To Protect & Serve Read Online Free PDF Page B

Travis?”
    She looked over at him, and surprise ran through her eyes. “Yeah.”
    In slow lockstep they walked to his car, the product of a hundred million hours spent under a hood and on a hard concrete floor—a 1971 black-on-blue Pontiac GTO Convertible.
    “Nice,” she breathed, running a hand over the shiny paint job when he led her to the passenger side.
    “You think so?” he asked, surprised she had even noticed, and even more surprised she didn’t turn up her nose at the thought of riding in anything other than the very newest model. He watched her fold herself onto the off-gray seat, not wholly sure if he should take her hand to help her in or if that was just something he’d seen in some old movie. It wasn’t like he’d had much practice at this, and suddenly he really wished he had. Careful to make sure that she was securely in, he waited one more second and then slammed the door. When he slipped behind the steering wheel, she was still marveling.
    “This is unbelievable. Did you do this yourself?” she asked in awe.
    “Me and my dad,” he said, not really sure if it was her reaction or the pride he had felt when they had finally finished the project that was filling his chest.
    Her smile lit the night around him. “So, is this like a hobby then?”
    He started the car as his heart raced ahead of him. Somehow even sitting next to her in the noisy bar hadn’t been this intimidating. “I don’t really have the funds for it to be an on-going hobby if that’s what you mean.”
    “But if you did?”
    “I love cars.” He glanced over at her and then thought better of that move. “Ever since I was like 12. My dad and I would go to all the car shows. Classics, muscle cars, concept cars. It was just a trip to see anything with a motor.”
    The lights winked across the windshield as they drove down the neon-lit street.
    “So why this one?” she asked.
    “Well, for one thing it wasn’t in perfect condition, so we got it pretty cheap. It really needed a lot of work, but that was cool too because we got to go all around, searching for ones like it to trade out parts. That was half the fun.”
    “And what was the other half?”
    He laughed. “Driving it once it was finished.”
    She glanced down at the gearshift and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. I’m more of an automatic girl myself.”
    “It’s not so bad.” Expertly he shifted down. “Once you get used to it anyway.”
    She looked up at the ceiling. “So does the top really go back?”
    “Yep, it really does although I don’t do that much anymore. I just about ruined it a few years back. I was at school and left it down. About halfway thought a statistics test, it started pouring rain. After that I left it up—just in case.”
    Her hand glided across the door handle. “Smart.”
    For an instant when he looked over at her, he wished they could simply drive forever. That would be so much easier than finding the words to get enough information so he could see her again. The question of her phone number slipped into his mind as his hand shifted the gears, but he didn’t have a paper or a pen—more than that he didn’t have the words to ask. “Okay, I guess you’re going to have to give me a little better coordinates than just Travis Street.”
    “Oh, sorry,” she said as her gaze snapped from the car to the street. “Yeah, turn right up here at the light.” The shimmer of her red fingernail sparkled in the flash of the streetlight over the windshield. “It’s the third building on the right. There’s a parking garage next to it.”
    “Okay.” He downshifted again and then spun the wheel to guide them into the darkened parking area.
    “I’m on the third level.” She settled back into the seat, and when he glanced over at her, he liked how comfortable she looked. At that moment, her gaze chanced across to his, and his heart thudded to a stop. If only there were words...
    “Third level, right?” he asked