Page 20 of Ruled By Fate

She’d also begun to suspect that his kind didn’t need to breathe.

“Why do you say, ‘If the shoe fits’ when footwear is not the issue?”

“Why do you assign value to shiny rocks?”

“What is meant by the term, ‘broseph?’”

“Do you never consider how the hot dog feels?”

“Why are you driving so fast?”

Brie gripped the steering wheel and gritted her teeth, vaguely aware she was doing about sixty in a forty-five zone. Her pulse quickened, and she had just opened her mouth with a rather cutting answer to that last question when she heard the siren and saw flashing lights behind her.

You’ve GOT to be kidding me.

She let out a curse that made his eyes widen and pulled over to the side of the road.

“Don’t say anything, okay?” she hissed. “Let me do all the talking. And don’t fiddle around with the window. And don’t get out of the car. And don’t talk about your bear. Just sit there quietly and let me handle this. It’s going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine.”

I’ve got to stop using that word.

“You needn’t be afraid,” he inserted gently, trying to calm her. “The police will merely hold you accountable for your actions. In the end, it’s actually a kindness—”

“I will gut you like a fish.”

He decided to sit there quietly after all.

She was fumbling for her license, trying to remember any of the breathing techniques Dr. Rogers had taught her when the cop rapped twice on her window.

She rolled it down with her most winning smile.

“License and registration.”

She handed them over and put her hands back on the wheel, bouncing her knees up and down with the manic energy of a Warner Brothers cartoon.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, this is fine.

Just stay quiet and calm.

And no matter what happens, don’t—

“I’m so sorry, officer,” she blurted. “I know I was going too fast. I’m just anxious, and in a new town, and frankly, you wouldn’t believe the day I’ve been having. I’ve been trying not to look at this judgmental bear for miles, and I’m still a little sugared up from the gummy worms. Or maybe I’m just jittery from the car accident? I don’t know, but I swear I’m not a criminal. I’ve never even had a parking ticket before. This is completely out of character for me, and if you could just take a second to—”

“You were in a car accident?” the cop asked sharply.

Her mind went blank. “Yes… it was… a long time ago.”

Excellent. Great job. Top-notch display of sanity and self-restraint.

He gave her a strange look. Such a strange look that she dug herself in a little deeper. “I’ve never even been sent to the principal’s office.”

His eyes strayed a little farther to the angel beside her.

“Neither have I,” Cameron volunteered helpfully. “But I’ve been instructed not to speak.”

As Brie rotated towards him with a chilling glare, Officer Mitchell, as his nameplate identified him, leaned in to take a better look. “You’ve been instructed not to speak?”

Cameron opened his mouth to answer, then paused as if the man might be testing him. He hesitated another moment, then nodded slowly instead, shooting Brie a conspiratorial wink.

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