Page 24 of Stormswept Colorado

Would I get a mug shot for the media to splash all over the internet? Nausea churned in my stomach. If Teller wanted to make this painful for me, he could.

Yet when we’d been stuck in the bathroom, he’d actually seemed concerned about my welfare. I was pretty sure he’d even made a couple of jokes. He’d definitely made me smile, however quickly that moment had passed.

Teller led me down a hallway to an office withChief Landrywritten on the door. He nudged me toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Sit there. Don’t touch anything.”

“Can I take my coat off?” My jacket was unbuttoned, but still too heavy for the temperature in here.

With another put-upon sigh, Teller fished a key from his pocket. “Alright. Turn around.” He unlocked the cuff from one of my wrists, then tugged my coat off my shoulders, careful not to yank my hair.

The slide of his palms down my arms sent tingles dancing through me.

“I could’ve taken it off myself.”

“I’m not trusting you to do much at the moment. Now sit down, Troublemaker.” He tossed my coat onto the far seat. I sat in the closer one.

Then he took the dangling open end of the handcuffs, which were still attached to my left wrist, and fastened it onto the arm of the chair.

“I need to go handle some things. I’ll be back.”

“Prisoners are supposed to get a phone call, aren’t they?”

“Just gonna have to wait. Try to be on good behavior.”

“What about Bryan? How is he?”

“Wait.” Teller gave me a wry look before he left the office.

Welp, here I was. In a police station under arrest. Taking a hard look at my life choices.

The chief’s office was exactly what I would’ve expected of him. Everything nice and neat. He had a display case of challengecoins on one wall. Hardly any personal photos except for one with him, his sister Piper, and her son Ollie.

I was twenty-seven with a flush bank account, but I still barely felt like an adult. Teller gave off extremely grown-man vibes. Like he was too busy adulting to have much time to enjoy himself. Even in that family photo, he looked serious. As if he were contemplating the weight of the world.

Ashford had mentioned that Teller served as a Green Beret and had been wounded in action. He was the kind of guy my father would’ve pointed to and said,Now there’s a real man.

Real men, according to the colonel, ruled their families with an iron fist and didn’t put up with backtalk or independence from their women.

Who was Teller Landry underneath his scowl and his uniform?

My gaze continued to move around the room, taking in a bulletin board with photos tacked onto it. Some showed houses with broken windows. Another with red spray paint across a barn door. Next to the photos was a map with red pins on it, marking locations.

I wondered what that was about.

There was a knock, and the door opened. A uniformed officer in wire-rimmed glasses stepped into the office, balancing two coffee cups. “Uh, hello Miss Maxwell. I brought coffee. In case you’d like some. One black, one with cream and sugar, since I didn’t know how you take it.”

He held out both paper cups like an offering.

“That’s nice of you. I’ll take the sugary one. I could use a pick-me-up.” I lifted my free hand, and he gave me the coffee. “Thanks.”

“I’m Officer Duncan, but Seth is fine. I mean, if you want to call me that.” He blushed.

Seth had medium-brown hair. Boyish features, though I guessed he was in his late thirties. His glasses made him lookstudious, but he was tall and leanly muscled. That kind of build could hide a lot of strength.

I sipped the coffee.Yikes. Too much sugar, but I swallowed a gulp anyway and smiled. “I appreciate it.”

Seth glanced over his shoulder. “I can’t believe the chief arrested you. This has to be some kind of misunderstanding, right?”

“You don’t think I’m a hardened criminal?”

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