Excerpt
REIGN
“You know, when your mother and I found out we were having a daughter, we thought we would finally be getting a child that would be sweet and kind, balancing out her brothers’ rough edges,” my father says from the driver’s seat of the squad car.
“You don’t get to blame me for your parenting skills, old man. If you wanted soft and sweet, you should have taken me for dance classes instead of the shooting-range.” I give him a pointed look.
“Yes, this is, of course, my fault,” he answers sarcastically.
I sigh. “It’s okay, Dad, I won’t hold it against you.”
We sit quietly for a moment, me slurping the milkshake I made him swing through the drive-through for, while my dad is likely thinking of ways to marry me off so I’m someone else’s problem.
“So, what happened?” he eventually asks as we pull up outside the precinct.
“Well, papa dearest, it seems that not all men understand that no means no, so I kindly offered up a reminder,” I explain, climbing from the car when it comes to a stop.
“You almost ripped a man’s balls off, Reign,” he reminds me with a sigh as he climbs out and slams his door. “You should have called me. How many times have I told you violence is not the answer?”
“Mmmm… those words do sound vaguely familiar. I’ll be sure to call you next time I find myself pinned over the hood of a car while someone grinds his dick into me,” I snap, frustrated.
“He did what?” my father’s voice grits out.
Oops, I really didn’t mean to blurt that out like that.
“It’s fine. I think I popped one of the tiny Tic Tacs he had masquerading as balls, so he’ll think next time he tries to corner someone.”
“Oh, he’ll think all right, when I finish the job, rip off his dick, and feed it to the dog,” my dad mumbles under his breath.
“Tsk tsk, Daddio, violence is not the answer,” I tell him with a sweet smile as he holds the door to the police station open for me.
“One day, Raindrop, your mouth is going to get you into the kind of trouble I can’t get you out of,” he warns me with a shake of his head.
“You have been saying that for as long as I can remember, and yet I’ve made it to twenty-four relatively unscathed,” I muse aloud, choosing wisely not to mention any of the close shaves my brothers have had to bail me out of over the years. Not going to lie, having a family full of cops has its benefits, but it has its drawbacks too. Do you have any idea how hard it is to date when my siblings all stand over six feet and carry guns?
“Hmm,” he grunts, maneuvering me around the reception desk where Jan, a buxom blonde secretary with huge boobs that are remarkably perky for her age, sits filing her nails, not even sparing us a glance.
“You’re the reason I have gray hair, don’t even try to deny it,” he grumbles.
I roll my eyes and follow him down the corridor that leads to the bullpen where most of the other officers work.
Darlington is a small town near Los Angeles, so it only warrants a small police station. This means that the fifteen desks in the center house the bulk of our local PD. Four offices, two on either side of the pen, are home to the four detectives on staff, one of them being my dad, and another being one of my brothers, Travis.
Owen, the brother who, at twenty-six is closest to me in age, is a beat cop who occupies one of the desks in the pen. He’s looking to take one of the other detective spots when Norris retires at the end of the month.
Kayden and Alex are both cops, too, but they went the military route. They are currently serving as MPs down in Florida.
That just leaves Tate, my oldest brother, who is also a cop. Tate lives in LA and works a different precinct. He started as an MP, like Kayden and Alex, which means for six years I didn’t see much of him until he returned to LA and joined the LAPD SWAT team. He’s the idiot who runs into the building with the gunman firing shots when most are running out.
“Reign, are you even listening to me?” My dad’s exasperated voice snaps me out of my musings.
“You were telling me how I’m your favorite daughter.”
“You are my only daughter and I thank God for that every day,” he says looking upward in mock gratitude.
“You should. It’s hard to improve on perfection,” I point out as we walk into the busy bullpen.
Most of the officers ignore us as we pass, but not Owen, who sticks his foot out in an attempt to trip me.
“Real mature, asshole,” I mutter messing up his hair in retaliation.
“Get off of me, woman. What did you do this time?” he questions, knowing Dad only brings me to the station when he wants to give me the lecture about being more responsible.
“One of my Johns got a little handsy, so I shanked him,” I tell him with a straight face, sitting in the chair beside his desk and snagging one of his chocolate doughnuts.
“Hey,” he huffs, trying to snatch it back, but I run my tongue all over it, making him scowl in annoyance.
