“She was right behind me, something must have slowed her down,” she says as she wraps something around her leg.
“Let me help you. We’re PIs and have concealed carry licenses,” Jackson says. “We both have guns on us. Did you call for backup?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Leland, can you help her while I find her partner?” he asks.
“Don’t leave,” I say, not wanting him out of my sight. And obviously, I can’t leave her. It’s not like we killed these people. They could get up at any point and are likely to before long.
Sirens sound before I have to decide anything, and police soon swarm the scene.
THIRTEEN
LELAND
“Police! On the ground, hands on your head,” someone shouts.
Jackson hesitates before tying off the officer’s leg and getting down.
“We are CCW holders and are currently carrying,” Jackson calls.
“Of course it’s you two,” Jeremy hisses as he comes onto the scene. “Fucking hell. What happened?”
Oh, how fun this will be to explain. It’s one thing to brush it under a rug when no one is harmed, but this is a public place and a police officer was shot. Wonder if I can joke my way out of this one? Or if I call Henry “Daddy” enough times, can he make it all disappear?
“You two alright?” a woman I’ve seen with Jeremy more than once asks.
Honestly, most of the police are pretty nice to us. Somehow, the more time they’ve spent with us, the more they trust us. They generally go about their jobs, trusting us, and don’t dig into us too much, especially when we can help them find the answers they’re looking for. So it should all be fine…
Until Detective Patel walks in through the door.
Like doesn’t she have something else to do today?
“I heard you two were caught up in something and knew I needed to swing by since I was in the area,” she says, like she’s doing it for us, and I really feel like she’s doing it because she’s nosy.
Why yes, I’m also well taught in the fine art of nosiness, but I’d rather she be nosy about something else.
“Are either of you injured? I see you’re bleeding a little bit, Jackson.”
I swing my attention over to Jackson so I can examine him, unsure how I missed him being hurt.
“Just a scratch,” he assures me when he sees the look on my face.
I hurry over to determine how much of a “scratch” it is as Patel helps arrest our attackers. This won’t look good for whoever sent them. To lose this many in the span of minutes? They must have been pretty confident they’d win, though they were smart enough to send a significant number to deal with us.
When the police have the assailants handled, Jeremy ventures over to us.
“I see you have company,” he says as his eyes flick over to Patel.
“You think she’d notice if we ran?” I ask.
“I think it’d make you seem more suspicious if you bolted out the door, but then maybe Cassel will find normal friends,” Jeremy says.
“I’d say something like ‘Jackson’s had clothes on for too long, we need to run,’” I assure him.
“We can do this interview in any state of dress, if that’s what it comes down to,” Patel says as she comes up behind us. How the hell did she hear me? Is she part vampire?
“Ooh, a woman who recognizes a fine specimen when she sees one,” I comment, suddenly growing to like her that much more.
