by Kira Archer
“Got her,” Rick said, flipping on the lights for their seventh ticket of the day. People always thought they could get away with a surreptitious text or a quick call. Like it wouldn’t be totally obvious they were staring at something in their lap rather than the road. And with the size of most phones nowadays, it was pretty obvious when one was on your ear or in your hand.
“Shit,” he muttered, once he got behind the girl on the phone and got a better look at the car.
“What?” Joe asked.
The woman pulled over…into the marked-off space in front of a fire hydrant. “She’s killing me,” Rick muttered.
“Who? You know her?” Joe asked.
“That’s one of my sisters.” Rick parked behind her and got out, ignoring the sound of Joe’s laugh.
Jenny was already half hanging out the window when he got up to her.
“Oh good, it’s you,” she said, her voice thick with relief. “Thought I was in trouble there for a second.”
“You are.” He put on his best stern adult face and glared down at her.
She blinked up at him through her lashes, oozing angelic innocence. “Come on, I was only going a couple miles over the limit.”
“You were on your cell phone.”
Her mouth dropped open like she was going to protest, but he cut her off before she could.
“And you are currently parked in front of a fire hydrant.”
“Hey, that is your fault,” she said, no longer smiling. “You made me pull over and this was the only spot open. I didn’t want to drive up the street for blocks or double-park. I was trying to be safe.”
He held his stern face a moment longer and then sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you that one. But you were on your phone while driving. I’m not letting you slide on that.”
“Oh, come on! What’s the point of having a cop for a brother if you can’t get out of a ticket now and then?”
His frown deepened. “License and registration.”
“Are you serious?”
“License. And registration,” he repeated.
She sat back and folded her arms with a huff. “You know my info.”
“I don’t know all the information that’s listed on those documents. So hand them over or I’ll have Joe over there cuff you and bring you in.”
Jenny’s jaw dropped and she stuck her head out the window to look at Joe. He threw his hands up.
“Don’t look at me! I’m not getting in the middle of this little family squabble.”
“It’s not a family squabble,” Rick said, sticking out his hand to get his sister’s forms. “It’s a traffic violation.”
Jenny slapped her papers in his hand and slumped back in her seat.
Rick stomped back to his squad car and started running her info. Joe climbed in beside him.
“Are you really giving your own sister a ticket?”
“Hell yeah, I am. Driving and being on the phone is not only against the law but dangerous. She could have been hurt or she could’ve hurt someone else. She doesn’t take anything seriously. Maybe a hefty ticket will make her wise up.”
“Ah, I get it. You’ve got a little less pissed-off cop going on and a little more brotherly concern happening, eh?”
Rick shook his head and finished writing out the ticket. “There’s plenty of pissed-off cop, too. I hate when people think they can disregard the law and everyone else’s safety, especially over something as trivial as a phone call or text that could wait a few minutes.”
Joe shook his head. “You’re like a driver’s ed video, or a car insurance commercial.”
Rick ignored him and got out of the car to hand his sister her ticket.
“I can’t believe you are giving me a ticket. I’m telling Mom,” she said.
Rick snorted. “Go ahead, I dare you.”
She glared and he laughed. There was no way she was telling their mother she’d gotten a ticket for being on the phone.
“Can I go now?” she asked.
“Sure. Be safe, please.” He leaned into the window and stared right at her until the angry pucker of her lips relaxed a bit. “I’ve only got three other sisters. Can’t really afford to lose one.”
“Oh, shut up.” She pushed him out of the window and started up her car.
“Love ya, Jen,” he said, winking at her.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll love you when I’m done hating you.”
He laughed, and she gave him a mischievous smile as she drove off. He’d always felt responsible for his sisters. Losing any of them was not an option. If that meant he had to piss them off now and then…well, that was just a bonus.
…
“You have got to be kidding me,” Gina said, scowling at the cars parked in front of the bakery.
Nat glanced out the window. “Well, at least it’s busy. That’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, but not when they’re blocking the driveway. We can’t park this thing with them in the way.”
“This is true.”
Gina’s exhale sounded more like a growl than a sigh. She pulled the truck over as far to the side of the road as she could get and flicked on the hazard lights. Since mowing down a car that was parked where it wasn’t supposed to be was unfortunately not an option, she was going to have to deal with it the old-fashioned way and go find the driver.
“Wait, we can’t park here,” Nat said. “We’re double-parked. We’ll get a ticket.”
“I’ll have to circle the damn block until that idiot in the red convertible moves. Run inside real quick and get whoever it is to move his car.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back!” Nat called, jumping out.
Apparently the person who belonged to the red convertible gave Nat some grief about leaving, because Gina had circled the block three times without seeing them. She pulled out her phone. No way was she going around the block again.
Nat picked up on the first ring. “Hey, he’s moving the car now. Sorry it took so long!”
“What was he doing? Baking his own cupcakes?” Gina asked.
“Might as well have. He had to inspect every one to make sure it was perfect.”
Gina rounded the corner.
