Page 42 of New Nebraska Heat
Scolding myself for that irresponsible thought, I forced myself to sit back and realized the hazy haloes from streetlights had grown farther apart. Besides the Harley’s front beam, the crescent moon and a carnival of stars had replaced any manmade imposters. I tapped Dagger on the shoulder and he slowed the bike, leaning back to listen.
“Are we really going to the police station?”
“You trust me?” he asked.
“I do…” I dragged the last word into the vague shape of a question mark. He was a police officer after all, and despite his bad boy vibes, he’d seemed serious about the whole serve and protect thing, judging by how he was handling Rico’s case. If only he’d apply that more dutiful side to his own twin. The bitter exchanges he and Hunter got into made me want to knock their heads together and remind them that family was never to be taken for granted, especially since they both seemed like good guys at heart. If my short time in New Nebraska allowed, I was going to try and bring them, and Bryce, all together in an amicable way. How to actually go about it remained to be seen.
Dagger stopped the bike, flipped the parking stand out, and helped me off. Helmet off and propped under my arm, I finger-combed my hair and took in the area.
He’d parked on a boulevard beside the moonlit Missouri river.
The sky’s drizzly clouds had melted into dry wisps and silverbounced in subtle, glinting hues across the water’s inky wave tops. Spray slapped the boulevard’s sturdy concrete sides as I drank in the robust washes of cool air coming off the river’s surface.
The water looked beautiful even in the dark, running wild and untamed, nobody dictating its flow or caging it within the state of New Nebraska. It was the freest thing I’d seen in several years, and my heart leapt up at the thought of it roaming through the surrounding states.
“This isn’t the police station.” I folded my arms, feigning annoyance to mask the intrigue and nervous excitement that were building.
Taking off his own helmet, he flashed an ornery grin and waved a hand in a broad arc. “Well, actually, this is kind ofmypolice precinct. The streets are where I get most of my results.” He brought his full lips to within an inch of mine. “So, you could say the whole city is my office.”
I looked around at all the derelict buildings, their windows boarded up or broken, shrouded in darkness. Nobody else was around. A rusted car chassis and a mishmash of graffiti seemed to be this street’s highlights. I clutched his tree trunk bicep with both arms, leaning into him. “Are we safe?”
Dunking the helmets in the bike’s storage boxes, he laughed and laid a palm on my shoulder. Gentle as it was, I was worried it would bring back bad memories—dark rooms and cold, possessive hands holding me in place. “All over this city, I’mknown. You’re safe with me.”
He didn’t seem to notice or mind when I stepped out of his touch. Taking a foot-long, chunky flashlight from one of the boxes, he clicked its powerful beam on and shone it along the deserted boulevard. “I actually see pretty well in the dark. But I thought you might like the light. And we might have a little detour, get to know each other. Just a short walk? You listen to the water, feel the breeze, maybe you see another side to the city… and to me?”
I appreciated his thoughtfulness and liked the sound of the second part. “If you say we’re safe, then okay. What about your motorcycle?”
“The bike’s known too. Don’t worry about it.”
He offered his arm formally, letting me initiate touch this time.
I took his arm, feeling more myself again as I began my nighttime stroll through one of New Omaha’s most run-down neighborhoods.
Protected by a jaguar.
Just not the one I thought I’d be with tonight.
Dagger
“Stick close to me. Hold on tight.”
Serenity gave me a playful smack across my imitation-leather sleeve. “Any closer and we’d be cuddling.”
I rubbed my chin in mock thought, nodding. “That might not be a bad idea, for safety’s sake only, of course. Just be aware if anyone asks, with me officially on duty, I’ll have to claim sexual harassment on your part.”
She snorted and wagged a slow, chiding index finger. “Something tells me you’re too used to girls falling at your feet, Detective Bad Boy. Now, come on, be honest, why are we here instead of at yourofficialpolice station with Bryce?”
Shrugging, I stopped and tapped the flashlight on my palm a couple of times, meeting her gaze. “Like I said, just a little educational detour. I’m gonna take you on an exclusive night tour among the”—I deepened my voice to a gravelly whisper—“ghostsandgoblins. And then there’s a bench at the top of the boulevard—see there, next to the bridge—with some very interesting historyattached to it you might like to hear.” I scraped away some glass bottle shards from the path with my boot. I shone the small beam a fraction downward. “Just be mindful where you step. There are sometimes worse things than broken glass strewn around here.”
Snug against me, making my jaguar purr, she lifted sheepish eyes. “The water’s really lovely, but… isn’t this kind of a dangerous area to enjoy a refreshing riverside stroll, or educational tour, or whatever this is?” She glanced toward the buildings across the road, dilapidated and crumbling. “You’re joking about the ghosts and goblins, right?”
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve milked that naivety dry, just to break their balls about it after. I paid my mate the respect she deserved though. “No ghosts, no goblins. And anyway, you’re with me. It’s safe.” I rubbed her slender shoulder, but she tensed beneath my palm. I retracted the touch quickly, but she still leaned away under pretense of shooting me a stiff smile, making the waterproof material of her jacket crinkle. “Just don’t ever come down here without me. Especially at night. I’m serious.”
She nodded and kept the distance she’d added between us. No shoulder touching. Understood.
I didn’t linger on why. The thought riled my jaguar too much.
She was still clutching my arm with both of hers as we walked, which pleased my animal way too much. Serenity seemed to be thinking about something and finally said, “So, not safe here on my own. Got it.” She gave a sigh that morphed into a chuckle that lacked any real humor. “Kinda like my experience of being in New Nebraska in general.”
