Page 67 of Scotch & Shortbread

“Aye. ‘Tis fine,” he said, lifting it and feeling a slight throb.

“Well?” she probed.

Alex sighed, knowing she wanted details. He wanted to talk about the two of them and not his stupid injury that should have never happened.

"If you're not going to talk to me, then I'm just going to go," she said wearily, reaching for the door handle.

“Stay." His voice was hoarse. She looked back at him and whatever she saw in his eyes convinced her because she nodded and settled again in the passenger seat.

"I got a call today. A drug bust that went awry.”

Quinn’s eyes widened. “In Calen?”

“No, in Cache.” Cache was a city just shy of an hour west of Calen.

“How come they called you all the way out there?”

“I have tactical training, and they needed backup,” he answered nonchalantly. “It was a shite show when I got there.”

Quinn shook her head as if trying to comprehend what Alex was saying. “I know you’re a cop, but I still find this weirdly disconcerting,” she muttered.

“Aye, well, I dinnae often get called out of Calen." He looked out the front windshield into the darkness. "To be honest, it felt good to do the work I’ve been trained fer. Like moving a muscle that hasnae been used in a while. Bear loved it too.”

“Oh my God, where is Bear?” she asked, suddenly concerned.

“Ach, not to worry, lass. I dropped him back at the cottage with Lachlan. Bear was snoring in front of the fireplace when I left him.”

A small smile tugged her lip and she nodded, in obvious relief. Alex liked that she'd grown fond of his pup. Hopefully, she was fond of the owner too.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but tell me about this "shite show.”

Alex’s lips twitched in a half grin. “We got inside this old warehouse, and two bams came at me with knives.” He opened and closed his fingers on his injured hand as he spoke.

“What?” Quinn gasped.

“Bams—Two guys,” Alex corrected, looking up into her concerned big brown eyes.

“Not that part,” Quinn snapped, exasperated. “They came at you with knives?” She couldn't keep the dismay from her voice.

“It’s okay, lass. I wasnae in danger,” he reassured her, feeling a puff of hope form in his chest at her concern.

She looked at him like he’d grown two heads. “What the heck does a dangerous day look like to you?” she bit out, aghast.

“Perhaps there was a wee bit of danger,” Alex conceded with his lips tugged into a smirk. “Anyway, while I fought off the one bam, the other one managed to slice my hand.” He held up his bandaged hand, still unimpressed that the guy had managed to cut him.

“Oh my God, Alex.” Quinn looked at him with so much concern in her eyes that it nearly choked him up. But it also fortified his hope. She cared.

“’Tis fine. Only a nick.” He cleared his throat trying to keep emotion from creeping in.

She gave him a sideways look. “I don’t think they wrap up nicks like that,” she said, nodding towards the hand that was bandaged like an oversized mitt with an opening on the end for his fingertips.

“Aye. Well, at the time, I barely noticed I’d even been cut.”

She shook her head and looked like she was trying to imagine the scenario. “What happened when you did notice?”

“I got pissed off, took their knives away, and zip-tied them. Then went to help with the rest.”

She bit her full lip worriedly, and it did that thing to him that it always did. God help him.

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