Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
R iley sat perfectly still and hoped the darkness hid her face. Nick, on the other hand, perked up when he saw Lucas striding up to them. Nick rolled down the window, letting the cold seep into the car. “Lucas, my man. Long time, no see. I assume you pulled me over because you want to get a better look at my ride. Pretty sweet, huh?”
Lucas leaned down to peer into the car at Nick. “Very sweet. Can I have your license and registration?”
Nick squinted at Lucas. “You already know who I am. We went to high school together.”
Lucas regarded him patiently. “I have to run your license to see if you have any outstanding warrants, not because I don’t recognize you. It’s policy.” It was then that his gaze moved to the passenger seat. His eyes fixed on Riley, first startled, then disapproving.
So much for the darkness hiding her identity.
Nick didn’t reach for his wallet. “Why’d you pull me over? I know for a fact I wasn’t speeding.” He tapped the steering wheel. “Self-driving. She’s programmed to obey all of the laws.”
“Someone called in your license plate,” Lucas said. “Were you just at Legends?”
“Oh, that.” Nick shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Some fool was banging on my car and wanted me to get out and fight him. I didn’t touch the guy.”
“Did you try to run him over?”
Nick chuckled and shook his head. “The dude was standing in front of me. If I’d meant to hit him, I wouldn’t have missed.” He waved a hand in Riley’s direction. “She was with me. She can cobororate my story.” He paused, realizing he’d messed up the word. “Corrabate,” he tried again. He pointed to Riley. “She can say that I’m telling the truth.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Riley said. “I can corroborate and pronounce the word correctly.”
Lucas stared at her, which was uncalled for. Nick had told the truth.
Lucas turned his attention back to Nick. “How much did you drink at Legends?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Nick replied. “Like I said, the car was in self-driving mode. I wasn’t even touching the steering wheel most of the time.”
“I can also corroborate that,” Riley said.
“You don’t need to,” Lucas said. “I saw through your back window that Nick wasn’t in his seat. The law states that if you’re behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, you’re driving it, no matter what mode it’s on. So I need your license and registration, and then you can step out of the car.”
Nick ran his hand through his hair and moaned. “Lucas, come on, bro. Don’t do this. You know me. I’m not a danger to anyone. Just let us go.”
Lucas tilted his chin down, and his blue eyes had a hard edge to them. “I’m getting tired of asking for your license and registration.”
Nick reached for his wallet. Instead of retrieving his license, he took out two fifty-dollar bills. “Hey, I know police work doesn’t pay that well. Is this enough for you to let us go?”
Wrong thing to say. Nick really should’ve known that. Lucas clenched his jaw. “That depends. Do you want to add bribing an officer to your charges? Otherwise, you have about three seconds to do as I asked.”
Nick swore, flipped open his glove box, and pulled out the car registration. He shoved it and his driver’s license in Lucas’s direction. “Dude, you’ve changed. You wouldn’t have done this to me back in high school.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Lucas said. “It would be illegal for a high school student to pull over cars. Step outside now.”
How long was this interaction going to last? Riley didn’t want to be here anymore, didn’t want to be part of this reality.
Nick swore some more, pushed open the door, and got out. She hated herself for comparing the two men at that moment. It was shallow, but how could she help it when they stood there glaring at each other? Lucas was taller, better-looking, and in better shape. And Lucas somehow even made his uniform seem hotter than Nick’s designer coat and shirt. Lucas’s police jacket stretched nicely across his broad shoulders.
Instead of looking expensive, Nick’s clothes just seemed pretentious now.
Lucas directed Nick to walk back to his squad car. She couldn’t hear what they said anymore and swiveled in her seat to see what they were doing.
Oh, Nick was getting the breathalyzer test. That probably wouldn’t turn out well.
Had she actually been in danger because Nick was tipsy in a self-driving car, or was Lucas just taking this opportunity to exert his power and make her life miserable? Self-driving cars were made to take people safely home. Some cities had completely self-driving taxis.
Lucas cuffed Nick and put him in the back of his squad car.
So no, that breathalyzer test hadn’t gone well, although the cuffing seemed unnecessarily extreme.
Riley sank back into her seat. Well, this was what she got for going on a date to find someone who’d make Lucas feel outclassed. Lesson learned. Karma had a wicked sense of humor.
Lucas strolled back to the Tesla, this time going to Riley’s side with a grim, unhappy expression.
Yeah, well, she was also unhappy about how the night had turned out. Get in line, Officer. Get in line.
