Neutral Zone Trap - Bianca Sommerland Page 0,21

face? Last time Braxton had seen him, Ryan had relaxed after a bit. Still seemed interested. Maybe Braxton was wrong, but would it hurt to try, one last time? Wasn’t like he was going out of his way. He was going with White.

If the man looked him in the eye and said what he did on the phone, Braxton would move on. He had to.

But he couldn’t until he found some closure. Which might be ridiculous, he’d known the man for one night.

Still…that night meant something,

I can’t let it go.

Not yet.

“Cool. Let’s head back to my place and we’ll drive over.” White seemed so happy that he’d be coming that Braxton couldn’t second guess himself.

They jogged back to White’s place. He climbed in White’s car.

And then considered staying in it when they pulled up in front of the police station.

Ryan was there. Right there with Chicklet. When White got out, Braxton did too. He sensed Ryan’s eyes on him and his throat locked.

This is a huge mistake.

“I gotta see my house arrest lady to tell her where I’ll be at during the road trip. She said she’d meet me here.” White gestured to Braxton without looking over. “Kid wanted to come for the ride. He said he got his bike stolen last week and he reported it?”

“Not my department.” Ryan’s gaze was cutting as he frowned at Braxton. “I’m sure they told you they’d call?”

“But they didn’t.” Braxton ducked his head and scuffed his sneakers on the pavement. He prayed for the earth to swallow him whole. “Figured I’d hear something the next day.”

“Well, you didn’t.” Ryan’s tone went cold. “That should tell you something.”

Avoiding Ryan’s glare, Braxton stepped up to White’s side. Spoke softly. “I’m gonna wait for you here. It’s just a bike. I shouldn’t be bugging them about it.”

White’s brow furrowed, but he nodded before heading inside.

Braxton slipped back into the passenger seat of the car and kept his head down. If things hadn’t been clear before, they were now. Ryan wanted nothing to do with him. A night that had meant so much to Braxton was probably no different than any other for the man.

Completely humiliated, stomach turning, all Braxton could do was think about the game.

Think about the one place he mattered.

Because right now, with Ryan so close, with the sight of him reminding him of everything they’d done together…

He might as well be invisible.

And he didn’t know how to pretend that was okay.

Chapter 7

Ryan’s life had become one disaster after another. His sister was on administrative leave after shooting a drug dealer who’d attacked her with a knife. The leave was a good thing, she needed a break, but the way the internal investigator, Detective West, was treating her seemed personal.

Against Ryan.

He’d never thought his sister would get a hard time because he’d been a hotheaded rookie. Or because as a moody teen the last year of high school when their family had moved here, he’d fought West’s younger brother a few times. Maybe even because he’d gotten up the ranks fast once he’d pulled his life together and the man fucking hated treating him as an equal.

Whatever the case, Laura didn’t deserve to be targeted. And maybe the actual leave was all by the books, but what West had said while Laura had been finishing up the paperwork and turning in her badge and gun?

“She should be out soon, Hamilton. I must say I’m a little disappointed, though. I was hoping, since she’s not a blood relative, that she didn’t share your disregard for the rules.” West pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapped one out, then brought it to his lips and lit the tip. “Apparently it runs in the family.”

“You know damn well it was a clean kill, West.” Ryan shoved away from the car, his jaw ticking as he considered how much damage the fucker could do to Laura’s career. “You got a problem with me, don’t take it out on her.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I handled her no differently than I would any other officer. And she gets no special treatment for being your foster sister.” West let out a puff of smoke with a laugh. “Please inform her a note from your mommy won't suffice for the psych eval.”

He’d almost nailed the other man with a swift punch, but Chicklet had grabbed him and used her sharp wit as a weapon instead. The Domme had made West seem absolutely pathetic and Ryan realized getting himself suspended for