“Two days?” he echoed. “That’s not a long time. How’d you two meet?”
Kota giggled, tossing his head back.
Walker immediately knew whatever came next was going to be a problem.
“He kidnapped me.”
Officer Petty stood up straighter, cutting his gaze to Walker. “Come again?”
Walker chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Not the time for jokes, squirrel.”
That was when the officer’s gaze dropped, very deliberately, to the exposed skin of Kota’s throat, taking in the fingerprint-shaped bruises. The ones Walker had very deliberately not looked at too closely since the diner.
Shit.
For the first time since the lights came on behind him, Walker felt genuine concern. Not for himself. For Kota. Because Officer Petty had stopped looking at Walker like a truck driver and started looking at him like a predator.
“What happened there?” he asked, using his chin to gesture to the bruises around Kota’s throat.
“Guy tried to kill me,” Kota blurted, his head thunking back against the truck, eyes rolling like he was considering passing out.
“What?” Petty asked, gaze jerking to Walker once more.
“Not him, the other guy,” Kota said, waving a hand, sounding somewhere between distraught and irritated. He pointed at Walker. “He saved me.”
Officer Petty was also starting to look irritated. “What other guy?”
Kota didn’t answer, just looked at Walker with pleading eyes.
Walker sighed. “The kid was looking for a ride to the West Coast. The first guy he approached didn’t take too kindly to his request.” He grimaced. “I offered to bring him with me since he clearly has the survival instincts of a lemon.”
Kota gave another shrill giggle that sounded just this side of a breakdown.
“That what happened, boy?” the officer asked.
Kota nodded, forcing his features into a serious look, but it lost its effect with the boy’s swollen, watery eyes.
“You on any illicit substances, son?”
“Huh?” Kota asked, adorably baffled by the question. “No. I can barely tolerate baby aspirin. I’m just a little…car sick.”
The officer looked unconvinced. He glowered at Walker, like he was onto him, but he directed his question to Kota. “Are you with this man voluntarily? If not, tell me now. We’ll get you home safe.”
“Huh?” Kota asked again, looking between the two of them, then seeming to regret it as his face lost what little color it had left.
“We got a lot of trafficking happening along this route. If he took you against your will or if someone else forced you to be here…”
Kota looked genuinely horrified at the prospect. “No, not at all. I want to be with him.”
The words came out so quickly there wasn’t even a second of hesitation. Walker’s heart did something weird behind his ribs. Something sharp and unexpected.
Kota’s declaration had so much heat behind it that even the officer seemed taken aback.
“I—Okay. Well, I’m gonna run these licenses. If anything comes back fishy, we’re gonna have a much longer conversation and I’m gonna take a closer look at your rig.”
“Be my guest. All you’ll find is a messy bed and a judgmental feline,” Walker said with a shrug.
And a condom in the trash. But he kept that information to himself. They’d jump off that bridge when they came to it.