“I’m just doing my part to stop you from looking like a cliché,” I retort before taking a big bite and moaning, inevitably snagging the attention of the captain, who is walking our way.
I get along with most of the people who work here. It’s hard not to when I’ve been coming here since I was a toddler, but Garrett James, the precinct’s new captain, is not one of those people.
He started here a year ago, bringing five officers with him in a citywide police shakeup.
He was once the all-American boy turned man that most mothers begged their daughters to bring home. Even now, in his late forties-early fifties, he is handsome in a jock kind of way with wavy light brown hair threaded with silver at the temples, dark, almost black, eyes and the build of a linebacker. Rumor has it he moved up the ranks rapidly, probably because he holds the record for the most arrests to conviction cases in the district. But none of that changes the fact that there is something about him that rubs me the wrong way. Being in his presence always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Reign, always a pleasure,” he greets me formally. I nod in response and swallow the mouthful of food, which suddenly tastes like cement.
“Captain, I have a case file on my desk I want to go over with you. Something about it isn’t adding up. I could use a fresh set of eyes,” my dad addresses Garrett, who agrees with a nod.
“Collect what you have and bring it to my office in twenty,” he answers.
My dad presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll yell at you at dinner instead,” he whispers, making me laugh.
“Love you,” I shout before he disappears inside his office and closes the door behind him.
“Well, I have to get going as well. Johnson is waiting for me and you know how pissy he gets when I keep him waiting. I’ll see you at dinner tonight. Try not to get arrested,” Owen warns me with a sigh, snatching up the other doughnut before I can.
“Captain,” he says with a respectful nod before leaving.
“Well, that’s my cue to leave.” I give the captain a tight smile before I stand and brush the crumbs from my shirt.
“You don’t need to rush off on my account. Perhaps you’d like a coffee?” he inquires. I’d rather poke sticks in my eyes, but I refrain from telling him that.
“Oh, that’s okay. You have things to do with my dad and I’m off to do some job hunting,” I explain, which is the truth since I got fired this morning after the little incident with Mr. Handsy.
“I thought you worked over at Gary’s auto shop?” he asks with a tilt of his head.
See, that’s precisely what I’m talking about. I never told him where I worked and I doubt it’s something that ever came up in conversation with my dad or brothers.
“Yes, well, it’s time for a change. I’ll see you around.” I attempt to move away, but he blocks my path.
“Let me walk you out,” he offers. Before I can refuse, his hand is pressing against the small of my back, and he’s herding me toward the exit.
I don’t say anything as he escorts me out, biting my tongue so I can get away from him faster. He holds the door to the precinct open for me to pass through, but he doesn’t move aside, making me have to turn sideways to avoid rubbing against him. Just when I think I’m home free, he wraps one of his large hands around my bicep and halts my movements.
“I’d like to take you out to dinner,” he announces, something in his tone making it sound like I should be thrilled he asked me.
“Sorry, I don’t date,” I answer, attempting to pull free, but he just tightens his grip.
“Make an exception,” he commands.
“No, sorry. I’m just focusing on me right now,” I reply trying to keep my cool.
“What you need is someone to spoil you, to make you feel like a princess. I can do that?—”
I cut him off with a shake of my head.
“Sorry, Garrett, I’m not interested.”
“I’ll change your mind. I think we would be… explosive together,” he tells me in a husky voice, raking his eyes over my chest.
And now I need a shower.
“I’m sure you’ll find someone…”
Older , blind, desperate, willing , I think, trying to come up with something less offensive. I’ve got nothing.
Pulling me closer, he places his lips against the shell of my ear, making me shiver in disgust.
“I don’t want someone else. I want you.”
“Look—” I start losing my patience, but the sound of my name being called has him letting me go and shoving his way back through the large wooden door, leaving me alone on the top step.
“Hey Raindrop, I thought that was you. What are you doing here and what did you do to piss off the captain?” Travis asks, stepping up beside me with a coffee in his hand.
I open my mouth to tell him his boss is a sleaze ball but decide to drop it. I don’t want Travis to get into trouble. I’ll just stay away from the station for a while, and he’ll soon lose interest.
“Well, it all started with a pair of tiny Tic Tacs…”