Coup De Grâce (Code 11-KPD SWAT 7)

He was looking at her with concern as she wiped a fake tear from her eyelid, and I lost it.

It’s hard to say where I came by my temper.

My papa liked to say that it was my mom’s. My mom liked to say that it came from my dad.

Wherever it came from, it was legendary.

However, legendary temper or not, I needed my job, so I had my tantrum in the bay where the ambulances parked instead of in the hallway in front of the stupid bitch.

“Stupid son of a whore. Puta needs her brain scanned if she thinks she can fuck with me. I’m a Pena, goddammit! And that pendejo has another think coming if he thinks I’m going to stand for this after last night. Motherfucker!” I hissed loudly as I marched out of the sliding glass doors.

And right into a group of bikers that were looking at me funny.

In their lead was Peek, and he had a mocking smile on his face that was perilously close to being slapped off.

“What are y’all looking at, fools?” I snapped, pushing through them.

They moved, I’m sure some of them trying not to laugh.

Others, like the tall dark and handsome one with the caramel skin and the laughing green eyes, as well as Peek, didn’t bother to hide the laughs that bubbled out of their throat.

“What’s got your panties in a wad, Owl?” Peek laughed from behind me.

I flipped him the bird as I stomped across the parking lot, not missing the fact that through the glass walls that lined the back hallway I could see Michael standing with Joslin, in much the same position as before, but now he had his hands on her head.

I made it all the way to the parking lot before I realized I’d forgotten that I didn’t have a car.

Then I saw the shiny Dodge diesel with the black rims and electric blue paint job that Michael had gotten sometime in the last year, and bad Nikki came out to play.

Let’s just say that my brother taught me a thing or two in his time, and with nothing else better to do, I’d honed the skills until I could get into anything, and drive anything.

The newer vehicles were equipped with keyless entry, and you had to have a remote in the vehicle to start it.

Michael, though, had made a whoopsie yesterday.

He’d told me about a spare key he kept in his toolbox.

I’d never thought that I’d need to know that…but right now it came in really fucking handy!

Reaching under the wheel well, I ducked my head above the tire and looked for the black box, finding it within seconds.

The box came off the metal it was attached to easily enough, but the entire thing was covered in dirt and grease, effectively making my hand completely covered in the gunk.

Not that I cared.

I was on my way home.

I’d take my time and come back dressed, really dressed, and take it from there.

Although I’d probably abandon Michael’s vehicle a couple of blocks over from my apartment.

It wouldn’t do to have him knowing it was me.

Pressing the unlock button, I opened the door and hauled myself inside.

“Is there a reason a man has to lift his truck so big?” I muttered to myself, slamming the door.

Pressing my foot on the brake, and punching the start button, the diesel motor rumbled to life with a quiet purr.

Looking left and right, as well as at the door where I guessed Michael would come out of if he knew his truck was leaving him, I pulled out of the parking spot that Michael had so nicely backed into for me.

Then I was on the road and two minutes from where I’d decided to park my newest acquisition when the red and blue lights lit up my mirror.

“Son of a bitch!” I said, cursing myself and my stupidity. “You’re always doing this, Nikki. Always with the bad decisions.”

To make matters worse, it was my stinkin’ brother behind the wheel of the cruiser that was pulling me over.

His surprise was as great as mine when he saw me behind the wheel.

It took him a few minutes to speak, but when he did, it wasn’t nice.

Not that that was unusual for Nico.

He was a major dick sometimes.

“You are one stupid bitch,” he sighed.

I took the nearest thing to me that I could reach and threw it at him, which happened to be a water bottle half filled with Gatorade.

He easily caught it and glared.

“You do know, right, that half the force is now looking for his truck?” He asked with a raised brow.

I shrugged. “I was mad.”

He blinked. “You were mad…so you thought it’d be a good idea to steal a man’s truck?”

“I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it,” I said stubbornly.

He just shook his head. “Get out.”

“No.”

“Yes,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Make me!” I countered.

I was sitting in the back of Nico’s police car when Michael pulled up twenty minutes later.

Nico was leaning against the hood, tired of hearing me yell at him, and I was mad.

I’d probably be fired, too.

I knew I wouldn’t be arrested for ‘borrowing’ Michael’s truck, but Nico was an ass and put me back here because he wanted to, not because he had to.

Michael dropped out of another cruiser that pulled up nose to nose with Michael’s truck, and got out.

That’s when I closed my eyes and got comfortable.

Leaning my back against the door, I crossed my arms over my chest and stretched my legs, with my forbidden colored shoes, across the seat.

I was trying not to think about what I would find on my clothes if I had a black light.

The inside of this cruiser was disgusting, and if this never happened again, it’d be great.

It even smelled bad.

Tapping on the window across from me had my eyes snapping open, and then shutting just as quickly.

The door opened and Michael’s deep, sexy voice said, “Get out.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Nope, sorry. Can’t. My brother’s the arresting officer. I’ll have to deal with him from now on.”