Page 135 of Hot for Hostage

A faint wailing drew my attention, and I looked around Davian. More of his men were leaving the house and making their way to different SUVs. They moved like a well-oiled machine, working together and packing up the vehicles.

But the sound wasn’t coming from them.

It grew louder—muchlouder, and my heart skipped a beat.

Sirens.

I glanced over my shoulder. A dozen cop cars took a sharp turn and sped down the street toward us with their sirens blaring.

Bear leaned against my hip, growling low at the oncoming motorcade.

I went utterly still in Davian’s arms, all sorts of horrible scenarios running rampant in my imagination. “…Dav?”

But he didn’t look the least bit bothered or concerned about the police swarming us. He only unwrapped an arm from my waist to check his watch. “It’s about time they showed up.”

pretty boy

. . .

Davian

The cops arrived six minutes later than Vince and I had estimated they would.

Good thing we hadn’t counted on their help.

An ambulance followed the convoy of squad cars, and my father’s Bentley pulled in behind them. That wasn’t surprising. He had a habit of showing up as soon as the action died down.

“Lord above.” Gladys gave a low whistle as the squad cars all swerved into the cul-de-sac and parked haphazardly. “That’s a lot of coppers.”

Sadie slowly lifted her arms into the air and started to lower herself to the ground.

I grabbed her waist to stop her. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Surrendering,” she answered while trying to wiggle out of my grasp, but I wasn’t letting her go anywhere.

… Surrendering?

“For what?” I asked, genuinely confused. “You were the one taken captive.”

“Today, sure. But what about yesterday? I stole a gun and took you hostage,” she whispered urgently, glancing at the cops jumping out of their cars and heading toward us. Her armstrembled. “I don’t think I’ll do well in jail, Dav. They use cigarettes as currency in the movies, and my school had a police officer come talk to us about how bad drugs are. He made all the fifth-graders sign little cards promising we’d never even touch them. Plus, I’ve never made a shiv before. I don’t know how. Although, I once made a spatula out of recycled?—”

“Sadie.” Rambling was a surefire sign she was deep into freaking-out mode. “Put your arms down. They’re not here for you.”

As I spoke, the boys in blue jogged toward us with their weapons drawn.

Sadie tensed and leaned closer to me, but the men rushed right past us—heading for the house. When not a single one stopped or acknowledged us, Sadie lowered her hands as a crease formed in her brow.

“What are we—invisible?” she whispered. Several more cops ran past, not even sparing us a glance. Bear watched them with his head cocked to the side, both ears standing tall.

“They won’t bother us,” I explained, fighting a smile. “One of the reasons my family runs this city is because we have an understanding with these guys.”

“Well, isn’t that convenient,” Gladys drawled, and the look she sent me wasn’t at all friendly. But my attention was on the chief of police as he got out of his car.

“Gladys and Ryan, it’ll be better if you and Bear aren’t here for this part,” I said, keeping an arm around Sadie’s waist. “Take the van around the block and keep quiet.”

Gladys opened her mouth—most likely to protest—but Ryan nudged her with his hip and almost sent her flying. He nodded. “You got it. Should Sadie come with us?”

I tucked her into my side. “She’s good right here.”

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