“He should be moving now, though,” Nat said. “I saw him get in his—”
Gina gasped and slammed on the brakes, but the truck still struck the back of the red convertible with an audible crunch.
“Shit,” Gina said.
She looked out the window to see Nat standing on the sidewalk, her phone to her ear, the other hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock.
The guy in the convertible was already out and stalking toward the truck. Gina hurried and hung up the phone. He’d already seen her, though.
“I’m calling the cops!” he yelled when he reached her window. He didn’t stop yelling for a full ten minutes.
Nothing Gina or Nat said even slowed the guy down from the ass-chewing he was determined to deliver. Finally, Gina had had enough.
“If you hadn’t been parked in our driveway none of this would have happened! It’s clearly marked Private Parking and you chose to park there anyway. I was being nice circling the block. I should have rammed your tailpipe on purpose. Would have solved my problem very nicely.”
That set the guy off more. Two more minutes of back-and-forth, and Gina and Convertible Man were nose to nose, shouting at each other so loudly she didn’t notice anyone else until someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“What?” she said, spinning around. “Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me.”
The cops had arrived. And not just any cop. Her cop. Officer McStick-Up-His-Butt.
He gave her a smile that made her delusional heart stutter. “What seems to be the problem?”
Before she could say a word, Convertible Guy jumped in and starting telling Rick all the wrong things, including the fact that Gina had been on the phone at the time. Gina objected. Loudly. Rick finally held up his hand and pointed to Convertible Guy.
“You. Go over th
ere with Officer Mahoney and give him your statement. You,” he said to Gina. “With me.”
Gina folded her arms and followed Rick over to the squad car.
“So, is what he said true? Are you at fault?”
“No! It’s totally his fault. He was parked in my driveway, and I had to circle the block until he came out, and when he finally did he just backed right into traffic.”
“Were you on the phone at the time?” Gina hesitated, and Rick’s eyebrow rose. “Were you?”
“Okay, yes, but it was only for a second,” she insisted over Rick’s disappointed sigh. “I was trying to see if he was on his way out so I didn’t have to circle the block again. I was going like ten miles an hour.”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s a ticketable offense.”
“Oh, come on. This was not my fault. It was a ten-second phone call.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Gina. It’s against the law. We’ve been cracking down hard on this. It’s dangerous. As you proved.”
Gina glared at him. “Just because you can ticket me, doesn’t mean you should. You do have some choice in the matter, you know.”
“That’s not how it works, Gina,” he said, though he at least looked like he felt bad about it. He pulled out his ticket pad and started writing.
Gina ignored her cartwheeling stomach at the mere sight of those full lips and that chiseled chin. Not to mention the heat that pooled low in her belly every time he said her name. What the hell? She and her body needed to have a serious talk about who it was allowed to be attracted to. An anal-retentive cop was not supposed to be on the menu.
“I don’t see why I’m the one in trouble here. He’s the one who caused all this by parking illegally in a driveway in the first place,” she said, jabbing her finger in the direction of Mr. Red Convertible who was hastily making his getaway. “But he’s leaving now, we’ve exchanged insurance info, and everything’s good.”
Rick nodded, but kept writing. “Good. I’m glad. But I can’t let you off the hook here. Driving while on the phone is a hazard.”
Gina folded her arms across her chest. Not even the way Rick’s ass was molded to his uniform made up for this load of bull. “I understand that, Officer, but what was I supposed to do? Our driveway was blocked. I had to make a quick call to remedy the situation. Double-parking would have been worse, so I had to know if the coast was clear. And now it is. Problem solved.”
“I really am sorry, Miss,” he said, giving her tit for tat on the formal addresses. Touché. “But you can’t break the law whenever you want just because it’s more convenient for you.”
“Why the hell not? Everyone else does. I don’t see you throwing tickets at all of them.”
“Hang around him more,” his partner piped up. “He gets real happy with that pad of his. Hell, he gave his own sister a ticket for being on the phone in the car.”
“You gave your sister a ticket?” Gina asked him. “I bet you were fun to grow up with.”
Rick glared at his partner, who laughed and folded his arms, and then he turned his attention back to Gina. “All you had to do was circle the block again. It might have been inconvenient, but it wouldn’t have taken all that much time and this little fender bender wouldn’t have happened. Someone could have been seriously hurt.”
“Yeah, but no one was. So you’re punishing me for a hypothetical situation.”
“Noooo,” he said, drawing the word out and looking at her like she was a misbehaving child. “Laws are created to prevent the hypothetical situations from occurring. And you are getting a ticket because you broke the law. I don’t want to give it to you. I’m only doing my job.”
“Well, you could have fooled me. You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
He leaned in a little. “Maybe I’m just happy to see you.”
Gina blinked up at him, her mind momentarily stunned into speechlessness. Saying things like that was soooo not fair.
“I…you… Stop saying stuff like that. If you were so happy to see me, you wouldn’t be doing your best to piss me off. I can’t believe you’re seriously writing me a ticket. I mean, what’s the point of knowing a cop if you’re going to get shafted, anyway?”
