Page 21 of Bound to the Daddy

The officer says nothing, crooking his finger at me to get me to come back over to him. With a heavy sigh, he pulls out an odd contraption and holds it in my face. “Wrap your lips around this part here and blow.”

“Do I really have to do this?” I squeak, my face heating up as others start to gather around.

“If you didn’t have any alcohol, there should be no reason you can’t pass this test with flying colors.”

“But I promise I didn’t drink. Please. Everyone is watching.” It’s bad enough I can’t even get a basic job right now, but to have potential employers see me like this? It’s almost too much to bear.

“You can either do it here,” he grinds out, infusing his tone with an Alpha growl. “Or we can do it down at the station. The choice, of course, is yours.”

Fuck. If they take me downtown, how will I explain that to Mr. Rothsbourne? Would he even help me after that? Stuffing what little pride I have left down to the depths of my soul, I lean forward and blow into the machine.

Tense moments go by until a loud, piercing beep pings out into the air. The officer’s brows rise as he shows the readoutto another officer coming up next to him. Dread seeps into my limbs until I fear I might collapse.

Out of nowhere, a strong pair of arms wrap around my waist, hoisting me up. Until that moment, I didn’t even realize I was falling forward. Glancing up, my heart pounds in my chest as Mr. Rothsbourne glares at the two.

“Is there a problem here?”

“N- no,” the Alpha stammers. “Nothing at all, Mr. Rothsbourne. Sorry. I didn’t realize she was working for you.”

Hope blossoms in my chest as my breathing comes in quick pants. Does this mean he’ll vouch for me? The fact that this stranger knows who he is on sight must work in my favor. It has to!

“She doesn’t,” he murmurs, his lips thinning as he looks down at me. What little hope sprang up withers at his glare. “Not yet anyway. She was on her way for an interview. I assume your car broke down?”

“Yes, Sir,” I manage to mumble as I look down at the ground.

“Why are you giving my future employee an alcohol test when she clearly wasn’t in an accident? Shouldn’t you be calling a towing company? Seeing if she’s okay?”

“But Sir. When I found her, she was… I don’t know… having an episode.”

Mr. Rothsbourne’s hands feel a bit gentler, tender even, as he pulls away, taking his comforting warmth with him. How I long to cry out and beg him to keep touching me, to keep holding me. It’s the only thing keeping me sane, keeping me able to breathe. But soon, he strokes my cheek and tips my face up so that our gazes can meet.

“Are you okay?”

“Physically, yes.” My voice quavers as I note the concern etched on his features.

“I see.” Turning to the officers, his brows crash down again in a thunderous glare. “She’s obviously distraught. Didn’t you take a moment or two to think about how nerve-wracking it might be to have your car break down in the middle of heavy traffic?”

“Well yes, but-”

“But nothing. What about her screams imbibing to you?”

“I had her do the line test, and she failed horribly. Said she was on drugs.”

“Medication,” I scream out, exhausted by his veiled and not so veiled accusations. “I don’t take it for fun. It’s not like I get high off of it.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Mr. Rothsbourne growls. “Can’t you two smell? Can’t you tell she’s in distress? What are they teaching you rookies? The scent of her terror hit me from several feet away, and here you two are standing with your dicks in your hands, making it worse.”

Mr. Rothsbourne pulls out his phone and leaves me alone on the street as he takes pictures of both cars and their badges. “I will certainly be putting in a complaint. Now do something helpful and call a damn tow truck. Unless you’re charging her with something, she’s going with me.”

They have the intelligence to look abashed and keep quiet as he wraps his hand around my waist again, grounding me for the moment.

“Her breath test showed not even a hint of alcohol.”

My body sags at his words. I knew I didn’t have a drink, but with the way my day was going, I was worried that there would be a malfunction, and they’d find a reason to put me in jail. Again, Mr. Rothsbourne is there to hold me up, keeping me firmly planted by his side.

With another squeeze, he motions towards his town car. “Is there anything you need out of your vehicle?”

“Just my wallet and a few other things.”

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