“I know my rights,” I shout back. “You’re just a fucking sheriff and I’m a fucking head of state. You have no authority over me. And, right now, His Royal Highness has to take a fucking piss.”
My zipper goes down before he can react, and I go before he knows what’s happening.
“That’s it. Put your hands over your head. I’m taking you in,” he says.
“At least let me finish, man.”
“You stop that. You’re under arrest.”
I raise my hand, but I don’t stop pissing. “Come and get me, if you dare,” I shout.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Violet’s face in the window. There’s a mixture of laughter and abject horror on her face. Looks like we just skipped right to the ‘going to the bathroom with the door open’ phase of our relationship. Or, in this case, ‘pissing in public while you get arrested’ phase.
But there’s one thing this sheriff isn’t counting on: I’m not drunk. I’m just an asshole pretending to be drunk.
The second he’s in reach, with his gun lowered and his handcuffs ready and waiting in his grip, I drop the drunk act and I have a moment to enjoy the look of surprise on his face as I punch him.
With my dick still out. Because I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.
He hits the ground, hard.
First thing I do is zip up, because I don’t want to risk any incidental contact, and then I kick him square in the face.
He lands flat on his back, out cold.
I turn and look to the window. Vi’s gone. Looks like she’s already made her escape. She must’ve gone out the back door.
Grumbling, I start a slow walk back to my bike. This mess better have been worth it, because if I ended up showing my dick to a fucking cop for no reason, I’m going to be pissed.
Chapter Thirteen
Violet
I don’t stay to watch the whole show. As soon as the sheriff goes down, I run to a window, pry it open, and hop out. Then I sprint as fast as I’ve ever run in my life all the way back to my truck.
That was close. Too close.
Not even able to wait for Crash — my heart is pounding so hard I worry it will explode — I speed the whole way home, run up my driveway, and drop my keys three times while I fumble for the right one to unlock my front door.
It’s quiet inside. Blaze is half asleep on my living room sofa and Snake is probably upstairs in one of my guest bedrooms. I head right for my kitchen and sit down at the table. I’m so out of it, I don’t even think to pour myself a drink, all I can do is sit here, heart racing, counting down the seconds until Crash gets here.
It’s not long before he arrives, but it still feels like an eternity.
“Was it worth it?” He growls as he sees me. “Did you find what you needed? Or did I put up with all that shit for nothing?”
“I couldn’t find it.”
“You better be fucking with me. Do you know how risky that shit was?”
I hate that I wasn’t able to succeed. But, just as much, I hate that I let him down. I’ve known him for only days, but already he means so much to me. What the hell have I gotten myself into, falling so hard for a man like him?
“I know. I’m sorry. But I am fucking desperate, and I had to do something. Then, when I got in there and started looking, there was just so much information to sift through and then I heard you yelling and I just got spooked. I’m really, really sorry, Crash. But I’m also not sorry. Because my best friend is going through hell right now and I had to try something.”
The hard edge in his voice dulls. He pulls up a chair beside me and puts one muscular arm over my shoulders.
“I understand.”
The hug he gives me soothes me deep down to my soul. Sighing, I lean in to him.
“I just felt so desperate, you know?”
“We’ll figure something out. We’ll find Kendra, Violet. I promise.”
I sit back up, pulling myself away from him even though I want nothing more than to just lay my head against his chest and forget about all the shit going on in my life. It wouldn’t be permanent, but the solace I’d find in his arms would be potent enough to give me peace for a little while, at least.
But time is running out. And I can’t let myself fall into the sweet trap of Crash’s embrace.
“There is another way. We could go back to BD.”
Crash gives me a funny look. “What, do you want to send Snake after him or something? I don’t think BD would be the type to break unless we put some serious pressure on him, Violet. Even though we only met him for a minute, I got the impression that guy is legit. That could get real messy.”
“No, no, not that,” I say, shaking my head. I pause for a moment, trying to work up the courage to admit that BD presented an opportunity, and I only turned it down because I didn’t want to tie myself any more to Crash. “He offered to help, but he wanted a lot of money to do it.”
“How much?”
“Five grand,” I answer.
“For a burglary? That old man who lives in a fucking single-wide wants five fucking grand to get off his old ass and break into city hall?”
“He doesn’t need
