Page 53 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind
Chapter Twenty-Three
“This does not looklike a shack of weeds.”
Despite the dire nature of the situation, Ryan’s lips quirked at Tiberius’s observation. The man said the oddest things.
“I never said it was a shack of weeds.” She looked through the windshield at the small building and seethed. “But it is where Drew keeps the majority of his weed stash.” At Tiberius’s blank look, she added, “Weed. Dried hemp leaves? People smoke it to get high. Also known as Mary Jane, hash, reefer, herb, ganja, and cannabis. Now, we just have to see if he’s hiding his grassy butt in there.”
Reaching past Tiberius, she opened the glove box and took out the gun she had stored there. It wasn’t her department issued pistol, but her personal one. It was only fitting, since she wasn’t officially part of the investigation and because now things had become, well,personal.
Tiberius closed his hand over her wrist as she started to pull the gun from the glove box. “Allow me to approach first and assess the state of things.”
She looked directly into his eyes and said, “Listen closely, because I’m only going to say this once. If you want me to accept you as you are, then you’re going to have to accept me as I am. And what I amnotis the kind of woman who sits back and lets her man do all the dirty work. If you can’t accept that, whatever it is we have here is not going to work.”
“It is not you I doubt, but my self-control if something should happen to you.”
Her heart melted a little. Had any man, had anyone, ever said anything so ... heart-melting to her?
His dark eyes swirled with emotion, and she could practically feel the connection between them. If only she could read him as easily as he could read her.
You could if you would just open yourself up to me, Ryan.
Her lips parted in surprise. Tiberius had just spoken to her in her mind! The words were faint, but she had heard them in her head nevertheless. Goosebumps covered her arms, and she felt a tingle of awareness spark deep inside her chest and begin to spread outward.
This was crazy. She was an officer of the law, trained to deal with facts and look at things logically, yet the more time she spent with Tiberius, the more she realized there were a lot of things her logic couldn’t cover. She wasn’t even sure if it mattered anymore. Tiberius had gotten under her skin. So what if he believed he was an alien? Who was she to say he wasn’t? If she was asking him to accept her at face value, shouldn’t she be willing to do the same?
The rational part of her brain kicked back in, reminding her of where they were. Now was not the time to delve intofeelingsor analyze extraterrestrial origins or fated mates. When this was all over, then she would sit down with a big bottle of wine, or maybe a fifth of bourbon, and sort through it. At that moment, they had more pressing concerns, like finding Quintus and putting the fear of God - and one seriously pissed off police detective - into a certain double-dealing informant.
Ryan gently extracted her wrist from Tiberius’s grasp then patted his hand. “What do you say, Tiberius? Are you with me or not? Because, the more time we waste, the longer it will take to find your friend.”
When a sense of grim determination washed over her, Ryan quickly realized it wasn’t hers. Oddly enough, it washis.
“I will accept that my mate is fierce, as long as she will accept my need to protect her in any way I can. Let us proceed. One day soon, you and I will discuss at length this predilection of yours toward badassery.”
“Did you just saybadassery?”
“It is a term Quintus uses quite frequently. That andbamf. Though I have yet to fully comprehend the meaning of that one.”
Speechless, she stared at him as he opened his car door and exited the vehicle, leaving her to follow him. By the time she got out herself, he was already halfway to the secluded shack. How had he moved so fast?
She didn’t waste time trying to figure it out.
Picking up speed, she ran, closing the distance between them. When she caught up to him just outside the shack, Ryan placed her hand on his arm and put her finger to her lips. He nodded, indicating he understood.
They circled the dilapidated prefab out in the middle of nowhere. It was large enough to function as a tiny house, yet small enough to escape serious notice. The lights were off and all was quiet, but the sweet, distinctive scent emanating from within gave Drew away.
Ryan drew her weapon and stood to the right side of the door, while Tiberius took up a similar position on the left. She then knocked and called out loudly, “Police. Open up, Drew. I know you’re in there.”
There was no response.
Unwilling to play any more games, Ryan wrapped her hand around the doorknob and turned.
“It’s locked.”
In one smooth, swift move, Tiberius stepped in front of the door and pushed her to the side. A heartbeat later, he lifted his leg and gave one powerful kick.
Just as the wooden door started to swing inward, a shot rang out, splintering the wood and blasting a hole through the door, slamming it back shut.
“Shit!” Ryan cursed.
