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“I…need you, Doug,” Pixie whispered.
“I need you, too,” Doug answered without hesitation, which gave Pixie a little more courage.
She drew in a shaky breath. “Doug…” Now probably wasn’t the time, but Pixie couldn’t keep it to herself any longer. “I love you.”
Doug let out a strangled laugh. “You do know this is an open mic, Pixie. Right?”
“Open mic?” she repeated, suddenly horrified. Did that mean she’d not only told Doug, who was probably damned uncomfortable with the information that she loved him, but had let his entire team hear it?Shit.
“Yes,” Doug confirmed. “Everybody’s listening.” He cleared his throat. “And for all you voyeuristic assholes, here’s some more news. Start taking notes.” Doug drew in a long, audible breath. “Pixie Spires, I love you, too.”
There were cheers, catcalls, whistles, and clapping sounds over the mic that were so loud, Pixie had to hold the damned thing at arm’s length. When she looked up, there were shit-eating grins on everyone’s faces who surrounded her, and she found an answering one breaking out on her lips.
Her heart was doing somersaults in her chest.
“I hope you’re prepared to say that to my face, Doug,” she dared tease. “Because if this is all for show, I’m going to be pissed.”
“Not the case, Pixie,” Doug assured her. “You’re going to be hearing me say I love you for the next fifty years, so you’d better get used to it.”
“I’ll never get used to it, Doug,” she managed to get out, because now rivers of tears were running down her bruised cheeks. “As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind hearing it all the time.”
“Deal,” Doug responded gruffly. “Now let me get our prisoner into custody so I can say the words in person.”
“Go,” Pixie said. “Be careful.”
“Always,” Doug replied, then the mic went dead.
Talia came over and gave Pixie a huge hug. “I’m happy for you, Pix. But…you know it might not be easy, loving Doug. He’s been through—”
Pixie laid a finger on Talia’s lips. “I know. But Tallie, he’s worth it.”
Talia’s smile didn’t falter. “Andyou’reworth it. He’s going to spoil the hell out of you, you know that?”
“As long as he doesn’t treat me like spun glass, I’m okay with whatever he wants to do,” Pixie smiled lopsidedly. “And if we do have any problems, I’ve met Will, Doug’s therapist, and I’m sure the man can keep us on the right path.”
Talia sniffed back a few tears of her own, then turned to her teammates. “Let’s pack it up, people. The chief here is giving us a ride back to the farm.”
Peter had resisted just enoughfor Doug to get some satisfaction. It had been good, however, that Quint, the voice of reason, had been practically up Doug’s ass, making sure he didn’t get carried away. And if the perp tripped a time or two as they marched him back to the cabin, there were no tears shed by anyone over the “minor mishaps”.
Doug kept getting elbows and sly grins from Jessop and Azis as they walked, which was new for him. He’d never been on the receiving end of joshing by his fellow officers, and it felt…good. He had no doubt he’d get buckets of shit from his more vocal teammates and friends, Cisco and Kyle, but he found himself wearing his emotions proudly, and looked forward to being kidded about his newly acknowledged love.
Peter was eventually bundled into the bus, where Doug, Mason, Mike, and Quint sat glowering at him every time he spoke. They’d read him his rights, but Peter wasn’t expounding on his guilt, he was whining about how they’d gotten it all wrong, and how he was going to sue them for assault and battery.
It was all just so much smoke.
Looking at the man’s nose, which was still dripping blood, Doug felt only satisfaction. But he knew once he got a look at what Peter had done to Pixie, he’d be wishing he causedmoredamage to the man.
The trip to the OPD jail and the subsequent booking took almost three hours, and by the time he and his companions walked out, he wondered if Pixie would still be at the wedding venue when they went to pick up their vehicles.
“Do you think people are still at the farm?” Doug asked Mason.
“I know they are,” Mason replied with a snort. “I’ve been in touch with Everlee, and after everything that happened, people not only want a wrap-up to the day’s activities from us, but a lot of them are getting rip-roaring drunk. Mrs. Sothard is keeping the food coming, with promises to feed us well when we get there.”
Doug’s stomach had been growling for the past hour, and he’d be happy to get food. But he wasn’t going to be drinking. He needed all his brain-cells fully functional to focus on Pixie. It was his fervent wish that she agree to go home with him. Whether she’d feel comfortable being anyplace other than her parents’ or sister’s home was an unknown, but he hoped he could convince her. Pixie’s well-being, however, would always come first. If she didn’t want to be with him until she’d healed, he’d manage somehow to suck it up.
The first thing Doug saw as they pulled up, was the same number of cars that had been at the venue earlier. Mason was right. It seemed like no one had left. When the small crowd streamed toward the bus, he searched the group, but didn’t see Pixie. He scowled.
“What’s that face for?” Mike nudged him.
