Page 16 of Her Dragon Outlaw

She smirks as though she knows it, but somehow it is not as cocky as it could be. “Let’s get going before they find out we stole a bunch of their info.”

I nod and start the engine. “You should come to headquarters with me. Chief is going to be impressed. Also, because you agreed to be an informant, you get paid.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

The drive is quick as I take sharp corners in my haste to put as much distance between us and the scene as possible. Maybe Chief won’t be impressed that she stole from them, being a stickler for the rules, but he will be impressed we caught a break on this case, after months and months of people turning up dead.

“I know I keep saying it, but that was super impressive what you did back there. Not a lot of informants have your kind of guts.”

Lori shrugs. “When you work as a barista, you never know what’s going to happen. One day it’s solving crimes and the next it’s saving the president from nuclear war.”

I laugh. Her sense of humor enamors me. “You get a lot of action on your job, then?”

“You wouldn’t believe the kinds of people I’ve had to kill just to serve a latte.” She throws me a smile that lights up her face. Even the sun seems dim compared to it.

My heart makes a particularly hard thump in my chest. What could that be about?

“You were pretty slick with that receptionist,” Lori says.

I shake my head. “Yeah, I, uh. Don’t really know how to flirt with women.” I turn away to hide the way my face goes red-hot. Why do I find talking about this so embarrassing? For some reason, making Lori think I was into that receptionist strikes fear into my already-overworked heart, so I cover for myself. “It was pretty exhausting, though.”

“Women like that?” she snorts, which just makes her seem cuter. “I think she’ll be more cut up about missing out on a chance with you than you will with her.”

“Just wait until she finds out I gave her a fake number.”

Our laughter fills the car, my lungs bursting and my stomach hurting from the strain of keeping it together while I drive. I have not had this much fun in… years. My mind drifts back to the lake and the disappointed looks my father would give me over supper. I have never had this much fun. I have never been this free and open with anyone.

Being with her lifts a weight from my shoulders I did not know I was carrying. My entire life I have felt like I needed to prove myself. That is why I joined PEACE. That is why I have not settled down with anyone I have been interested in romantically. I feel restless most of the time and I do not know why. My father’s cold expectation seeps its way back into the car with us. The faces of the schoolyard bullies who tortured me throughout my teenage years come back to haunt me.

But when I look over at Lori, when she turns her friendly gaze upon me, her light bathes me in a warm glow. This is what I have been missing my entire life: someone who makes me lighter instead of heavier. My stomach hurts but the sound of her laughter buoys me all the way back to the station. The image of reaching out to brush back the loose strand of hair that falls in front of her face overwhelms me. Where are these feelings coming from?

“Honestly,” I say, as we round the corner to the street HQ is located on. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you did this kind of thing more often.”

“Do you think? I’ve never done anything like this in my life. Unless it was making my sister cover for me when I put a dead rat in the laundry at sleepaway camp.”

I shake my head. “I wish you hadn’t told me that. I’m going to have to arrest you.”

“Well,” she says, faking a shiver. Her voice goes low and soft. “You can arrest me any time you like.”

My ears heat up at the statement. “I’ll have to check the statute of limitations. See if we can’t get you acquitted.”

“Is this a cat-and-mouse game, then? I do the crime, but you do the time?”

I reach up to scratch the back of my neck, not daring to look at her. I slow the car to a crawl as we near the station. The heat in the car ratchets up a few degrees, her light turning from blinding to scorching. She has the power to turn me inside out if she wants to. As if I would have it any other way. There is no doubt in my mind that I would do anything she asked—sell her my kidney to pay for a diamond ring, go for a joyride in a cop car after hours, even steal a horse and carriage for a romantic trip around the city.

We pull up in the parking lot and I surprise myself with how readily I spring out of the car. I do not go far, though, zipping around to open the door for her. She has me wrapped around her finger, and the look she gives me as she steps out of the car, staring up at me through heavy eyelashes and a soft parted mouth, tells me she knows it.

15

LORI

Cody’s ears are bright red and mine must look the same. My cheeks are hot and my breath catches in my throat, making my mouth drop open to take in more air. My attraction to him must be obvious to everyone in a five-mile radius.

Down, girl, my inner voice says.

“Thanks. You’re such a gentleman.” Hopefully the tone in my voice comes off as teasing and not mean. He screws his face up and scratches the back of his neck again. He might as well say, “Aw, shucks,” while he is at it. He is the cutest man I have ever seen. I have to eat him like a cupcake, one bite at a time.

Cody leads me into the headquarters building and my jaw drops open.

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