Page 12 of Whisper

The ringing in my ears intensified, and then two officers were sliding into the front seats, banging their doors closed.

I breathed through my nose, closed my eyes, and kept my head bowed.

The interior of the car was cool, the sweat I’d been covered with now making me shiver. The jingle of keys bounced in my eardrum, and then the ignition made a horrible grinding sound when the officer turned the key.

“Fucking budget cuts,” one of them bitched as he tried the key again.

A loud clicking noise filled the cab, and then it grinded and stalled once more. Chills broke out along my arms, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. The urge to eject myself from the car was so intense I sat up and leaned to the side, grappling behind my back for the door handle.

My heart pounded erratically, adrenaline pummeling me once more. Exhaustion clung to my limbs, my body weary, but the rest of me refused to relax.

The engine turned over again while I pumped the handle and tried to escape.

Bang! Bang! The officer on the other side of the cage slammed his hand against it, making everything rattle. “It’s locked! Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.”

Was that supposed to be a joke? Not funny.

Panic scratched its way up my throat. With it, the urge to yell and scream made me tremble.

A large body pressed up against mine, Arsen squishing so close I was pinned between him and the door I’d been trying to claw my way through. Surprise made my body still even as my heart continued to pound.

One of these days, it’s going to burst.

“Chill,” Arsen said quietly, widening his legs to press his thigh along mine.

I stared at his dark-denim-covered leg, eyes skipping to the rips and tears in the fabric. I latched on to the glimpses of skin, sitting so close I could see the dark hair covering the front of his quad.

I bet it’s rough to the touch.

His upper body leaned into mine, diminishing the space I had to occupy. I should have been panicking. I should have been kicking and screaming, fighting like hell for my freedom.

The engine turned over, revving to life with a smooth purr.

“There she is,” the driver said, voice barely audible over everything else. Everything I felt.

Completely drained, I slumped, body sinking into the heat that Arsen provided. Plastered so tightly against him, I felt when his arm jerked, and I panicked as the squad car pulled out onto the main road, taking us to jail.

I jolted up, body tense, wanting to apologize but unable to find a single word.

He grunted. “No.”

“S-sorry,” I managed, still tongue-tied.

“Come back over here.” His voice was a quiet rumble. I glanced up. “These fucking cuffs,” he said, repeating the action that had me sitting back. “If I had my arms, I’d hold you.”

Oh shit. I was used to intense, overwhelming, near-crippling reactions. But hearing Arsen say he wanted to hold me?

Napalm.

It lasted a few seconds, the ringing in my ears almost music as the rest of me quieted. The reprieve was such a relief that I found myself slumped back into his side when everything else came back.

“There you go,” he murmured, lips so close his breath stirred my hair. “Stay just like that.”

My body’s default setting was fight or flight. I could literally not remember a time when it wasn’t.

So imagine my surprise when it listened to Arsen and simply stayed.

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