Page 17 of Desert Thorns

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“Face your vehicle, legs spread and toes pointing out to the side.”

The passengers walking by ogled us, some pulling out their phones and starting to film. Glam City was a wild place, but I bet a monk getting put in cuffs and frisked wasn’t something that occurred every day.

Humiliation crawled up my neck. I closed my eyes. Here I was, proving to the entire world that I, indeed, was a Grady. I’d worked so hard to get rid of that name and the rotten image that came with it. Instead, I was the one stacking up another scandal. Nice.

“Face towards me and open your mouth,” Officer Moore ordered from behind me.

Again, I complied.

“Close your mouth and face away from me. Do you have anything on your person that is dangerous or that may hurt me?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Do you have anything illegal on your person I need to know about before I conduct this search?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then I’ll search you now.”

One hand gripping my cuffed hands, she started patting me down methodically. First my belt and waistband area, then she moved down my right leg. She was thorough, to say the least. I tried to focus on something else than her hand moving all over my body. And the gawkers enjoying the show way too much. And Harley watching over her shoulder from the passenger seat.

I resorted to the one thing that always helped me to shut out the world—prayer. Once again I lifted up Harley. Whatever she’d gotten sucked into couldn’t be good if a detective was after her. Because what was happening here was no coincidence—it was a setup.

Now it made even more sense why Harley refused to involve the cops. It was impossible to tell who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. Officer Moore could’ve simply gotten the command tofrisk me without being in the know, or she could be the one pulling the strings.

“All done.”

Her announcement and the clicking of handcuffs intruded my thoughts. The vise-like grip loosened around my wrists, delivering my arms from the unnatural angle.

“Apologies for the inconvenience, Mr. Grady.” Officer Moore’s expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell if her words were heartfelt. “You have a good day now.”

I gave her a nod. “You, too.”

The small crowd that had collected on the sidewalk dispersed when I headed back to the F-150’s driver’s side door and got in. I settled behind the wheel and simply sat there for a moment, staring out the windshield without seeing anything.

“I could kill him,” Harley hissed. “This was absolutely out of line. Unacceptable.”

I glanced over at her. Her face was contorted with anger, the freckles popping out more than usual, her hazel eyes flashing.

“How dare he use a female officer! She didn’t even ask you for your license or vehicle registration. It was all about—”

“Hey.” I caught her forearm, stopping her wild gesticulation. “It’s fine.”

She stilled, her gaze dropping to where I was touching her.

My fingers started tingling, and I let her go. Busied them by turning the key in the ignition. “We really need to get back to the monastery.”

“I’m so sorry, Brother Samuel,” she whispered when I pulled away from the curb back into traffic.

“No need. The armor of God was a good one, by the way.” I grinned at her, then refocused on the busy road.

She laughed. “I don’t think Officer Moore agreed.”

“I don’t think so either. You were ready to fight her.”

“Better believe I was.”

We kept the conversation light on the way back, but my mind wouldn’t stop spinning. This scenario had proven that I needed to protect Harley all the more. Her ex had a lot more power than I’d anticipated.