Page 6 of Love’s Strongest Soldier

“You didn’t have to be rude. I was just about to tell her that I like her necklace.” The woman dusted herself off. The employees picked the items up off the floor.

“Next!” the woman behind the counter yelled.

I stepped over the mess they made and went up to the counter. Removing all my things, I set them up there and waited as she rang everything up.

“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” the cashier asked with a warm smile.

“Yes,” I replied and removed my card from my wallet.

After I paid for my things, Ghost grabbed my bags, and we left out the store. He walked over and placed them into the trunk. As he was leaned over, I noticed a pair of cuffs dangling from his pants in the back. Snatching them, I slapped one on his wrist and the other onto the truck’s door handle that was next to my car.

“Luxe.” Ghost grimaced and yanked his arm.

I slipped my hand down into his pocket and took his keys so he wouldn’t be able to get out of the cuffs.

“See you later, mister security man,” I taunted as I dangled his keys and ran over to the driver’s door and then hopped inside my car.

Pissed was a fucking understatement. Luxe cuffing me to a truck wasn’t on my bingo card for the day. She hopped into that car and sped the fuck out of there, leaving me behind. When Savion told me it was gon’ be complicated watching after her, I just thought I was gon’ be dodging bullets and shit. Not having to chase behind her like she was a fucking toddler.

“Sir, you need some help?” a woman asked when she stepped down off the curb. Her eyes zeroed in on the cuffs on my wrist.

“You got a hairpin or some on you?”

“No.” She shook her head.

That was when I knew I was gon’ have to do exactly what I didn’t want to—call the police. It was either that or break my wrist attempting to get off the truck. Judging by the way shit was going with Luxe, I was gon’ need both my hands to deal with her.

“Call the police or security or something,” I told her, that way I didn’t have to end up doing it myself.

The woman removed her phone from her purse, and I watched her as she dialed the number and placed it to her ear.

“Yes, I’m out here in Eastchase in front of Bath & Body Works, and there’s a man handcuffed to a truck.” Her eyes cut over in my direction. “He’s black and wearing a black suit. I don’t think anything is wrong with him. He asked me to call y’all.” She nodded her head as if the dispatcher was able to see her. “I’ll let him know. Thank you.” After removing the phone from her ear, she said, “They said they’re sending someone out here. Do you need anything?”

“No.”

Hopefully, they didn’t take forever and a day. The police were so damn short staffed that they took their time when it came to calls. I thought that shit was bizarre as hell. That was part of the reason why so many people got away with so much crime nowadays. Most people didn’t even bother to involve the police, because let’s be honest, they weren’t much help whenever they did finally decide to come out. Therefore, they just ended up handling everything on their own.

It took the police over twenty minutes to get out there to see what was going on with me. I understood that there wasn’t a real emergency in their eyes, but I needed to get to Luxe’s ass. She could be dead or kidnapped by the time I made it back to her. If anything was to happen to Luxe, Savion would fucking kill me.

“What’s going on?” the officer asked when he stepped out of his truck. Slowly, he approached with his right hand resting on his holster.

“A friend of mine cuffed me to this truck,” I simply responded.

“And why would they do that?” He slightly tilted his head as he stared at me.

“Does it really matter? Can you just uncuff me?” I yanked my arm, letting him know there was urgency in the matter.

“It does matter. How do I know that you’re not a threat to society? That friend of yours might have been doing us a favor. Do you have a license on you or anything?”

“My wallet in my pocket, and seeing how I’m handcuffed, I can’t reach and get it.”

“I can grab it for you. Do you have any weapons on you by any chance? Anything that might stick or poke me?”

This was exactly why I didn’t want to call their asses. “I have a registered firearm in my waistline behind me.”

“And you just normally walk around with your gun tucked in your pants like that?”

“I work for Blackveil Security Group.”