?” Hayden went on to ask.

Valentine kept his stormy blue gaze on me when he rumbled, “Firm.” He went on, speaking directly to me, and unfortunately he said, “But just to say, to make that so, I called in a favor and got you a device that looks like a key fob, but it’s a panic button with a built-in tracking device. Until Ackerman is found, I want you carrying it with you.”

Panic button?

Tracking device?

“So she’s not safe,” Hayden growled.

Valentine’s gaze shifted back to Hayden.

No words were exchanged but still Hayden grunted, “Right.”

When nothing further was said I asked, “Right, what?”

“Just being cautious, Sophie.”

Cautious was good. No, it was great. I loved cautious but I still didn’t understand.

“Cautious entails me carrying a panic button and being tracked?”

“In this case, yes.”

“I need more than that before I agree to being tracked.”

“I get that,” Valentine conceded. “You can say no but I’d feel better if the guys at Triple Canopy monitored your location and you had a tool to call for help if needed.”

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