Page 57 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

They pulled all kinds of stunts knowing their lawyers and limitless bank accounts would bail them out. As soon as he had pulled up, he’d spotted the expensive bags on the backseat of that overpriced, splashy SUV which someone would only ever buy if they had more money than sense.

Once he’d taken note of those factors, and what looked to be a designer dog on an equally designer leash, he’d had this woman made. And if she thought she could play the helpless victim and bash her eyelids at him, she had another thing coming.

“If you are driving without a legal license in your possession, that is a criminal offence which I can arrest you for. You could go to prison for this, did you know that?”

Terror had turned Jane’s blood cold. “No… I didn’t. I can explain…”

From the curl of disdain on his lip, it was clear he wasn’t interested in hearing what she had to say. “Hand over your ID. I need to call this in.”

Jane shrank under his gaze, her voice barely a squeak. “I don’t have that either.”

His eyebrows rose into his thinning hairline. “You’re telling me that you have been driving with no ID or license? Ma’am are you in any way a criminal or fugitive?

It was on the top of the tongue to reply that she was neither, except, she didn’t really know if that was true, that unhelpful voice in her head provided.

She had to do something before the situation spiraled out of control. An image of her being handcuffed and dragged away to prison flashed into her mind, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Detective Summers!” She cried out.

“My name is not Summers,” His brow knotted, causing thick lines to furrow on his forehead as he considered the possibility that the woman was on drugs.

“If you call him, he can explain who I am. He’s in the downtown office. Please, call and tell him it’s Jane Smith.”

“Jane Smith?”

His incredulity was palpable. Not for nothing, Jane already knew that it was the most common — and most anonymous name they could have picked for her. At the time, she hadn’t given it much consideration, though right now, every bone in her body wished she’d spent a little longer creating her new alias.

The cop hesitated, fighting an internal tug-of-war as he contemplated what to do. He must have thought there was some truth to her story as he returned to his car.

It took a while for him to be connected to Summers, and Jane could only hear snatches of the conversation above the roaring traffic. Summers must have waved his magic wand as, shortly after, when he returned to Jane, the frosty demeanor that had been present before, had gone.

In fact, he seemed sympathetic now.

Almost friendly.

It was a complete U-turn.

“I understand it has been a difficult few days but you can’t go around driving without a valid license — understand?”

Jane nodded, relief surging through her body and down to her frozen feet that felt like blocks of ice. “Is someone coming to fix the car?”

She hoped they would arrive soon. This was too much excitement for her, and she needed to get Loki back. She could see him eyeballing her new handbag like it was a juicy steak.

“Eventually, but you don’t have to worry about that. Your ride is on the way.”

He looked excited by this. A light had come into his eyes. There was even a pep in his step.

“Summers told me about your rescue. The damnedest thing being rescued by a movie star. You couldn’t make up a more outrageous story.”

Jane was starting to recognize what might have caused the change in his manner. It had been the same with the girl in the book store. His eyes held the light of fandom, that feverish glow that signaled more questioning was about to come — and none of it about her.

She steeled herself for the onslaught.

“So, what’s he like then? I’ve seen a lot of his films. He likes to play the hero, doesn’t he? He’s had a bad time recently, what with that famous break-up and his movies tanking. Is he as difficult as they say he is?”

He waited for her to answer with bated breath.

“I don’t know him very well. We only really just met,” Jane began, hoping that his questions would stop. While his attitude might have changed, she hadn’t forgotten the way he had made her feel. He hadn’t shown any kind of understanding toward her until he learned of her affiliation with Logan.

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