Page 21 of Badges
Hmm, that’s new. I wonder what his bitch-faced sidekick said to him?
“I did.” Unfolding myself from the corner of the cot, I let my legs drape over the side before pushing to my feet. “I agreed to the terms.”
Stepping closer, my fingers wrap the steel rods. “I told him I’d dowhateverit takes to get out of here.”
A tiny muscle under his left eye twitches, then the corner of his lips tug upwards. “Is that so? I hope you know bribery will get you nowhere with me.” His grin grows, showing the white flash of his teeth beneath his auburn beard.
I’m tempted to push that if it can piss off his girlfriend.
Her jealousy was abundantly obvious.
“Oh, so you like to play hard to get?” I just want to see the look on her face if I can get him to flirt back.
His hat brim nearly covers his heavily lidded eyes. “The chase is half the fun,” he growls.
Why does that make my pulse race a little faster?
But then he clears his throat, and his smile slips. “There was just one question, though. You need to have an ankle monitor on and you’ll be under house arrest for the duration of your cooperation.”
“Yea, yea.” My hand flips in a circle as I flop back onto the end of the cot. “Only if my information leads to an arrest. I heard it all from my damp washcloth of a lawyer.”
I was under-impressed with that guy. He certainly didn’t want to be here, either.
He sweat too much, and had a musky body odor that made me wish I wasn’t locked in the same room.
Wade snorts. “I’ve never heard Lynn called that before. It fits him.” His chuckle fills the space with its deep echo.
“So, the thing is—” I twist the hem of my shirt in my fingers. “—I don’t have anywhere to stay. That guy, Mad Man, said he knew my dad. I don’t have any friends here. Where can I go that I’d be safe? If he finds me, he might try and—” I drag my thumb across my throat for dramatic effect.
“Huh. Yea, you haven’t exactly worked to be on anyone’s good side.” His lips thin. “You’ve been trying to piss off the locals, too.The owners of the dairy have a solid reputation here. Once word got out that you’re the one who was terrorizing them…”
That makes me wince.
“I’m stuck between a rock and the fire.” My hands fall limply into my lap.
I glance up when I hear his sharp inhale. “What?”
His jaw clenches. “Your mom used to say that. She said it was because she always got the two phrases mixed up. Rock and a hard place, or out of the frying pan into the fire.” Pain flickers across his features, then disappears.
One of his muscular arms bunch and his finger points towards me. “If you can keep your shit straight, I have a spare room. What better way to make you tow the line, huh?”
My stomach flip flops.
I’d be safe.
But I’d also be trapped in a different place,with him.
“Your girlfriend will be jealous,” I flip at him.
His smile trickles back. “You fuck this up, I’ll make sure I call her to haul you in.”
“Well, tell her she’s safe. I mean, you’re old enough to be mydaddy.” Tilting my head, I make sure he sees me run my tongue over my bottom lip. “Unless, that’s your thing?” My palms land on the cot behind me, pushing my chest up. “Don’t lie, you like it. Daddy.”
I swear on my mother’s grave I just saw his crotch twitch.
Oh, he does like it.
He pushes away from the wall. “Enough of that horseshit. You’re a prisoner getting locked in your room there, just as easily as here.” One of his hands shove into the pocket of his jeans, bulging the fabric.
