Like he was going to back out now. “Promise.”

Damon looked like he wasn’t sure if he believed him – and who could blame the man after Micah’s last disappearing act? Regardless, he allowed his eyes to rove over Micah one last time before turning on his heel and jogging down the sidewalk.

As soon as he was around the corner, Tessa was spitting fire in his ear. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I don’t know,” Micah admitted – it was nothing but the truth, after all. “But I dare you to withstand the power of his please.”

“…You’re as soft for this guy as he is for you, aren’t you?”

“What? No!” A pause. “And he’s not soft for me. He feels bad for me because he thinks I’m a prostitute.”

“And you realize you’re not actually a prostitute, right? This is not some fucked up version of Pretty Woman. You’re a cop.”

“I know that!”

“Then tell me why you’re humoring this guy.”

“You heard what he said. He’s hellbent on helping me, for whatever reason. I figure if I let him get it out of his system – buy me some McDonalds and a room at a cheap hotel, or whatever he’s thinking – he’ll move on. We won’t have to worry about him butting into any more of our operations.”

There was a sigh in his ear, a little exasperated, but mostly amused. “I take it I can’t talk you out of this?”

“I thought you liked Damon,” Micah pointed out. “You were all but pouting when I ditched him in El Taco Rosa on Saturday.”

“Yeah, well, I had eyes on you then. You weren’t getting into some unknown vehicle with him, going God knows where. I wasn’t worried for your safety.”

Micah winced. “I can take care of myself, you know that,” he scolded gently. “Besides, I’ve got the department’s mic and earpiece on me. It’s not like you can’t track my location.”

“I guess. You know I’m not going to be able to sleep all night, though, right?” A pause. “If I’m going to be wide awake anyway, and you’re going to have the mic on you, you might as well keep it on-”

The little snoop wanted to eavesdrop on him. “Not a chance,” he said, cutting her off.

“But Micah-!”

Micah only felt a little bad about pulling out his earpiece and shutting it off while Tessa was mid-sentence. He quickly hid it in his sock, where his disabled mic immediately followed.

Just in the nick of time, too, because moments later, what could only be Damon’s vehicle pulled around the corner. Micah shouldn’t have been surprised, but he could feel his jaw loosen regardless.

Of fucking course. The Rolls-Royce. He could only watch in a silent sort of awe as the back door opened, and Damon stepped out.

“That was you who drove by earlier?”

“Not me – my chauffeur, Geoffrey. I told him to slow down when I recognized you. I didn’t want to intimidate you, though, so I had him park around the back.”