she skirted the perimeter, not getting too close to the other tents but giving her a chance to talk through her impressions while they were still clear in her mind.
Her car was just up ahead, and she picked up her pace as she continued recording into her phone. Deeply focused on her task, she didn’t hear footsteps behind her until a voice roared, “Stop. Police!”
Startled, she whirled toward the sound, instinctively lifting her hand and pressing the button. The pepper spray was immediately swept back toward her with the breeze, and she gasped as she tried to duck, blinking and sputtering in a desperate attempt to breathe.
Unable to see, her body collided with a hard wall that encircled her as she fell toward the ground. Desperate to get away, she flailed and kicked, unable to see her assailant.
“Stay down!”
Facedown in the dirt, the words he’d said earlier came back to her mind. Police! It felt as though there was a weight on her, but she had enough room to lift her hand and swiped at her streaming eyes and nose. She heard rapidly approaching footsteps, but her vision was blurry, and she was unable to see who was coming.
Still wiggling, she felt the weight leave just in time to be flipped over. Still wiping at her cheeks, she continued to blink while looking into deep blue eyes that were focused on her face.
For a few seconds, the underbelly world of Hope City disappeared as they stared at each other. “You?” she gasped, staring into Kyle’s face, barely aware that he had growled the same word in equal disbelief.
Before she could suck in another breath, Kyle bounded to his feet, reached down to grab her arms, and hauled her upward. She landed on her feet with a jolt, jerked her arm from his grasp, and swiped at her face again.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Startled at the ferocity of his voice, she opened her mouth to explain, but he continued.
“And pepper spray? You sprayed fuckin’ pepper spray into the wind? What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I take it you know her?”
Whipping her head around, she spied another man standing close, a badge clipped to his belt, his weapon being re-holstered. Swiping at her cheeks again, she turned back to Kyle. “I’m here for work—”
“Work? You said you worked in marketing. Try again, sweetheart. I’m not buying that.”
He snatched her bag from the ground. “Do you have any needles or other sharp objects in here?”
“What?”
“Needles? Sharp objects?” he growled.
“No! I had fruit gummies.”
He jerked open her bag and looked inside, his brow furrowed as he twisted his neck and speared her with a confused expression.
Her vision was clearing as she took the bag from him and reached inside to grab a tissue. Wiping her eyes and nose, she leveled her gaze back on him. “I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was just heading to my car.” She barely took a step when his hand latched onto her upper arm, firmly but not painfully.
“Oh, hell no, Kimberly. You’re coming with me.”
“You’re arresting me?” she squeaked, her throat still raw.
“I should, but no. I’m taking you home.”
He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. She stared down for a few seconds then lifted her gaze to his face. Impatience and anger were clearly written on his expression, but she had no idea what he wanted. “What?”
“Keys.”
“Keys?”
He wiggled his fingers again. “As in give me your keys,” he said enunciating each word.
Glaring, she said, “I don’t need to give you my keys. I’m leaving, and I’m driving.”
“Only part of that is right,” he growled in return. “You are leaving, but I’m driving so give me your keys.”
Glancing toward the other man who was now openly smirking, she said, “This is police brutality.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she was stunned that Kyle’s expression could become even scarier.
He looked toward the other man and said, “I’m taking her home.” Tossing a set of keys to him, he added, “Take my truck back to the station, and I’ll call you in a little bit.”
The other man caught the keys easily in his hand and grinned. “You sure you got this?”
Kyle looked from the other man back to her. “Oh yeah, I’ve got this.”
She continued to watch in stunned silence as the other man tossed a two-fingered salute and walked toward an old pickup truck. With Kyle’s hand still on her arm, he began