Her eyes widen.“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you were in your home and he wasn’t invited.Because half the road probably heard him yelling.Because if the deputy around here is half awake, he already knows who the problem is.And because I’m a King and he knows what is expected.”
She chews her bottom lip.I try not to notice.
“You still need to talk to him,” I state.“Tell the truth.Keep it simple.”
She nods once, then frowns.“What about your prospect?”
“He’ll disappear before the deputy makes it to the porch.His only job is to make sure Roger is secured in cuffs in the back of the car first.”
“Can he do that?”
“He better.”
That nearly gets another laugh out of her.The knock comes a second later.
I stand.“Stay here.”
She opens her mouth like she wants to argue, then seems to remember the last ten minutes and wisely doesn’t.I open the door to find Deputy Mills on the stoop, belly hanging over his belt, flashlight clipped at his shoulder though the porch light’s doing all the work.He glances at me, then past me into the house.
“Well,” he greets.“Looks like I’m late to the party.”
“No party,” I reply dryly.
His gaze flicks toward the street where Roger, has managed to sit up against the curb, swearing at the night while he fights the cuffs.Prospect is nowhere in sight.Good.
Mills sighs.“That him?”
“Unfortunately.”
Lucy steps up beside me before I can answer, robe wrapped tight and face pale but steady.I drape my arm around her shoulders pulling her against me.
“He came to my door drunk,” she begins.“I told him to leave.He wouldn’t.”
Mills nods like none of this surprises him.“Ma’am, you want to press trespass?”
Lucy hesitates.I can feel it.Years of second-guessing.Of minimizing.Of wondering whether it’s worth making things worse.Then her chin lifts.“Yes.”
Good girl.
Mills pulls out a small pad and starts scribbling.“I’ll have a word with him.Might cool his heels overnight.”
“Sounds restful,” I mutter.
Mills gives me a tired look.“You wanna tell me why he’s in the street instead of on the porch?”
“Not particularly.”
Lucy makes a strangled sound that might be a laugh.
Mills ignores me on principle.“Ma’am, you all right?”
“Yes.”
