Free Karma by Phillips Carly Page B

another officer had the afternoon. He was free for the day.
    “Isn’t that your girl?” Cara asked as she walked up to him.
    Dare knew who she meant without bothering to look over. He’d been aware of Liza’s presence for the last thirty minutes, but he’d been tied up talking to kids and their parents. Now he could finally give her the attention she deserved, but he didn’t need Cara as his audience.
    So he ignored her.
    “You see what I see?” she asked, none too delicately nudging him in the ribs.
    If she meant the tall guy with dark hair who stood way too close for Dare’s liking, yeah, he saw.
    Dare merely grunted in reply. As far as he was concerned,that question didn’t deserve an answer. Besides, he planned to break up whatever was going on over there as soon as he ditched his nosy friend.
    “Officer Barron!” a young girl called out to him. “I have a question.”
    Cara chuckled. “At least the young ones fall at your feet.”
    “Don’t you have something better to do?” he muttered.
    Cara laughed. “Go talk to your little fan. But when you’re finished, get your ass in gear and find Liza before that new guy weasels his way in.”
    Cara patted him on the back and walked off, leaving Dare with his stomach twisting with jealousy. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to deal with the precocious child he remembered from his last DARE session.
    He turned to the ten-year-old girl, whose mother had joined her and together they kept him talking for a good ten minutes. Dare knew he answered their questions, but he couldn’t remember the details of their discussion. He was too focused on Liza and the guy who’d put his hand on her back and led her away.
    When he was finally alone, Dare drew a deep breath and headed in the direction he’d seen Liza last. Luckily she’d gone toward the dunking booth. If Dare couldn’t find her, he at least planned to get a few good shots in and sink Sam.
    He arrived to find a huge crowd and lots of cheering going on. Rarely did this booth draw such a huge crowd, no matter which officer held the honors of sitting in the dunk tank. An uneasy feeling settled in Dare’s gut as he pushed his way through the many people blocking his view.
    “Throw, throw, throw, throw!” The words circled around the crowd.
    Dare finally stepped into the open. He glanced from Sam in the booth to the current player and muttered a curse. The last thing this family-oriented fair needed was Brian McKnight causing trouble and making a scene. And though Samwas in the tank, kids from the youth center were running the booth and they weren’t equipped to handle this.
    Dare had to distract McKnight and give someone else a shot at Sam before things got out of hand. He took a step forward but someone beat him to it.
    Liza called out her brother’s name, the distraught look on her face pushing all sorts of emotional buttons Dare hadn’t known he possessed.
    Brian turned her way, his glassy gaze focusing on his sister. “Liza Lou! What are you doing here?” he slurred.
    “I think you’ve been at this long enough. Let’s go get a soda or something.”
    “It’s still my turn,” Brian said, winding his arm and tossing the ball at the target that would release Sam into the tank. Brian’s pitch missed by a mile. They’d be lucky if he didn’t hit someone with his wild throws.
    Dare was torn between stepping in and possibly embarrassing Liza with his presence and letting things play out. A glance at the booth told him Sam sat in a relaxed pose, arms folded across his chest, obviously unconcerned about a possible dunking, since McKnight’s aim was way off.
    And unlike when the high school kids tossed balls at him, Sam didn’t yell back any taunts or reply to the smartass remarks with good humor. He knew better than to engage a drunk.
    “Brian, please,” Liza said once more.
    Dare saw the pointing and heard the murmurs of people around him. They were talking about the McKnights and the scene they