“No, you’re giving your statement.”
“You have security footage, and now I’m very concerned they’re going to go after Sophia as well. Jackson and I have trained in the fine art of fucking people up, so we’re perfectly fine, but what about some defenseless woman like Sophia, alone and scared in her home? She’s probably clutching her rosary and cowering in a corner, begging for two brawny men to come save her.”
“Not sure you fall under that category,” Patel mutters as she pulls her phone out. “I will reach out to Sophia to make sure she’s okay and alert her.”
“Oh, you really are too sweet and kind,” I say, and I use the minor distraction to try to sneak out the door.
The woman is either an alien or a mother because the eyes on the back of her head engage and she cuts off my path so adeptly that even I’m a little impressed.
“Please stay here until I have cleared you to go.”
“Is that legal?” I whisper to Jackson. “Don’t we say something now, like ‘You have no legal right to keep us here! I will be contacting my attorney!’ and then storm out?”
Jackson looks over at me. “That’s only for people who are trying to hide something. We haven’t done anything wrong, so it’s probably best to stay on her good side.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s kind of wrong for you to be so fine,” I say with a wink.
His raised eyebrows tell me it’s not the time, and I sigh before looking over at Patel, who is pulling her phone down and watching it for a moment. I’m not sure if she’s thinking or waiting for it to do a trick.
“I’m going to go check on Sophia. Would you prefer to meet me at the station when I’m done? You seem very adamant about leaving here,” she says.
“Sure, station sounds great,” Jackson replies.
“Alright.”
As soon as she’s gone, the officers are so busy being wound up in this mess that I begin to sneak toward the car before anyone can say otherwise.
“We probably should wait,” Jackson says.
“Didn’t you hear Patel? She said that we were free to go and then she thanked us for our service with a small tear rolling down her cheek. Did you see the tear?”
“I did not.”
“I did. I saw it. She called usheroic.”
Jackson cocks his head. “Wow, I can’t believe I missed all of that.”
“I know, right? It’s a pity. It really is,” I say as I grab his hand and resume sneaking away before I realize we’re still wearing their attire. We shed it, and instead of drawing attention toourselves by going back in, I just leave it on the bench right outside the door.
“So… we’re going to Sophia’s?” Jackson asks as he gets into the driver’s seat of the car while I get into the passenger seat.
“Why would we ever do that?”
“Because something might be wrong if Patel couldn’t contact her.”
“I don’t think so,” I respond as I question if I should have gotten into the driver’s seat. “That woman drew us into this. She can have fun suffering alone.”
“It was so sexy when you threw that plate at the gunman,” he says.
I hesitate, my head whipping to the side to face him while I give him my sexiest look. I even rub my chin a bit to lay it all out there. “Yeah?”
“I would love to get to see it again if we went to help Sophia and you had to save her. I mean… you really think she could have done what you just did?”
I set my hand on his thigh. “Her inferior body would crumple under the pressure.”
“Probably turn to dust.”
“Yes, yes, you are right, husband. You are always right. Let’s go save her.”
