Free Fall Into Me by Linda Winfree Page A

had to drink today, Mr. Stinson?”
    Jed shook his head, chin lifting at a pugnacious angle. “Ain’t drunk.”
    “I never said you were.” He kept his voice steady and laced with calm authority. “At this time though, Mr. Stinson, you are under arrest for violating a restraining order. Turn around and place your hands on the vehicle, please.”
    Jed’s expression never changed. “Ain’t going to jail again.”
    F-uck, why did it always have to be the hard way? He was going to end up fighting the son of a bitch into the car. The last time it had taken him and Cookie both to subdue Jed, and Cookie had ended up needing stitches.
    Troy Lee reached for his cuffs, keeping the other hand just above his holster, ready for multiple actions. “Turn around. Hands on the car.”
    A flash of white paint and silent blue lights passed on the side street at the same time a snazzy silver Miata darted into the parking lot.
    “Fucking bitch.” Jed stiffened all over, his hand going under the edge of his shirt. Adrenaline spiked through Troy Lee’s system.
    “Stop.” He closed his fingers on the butt of his nine. “Hands where I can see them.”
    Jed ignored him, his infuriated, bleary gaze locked on Tori Calvert’s car. Shit, let her be smart enough to stay put. Jed took one step forward, body tensed on a wave of fury and vengeance. Pull his gun. Take Jed down physically. The options shot through Troy Lee’s brain. Jed was crazy, high at the moment on booze and retribution, and unlikely to respond to the gun as threat or control. One option.
    Take him down.
    He rasped his cuffs open and darted an assessment over Jed’s stance. Incapacitate that hand, the hidden one. Another engine purred into the lot and behind him Tori’s car door opened with a quiet snick. Jed’s eyes widened, narrowed, set on his prey. He coiled in preparation for a leap.
    Damn it. She opened the door . Troy Lee grabbed Jed’s arm as the hand came from under his shirt, the blade of a wicked hunting knife glinting in the dull sunlight. Hell, the fucker was strong.
    “Drop it.” He put all the pressure he could on Jed’s wrist, twisting to get behind Jed, keeping clear of that knife and trying to get him down at the same time. “Drop it.”
    Under the pressure of his fingers digging into Jed’s nerves, the knife finally clattered to the pavement. Now fully enraged, Jed screamed obscenities and fought his hold, kicking and flailing. Troy Lee used the nerve point in the wrist to bring him to his knees and shoved forward. Jed jerked backward, the top of his skull colliding with Troy Lee’s chin.
    His teeth snapped together and pain jarred through his head. He managed to get the cuff around one wrist and his knee in the small of Jed’s back as Chris joined him, grabbing the other arm and bringing it around to be cuffed as well.
    “About time you got here,” Troy Lee panted. Blood dripped from his chin, splashing the front of his uniform.
    “Looks like you had it under control.” Chris laid his knee across Jed’s wriggling shoulders. “Quit fighting, Jed.”
    Jed bellowed something that sounded like “ain’t going to jail” interspersed with every foul word imaginable.
    “Wanna bet?” Troy Lee clenched his teeth and regretted it as agony pounded along his jaw. “Swear to God, Jed, I’ll hogtie you if I have to, but you’re going to jail.”
    With Jed still protesting, he and Chris managed to get him searched and in the back of Troy Lee’s car. The closed door muffled some of his incensed yelling. Troy Lee rested against the trunk and swiped his wrist across his chin. His hand came away smeared with blood.
    Chris surveyed him with a critical eye. “Bet you need a couple of stitches.”
    “Nah. Butterfly bandage. It’ll be all right.” He went to grab his clipboard out of the front seat. The sooner he got the paperwork done, the sooner he could go 10-6, 10-42. A glance at the storefront showed Tori inside, calming Maggie.
    He shook his