Page 54 of Crooked Crows (Boys of Briar Hall 1)

He was tall, stalky. Big feet. Long thumbs. All the telltale signs that he should be at least somewhat well-endowed downstairs. Whether he knew how to use it or not was a mystery, but one I’d solve soon enough. He didn’t strike me as the type of guy who dated, which suited me just fine. I wanted a fuck buddy.

Like Kit.

Speaking of, I really should message him back. And Dom, too. And okay,fine,Aunt Humphrey as well.

I slowed, hunching over with my palms braced on my knees to catch my breath for a minute, my throat burning. Sweat dripped down my temples and between my breasts. I could taste the salt of it on my lips.

I’d been out here too long. I needed to get back. Get some water. Some food. Sleep might also be a good idea. Hadn’t had much of that in the last few days.

A long shadow stretched down the sidewalk from up ahead, bouncing lightly as the person approached. I moved to the side, resting my back against the shop next to the illuminated cafe so the late-night walker could pass.

But he stopped, instead. “Ava Jade Mason?” he asked, and a sliver of adrenaline spiked into my bloodstream, making me vividly aware of the stranger’s nearness. Of his height and build. Of my hand’s proximity to the blades at my ankles.

“Who’s asking?” I panted, tipping my head up to get a look at his face while remaining hunched, overacting my tiredness to emphasize that I was weak. No threat to him. So that he wouldn’t be expecting it when I proved to be the opposite. Keeping my hands on my knees because that’s where they were closest to my blades.

The man wore a dark windbreaker over black slacks. His shoes were polished leather, scuffed lightly on the sides. His hair was cropped short. His face square, clean-shaven, light eyes searching.

He had a certain look to him that made warning bells ring loudly in my ears, but I couldn’t place what it was about his demeanor that was throwing me off.

Was this my stalker?

No.

This guy didn’t look like a stalker psycho, he looked...

The man reached into his windbreaker and I drew my blade, ready to disarm him, but he came out with something I hadn’t been expecting instead, rushing back two steps with wide eyes as he took in my weapon. My fighting stance.

Oops.

He held his other hand up. The one not holding the police badge.

Slowly, I lowered my blade and tucked it back into the sheath at my ankle, covering it over with the edge of my sweats. “Sorry,” I muttered, hands raised slightly to show that I was no danger to him while trying to assess whether or not he was carrying.

The officer narrowed his gaze on me before tucking the badge back into his windbreaker and clearing his throat. “Name’s Vick,” he said, still studying me warily.

“Was I running too fast or something,” I sniped, panting lightly from the run and the burst of adrenaline still thrumming through my swollen muscles, making me feel lead-limbed and tired. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. Whateverthiswas.

Officer Vick let out a breathy laugh at my smart-ass response. “Nah. Nothing like that. Could we talk? In private?”

He gestured to an alleyway carving a dark path down the side of the cafe and scanned the street up and down. What was he looking for?

“Uh,” I hesitated, feeling a creep of unease set in like phantom fingers tripping up my spine. “What for?”

If the cops in Thorn Valley were anything like the ones in Lennox, going down that alleyway with him could be just as dangerous as going down it with any random dude off the streets. Maybe more so.

“Just a talk.”

The officer lifted his jacket, doing a slow spin, showing me that he was unarmed.

“Can I see that badge again?”

The man balked, but when I didn’t move a muscle, he wrinkled his nose and retrieved the badge, holding it out to me again.

Victor Stoll. Thorn Valley PD.

Okay, looks legit. That doesn’t mean he isn’t here on an errand from Mr. Moore, though.A hired gun sent to intimidate the girl who dared raise a hand to his daughter.

I gave him another once over and decided I could take him if I had to. I didn’t need to add a cop to my list of enemies in Thorn Valley unless I had no other choice.

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