Page 32 of New Nebraska Home

“Alone?”

“Excuse me?” I was taken aback by his rudeness. That was none of his business.

“I asked if you live in the house alone, girl.”

“No, sir. I own the home, but I am renting out a few rooms, and my brother lives here as well.” Even if I was there alone, I would never tell this man that. There was just something about him that was off.

“Are they home now?” he asked, looking over my head into the house. The door opened behind me. Malik rested his hand on my hip. I didn’t know if it was a casual show of affection, or if he was sending a message to the officer that I was under his protection. I hoped it was the latter.

“What’s going on?” Cal asked from behind us, as I felt him press near my side, near Malik.

The officer let out a dismissive snort, and his lip curled in a sneer.

“Right, well, I need to ask everyone living in this house a few questions about a missing kid. We can do it here, or I can drag everyone down to the station.”

“I am so sorry, officer. Come in. I’ll get you a glass of iced tea, and we will happily answer your questions.” I moved back, but Malik and Cal stayed still for a moment, blocking the cop’s path.

“Malik, can you help me with the tea?” I asked, linking my arm with his. I needed to get them both away from the cop before they started something that was just going to cause more headaches for me. “You too, Cal.” There was no way I was about to allow Cal to get into a fang measuring contest—or whatever it was vampires did—in my living room with a power-hungry cop looking for an excuse to abuse his authority.

That was when I noticed Brock standing on the other side of the door, waiting.

For what? I had no idea.

I pulled Malik into the kitchen, ignoring how his skin felt against mine. I motioned for the officer to sit and started a pot of coffee for my boys. As I was pouring the tea, the men sat at the kitchen table. The tension in the air was palatable, making the already thick, humid air almost impossible to breathe.

“Here you go,” I smiled at the officer, handing him the tea. It was so sweet that I hoped it gave him diabetes. Brock and Malik both shot me a confused look. I knew Brock would prefer to be a smartass, and Malik would probably try to intimidate the cop. Brock was a fantastic smartass, and Malik could be very intimidating, but all that would do with this cop was make the situation worse.

He would try to throw his authority around if I gave him any reason to think I was anything more than a sweet, naïve, or even a simple little girl not worth his time. I wanted this man to think I wasn’t worth the effort and have no reason to return. I just prayed the men followed my lead.

The cop made a grunting noise that I took as appreciation as I sat in the last seat at the table. Cal on one side and Malik on the other. I couldn’t help but think the seat they’d left open for me was not an accident.

Having them on either side of me made me feel stronger, like I could face anything.

“So, how can I help you, officer? You said something about a missing child?”

“No, not missin’.” His Texan accent was thick while he looked the other men up and down, assessing the threat. Cal looked annoyed, but open, Brock was causally sitting back in his seat, an open book, definitely not a threat. Malik, however, glared at the cop. I kicked him under the table and made a point to have my hands folded in my lap and wear a serene and somewhat vacant expression.

Pretending you were a few crayons short of a rainbow disarmed angry men the world over, especially ignorant ones.

Malik grumbled but uncrossed his arms and relaxed his position, putting his palms on the table.

“Well, the kid isn’t missing. We know where he is, what’s left of him,” the officer said, carefully reading our expressions. “His body was found beaten up pretty good.”

“Oh my god,” I gasped, my fingers pressing into my lips. That poor boy.

“And why are you here?” Malik asked.

“Because he was an elemental, sort of. Seems he was part human too but had been taking drugs to enhance his paranormal side. And as I hear it, you lot were harassing an elemental here last night. Scaring him, burning him. Your neighbors seem to think you’re the wrong sort and probably had something to do with it.”

“That’s not exactly how that went down,” Brock scoffed, then jumped a little. I was pretty sure Cal had kicked him under the table.

“Then why don’t you tell me how it went down, boy?” The officer glared daggers at Brock, hostility radiating from his rotund body.

Brock glared right back, his chest puffing out a little. I didn’t know if elementals had the same power structure as say vamps and their masters or wolves and their alpha’s but in that moment I knew Brock was a born leader and would not tolerate the officer’s disrespect. “That punk ass mother—”

“—I’m afraid last night we were the victims of a little prank that got out of hand.” I interrupted, praying I could diffuse the situation.

“A little prank?” Malik scoffed.

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