4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

W ill pulled up to the police station, and Zara parked next to him. Brett had said zero intelligible words the entire trip across town, but he growled a lot with plenty of mumbling.

Will opened the back door. "Come on out, Brett." Will stepped back and waited.

Brett scooted out. "This is so stupid. She just bumped into the table when she reached for her phone when she dropped it on the floor. I can't believe she's spewing this stupid ol' lie."

Zara came up beside them. "Too bad for you, your lie isn't lining up with the one she tried."

Will had to smother a chuckle.

Brett snarled at Zara and took a step toward her.

Will raised his hand in front of Brett. "Back off, man." If this man knew what was good for him, he wouldn't even think about being a jerk to Zara.

Zara walked ahead and pulled the door to the police station open and held it for Will as he led Brett inside. The three of them headed to booking.

The officer at the desk asked, "What do we have here?"

Zara put a hand on her hip. "Wife-beater."

"She ain't my wife, and I didn't beat her." Brett leaned into Zara's face. "So, little miss sassy pants, why don't you just shut up?"

Will yanked him away. "Let's not go adding assaulting a police officer to your list of offenses, okay?"

"Then tell your filthy little heifer to get lost."

Zara emphatically rolled her eyes and turned to start the paperwork the officer at the desk handed her.

Will hated that being called derogatory terms didn't seem to bother Zara, but as a female police officer, he was sure she'd heard more than her share. It came with the uniform. But all of his self-control was necessary not to deck the lowlife for insulting the woman he cared about.

Without too much more trouble, they got Brett booked and escorted him to lockup.

The officer opened the door to the cell block, and they entered. Will gave Brett a little shove.

Brett growled.

From a cell to their left, someone said, "Well, if it ain't Officer Too-Slow and his little wench Officer PMS."

Without looking at the prisoner, Zara said, "What's the matter, Ernie? Can't make bail?"

Ernie reached through the bars to Zara.

If Will hadn't been holding Brett's arm, he would have charged across the hall and snapped the other man's arm. "Hey, keep your hands to yourself."

"Aww, she needs her partner to stand up for her."

Zara whipped around, grabbed the man's hand, and pressed it against the bars at an unnatural angle. "You wanna try that again?"

Will shoved Brett into the holding cell across from Ernie, slammed the door shut, and spun around.

Ernie whispered something to Zara.

She let go and stepped back quickly.

Will came up beside her. "What did he say?"

She shook her head, her face pulled tight in a scowl.

Will glared at Ernie, but to Zara said, "Let's get out of here."

She strode to the door, but as soon as she was on the other side, she seemed to deflate.

All Will wanted to do was take her in his arms, but that wasn't an option; they had to keep some semblance of decorum, especially inside the police station.

She took a deep breath and shook out her arms and legs. "All right, back to the streets."

Will grabbed her elbow and pulled her toward him. "Not so fast. What did he say?"

She shook her head. "I'm not repeating it. He was being disgusting, and it's not worth giving more of my time to."

"Do I need to go back in there and punch him?"

"Probably, but that won't do either of us any good, so save your knuckles." She took his hand and ran her thumb across his knuckles then dropped his hand suddenly, as if she had realized what she was doing. She pressed her index finger to his chest. "Catch you on the flip side." She darted away.

He stood planted in place, reeling from Zara's touch.

The rest of Zara's night was relatively uneventful. Just a couple of traffic stops and one drunk guy wandering down the center of the street. But in the morning, the disgusting comment from Ernie still plagued her as she walked up to the dry cleaner's door. The place was tucked into the middle of a long strip mall with a 7-Eleven at one end and a Dollar General at the other.

Why did some men have to make everything sexual? Must be something they were taught in guy school.

But Will wasn't like that. Always a gentleman. Always respectful. Always treating her like an equal. But not like "one of the guys" either. Both he and Logan were different than most of the guys she had ever interacted with.

She handed over her dirty uniform. "Hey, Ming. This one is"—she waggled her head side to side—"less clean than normal. I don't think it actually got burned anywhere though."