She rolled down her window and waited for the lecture, the judgment, and the smug look of superiority because Lucas had the power to haul off her dates. He had the power to make them look small.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she was surprised by the concern in his voice, in his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Lucas clenched his jaw and looked into the distance for several moments.
Finally, she asked, “What happens next?”
He put one hand on the top of the car. “I’m trying to think of what to say to you as a police officer and what to say to you as a friend.”
“We’re not technically friends,” she said.
“Well, that makes this easier, then.” His blue eyes lowered to hers, frustrated and intense. “Are you insane?”
She coughed. “That’s what you’re saying to me as a police officer?”
“Yes. Because I can’t think of another logical reason for you to be in a car with an inebriated guy who was just threatening to run over people.”
Lucas made it sound worse than it was. “I was already in the car when that happened. Are you saying I should’ve gotten out and hung out with the drunk guy who carried brass knuckles and wanted to fight Nick?”
“You don’t drink. You should’ve never let him get behind the wheel.”
“I offered to drive, but he thought the car could do a better job.” She lifted her hands for emphasis. “I believed in technology.” Had she been wrong about that? “Sorry. Maybe I was lulled into a false sense of security by the car’s ability to make music and sophomoric noises.”
Lucas didn’t comment on that. His eyes found hers again, the dim light making his eyes seem darker. “What were the two of you doing while he drove, anyway? Even with self-driving cars, you’re supposed to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.”
She folded her arms and felt the toll of the night taking its effect. Her hands shook. “Do I need to make some sort of official statement about what happened at Legends? You have no other reason to detain me, do you?”
He made a chuffing noise to let her know he thought she wasn’t being penitent enough. “I’m not allowed to tell you what I find when I run a check on people, so I’ll just say I think you could do better in a boyfriend than Nick Floyd.”
Seriously? What was on his record? “He’s not my boyfriend. He was just in town for the weekend and wanted to do something fun.”
“Well, getting a ride in a police car should fulfill that requirement.” Lucas stepped away from the window. “I need you to gather your belongings and get out.”
“Why?” Was she in some sort of trouble and would also receive a free police escort downtown?
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Nick’s car will have to be towed. I’m assuming you don’t want to be in it when that happens.”
Oh. He could’ve explained. It’s not like she’d ever been pulled over for drunk driving before. She grabbed her purse, climbed out, and cast a glance at the squad car. She couldn’t see Nick sitting in the back. That was probably for the best. No awkward eye contact to end their date.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” she said. Police officers had some leeway to issue warnings. He could’ve just let her drive Nick home.
“I really did. If for no other reason than so you’ll think twice about getting in a car with the next drunk Lark Springs High graduate who blows through town.”
Like there was a large stream of them coming back to date her. “Is Nick going to get in trouble for what happened at Legends because the other guy?—”
Lucas held up a hand to stop her. “He’ll just get a warning for that. No one was hurt.” He gestured to her purse. “Can you call someone to pick you up?”
“I’ll call one of my roommates.”
She expected him to return to his car. Instead, he folded his arms and stayed there, watching her. Did he have more to say? He didn’t speak or move, just kept watching her. His posture was tense, and the press of his lips indicated he wanted to say more but was holding back.
They were standing fairly close together, staring into each other’s eyes. Was he about to say something about their relationship? Try to make amends again?
The thought shouldn’t have made her heart beat faster, but it did. Despite everything, Lucas’s eyes on hers still had that effect. Every inch of her was aware of his presence.
She waited another moment. He still didn’t speak.
“Well,” she said, “don’t you need to take Nick somewhere?”
“I’m waiting until I know you have a ride home. You’ve got a stubborn streak. I figure you might want to bury this night of shame, not admit anything to your roommates, and walk to your apartment. That would be a bad idea at this time of night.”
So, not trying to make amends. Also, he thought she was unnecessarily stubborn. Why had she considered anything else might be on his mind?
She took a step back from him and pulled her phone from her purse, glad for an excuse to look at something besides Lucas’s eyes. “I’m not hiding this night from Delancey. She’s the one who set me up.”
“Delancey Jacobs?” he asked. “Is that who took Olivia’s place in your apartment?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t picking up.
“Didn’t her car get stuck in a wash last summer?”
So Lucas had been the one to go to that call too. “Yeah,” Riley said.
“And back in high school, she got lost during the field trip to Yellowstone.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Maybe do yourself a favor, and don’t take her advice when it comes to men.”
Well, Riley really wished she hadn’t this time.