Her eyes blew wide.He isn’t.“I didnot, which means you obviously know nothing, you filthy, lying, jackass.”
His eyes narrowed. “Let’s not get nasty, Jenna. It’s just a little trespassing. Contaminating a crime scene does complicate it, so I have to take you in, but a few days in lockup and some community service should—”
“You son of a bitch,” Jenna snapped, “I haven’t done anything wrong and you can’t prove otherwise. You have no justification to arrest me.”
Drew reached for his cuffs. “Don’t make me add resisting arrest to your charges, Jenna.”
“Resisting an unlawful arrest is pretty damn natural,” Jenna said, taking another step back. “These charges are as bogusas your harassment threat and you know it.” When Drew only moved closer, Jenna raised her voice. “Stay away from me!”
It was futile. No one was going to intervene when a deputy was arresting someone. Not even if they knew her, not even if they knew the deputy disliked her, not even if they had heard every word and seen the look on his face. The only person who would have fought for her was over an hour away, completely unaware of what was happening.
Jenna clamped her mouth shut as the second cuff clicked into place. He hadn’t been gentle about it and her arms already hurt. It didn’t escape her notice he also wasn’t reading her her rights. She wasn’t about to remind him.
Drew shoved her to his SUV, spun her around once the back door was open and blocking them from view, and swept the backside of his hand across her face. Venom dripped from his glare as he watched her chin crack against the metal doorframe. “You better watch your mouth, slut. Now get in the fucking car.”
Tears stung her eyes, but Jenna fought them back and ducked awkwardly into the vehicle. A terrifying thought slithered up her spine as he slammed the door closed at her shoulder.Is he really arresting me? Or is this a façade so he can take me somewhere worse?
She cast her eyes around, but she had no clue what she was hoping to see. She had no experience with the interior of a police vehicle. The cage-like structure that separated the back from the front looked solid to her. The bench seat she sat on was worn and there was a suspicious stain that reminded Jenna of a splatter design on a plate. Which was not a connection she wanted to be making, so she tore her gaze away and looked forward, past the cage. There was a dashboard-mounted laptop, folded up and pushed out of the way, and Drew’s cell was attached to a holder over the radio display. What looked uncomfortably like a riflewas leaned against the passenger seat, the barrel up and angled faintly backward—toward her.
Drew climbed into his seat with a grunt and pulled his door shut. He met her eyes in the rearview mirror and Jenna leaned as far back in her seat as her handcuffed hands allowed. He snickered.
He fucking snickered.
“You don’t deserve that badge, you bastard,” Jenna said as the anger welled up in her chest. “You’ve done nothing but bully and abuse people your entire life, and authority’s only made you worse. You won’t get away with this.”
Drew twisted around, not even looking angry at her words. “Sure that’s what you want to say to me, Jen?” He lifted his phone from the holder, held it up, and snapped a picture without warning. “Maybe we’ll use this instead of your mugshot when we send the announcement to the press.” He tapped a few things, then set the phone back on its holder and faced her again, brow arched. “Any other gems?”
Jenna let her lip curl, because it was better than letting it quiver where he could see, and projected her voice just in case there was an in-vehicle camera actually recording them. “Yeah. I want a lawyer, and my phone call.”
Drew barked out a laugh, tossed the purse he’d ripped from her arm onto his passenger seat, and reached for his seatbelt. “Cute. Real cute.” He rolled the engine over and met her stare again in the mirror. “Bitch thinks she’s getting a lawyer.”
It had been years since Jon had seen any of the men who’d just dumped their luggage into the back of his truck, and it felt goodto see familiar faces. It felt better to know there were a few guys he could count on who’d have his back with what was to come.
As soon as they got done hazing the Army guy.
Deciding to take pity on Alex for the time being, Jon interrupted another needling comment by clapping Foxe on the shoulder and saying, “How’s family life?” Of the three who’d answered his call, Foxe had stayed active in the service the longest. But when his contract had come up at year twelve, he’d chosen to retire and not take the risk of not coming home to his wife and the baby girl who’d been born while he was deployed that year. Jon remembered feeling a sense of conflict over it at the time. It was always unfortunate to lose a good man, but he respected that Foxe hadn’t wanted his child to grow up with an absent father. Or worse.
Both of the other two—Billy and Herb—had dropped after eight years, for different reasons.
Foxe broke into a wide, tearful smile. “My little princess startedkindergartenthis year, man!”
“Well, shit,” Jon said. He couldn’t tell if Foxe was excited or devastated.
Herb groaned. “Don’t get him started,hermano. This guy spent the entire flight passing around pictures and babbling about hisprincesa.”
Alex chuckled and Jon found himself biting back a smile.
Foxe folded his arms across his chest. “I was not babbling.”
Billy burst into laughter and leaned onto Herb’s shoulder. “Dude, your mouth was running more than my mother-in-law’s. I know things about your kid I’m not sure I know about mine.”
“You have a kid now?” Foxe asked.
“See?” Billy straightened and pointed at him. “You ran the entire conversation!”
Jon cleared his throat before they could get more off-track. “We can have tea time later, ladies.”
His friends adjusted to face him, but not a one of them lost their grin.