Ming, the sweetest woman you could ever meet, smiled at Zara. "I heard about how you saved that baby. Her papa brings his shirts here, said if you had not gone in there she would have died. You are a hero, Miss Zara."

"I don't know that I'd go that far. But hopefully the uniform is salvageable."

"Don't underestimate the power behind helping people. Let Him use you. Saving lives isn't simply for this life either."

"I guess not."

"Eternity is at play too. Keep that in mind, Miss Zara. And how's that handsome officer I saw you with the other day?"

"Wait, what?"

"The one with the dark hair. That man looks at you like my Hiro looked at me on our wedding day and most days since."

"Will? He's fine." More than fine. "But we're just friends."

"You keep telling yourself that, but you know there is more there. He seems like a good man. Don't let him get away."

"Yes, ma'am." Zara chuckled. "I'm glad I can come to you for advice." Even if it was advice she didn't ask for.

"Here's your clean uniform. Thank you for your service to our community. It does not go unnoticed." Ming handed Zara the plastic-covered uniform.

"Thank you, Ming. I'll see you in a few days."

They said goodbye, and Zara walked out, thoughts of Will warming her cheeks.

Darting her gaze across the parking lot, she walked to her car, dry cleaning draped over her arm.

A truck was parked near her Jetta, and a man came around the front of it. Ernie.

Zara's heart pounded against her ribs. Instinctively, her hand went to her thigh, where her gun normally was, but she wasn't on duty.

"Whatcha doing around here this morning, Ernie? Apparently, you made bail."

"I did. Was wondering if you wanted to take me up on my offer."

She restrained a shudder. "You know my answer. I'm going to need you to leave now though."

He approached with steady, haughty steps.

She shuffled backward. Give me wisdom for how to deal with this, God.

"Oh come on, you know you want to have a little fun. I heard from Ivan Dayton—that's your ex-boyfriend, right?—that you're a real treat."

Her throat constricted, and breathing felt impossible. Her ex had been an officer too. He had no right to talk about her to convicted felons.

"What brought you to Hazel Hill?" Had he come all this way to find her?

"It's happenstance, my pet."

"I'm no one's pet, least of all yours. Please leave."

Ernie chuckled. "You'll be singing a different song after I'm done with you."

"Get lost." She needed backup, so she checked her back pocket. Her phone was still in her car, and Ernie blocked her path. How could she be so stupid?

Maybe if she led him away, she could circle back and get in her car without him getting too close. She backed up farther and directed herself around another vehicle, shifting away from the truck he'd come around.

As she suspected, he followed, regardless of how fast she went.

Ernie's leering eyes seemed as if they were trying to undress her. "You know, you look hot in your uniform, but those shorts are even more enticing."

Apparently, she wasn't wrong about his eyes. "You do understand that I'm an officer of the law, and whether or not I'm in uniform, if you touch me in any way, you could be charged with assaulting a police officer?"

"And I'll tell them you asked for it."

"You think they'll believe a convicted felon over me?" She wasn't going to fall for his tricks. Skirting around the end of the car, she drew her keys from her pocket. Now, more than ever, she wished all the doors didn't automatically unlock on her car. She always hated that feature for safety reasons, and moments like this were why.

As soon as Ernie was at the farthest point from her car, she dashed to the driver's door, swung it open, and before she was inside, she hit the door-lock button. Tossing her uniform into the passenger seat, she shoved the key into the ignition and started the car.

Ernie slammed into the hood of her car and pointed at her. "I will find you."

She put the car in reverse and backed out of the space.

It took the whole drive back to her apartment to stop shaking. She wasn't sure if she should take Ernie seriously. He'd been one to talk a lot, and on occasion he'd backed up what he said with action. But more than that, she desperately wanted to know why he was in Hazel Hill. Had he followed her? She hadn't kept it a secret where she was moving after she'd thrown her dad in prison, but she hadn't advertised it either. How much did she need to be concerned about Ernie?