“Now,” he snaps.
I pocket the key to my bike and swing off. A cocky grin curves my lips as I stand almost a foot taller than him. “Problem?”
Lance resembles a weasel when he squints. “Turn around, hands behind your back.”
A laugh scrapes out of me, lacking any trace of humor. “For real? You must be joking.”
He removes a set of cuffs from his belt. “Are you resisting arrest?”
“What the fuck am I being charged with?”
“Don’t make this harder than necessary, Grady.”
“This is bullshit,” I spit.
But fighting is useless. This bully has a badge and will win in the long haul. I turn away painfully slow and offer up my crossed wrists. This isn’t my first rodeo. I highly doubt it’ll be my last.
Cold metal pinches my skin, far tighter than required. I shoot him another glare. “Is that really fucking necessary?”
Lance sneers. “Can’t be too careful in my line of work.”
I tug against the harsh bonds. “You’re targeting me.”
“Not hard to do. Like father, like son. I saw you pulling out of Howlers. Next time, try to avoid swerving.”
Stinging heat rips up my spine. “I had one beer.”
“Such a lightweight. No wonder you’re such a fuckup. This town doesn’t need
youstaining its good name.”
“You’re such a shit, Morris. Worse than the punk-ass you were in high school.”
Lance drags me toward his cruiser. “That might be the case. Big difference is I have the law to back me up.”
“Isn’t that fucking swell. You’re a disgrace to the department.”
He yanks open the rear passenger door and motions for me to get in. “It’ll be a pleasure to book you with disorderly conduct and verbal assault.”
I force myself to follow orders, swooping onto the leather backseat. “Good luck getting that shit to stick.”
“Any amount of time with you locked up is payment enough,” he says with a grin.
“What about my bike?” It’s not my greatest concern at this moment, but a potential hassle might have him thinking twice.
He rocks on his heels. “Not my concern. Have one of your cronies pick it up.”
Lance shuts me inside with a reverberating slam. I can already picture the metal bars sliding closed and caging me in a microscopic cell. Bile rises, the foul flavor singeing my tongue. I scoot forward and swallow the urge to retch.
“Hey, man. You don’t have to do this. Just let me out and we’ll go our separate ways.”
He bangs against the bulletproof partition separating us. “Shut the fuck up, Grady. You’ve had plenty of chances.”
The fuck I have. My luck ran dry when I was still in diapers.
Lance is quiet as he drives us to the station. I can almost hear his brain rattling with effort. He smiles at me in the mirror. “Did you hear Sutton is coming home tomorrow?”
Her name alone is a shot to my chest. Fuck, I almost double over. But my reaction is hidden from this asshole’s view. To him, my expression rivals a stone mask. The harsh look has granted me a reputation of being cold and unfeeling. Maybe that’s true. No one gives enough of a shit to dig deeper and see.
