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it will not happen again on this case,” Olaf said

“I don’t know you that well, Jeffries”

“If Otto gives his word, it’s good,” Edward said

My pulse was speeding, but ood, weirdly”

“Great, but that doesn’t mean that you should ride with him,” Newman said

I don’t knohat I would have said, because two SUVs, one white and the other red, crowded into the s the white one, and the lasses hiding his eyes, as Nicky’s, I realized that it was Ethan in the passenger seat, with his white blond hair that had gray lowlights and a streak of dark red that didn’t occur naturally in hureat dye job The hair color was natural, but it was always fun watching people get angry with hi to share his hairstylist with them

I was down the steps andlot almost before the cars had stopped If I could run into Edward’s ar to run into the arht less ofand a kiss I wasn’t conflicted about

47

NICKY GOT OUT of the SUV I had athe newly shortened hair, the strong, oh-so-lasses that hid why he’d worn his hair long for years, and then ere kissing, all lips and tongues, and then he bit er noise, and that ers dug in, and that earned him another noise from my mouth to his He swept me up into his arms and because he was nine inches taller than me, he literally sweptfeeapons, I’d have wrapped s around his waist, but the best I could do was bend ht about kneeling for real later if we could find the tiot too much on my lip, and I tapped out, literally the same way I would have in the dojo to let soht hurt nal when he rendered me speechless in one way or another

He set round, but kept his arms around me, because he knew he’d made my knees weak It was exactly what I’d needed to wash away the feel of that other, unwanted kiss It was ironic that Olaf’s kiss had been so entle one had spooked me and this one had helped me come back to the center of myself

I could hear the murmur of voices on the other side of the cars Ethan and whoever else they’d brought with the to help Edward run interference for me with the other police officers This wasn’t exactly the best way to introduce the Coalition to Sheriff Leduc He was going to hate the kissy face with one of them It wasn’t like e

Edward came around the front of the SUV “We need you out here, Anita Hi, Nicky”

“Ted,” Nicky said with a nod of his head Edward had paid Nicky the ulti to take him as backup even if I couldn’t come

“Your new guys have ex–special teams written all over them”

“Former SEALs,” I said