“Yeah, everyone wants to be my friend because they think it’ll get them special treatment. That’s not how it works. I’m sorry if you thought that knowing me meant I’d look the other way while you break whatever law you want. But I’m not that kind of cop.”
“He’s not,” Joe chimed in again. “Now me, on the other hand, for that gorgeous smile of yours, I’d wipe your record clean in a heartbeat.”
Rick flashed his partner another irritated look that under normal circumstances Gina would have found funny. They had a very been-married-forever vibe going on. But since Gina could really not get another ticket for phone violations, the situation wasn’t remotely amusing. This was her third strike in that area. Which meant a huge fine. And possibly three points against her.
“I need to see your license and registration, please,” Rick said.
Gina glared at him, speechless for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “Of all the blowhard, hard-ass, rigid, by-the-book, arrogant, son-of-a-bitch cops I could have gotten strapped with, you seriously take the cake.”
“Of all the law-breaking, rule-bending, crazy, dangerous, risk-taking, breathtakingly beautiful would-be criminals I could get stuck with, you seriously take the cake.”
“Stop doing that!” Gina said, starting to get light-headed from the hot and cold he was blowing.
“Stop doing what?” he asked, that half smile on his lips again.
“You know what. You can’t fight and throw in compliments, too.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Huh. Why not? “Because…it’s weird.” She stepped closer so only he could hear her. “Because you can’t be pissed at me and attracted to me at the same time.”
He leaned in closer. “Well, that’s obviously not true. Because I’ve spent nearly every moment I’ve known you alternating between wanting to lock you up and throwing away the key and slapping these handcuffs on you and showing you how fun they can be.”
Gina’s breath hitched in her throat and heat spread to her cheeks. Rick smiled. Damn him for knowing the kinky thoughts running through her head.
“Yeah,” he continued, “it’s weird. And confusing. And distracting. You have no idea. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep doing my job.”
“I’ll grab the registration,” Nat murmured, looking back and forth between the two as they stared at each other. Gina had forgotten she was even there.
Nat ducked into the truck and returned, handing Rick a sheaf of papers. “Is it okay if I get the truck off the street now?”
He nodded at her but didn’t take his eyes of Gina. Gina kept on glaring. Nat took her cue and left them to it. Gina barely noticed when the truck moved.
“I still need your license,” he said.
Gina’s stomach dropped. Handing over that license was going to get her in a world of trouble. A fact Rick was probably not going to overlook considering the dick he was being over the truck.
He cocked an eyebrow, waiting. Shit.
She grabbed her phone from her pocket and opened the wallet-style case, extracting her license. She debated mentioning her previous tickets to him, but maybe she’d get lucky and there wouldn’t be any info on file about them. No point in tipping him off, if that was the case. Not that she was ever that lucky. She sighed and handed it to him, then turned her back, going to lean against the now-parked truck to await her fate. Maybe he’d be cool about it. Sure. And maybe I’ll win the lotto and buy myself a unicorn. The odds were about the same.
He went to his car to run her license while his partner talked to Nat. Gina knew the exact moment the info came up on Rick’s little computer. The look on his face was priceless. Comical even. She could see him trying to figure out what the hell to do. She guessed that was something. He didn’t
rush right over and immediately impound the truck or suspend her license for not only having two prior strikes for phone violations on her record, but also for the parking violations she hadn’t paid for, either. She had no doubt he would for anyone else. So maybe knowing him was working in her favor. A little.
He climbed out of his car and came toward her. And she could see by the wary but determined look on his face that knowing him wasn’t going to help her in the slightest. Not a surprise. He was way too much of a Goody Two-shoes for him to let it go.
She sighed and straightened up. “You aren’t going to cuff me, are you?”
Rick frowned and hesitated. “No.”
Her eyes widened. Well, well. Look who could bend the rules when he wanted.
Nat rushed over to her. “What’s going on?”
“Pretty sure our truck is about to be impounded and I’m about to have my license suspended. Isn’t that right, Officer?” she said, laying on the sticky-sweet tone.
“You aren’t going to impound the truck, are you?” Nat asked. “That’s part of the bakery’s business.”
“But it’s in her name,” Rick said, nodding at Gina.
Nat ignored that. “And driving the truck is her job. Suspending her license means she can’t work. You can’t do that. I mean, you guys are friends, right? Surely you can…I don’t know…do something. Or at least not take away her livelihood. That seems overly harsh, even if you didn’t know her.”
Gina knew Nat would find something for her to do in the bakery if the truck got grounded, but she appreciated the tug on Rick’s nonexistent heartstrings.
Rick shook his head. “It’s not that easy. She’s already got two phone violations and a total of $500 in fines she hasn’t paid.”
Nat gasped. “Gina!”
Gina shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”
Rick shook his head. “This is her third offense. That’s a minimum $600 fine, on top of what she already owes, and since she never paid the other two, her license can be suspended. And probably should be.”
“And of course you’ll turn me in. Because heaven forbid you do the decent thing and look the other way for once.”
He frowned at her again. “That’s not your biggest problem. Your license is already suspended. Which means you shouldn’t have been driving at all.”
