I could almost see the gears turning in his brain, and it took all I had not to laugh. Instead, I walked up close to him and leaned down, giving him the full force of my whiskey breath, and grated, “Take the fuckin’ cuffs off.” My voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the threat in it.
He began to stutter. “Umm. S-she’s coming down to the station. I’ve already called the arrest in.”
Aislynn opened her mouth, probably to cuss him out again, but her protest died on her lips when my hand shot out and gripped his throat. My fingers squeezed until he began to cough. “Did I fuckin’ stutter?”
His hands came up and clawed at my arm, his eyes bugging out through lack of oxygen. He tried to speak but couldn’t through the force of my hand gripping his neck.
I released the pressure slightly and asked, “You gonna obey me,boy?”
“Yeah,” he gargled.
I released him and dropped my arm, cocking an eyebrow at him expectantly. “I don’t got all day, Deputy Dickwad.”
Rex chuckled, and Roman grinned as Junior reached into his pocket and turned back to Ash. With shaking fingers, he unlocked the cuffs and took a step back, his eyes widening with fear as I moved forward, closing the gap between us again until I crowded him back against his squad car.
“Touch what’s mine again, and I’ll take your hands,” I warned.
His eyes raised to mine, his lips thinning.
“Is this how you got to Gracie?” I asked quietly. “Did you pull her over on a trumped-up, fake charge and make her touch your tiny little dick ’cause no other fuckin’ woman will? Is that how you get your rocks off? Touchin’ young girls?”
“She’s eighteen,” he shot back.
“She’s a kid,” I reiterated. “You think you can throw your badge around and get your own way, but it’ll be your undoing. Now, like I said, touch my woman again, and youwon’tlive to regret it. Do you fuckin’ understand?”
He jerked a nod.
“Are you simple? Use your words,” I ordered.
“Yeah,” he spat. “I understand.”
“Good,” I bit out. “Now get your soft ass and your weak chin outta my face.”
He shrank back from me, turned, and scurried around to the driver’s door of his squad car. When he started the engine, I heard the radio crackle as he peeled away, his tires throwing up dirt from the side of the road.
My head swiveled to Aislynn. “You okay?” I could tell she wanted nothing more than to tell me to fuck off, but was wary of doing it in front of my boys—not that they gave a shit. In fact, they’d probably laugh and join in with her, but then she didn’t need to know that.
I approached her warily, not knowing how she was going to react. The last time I saw Aislynn, I was slow dancing with her cousin, which I admit wasn’t my finest moment, but then nobody had ever accused me of acting like a normal, well-adjusted guy.
I edged toward Ash, glancing at my boys who were watching my woman and me with huge smiles across their faces. “You okay?” I asked again softly.
She literally gulped as she swallowed down the curse words that were no doubt on the tip of her tongue. “I’m fine.” She glanced at Rex and Roman, and her shoulders relaxed as she blew out a deep breath and said, “I guess I owe you a thank you.”
One side of my mouth hitched because I knew how much that thank you would have cost her. The poor bitch was probably dying inside. “You’re welcome, baby.”
“You’re right, Dad,” Rex declared. “She is gorgeous.”
My head whipped toward him because I’d told them no such goddamned thing.
“Yeah,” Roman agreed, shooting her a wide grin. “He’s always tellin’ us how beautiful you are and how lucky he is to have you. He’s right, too.”
Aislynn’s face immediately softened, and she beamed at my boys. “It’s good to meet you both. Your dad told me a lot about you, too. Are you settling in okay?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Rex told her. “It’s different from Cali, but not in a bad way. It’s weird that everyone knows everyone, but it’s also kinda cool.”
“Until we do somethin’ wrong,” Roman added. “It’ll be harder to get away with shit if the person who sees you fleein’ the scene is the guy your dad buys his smokes from.”
Aislynn laughed. “Good point.”
