I nodded, unable to tear my gaze away from the remnants of my bike.
“Hey, are you okay?” I heard him ask, and it took me a moment to realize he was speaking to me.
“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head as I stared at the wreckage. “Yeah, I just… I’m surprised, is all.”
“Have you called the police to report it yet?” he asked, something approaching concern in his eyes.
The question had me automatically backing away.
“No! I—” I stopped myself. Of course, I should report it. I wasn’t in Florida anymore. I didn’t have to hide from my father here. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll call it in. Is there anyone I could call for you? You look a little shocky…” he offered.
I shook my head, but just as I started to insist I could handle it, the world seemed to tilt and spin a bit. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the concrete stairs leading up to the front door while Micah made a call. I realized almost absently that he was making the call with my phone.
“Here, drink this,” I heard a voice command. I looked up to see Micah holding a water bottle out to me.
I took it and opened it, taking a long drink automatically. The cold water seemed to help clear the fog from my brain.
“I… thanks. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me,” I said, blushing.
“It’s okay. People react to violence in different ways,” he answered. “Some make it a tit for tat, return violence with violence. Other people shut down. Others run.”
“Guess I’m in the ‘shut down’ category…” I sighed, taking another drink.
“I’ve seen worse,” he said, a sardonic grin pulling at the corner of his mouth.
A police car pulled up in front of the building.
“Wow, that was fast,” I said to Micah in confusion. “Or was I spaced out longer than I thought?”
“Nah, we just take care of our own around here,” he said, a brief smile playing across his lips.
My breath caught in my throat. Surely, he couldn’t mean… I glanced at his belt and saw for the first time the Glock holstered at his hip, a detective’s gold badge next to it. I hadn’t seen it before because he had been carrying his jacket on his arm.
“Oh… you’re a cop,” I said, my voice sounding thready and weak even to my own ears. I could feel the blood draining from my face.
“Yep,” he said, flashing me a reassuring smile. “Hope you don’t hold it against me.”
“I’ll… I’ll try not to,” I responded honestly. I had to remind myself that not all police officers were like my father.
What seemed like just a few moments later, a black SUV peeled around the corner and into the parking lot of the apartment building. The noise had Micah’s hand dropping to his weapon and the two police officers standing near my bike ducked, seeking cover behind the cars.
I recognized the vehicle from the night before and was kind of expecting it when I saw Kaine jump out of the SUV, but I was surprised to see Bishop jump out of the driver’s side next to him and making a beeline for us.
I glanced at the detective as they got closer, raising an eyebrow in question and he shrugged.
“It was the last number you entered in your phone,” he said, amusement on his face. “And I had to see if it was…”
His voice trailed off as Bishop and Kaine jogged over to where we stood.
“Nicki! Are you okay?” Kaine demanded as he knelt in front of me. I just nodded and next thing I knew he was wrapping his arms around me. I melted into his embrace, my hands gripping his back and pulling him close, a shudder running through my body as I realized I didn’t have to deal with this all by my fucking self.
I didn’t know how long we remained like that, but I thought I could have stayed in Kaine’s arms forever. He finally pulled back a little so he could run his hands over me, confirming I wasn’t hurt.
“I’m okay, really,” I insisted, my voice much steadier now that he was there.
His green eyes raked over my body, like he couldn’t relax until he had confirmed I hadn’t been injured.
