I thought I heard Daniel’s teeth grind together, but he opened his mouth to answer before I could be sure.
“Leo came to warn me about his mother’s plans. He didn’t mention that he planned to grab you and hide you until I returned to the office and found hisnote.”
“He left a note?” I asked.
Daniel’s jaw flexed and now I was sure that he was grinding his teeth.
“Yes, he left a fucking note,” he growled. “Telling me that you and Poppy would be safe with him until I dealt with his Mommie Dearest.”
I rolled my eyes. “Safe?” I said. “We were shackled to a fucking bed!”
My voice rose as I continued.
“He fucking shot Poppy with a gun. It wasn’t until we got in the car and I felt her pulse that I realized he used tranquilizer darts. He brought three huge men and the tallest woman I’ve ever seen to keep us under control!”
“I know,” Daniel snarled, flashing me a glance. His eyes were full of emerald fire.
“What an ass!” I yelled, pounding my fist on the dash. “I wanna kick him in the nuts!”
A muffled sound came from the backseat. I turned around and saw that Poppy had covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders were shaking.
I reached out and touched her knee. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Is this a delayed trauma response?”
She lowered her hands and I realized she was laughing silently and so hard that tears were streaming down her face.
“You’re going to kick him in the nuts?” she wheezed, leaning over in the back seat.
“Yes!” I patted her knee. “And you’ll hold him still for me.”
She smacked the seat next to her. “Oh, most definitely! And when you’re done, it’ll be my turn.”
“That’s a good plan,” I assured her.
She collapsed into giggles, falling sideways in the seat.
I faced Daniel. “You think she’s okay?” I asked.
“She’s fine. She was a police officer in town before Kent became the chief. This was a lovely afternoon for her.”
I turned over my shoulder to look at her. “You were a cop?”
She nodded as she wiped her eyes.
“Why aren’t you the chief?” I asked. “I’ve seen the way you handle Daniel’s office and him. You’d be awesome at it.”
Poppy sat up and stared at me in shock. “You think I’d make a good police chief?”
“Absolutely.”
She grinned at me. “You’re right, I would. But I didn’t want the hassles that went along with it. And a lot of the residents of Devil Springs are from a different time. I didn’t want to have to fight every fucking day to show my value and my strength. I would have started arresting them for misogyny.”
I understood that. Completely.
“Well, you would have kicked ass at it.”
She shrugged. “Maybe I can be the next mayor.”
Daniel laughed. “I would resign right now if you actually meant it. I have so many other things I’d rather be doing.”
