Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(48)

He glared over at the other two cops, then back down at me. “You just getting home from work?”

I nodded, thankful that the blue scrubs I was wearing were fresh and clean.

“You drive this to work?” he asked privately.

I was glad my truthful answer was “no” or else I surmised I’d be in a whole heap of other sorts of trouble.

“Good.” His hand softly cupped my cheek. “You look too tired to be driving anywhere, Doc.”

Great. He’s being all sorts of sweet and I probably have hideous bags under my eyes.

He leaned over, grabbed my wallet off the hood of my car, laced his hand with mine, and led me to my driver’s door. “Come on, babe.” He opened my door for me, his hand resting on my hip, slightly shocked by his outward actions. I swore I could feel his formidable chest through the back of my jacket. I may have been exhausted but my heart was thumping double-time. “Get in,” he said near my ear. “I’ll take care of this. It’s too cold for you to be standing out here.”

I slid into my seat.

“Just wait a second, Trent,” one of the cops argued, stepping around the back of my car.

Adam closed my door, glaring at the other two. I rolled my window down. “Want to tell me why you pulled her over?”

“Got no plate on the vehicle,” the skinny officer said.

Adam wasn’t amused. “And you had her standing out here in the cold for what reason?”

The rotund Officer Castoll adjusted his utility belt, hiking it up. “Again, not your jurisdiction, Trent.”

Adam ignored him. “Damn it, Stiles, just answer the question.”

Officer Asshole seemed to like riling Adam. “Well, we were going to give her a sobriety test until you interrupted.”

“Sobriety?” Adam said mockingly. “You’re shitting me.”

“This isn’t your concern, Trent,” Officer Stiles growled from the other side of my car. “Although you may be an expert here.” Something was going down between these three and it sure as hell didn’t appear to be about whether I’d been drinking.

Adam stiffened. “Well, seeing as you’ve pulled my girlfriend over and falsely accused her of driving under the influence after she just pulled another night shift in the ER, I’d say it is my concern.”

Girlfriend? What? Why the hell would he say that to them? We were anything but!

Adam walked to the back of my car with commanding grace. He tilted his head as if he were inspecting where my plate had been removed.

“You smell alcohol on her?” he asked, knowing that they didn’t. When the other two didn’t answer, he continued, “Was she driving erratically? Hmm?”

Again, no reply.

“Just as I thought; you got nothing. Have anything else you want to say to me, Castoll? Might as well get it off your f*cking chest now while you got the chance.”

Oh shit. Now he’s really mad.

I didn’t hear the words they exchanged as they were growled and heated and were at the opposite corner of my car, but the second I saw the skinny cop dive in between them, holding them apart, I threw my door open and sprang out of my seat. This situation was about to explode. I needed to keep him from getting into a tussle because of me. I clutched his arm. “Adam, don’t.”

Adam grabbed my driver’s license out of the round cop’s meaty paw and handed it to me, glaring daggers at the gloating *.

I gave his arm a tug. “It’s not worth it.”

Adam didn’t budge. “Just get back in your car.”

“Not without you.”

I was afraid to move so Adam did it for me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered up at him as he guided me back to my driver’s door, his hand almost resting on my ass.

I barely knew the man but I sure as hell knew what that glare meant. A soft growl rolled up his throat. Angry Adam was scary but sexy as hell.

“Get in, Erin. Put your seatbelt on.” He leaned in and nipped my chin with his fingers, playing the doting boyfriend well, putting on a convincing show for the two gaping cops.

The smell of his light cologne combined with something that was one hundred percent Adam Trent instantly woke me up.

“Wait for me to turn my truck around. I’ll follow you home.” He didn’t need to say the word “again” aloud; it was obvious. I watched his fine ass in my side mirror as he spoke to the two patrolmen. Hand on his hip and one definitely resting on his own gun, he was getting me out of another mess. “We’re done here. You’re letting her go with a warning. I’m taking care of the missing plate so there’s no need to intervene.”

He didn’t wait for a rebuttal. His word was final.

I drove with exceptional cautiousness the mile back to my house, even putting my turn signal on to pull into my driveway.

Adam pulled his stark black Avalanche with the nice chrome wheels in right behind me.

I knew I was in trouble the moment he sidled up to my car door. “I know you’re pissed…”

His silence was unnerving. So was the little tick straining his jaw.

I was so tired I was running on fumes and now I had a pissed-off, gorgeous cop who was heavily armed in my driveway. I tried a different tactic. “Look, I know it was stupid to drive without the plate but I didn’t have much of a choice.”