“I don’t want to, but I think I’m gonna have to make a deal with God.”
Jesse scoffed. “That’s your plan? To pray the crime away.”
“Man, I wish I was talking religion.” Worm sighed. “But I’m talking about the God.”
Jesse was silent. What the hell?
“Just be here in the morning. And get off the streets tonight—it’s not safe for a sweet guy like you,” Worm said right before the line disconnected.
Jesse quickly powered down his phone to save the few minutes he had left and sat on the bench with his head down. He was contemplating if he wanted to save his money in case Worm’s plan—that was nothing more than a riddle—fell through and he had to somehow get back to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on a few dollars and hope.
“I don’t think there’s a bus coming anytime soon, fella,” a male voice grumbled a few feet away, startling him so badly Jesse nearly fell off the bench.
Jess hollered out, clutched his chest, then his bag that had lain forgotten at his feet. He hurried and picked it up in case he was going to need to run again.
“What you got in the bag?”
Jesse opened his mouth, but his “excuse me” was choked back as he got a good look at the man that was asking him questions. Jesse gaped at the police officer standing directly in front of him. Though it was dark, he was still able to see the man’s hard lines in his face and his uncanny Tom Selleck mustache.
“Um, nothing. Sorry. I was just leaving.” He stood and hefted his bag, but the officer put one hand close to his weapon and the other outstretched toward Jesse’s chest. He halted and opened his arms. “Whoa. Hey. There’s nothing in here.”
“You got nothing in a full duffle bag?” the officer asked nonchalantly. “Then do you mind if I take a look inside it?”
Jesse frowned, not saying anything. What was with this city and luggage? Why the hell did it feel as if he was being targeted? If the officer had a right to search his bag, he wouldn’t have asked. “No. I don’t see why that’s necessary. I was sitting here on a public bench doing nothing.”
“Are you okay?” a deep but soothing voice asked from further away, and Jesse was so out of sorts he hadn’t noticed the other officer at the bumper of the patrol car. “You seem a bit lost.”
Jesse watched transfixed as the grumbly officer’s partner came closer in the most nonthreatening way he’d ever seen a cop approach. He stepped up on the curb, and Jesse noticed the officer was a couple of inches shorter than him but a lot thicker. Or maybe it was the uniform that he filled out so well. One thing was for certain, he had the classic hot-ass cop look that Jesse didn’t even know he liked. Until now.
The officer had an impressive, slightly intimidating presence, but in a good way. The way that made him feel safe, not afraid. Eyes that were dark, yet they sparkled in the night’s light, and high cheekbones that sat perched above a stern, stubbled jaw. Jesse moistened his cold lips as his eyes followed the firm bridge of the officer’s nose to his smooth, peach lips. Lips that—
“Cat got your tongue, kid?” Grumbly officer barked, literally startling Jesse from his eye-fucking.
Shoot. He scrubbed frustratingly at his forehead before he ran his hand through his oily hair. Why was he staring at a gorgeous man like that when he himself looked like hot shit and probably smelled like it too. “Um, no. I just… I got some bad news on the phone, and I stopped here to take a seat.”
“You have identification on you, young man?” the older officer asked, ignoring Jesse’s reasoning.
Jesse glanced back and forth between the two police. One beautiful, one annoying. “Yes, I do have ID, but is that really necessary to show you? I was just literally sitting on a public bench doing nothing.”
“We saw you walking around last night… like you’re not from around here. Is there any way we can help you?” Sexy officer asked, his concern seeming genuine.
Man, how Jesse wished he could curl up in that voice and thick chest and rest for an entire week. He was so worried and tired. Instead he forced a smile he didn’t feel and tried to appear as if he was in control. And he didn’t miss the fact that the older cop was still eyeing his bag. “I appreciate it, Officers. I’m from out of town and was actually looking for a hotel close by.”
“Oh,” the genuine one said, sounding surprised. “Well, there’s a few around here. I’ve stayed in the Fairfield Suites myself a few times. It’s reasonable, and it’s just a couple blocks past Park Avenue.”