Page 70 of Triggered By Love
“Why don’t you shut up and get out of here?” Avery stomped her way into her bedroom.
Damon grabbed Jason’s arm to keep him from following. “You should leave.”
“Don’t touch me,” Jason ordered, and Damon let go, but he physically blocked the door and braced his hands on the frame. Thank goodness for buff brothers.
She wasn’t going to give Jason the pleasure of opening her top drawer, but she could already tell it had been disturbed. It was off-kilter and not shoved all the way back.
“Don’t keep me in suspense,” Jason said from the far side of Damon. “Whatever is missing is important, and Ivanna didn’t take it, or you wouldn’t be worried.”
“Go away.”
“Not until you come to the station to get printed.”
“I didn’t report a crime.”
“Yes, you did,” Jason taunted. “You dragged me from my cabin, wrecked my Hellcat, assaulted me several times. You either cooperate, or I’m going to read you your rights.”
“Fuck you.”
He waggled his eyebrows, probably Morse code for you already did. Aloud, he said, “What’s missing, Avery Cockburn. Let’s see it.”
“If she shows you, will you leave?” Damon growled, clearly at the end of his patience. The only reason he hadn’t thrown Jason out was the threat of arrest. Damon was a business owner and needed to stay on the good side of his venture capitalists.
“Yes, I will,” Jason said.
Avery opened the top drawer. She didn’t need to push aside her underwear to know that her bag of hawk feathers was gone. Too bad for Jason, he wouldn’t know the significance.
“It’s only feathers,” she said. “Ivanna must have taken them to get a head start on the mask she’s making.”
Jason nodded. His shoulders slumped slightly, and Avery had the last laugh.
“You thought I had an illegal firearm, didn’t you? Or something else long and hard.” She chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint you. I’ll go to the station and get fingerprinted if you return the chocolate to me so I can get some work done.”
“Deal.” He at least had the grace to smirk as he reached out and offered her his hand.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jason shouldn’t likethe feel of Avery’s fingers intertwined with his, but she owed him. Big time, and he loved the way Damon glowered at him while he sauntered with her to the convertible.
At the police station, the box of chocolates was dusted, and Avery allowed the tech to fingerprint her. Since the chocolate was still shrink-wrapped, Jason returned it to her.
He was overreacting and wasting police resources, but if Damon used the so-called break-in to get Avery away from him, then he was going to use the so-called break-in to hang on to Avery longer than necessary.
As long as he provoked them, she and her brother were a goldmine of information once riled up. He hadn’t missed the reference to Avery being a troubled teen, and of course, he’d also picked up the part on stripping in turnout pants for the private showing—something Brando must have done for the professor’s strange tastes.
“Want to come with me when I question Ivanna about the break-in?” Jason asked Avery.
“There is no break-in.” She shoved the box of chocolates at him. “Your going-away present. I’m going to see Ivanna and go over the accessories, and you are to leave me alone.”
“Babe, you wrecked my car. I’ve not going away until you pay me back.”
“I just did.” She smirked, wagging her head. “With chocolate.”
“You assaulted a police officer.” He opened the door of the convertible for her.
“Your favorite crime. No one will believe you. It’s he said, she said.”
“Ivanna’s address,” he said. “Get in.”
