I put my SIG away. I’m licensed to carry, but that didn’t allow me to hold police officers under threat. “What am I supposed to have done?”

“Assaulted officers and damaged county property for a start,” Soames muttered. The man didn’t like me, but he was here under orders to keep his opinions to himself. Castle seemed much easier with the situation, and even he shot Soames a frown of disapproval.

“We just need to clear up a couple of things,” he said. “You satisfy us, we’ll kick you loose again in an hour.”

I’d done many things in the year I’d been living here and wondered which one of them had come back to haunt me. Nothing obvious came to mind: each and every one of them had been extremely violent—but, in my opinion, justified.

“Is there a parking ticket I’ve forgotten about?” I moved back, allowing the men to get up. Castle grunted as he helped himself stand with one hand propped on a thigh. Soames swarmed up and he wasn’t impressed at my joke.

“You’re a fucking piece of work, Hunter.”

It looked for the briefest of moments that Soames would go for his piece, but Castle grabbed at his elbow. “I’m sure it’s all a big misunderstanding. One we can clear up with Hunter’s help.”

There was nothing I’d been involved in during the last couple of weeks that would attract the eye of the local police department, so I was sure that he was right.

“I’ll follow you in.”

“Give me your gun,” Soames said.

Shaking my head slowly, I said, “I’ll check it in at the station.”

Soames wavered and I gave him a steady look. Castle cleared his throat, touched his partner on the elbow again. The older detective turned and walked away, but Soames felt he had something to prove.

“You might have fooled Castle, but I know exactly what you are.”

I didn’t reply. If what he was suggesting was true, then it would have been the Special Response Team—Florida’s version of SWAT—who’d come for me, not two detectives on a peacekeeping mission.

Grunting a curse, Soames moved quickly after his partner.

And I thought that was that. I’d go along to the station and answer a few questions, put things straight and be back on the street again in an hour. It was too lovely a day to be cooped up for long. Maybe there’d still be time to have the jog around the park at Cypress Point that I’d originally planned.

I should have known better.

A volley of bullets took out both cops’ brains and they crumpled to the ground.

Chapter 3

3