Page 141 of Hot for Hostage

Bear was still staring at me with those puppy-dog eyes.

Warmed by all the attention, I blew a kiss to both of them.

A smirk curled Davian’s lips, earning him a punch on the arm from Vince—who didn’t seem too happy about being ignored.

I turned back to Officer Murdock, who was watching our interaction with a frown. I barely fought down the urge to roll my eyes at him. Even though I was trying my best to be polite and follow the rules, it still annoyed me how poorly he’d handled Bear’s dognapping.

Murdock ran a hand over his jaw, gaze narrowing on me. “So, you know Davian Reed?”

I pulled Davian’s jacket tighter around me. “You could say that.”

He glanced toward the sidewalk, and his frown deepened. “You two seem close.”

A schoolgirl blush threatened to rise, and I stamped it down. He had just witnessed me kissing the guy. “It’s a bit of a crazy situation, but he helped me get Bear back.”

Murdock had thedisappointed law enforcementlook down pat. He even enhanced it by standing with his legs slightly apart and crossing his arms.

“Sadie, we’ve known each other for a few years now,” he said slowly. “We can be honest with each other, right?”

Unsure where this was going, I took a sip of my water—wishing it were something sweeter—before answering. “We’re not friends, if that’s what you mean.”

He feigned a shot to the heart, wincing. “Ouch. That’s a little harsh after everything I’ve done for you and the shelter, isn’t it?”

My hackles rose. That was rich coming from him. Some of my will to be polite vanished. “…You mean like when I called you after Bear was taken, and you did absolutely nothing to help us find him?”

“What did you expect me to do?” His chuckle grated against my skin. “I can’t play doggy detective every time one runs off. The city’s full of missing dogs.”

“But he didn’t run away. He wasstolen. You told me to check if he had shown up at other shelters, but we had the Skulls on tape, carrying him away!”

His laughter faded. “That wasn’t a lead. Nobody could ID a face from that grainy security footage.”

“Davian took one look at their graffiti and knew it was the Skulls,” I said. “He said it was obvious.”

Murdock shook his head. “You’re talking him up now, but do you even know who Reed is? What he does for a living?”

That made me pause and shift my weight. This was dangerous territory to discuss with a police officer.

“I know enough,” I hedged, not sure what he was getting at.

“He’s a monster who turned Zain Ali’s face into a bloody pulp. The kid will need surgery.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Dozens of officers were watching him, and he knew he could do that without us touching him,” Murdock added gravely. “That’s too much power for one man to have.”

I swallowed. He wasn’t wrong—that’d been scary to watch. “What are you trying to say?”

A long pause heightened my worry before he shook his head. “I just want you to be careful. That’s all.”

“I am being careful.” I scrunched my nose at the defensiveness in my tone. “And, honestly, Jake? It’s none of your business.”

His brows shot up.

And I hadn’t said his name to be nice. It was mostly because I was growing tired of his attitude.

“Noted.” His tone turned clipped—borderline frosty—as he averted his gaze to the crowd forming in front of Zain’s house. “I just thought you had a stronger moral compass than to get involved with criminals like him. Guess I was wrong.”

I prickled with annoyance at his bad attitude, but I had to laugh.

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