Page 19 of My Three Rivals

Again with the “calm down.” It’s like they wanted me to lose it.

My scowl deepened, but I inhaled and collected myself. “They can’t just move in here. I’m all alone. Can’t you see how inappropriate this is?”

“You’re not alone anymore,” Wyatt cracked from behind me, and I whipped around to give him a death look, which only amused him more.

Atticus returned with a fistful of pages, the male officer taking them. The cop stood between us as if he sensed a brawl ready to progress, but my heart slowed now that I realized I wasn’t in any danger—and never really had been. For as angry as they’d sounded when I’d locked them out, they were all more pickled by my reaction than they were upset.

The epiphany slapped and infuriated me. They were taking advantage of the fact that I was on my own and there were three of them.

They had no idea what they were up against. They couldn’t scare me. I’d dealt with men like them my whole life.

“That doesn’t sound like a very fun situation for any of you,” the male deputy announced, speaking for the first time. “Don’t you gentlemen have somewhere else to stay?”

I grinned caustically, folding my arms under my chest smugly, but my arrogance was short-lived.

“We do,” Maverick said smoothly, locking his teal-blue eyes with mine. “But we have every right to stay here, too. Why would we leave?”

My jaw tightened, and I waited for the cop to order them out.

“He’s right, Johns,” the woman agreed, scanning over the papers that Atticus had produced after her partner had read them. “They don’t have to leave. This is a civil matter—if a matter at all.”

My arms fell to the side, defeat consuming me. “You can’t be serious! Didn’t you see the way they were knocking down the door?”

She nodded, and for the first time, I read the name on her brass nameplate: Connoly.

“Yes. But you had no right to lock them out of their residence,” Officer Johns piped in.

I gawped at all of them, humiliated as the Suncorp assholes grinned cockily, exchanging winning glances. Johns and Connoly turned to me now.

“However, I really don’t think this is a smart situation for you to remain in. Miss…?”

The deputy nodded at me, waiting for me to give my name. I could barely manage it. “Pickett. Tegan Pickett,” I mumbled, hating her at that moment as much as I despised the intruders.

“Miss Pickett, why don’t you go stay at a friend’s house until things cool down? If there is a legal way to resolve this, I suggest you file a complaint with the courts.”

“This is my house! If anyone should go, it’s them!” I insisted.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Atticus informed me again, his pretty hazel irises gleaming.

“Maybe a hotel?” Johns suggested, uselessly.

Are you going to pay for that, Officer Johns?!I wanted to bark, but I held my tongue. I wasn’t making friends out of local law enforcement.

“No,” I said flatly. “No. I’m not leaving my home.”

The police officers exchanged a wary look.

“I’m sure we can learn to co-exist after this,” Maverick jumped in suddenly, the blanket of tension thickening around us. “Can’t we, guys?”

He eyed his partners, and the men nodded agreeably, but I simply stared at him balefully.

“Miss Pickett?” Maverick pressed urgently as he maintained his smile.

I shouldn’t have bothered with the cops.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered.

“I still think it’s best if you all go your own separate ways,” Connoly insisted again. “These kinds of things rarely get better over time.”

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