The hulks keep laughing. Lots of jelly belly jittering above me.
“I don’t think they know what a eunuch is,” one of the tourists shouts.
“Oh, good grief!” I jab the gun higher making my target clear.
A siren stops mid-shriek, and then—thank you, God—the front door slams open. Two sets of boots pound across the wood floor and come to a stop on either side of HulkOne and Hulk Two. I’m still on my back with the gun pointed up between Hulk One’s legs.
“Put your weapons down.”
I groan when I recognize our rescuer’s voice. It’s a voice that belongs in Atlanta, not a small beach town on the west coast of Florida. It was once part of my past.
“Them first,” I say.
“Sydney? Jesus!” Officer Luke Hayes bites out. “For once in your life, could you just do what you’re told?” Even without looking, I can see the tick in his cheek he gets when he’s annoyed.
I don’t lower my gun until the hulks drop theirs. The other policeman retrieves their guns and whips out handcuffs while Luke relieves me of A.J.’s gun and pulls me up from the floor.
I haven’t seen Luke since my grandfather’s funeral, and I don’t like running into him unprepared, let alone on my back with a gun jammed between a fat guy’s legs. I had a crippling crush on him all through puberty. I tried to give him my virginity—a gift he refused and has hopefully forgotten.
The second policeman reads the hulks their rights and escorts them out to the cruiser. A.J. steps out from behind the bar. The waitress pries herself out of the crevice she’s been hiding in and flashes Luke a smile.
Now that it’s over, I start to shake. “What were you thinking, throwing me that gun?” I demand.
A.J. shrugs, looks sheepish. “I, uh, just figured you’dknow what to do. You know. After all those years as a cop and all.”
I blink then check for a smirk or wink. But A.J. still seems to think I’m Cassie Everheart. “I’m an actor, A.J. I pretend for a living. But if you ever even think about throwing a loaded gun at me again, I’ll use you for target practice.”
“Sounds like police brutality to me. You really don’t want to be making idle threats.” Luke shakes his head. His eyes, which are a bright blue, twinkle. “But I guess that’s what living in LA will do to a person.”
“Oh, stop it!” I snap. “What are you doing here on Pass-a-Grille anyway?”
“I transferred down from Atlanta about five years ago. I’ve been with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department for the last two.”
I step away from the two of them. Now that the threat of imminent demise is over, I’m in no mood to take any guff from anyone. Besides, standing too close to Luke has always made it hard to think clearly.
“It would be a very bad idea to do any of that pretending here,” he says. “It’s called impersonating a police officer and there are some stiff penalties attached.”
Okay, I don’t know if it’s just me, but when a good-looking man in uniform, even one you’ve known since childhood who can be as annoying as hell, uses the word “stiff,” it’s hard not to feel a little tingle of sexual awareness. Still, I’ve never reacted well to being told what to do. Just ask my parents.
“What are you going to do?” I demand. “Run me out oftown on a rail?” I’m starting to build up a good head of steam.
“I’m not kidding, Syd,” Luke says. “You have to think before you act.” He fixes me with a cop stare. “I mean it, ‘squirt.’ ”
I bristle at the old nickname. The pool players go back to their game. Two of the old guys wrap their arms around each other and weave toward the door.
“You won’t be operating any motor vehicles now, will you, gentlemen?” Luke fixes them with a milder, more tolerant look than he turned on me.
“Nope. Jes’ walkin’ home to get cleaned up. I think I peed my pants laughing when Cassie here knocked herself out on that guy’s leg.”
I sigh. But I don’t even bother to protest that I am not actually Cassie Everheart.
Luke’s lips twitch, which is even more irritating than the big-cheese attitude he’s been copping. I’d rather piss off a man than have him laugh at me any day.
“How long are you in town for?” He does a last scan of the bar.
“I’m not sure.”
“You need a ride or anything?” The tone is surprisingly inoffensive.
