Reign (Sin City Outlaws #1)(15)

“Um, last time I checked, you two can’t be involved. Not that Jillian even wants to,” Alessandra spits, rolling her eyes.

Orlando sits in a chair next to me uninvited, and his stare digs into the side of my head.

“That true, Jill?” I hate when he calls me that.

“Rules are rules.” I shrug. Truth is, he probably wouldn’t be bad, and breaking the rules would be an adrenaline rush, but I’m just not interested. There’s something about him that just rubs me wrong.

“Ah, I forget how innocent and law-abiding our newbie deputy is.” He pulls a piece of my hair from behind my ear, letting it fall against my cheek. His fingers linger along the shell of my ear. He’s talking down to me, acting as if I’m that kid in school whose parents won’t let her attend the party with the bad kids. I’m twenty-three, and I’m sick of being treated like that. Everyone is always assuming I am some goody-two-shoes. Having my stepfather as my boss doesn’t help. I inhale deeply and turn in my seat.

“Hey, Orlando,” I say sweetly, catching his attention. “Fuck off!” I bark, my face in resting bitch mode. His smirk falls into a grimace.

“Oooh!” Alessandra laughs.

“Burger, fries, and shake.” Margie places our food on the table, sounding bored. “Are you ordering?” She pins her eyes on Orlando.

“He was just leaving,” I speak for him.

“That’s how it’s going to be, huh?” Orlando’s eyebrows narrow in anger.

Ignoring him, I grab my shake, sipping the vanilla goodness.

“Whatever. I give you a week in this department,” he breathes, slapping the top of the table before getting up.

Looking up from my shake, I find Alessandra staring at me with proud eyes, a smile lifting the corner of her mouth.

“What?”

“You. I’ve known you for months and I’ve never heard you… be a bitch.” She starts laughing, making me laugh right along with her.

“I don’t know, he just…” I pause, trying to discover the reason why I acted the way I did. “I probably shouldn’t have been mean, but he just doesn’t get the hint I don’t want to f*ck him.”

“I think he does now.” She nods, looking over my shoulder. I follow her gaze and see him whispering into another deputy sheriff’s ear, Sandra Collings.

“Good for her,” I whisper, turning back to my drink.

“You know, not all guys are like Deputy Quick Dick.”

I nearly spray milkshake out of my nose.

Sometimes I hate that she knows that story. Deputy Quick Dick was a deputy at the sheriff’s department when I was in college. I had seen him around quite a bit, and my father even had him at the house for dinner once. He was really good-looking, and constantly staring at me. He had dark hair that was cut short, a sharp jaw, and thick biceps. We flirted here and there in passing. One night, after a late night of studying at the college, my ride left early and my cellphone died. I started to walk home in the rain when Deputy Quick Dick was doing his usual routes. He found me and picked me up. He was a smooth-talker, and I was a starved eighteen-year-old ready to lose her V card. I ended up in the back of his cruiser and… it was terrible. He had me doggy-style–yeah, for my first time—and the only touching we had was his hips slamming into the back of me. It was quick, it hurt, and when he was finished I felt humiliated. I wasn’t sure what all the hype about sex was about, because I for one was in no hurry to do it again. I think he got transferred to a new department or something, because I didn’t see him again.

“Seriously, you don’t know what you’re missing.” She takes a big bite of her burger, and I shake my head. “Sex can be so great, especially when you get a guy with one of those dicks that are so big, they look Jurassic-size.”

My eyes bug out, and I choke on my creamy milkshake.

“Where do you come up with this stuff?” I laugh, slapping my chest to make the shake go down. I point at her. “You have some serious issues.”

She shrugs sweetly, and takes another bite of her burger.

“I’m not missing anything. I’m fine with my sex life. Besides…” I look over my shoulder at Orlando, who is grabbing onto another deputy’s backside. “I have a strong feeling he’s just another Deputy Quick Dick.”





THREE





JILLIAN


“Deputy Adams!” is yelled from one of the offices down the hall, causing everyone in the squad room to turn their heads. I head into Lieutenant Oaks’s office and find him grimacing over some papers.

“Yes, sir?”

“Looks like you’ve completed your hours of field training.” He sets the papers down and frowns.

“I thought I had one more shift.”

“Apparently not. I just went over your hours and you’re all set.” His eyes slide from his desk to me. “You think you’re ready?” His tone sounds as if he’s not convinced, and I haven’t even replied. It’s the father in him; I can tell he’s worried for my safety by all the zig-zag lines stretched across his forehead.

“Yes, sir, I do.” I give a strong nod.

“I want Chewie to ride with you.” He looks down at his desk quickly.