“No.” I groaned. “Brisco, you stupid fuck! Get back here.”
He shook his head and kept going, but we were pretty far away from his house, so unless he planned to walk a few miles drunk, he was going to be in for a hell of a night. I wasn’t about to move to chase after him, though, so with a shrug, I checked on Milo. He’d slid down to lean against the rear tire, and that seemed like a safe place for him. I bounced my attention between Micah and Milo, adrenaline keeping me going even though it was well past the time I usually went to bed.
A cop startled me when he came to stand near us. He was a blond with a friendly smile. “What happened, mate?” he asked, and I was surprised by his light British accent.
“No clue. ’M drunk,” Milo said.
I rolled my eyes.
The cop pointed at him, but he was smiling. “Public intoxication is a crime. You’re lucky I’m busy.” He held up a tablet. “I do need all your names and addresses, however.” He sounded apologetic about that, which was the only reason I gave in and told him without raising hell about how long we’d been kept waiting. I dug my fingers in against Micah’s scalp, and he sat up with a worried frown, as if maybe he’d been awake for a while but hadn’t wanted to talk to the police officer.
“You see anything?” the cop asked him.
“No,” Micah murmured.
“It was a red Mustang. I’m pretty sure there was a woman driving. Can we go?” I asked, not bothering to keep my irritation to myself anymore. “It’s late.”
“I’m sorry someone getting injured has inconvenienced you,” the cop said, giving me a long look like I was a horrible person, and I actually felt guilty as I shrugged.
“You saw the type of car it was?” Micah asked, gaze darting around my face.
I nodded, not wanting to get into the fact that I’d been curious who was shooting beyond just wanting to protect us. I needed to know I hadn’t walked into anything here that would get me into trouble with my dad.
“You’re certain you didn’t notice anything at all?” the cop asked, staring directly at Micah, who blushed and shook his head.
Anger burned in my chest as the cop repeated his question once more, almost like he thought maybe Micah was lying. The cop sighed and typed something else into his tablet.
“You can go. Drive safely,” he said, staring at Micah, and again I was irked. I didn’t like that people immediately looked at him as if he should be keeping everyone safe, and I knew it made sense because he was older than the rest of us, but it also burned my ass.
Micah sighed and leaned his forehead against my shoulder. “I was so scared.”
“You did the right thing,” I said.
“Which was?” he asked, tone slightly sarcastic.
I grinned until he glanced up. “Listen to me.”
He frowned but nodded.
It didn’t take me long to get him into the front passenger seat and Milo in back, and everyone in the car was quiet. As I drove, I kept an eye out for Brisco, but I didn’t see him. I was a little worried as I dropped Milo off at our house, but he stumbled up the front steps and Kinsey was sitting on the porch smoking, so I figured he would make sure Milo at least passed out inside, even if he didn’t make it to his bed.
Back at Micah’s house, I pulled the Kia to a stop beside my Boxter, then got out and went around to help Micah because he seemed groggy. I liked that he cuddled up against my side and let me lead him to the house. He didn’t even try to take the keys away from me at the door, just allowed me to let us inside. He shivered, almost as if he was still scared, while I closed the door behind us.
“Why weren’t you frightened?” he asked, staring into my eyes. The question surprised me.
“I was,” I whispered.
He frowned and stared at my face. “Were you? You didn’t seem like it.”
I wasn’t necessarily shocked he’d noticed that I wasn’t as shaken as he’d been, but I also wasn’t sure what I should say to him. He glanced downward at my tattoos, tracing a finger around the wordBurnon my neck.
“The city I grew up in is big and shootings are common enough. I was afraid we would all get hurt, but then we didn’t. You were okay.” I shrugged. What else could I say?
“You’re used to this?” He frowned.
For a second, I stared around, then smiled when my gaze landed on his face again. “My father employs a security firm because he has a job that attracts unwanted attention. I’ve seen people being shot at in the past. Part of the reason I’m going to school in New Gothenburg is because he knows people here and thinks the situation locally is pretty safe.”There.That should be enough info to put this to rest without really telling him anything at all.
“Oh.” Micah’s eyebrows shot higher. “What does he do for a—”
