“How can I relax when I have the whole department coming to arrest me?”
He couldn’t hold back his smile. “It’s not the whole department, it’s just three of us, and I already told you you’re not being arrested.”
“Then why are you pulling me over? I know I wasn’t speeding, and look,” she said, pointing to her license plate. “My tag is okay and up-to-date. I wasn’t swerving…”
“You’re being detained.”
She threw her arms out. “But why?”
All three of the officers lined up, crossed their arms over their chests, and scowled down at her.
She waited for a moment and then stomped her feet. “Talk to me,” she yelled.
“You’re going to ride in my car. I’m taking you to the station.”
Now she crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t just do that.” While she waited for him to say something, he stood with a smirk on his face. She turned to one of the others. “He can’t, can he?”
“I’m afraid so, miss.”
She was too tired for this. She’d been shaky before he’d pulled her over. Now, with the shock of having this happen, she could feel her energy reserve start to break apart. Her eyes filled with tears. All three seemed to panic and she got a certain sense of satisfaction.
“Miss, don’t worry, everything will be okay,” one said quickly and awkwardly patted her shoulder.
One of the men took a step away and just looked uncomfortable. And the first one scowled.
“Don’t even think about crying,” he said with a growl.
Her mouth dropped open at the threatening tone he used. “You can’t tell me not to cry. For God’s sake. I’ve never been a perp before, and it’s very upsetting for me.”
She stomped her foot again when they all grinned. “Do you know how much I want to kick you all right now?” she yelled.
That just made their grins wider.
The first cop gripped her upper arm. “Let’s get you situated in my car.”
She dug her heels in. “Wait. Is this because I just threatened you? I wasn’t really going to do it. I said, ‘I want to’ not ‘I’m going to.’”
He snorted. Then he opened the passenger side door and maneuvered her in, bent, and put her seatbelt on. “Hold on, and then we’ll get going.”
She growled and narrowed her eyes at him, which made him chuckle.
The three stood in front of the car she sat in, talking and laughing as they kept looking at her. She looked around the interior of the vehicle. It was packed with all sorts of things and buttons.
They continued to talk, and she rolled down her window, mad. “If you don’t stop talking, I’m going to start pushing buttons.”
They all laughed.
One of the guys walked to her car, grabbed her purse and phone, and handed it to the first one. Her mouth dropped open when one of them got in her car and took off.
“Hey, wait. He can’t steal my car,” she yelled out the side window.
The first officer put her bag in the trunk of his car, slid into the driver’s seat, and handed her purse to her.
She faced him. “Officer, did you see him? He took my car.”
He grinned. “For one thing, call me David, and he’ll take good care of it.”
“But he can’t just steal my car. I have all my things in it.”