A muscle twitched under Cross’s eye. His hand stayed on the butt of his gun. “You know Miss Page.”
It wasn’t phrased as a question, reminding me what it was like when he and his partner interrogated me. They were good at putting words in my mouth. When I first played this game with him I was a kid; alone, ruined. I wasn’t good at it. I was better now.
“It seems you do, too.”
Tenley’s fingers trailed along my forearm to the back of my hand. I stopped willing Cross to burst into flames and looked at her.
“Officer Cross pulled me over when I ran a stale yellow a few weeks ago,” Tenley explained.
“But I let you off with a warning.” The fucker winked at her.
Tenley blushed and looked uncomfortable. I wanted to gouge his eyes out. “I’d gotten lost, I was distracted. Officer Cross escorted me home.”
“That was awfully considerate,” I said, my sarcasm unconcealed.
Cross rocked back on his heels, ignoring me. “I recognized her last name. It was the least I could do.”
Tenley gave him a small smile and he returned it, his sympathy obvious. He knew about Tenley’s accident. He probably had information I didn’t. What bothered me most was that this dickhead who barely knew Tenley could get a detailed history of her life in a heartbeat, while I had to fight for every snapshot pertaining to her past.
I settled a palm on her back, sensing her discomfort. The topic upset her, as did my pissing contest with Cross. His interest in her bothered me. Even if he was concerned for her well-being, I couldn’t see him popping by if he didn’t have ulterior motives.
Unable to stop touching her, I skimmed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. She did that to me sometimes, and it helped calm me down when I was agitated. She looked nervous, as well she should have been. The testosterone level in the store was stifling. If there’d been a boxing ring, Cross would have been bleeding on the mat.
“Do you think you can do me a favor, kitten?” I wanted a few minutes alone with Cross. His sudden reappearance unnerved me, as did his unexpected connection to Tenley.
“Now?”
“Mm, please? I forget what kind of coffee Lisa wanted. Can you run across the street and find out for me?”
“But I have to watch the store.” Her eyes darted from me to Cross and back again.
“I’ll take care of things.”
Cross shot me a contemptuous look before he smiled warmly at Tenley. “You go right ahead, sweetheart. It’ll give Hayden and me a chance to catch up. It’s been a while.”
I gritted my teeth over the term of endearment.
Tenley wavered before she slipped off the chair. “I’ll be right back.” She rounded the counter and stopped in front of him. He was several inches shorter than me and almost twice as wide.
Tenley still had to look up. “It was nice of you to stop by, Officer Cross.”
“It’s just Collin. You still have my card?”
Tenley nodded.
“You call if you ever need anything.” He tipped his hat and winked. Again.
She muttered an embarrassed good-bye and glanced warily at me as she left the store.
Cross waited for the door to close before he turned back to me. The air of civility dropped, and his mouth was set in a grim line as he eyed me with disapproval. “I thought you were messed up as a kid. What the hell happened to you?”
“I’m going to assume that question is rhetorical. Why are you here?”
“I was in the area. You’re quite the poster boy for anarchy, aren’t you?”
Heat crawled up my spine. “Make whatever assumptions you want. You don’t know me.”
“You don’t think so? You were an out-of-control kid headed down a bad path, and I don’t think much has changed. Seems to me you kept on going and never looked back.”
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to reach over the counter and smash the smug look off his face. “Like I said, you don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“I don’t need to. You’re like a homing beacon for the fucked-up.” He gestured to my arms and my face.
“And you’re a narrow-minded asshole.” I wasn’t going to win this argument with him. He had already profiled me, and nothing I could say would change that. Ironically, he’d done the same thing seven years ago. And that was before I’d modified the hell out of my appearance.
“I just call it like I see it.” He looked bored, and it pissed me off. “You know, what I’m really interested in is your relationship with Miss Page. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about that.”
I leaned on the counter. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
He shook his head. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
“She’s not available.”
His smile was arrogant. “Is that right?”
“That’s exactly right. Tenley’s mine.” It was such an asshole thing to say.
“Does she come with ownership papers?”