Page 62 of How to Hack a Hellhound
A man I recognized from the coffee shop came in gun first, aimed directly at us. He was slightly older than me—mid forties, maybe—and he was pretty new to town. I hadn’t known he was a cop.
“Good evening, Sheriff,” Liam said calmly.
I turned to look at him like he was fucking insane, and from the sheriff’s snort—I thought his name was Paul from his coffee orders—he noticed my incredulous face.
“Liam Smith, you’re under arrest for speeding and evading arrest,” he started, but then I turned to look at him.
“Ummm, hello! He was coming to rescue me! I think a little speeding is totally called for, and he’s obviously not evading arrest since he’s standing here with his arms up in the air,” I snapped.
The sheriff sighed, lowering his gun a bit. “Q, how lovely to see you outside the coffee shop. Is this your house?”
“No, it’s not my fucking house. I was fucking kidnapped and held in this room. Emmett Reese probably owns the house. He told me he was going to sell me into a human trafficking ring. Hesaid he had other people locked up too. Luckily, Liam is a good boyfriend who had me airtagged so he could find me.”
The sheriff sighed again. “It’s illegal to airtag someone without their knowledge.”
“Oh my fucking god, are you listening? First of all, it wasn’t without my knowledge, and second of all, I waskidnapped. I washeld hostage. There areother peoplebeing held hostage in this house. The guy who did it may still be wandering around.” I waved my arms at him. “Go do something!” I shouted.
“You’re serious? This isn’t just some trick to get out of trouble?”
“Do I look like I’m fucking kidding?” I asked.
Apparently I didn’t, because he ordered, “Stay here,” then he started talking into his radio before he walked out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
Liam sighed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, human police suck. But this way you won’t get arrested or get a speeding ticket. And Emmett really did tell me he had other people,” I added helpfully.
“Yes, there are two more upstairs. And the guard should still be incapacitated, so he shouldn’t give the sheriff any trouble. Dexter will be long gone with Emmett, so that isn’t a concern. I’m sure the sheriff will just assume he made his escape when I came bumbling in here.” Liam looked proud of himself.
“Only one problem, brainiac—the sheriff would have seen two of you in the car, and if the story is that I was held hostage, where’s the other person?” I asked.
Ok, yeah, I asked really snarkily, but thank goodness someone was here to take care of loose ends.
“Ah. Yes, good point. Let me text one of the guys to come over,” he said, taking out his phone.
He typed, waited a moment, and then there was a vibration. He read and said, “Jude is coming. We can say he just got lost in the woods, and they can be heroes and find him.”
Dexter must have been busy dealing with Emmett, so I guessed we were gonna say it was Jude in the car with him. I‘m sure he was gonna love being “rescued” by police officers after he got “lost.” I snorted a little at the thought. Better than nothing, I supposed.
Liam hugged me close, and I heard him snuffle along the top of my head.
“Are you sniffing me again, you weirdo?” I asked.
“I love you, too, hellcat,” he answered.
Fuck. I sighed out and snuggled into him. I really did love him.
We stayed like that, cuddled up together, even when we heard police sirens coming up to the house. We were still snuggled together when the sheriff came back in, looking pale and more than a little disturbed.
I hoped this wouldn’t take long. We had an asshole former-friend to torture, and then I needed some snuggle time with my hellhound. I had, after all, just been kidnapped. Again.
Chapter 22
Liam
The police were, unfortunately, not quick. The sheriff eventually asked where the other person from the car was, and off they went searching for Jude. He was found, and in my opinion, he was a little over the top with the, “Oh, officers, you rescued me and saved my life. How can I ever thank you?” But the police seemed to puff up with the praise.
The sheriff, on the other hand—I don’t know what Jude said to him, but he looked like he was about to smack Jude upside the head at any moment.
