Mayhem & Mistletoe, стр. 36
Van was slow, but not so slow he didn’t catch on to the fact that I was calling his manhood into question. He was no longer smiling. “How about I show you just how good things are working?”
“Avery ....” Eliot pushed himself to a standing position on the porch. “Run. Don’t just stand there.”
I had a plan, but I couldn’t very well tell him that. I readied to kick him where the steroids had already probably wounded him, but it never came to fruition. As he reached the spot where I would’ve unleashed my foot, a figure hopped in from my left and drew his attention.
The first thing I saw was a mass of blond hair. The first thing I heard was a triumphant shout. The first thing I smelled was burning ... something.
Things happened fast. I registered that Sabrina had appeared out of nowhere and cut off Van’s angle of attack. I also registered that she had what looked to be a Taser in her hand and she’d pressed it to the big man’s arm, giving him a full jolt and causing him to go rigid.
My mouth dropped open as Van hit the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head. As quickly as the excitement started, it was over … and I had trouble wrapping my mind around what had happened.
“Don’t worry,” Sabrina announced, turning to me with a wide-eyed smile. “I totally saved you. You’re fine.”
THE COPS WEREN’T FAR BEHIND SABRINA, and Jake was one of them. He swooped in twenty minutes after the responding Detroit police officers had taken over the scene — and he didn’t look happy.
“I’m going to kill you!” He jabbed a finger toward me but headed for the officer in charge, one Detective Andrew Mahorn.
“He’s going to have to get in line,” Eliot groused. He sat on the back step of an ambulance and watched as a paramedic moved a finger in front of his face. “I’m definitely going to kill you first.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to take on that guy. I had everything under control.”
The look he shot me was withering. “You had nothing under control. Did you even have a plan?”
“I was going to kick him in the nuts.”
“And when that didn’t work?”
“I was going to bite him or something. The point is, I had everything under control.”
“Right.” Eliot grimaced. “The only reason you’re still standing — and me by extension, because that guy would’ve killed me if I jumped on him — is because your intern came loaded for bear.”
That was not what I wanted to hear. “She’s not my intern.”
“She saved you.”
“She ... has good timing.” That was the best I could muster. Honestly, I didn’t want to even acknowledge that much. “She got him on the arm, too. That was ... good.”
Eliot narrowed his eyes. “You owe her a thank you.”
“And I think that a job well done is thanks enough.”
“Avery.” His voice was low and full of warning.
“Fine.” I didn’t want to interact with the girl — she was flirting with two officers who thought she was the sweetest and bravest thing they’d ever crossed paths with — but I knew Eliot well enough to understand he wouldn’t let it go. “I’ll thank her. Will that make you happy? All I care about is making you happy.”
“Keep it up.” Eliot nodded when the paramedic asked if his hearing was okay. “Your punishment will be even harsher when we get home if you’re not careful.”
“Maybe that turns me on.”
Even though I was certain he was trying to keep a straight face, his lips quirked. “Just thank her and we’ll get out of here.”
The second part sounded good, so I swiveled, determined, and ran smack into Jake. His expression was even darker than Eliot’s ... if that was even possible. “What are you doing here?” I blurted out, taking over the conversation before he had a chance to utter a single word.
“I have an alert set on your name,” Jake gritted out. “If any cop in the county stumbles across you doing something stupid, they’re supposed to call me.”
“We’re not in Macomb County.”
“No, but the Detroit Police Department was willing to play the game too. They seemed amused when they called to tell me what happened.” His eyes drifted to Eliot and he was momentarily abashed. “Is everybody okay?”
“I’m fine,” I offered.
“I was asking about Eliot.”
Eliot chuckled. “I’m fine, too. He knocked the wind out of me when he threw me across the porch, but I’m fine.” He looked to the paramedic for confirmation. “Right?”
“You should be fine,” the paramedic replied, packing his bag. “You should take it easy tonight if you can. Go to bed early.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Eliot intoned. “I plan to take it easy. I even have a nurse on staff who is going to provide for my every need.”
I didn’t have to ask who that was. “I can’t believe you have an alert set on my name,” I groused at Jake. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”
“I don’t care.” Jake folded his arms over his chest. “I want to know what you’re doing here.”
“I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing,” I countered. “Last time I checked this was still a free country.”
“If you want to leave, you’ll have to tell me.”
“Um ... not going to happen.”
Frustration positively rolling off him, Jake turned to Eliot. “Do you want to tell me?”
Eliot looked conflicted. “Sorry. This is her deal. You’ll have to take it up with her.”
“Well, fine.” Jake pasted a Joker-like smile over his face. “How about this? You’re not leaving until I know what you were doing here. I’ll take you into custody if I have to. How do you like that?”
I didn’t like that one bit. “You do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I