Page 105 of Peak Cruelty

He frowns.“You been drinking?”

“No, sir.”

“Step out of the vehicle for me.”

She freezes for half a second.Then nods.“Of course.”

I tense as she opens the door and climbs out.She’s wearing a tank top and jeans, nothing fancy.Her body language shifts the second she’s vertical—shoulders forward, voice smaller.

I lean over to listen.

“Sir, I—I know how this looks,” she’s saying, “but I promise, it’s just been a bad day.”

The cop’s voice lowers.“Who’s the man in the passenger seat?”

I lean forward like I’m trying to hear better, but I already know what he’s thinking.My face is bruised.I look like a problem.

“He’s my uncle,” she says quickly.“Got hurt a few days ago helping a friend move.I told him we shouldn’t be out, but he insisted.”

Uncle.That’s a new one.

The cop says something I don’t catch.She laughs.Soft, practiced.

“Listen,” she says, lowering her voice like they’re co-conspirators now.“I probably shouldn’t say anything, but I panicked back there.The guy in the passenger seat—yeah, not my uncle.More like...a situation.I shouldn’t even be saying this, but I got distracted back there.I mean—look at him.“

She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear like she’s suddenly shy.“It’s messy.He’s married.I know, I know.”She laughs once—light, embarrassed, rehearsed.“Anyway, his wife found out and now she’s got her brother stalking me.He’s ex-military or something,realvigilante energy.It’s been a week of slashed tires and surprise visits.I’ve got a restraining order half-drafted in my glove box.”

She leans in like she’s letting the cop in on something dirty, but harmless.“So yeah, this is not my best moment, but you know how it is.”

She glances back at me, then back at the cop with a rueful smile.“Bad decisions make for very expensive hobbies.”

She jerks her thumb toward me without actually looking my way.“You know how it is.You think you can handle something casual, then it turns into this...mess.”

The cop just stares.

Rachel frowns like she’s disappointed in herself.“My phone buzzed.His wife.Well, soon-to-be ex.She’s been blowing me up ever since she found the texts.I shouldn’t have looked.That’s when I swerved.Reflex.”

She shrugs, all guilt and lip-gloss.“It was dumb.I just didn’t want to get pulled over for something else, you know?I panicked.Took the exit.Thought maybe I could breathe for five seconds before someone called me a homewrecker to my face.”

She glances down, lets the shame settle in just long enough to be believable.“I’ve had better nights.”

A pause.

The cop clears his throat.“That’s a lot to unpack.”

“Tell me about it.”

He shakes his head like everything’s clearer now.“You should’ve mentioned that.”

“I know.I just didn’t want to escalate.You know how these things go.”

I watch his shoulders soften.Rachel’s voice tilts upward at the ends of her words like she’s trying on innocence.The kind that’s a little breathy.A little scared.It works.

The cop nods.Hands her back the license.

“You good to drive?”

She nods.“Yes, sir.I’ll be careful.”

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