Page 67 of Shielding Aubree

So she kept her hands on the wheel and when the officer turned around to look at her, she smiled and nodded. Keeping calm and relaxed.

As he walked toward her he had his flashlight out and pointed at her in his hand raised up by his ear.

She repeated his license plate to herself as he moved closer.

"Put the car in park and shut off the engine."

"Officer, I'm-"

"You're going to turn off your car and put your hands on the steering wheel."

Aubree tried to per herself in his shoes.

Lone officer and a random car pulling up on his traffic stop?

Disconcerting to say the least.

She lowered her right hand slowly and deliberately and turned off the engine.

When she put her hand back on the steering wheel, she heard the man speak again.

"What in hell made you drive up to a traffic stop?"

"I'm an officer with the New Mexico State Police and saw you on the side of the road. Your lights aren't on. I thought you might need some assistance."

His flashlight lifted and shined in her eyes.

Instinctively she lifted her hands to block the light from her eyes. "I can show you my badge."

"Badge, huh?"

She nodded, trying to narrow her gaze so she could see beyond the blinding light. It didn't work.

"Show me your ID."

The man's tone was harsh and rough, but that wasn't entirely out of the ordinary. A lot of men that she worked with saw her as an outlier. What kind of help could she offer them?

She lifted her hands from the wheel and gestured at the center console. "It's in my purse. Beside me."

Something outside of the blazing white light caught her attention. Something about his car.

The decal on the driver's door was peeling off.

Her heart sank and her skin prickled with awareness.

The officer holding a gun on her wasn't an officer after all.

If she played her cards right, she might be able to get to her service pistol where it was under her purse.

Swallowing down some of her nerves, Aubree managed a smile. "I'm going to get my badge for you. It's under my purse."

"Slowly."

She nodded. "Slowly," she agreed. "I have to lift my purse to get it and-"

Pain exploded against the side of her head and then there was nothing.

The pain in her head now wasn't just a memory of the pain from her memory.

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