Page 20 of Cuffed (Everyday Heroes 1)
“Christ, Emerson. Ninety?” There’s a disapproving tone to his voice, but under it is something akin to amusement. “Seriously? You’re lucky Lyle didn’t haul you off to jail for reckless driving.”
“We weren’t quite done, but I’m sure that might have been an option.”
“It is pretty serious. And hauling you off is a valid option for the safety of not only you but also everyone else on the road.”
“But there is no one else on the road. No harm. No foul. Can I go?”
“You could have gotten yourself killed.”
He takes off his sunglasses and hooks them in his shirt. I stare at them hanging from his neck because it’s so much easier than looking him in the eyes. But he stands there, hands braced on the frame of my window and waits for me to meet his gaze.
While I had been certain sweet talking would have worked with Officer Lyle, at least until Grant mentioned the other officer’s husband, I have absolutely no idea what to say to ease the situation.
“You always had a flair for the dramatic.” The words are out before I realize it, and I hate myself for being the first to bring up the past when I don’t want him to do the same.
“Dramatic is one thing, Em. Doing my job is another.”
“Oh, I see what you’re doing here. You’re mad at me for the other night when you have no right to be and—”
“This has nothing to do with the other night and everything to do with the law and me enforcing it.”
He always was a stickler for the rules. The longer this conversation goes on, the more irritated I become, and a big part of me wants it to continue. If I’m pissed at him, then I’ll want him to go away instead of wondering what it would be like to see him again like I have been.
“Are you seriously going to arrest me?”
“Give me a good reason why you’re in such a hurry you need to go ninety miles an hour.”
Because I can.
The truth almost escapes but I stop myself before it does. Our eyes meet. Hold. Assess. Ask. And then I answer.
“I’m having a female emergency.” I ignore the fact that I’m wearing skimpy white shorts no woman on her period would be caught dead wearing and give him the number one response guaranteed to make a man uncomfortable.
His lips quirk for a moment before he leans down so that his elbows rest on the door. “And?”
“Well, I was rushing to the store.”
“And that’s why you were going so fast?”
“Yes.” I nod, hating that he isn’t shying away like any man in his right mind would.
“What were you going to the store to buy? Tampons? Monistat? Astroglide?” he deadpans.
If I could die a thousand deaths right now I would. My cheeks burn, and I’d give anything to crawl under the steering wheel to avoid having to make eye contact with him. “Yes.”
“All three? That’s a feminine emergency if I’ve ever heard of one.”
Already invested in my lie, I have no choice but to continue it. I clear my throat, but my voice comes out in a broken rasp. “Tampons. Just tampons.”
“I see.” He nods slowly. “Funny thing is, your car is heading in the wrong direction. All the drugstores are back that way.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder as I cringe at my mistake. “But being new in town and all that, maybe you got turned around, huh?”
There’s a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth while my embarrassment only intensifies. “Yes, that’s definitely why.” I squirm in my seat to try to sell it when I know he’s probably not buying any of this. “Can I go now, please?”
“Go? To the drugstore? Of course you can. I wouldn’t want your situation to worsen because of all this time we’re wasting. Tell you what, Em, if it’s such an emergency that you were willing to risk life and limb to get there, I think I should give you a police escort.”
“No! That’s okay—I—”
“Lights and sirens. The whole shebang all the way to . . . CVS, or is it Rite Aid? Which store has the brand you prefer?”
