Beyond The Badge (A Hot Police Romance) Prt 5

 

Chapter 5
Dante POV

My eyes locked onto the car. The same one I’d seen Natura get into outside the station. It was parked off to the side of the road, right at the grassy border where Sunnyvale met Coldville. As I got closer, I noticed it rocking slightly, swaying side to side.

I flicked on my lights and let the siren wail for just a second before pulling over and stepping out. There was no way Natura was in that car having sex. I had just dropped her off. Then again, nothing was impossible. She was naïve and in love—two things that often went hand-in-hand with recklessness.

I remembered what it felt like to be stupid and in love myself. Where had that gotten me? Chasing my own damn tail.

I approached the vehicle. The windows were sealed tight, tinted so dark not even the sun could pierce through. I knocked lightly on the glass. “Police. Open up.”

I heard moaning—then, abruptly, silence.

A moment later, the back window rolled down slowly. Niahm Toro stuck her head out.

My eyes widened. It wasn’t Natura, thank God—but was this worse? Niahm was Mr. Toro’s daughter.

“Is there a problem, officer?” Sage asked, his voice having that cockiness.

I knew Sage’s type too well. I’d seen them every day of my life, young men who thought they were above the law because they had connections, because someone on the inside whispered promises in their ears. But the law wasn’t something you just broke or slipped past. It was steel. It waited. It watched. And eventually, it caught up.

“Hey, Dante… is there a problem?” Niahm asked, clearly flustered, adjusting her bra strap on her narrow shoulder.

“Please step out of the vehicle, ma’am,”

“What the fuck is the problem?” Sage defended.

My hand drifted down to my holster—not because I needed the gun. Not for a guy like him. I used to deal with punks like Sage every day when I was on the streets. Back then, I thought I was winning, thought I was making money, making a name. But I never saw who I was really fighting. I didn’t realize the beatdowns came at a cost I couldn’t count in bills or bruises.

He stared at my hand and let out a low chuckle. "That’s all you cops are good for."

“Stay put,” I ordered, voice firm. “And you, ma’am—step out of the vehicle.”

“Listen here, bit—”

“Sage, please,” Niahm cut him off quickly, “Don’t make a big deal out of this.” She tugged her dress down, opened the door, and stepped out. Where she further fixed herself. Internally, she still looked like a damn mess.

I led her a few paces away from the car. My professionalism slipped the moment we were out of earshot.

“Not that it’s any of my business—”

“You’re right—it’s not your business,” she conveyed, arms crossed. “Glad you’re starting from a place of clarity. I know you play bingo with my dad and we all smile and pretend, but this? This isn’t your lane.”

“You’re parked on the side of the road, hooking up with some low-level street thug.”

“And again, when did this become your concern, Dante? Don’t act like you’re some shining examples, not with where you came from.” She tried to fix her hair, but it only seemed to grow more disheveled by the second, like a nest unraveling.

“You do realize this man is in direct conflict with your father?”

“And you do realize this is my pussy, right?”

I raised a hand. “Nia—”

“What?! You think you can stand there and judge me? You, of all people? With the kind of life, you’ve had?”

“Don’t speak about my life,” I enounced, stepping toward her, fighting the urge to completely lose it. God, I could throw her in a damn dumpster for this kind of behavior.
Girls like Natura—I felt for them. I saw myself in them. Not all of us were lucky enough to escape the streets. But girls like Niahm? They had everything. Beauty. Money. Love. A roof over their heads. And still, they threw it all away for gangbanger dick.

I stepped in closer, “I never saw my way out because I wasn’t born into light like you. I didn’t have a choice. But you, you’ve had nothing but choices. What’s the problem, Niahm? Sunnyvale running low on decent dick?”

“Excuse me? You’d better watch who you’re talking to,”

“Oh? You gonna run to your daddy?” I shot back. “Because I’ve got bigger news for him than this.”

“Who I sleep with—who I give my body to—is not your business, not the department’s business, and definitely not my father’s business. But how you speak to me? That sure as hell is.”

“When you involve yourself with a man who operates on the wrong side of the law, don’t act surprised when it catches up to you. I’m giving you a chance—”

She cut me off, stepping forward. “A chance? Then here’s mine. Stay out of our way.”

“Everything alright here?” Sage called out, his voice slick.

I rested my hand on the grip of my holstered gun. He laughed. Probably thought I was nervous. I wasn’t reaching for protection. I was holding myself back. Because when you’ve stood on the right side of the law long enough, you start to see men like Sage for what they are; parasites, spreading rot. And every so often, that trigger finger twitches.

He was nothing more than a loud-mouthed waste of oxygen.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay in the damn car?” I barked. “I’m not ready for you yet.”

“Easy, officer,” he said, holding his hands up.

“Back up.”

Niahm glanced between us. “Are we done here?”

“No.”

“Then I’m getting back in the car,” she said, and turned on her heel.

“Good. Do that.”

I gave her a final warning.

“You’ve got a real shot at life, Niahm. Don’t throw it away chasing some street punk just because you're hungry for dick.”

She smirked over her shoulder. “Maybe you’re just mad I’m not chasing yours.”

“Don’t talk like that,” I muttered.

“Can I go now?” Niahm asked flatly.

I gave a small nod, motioning her toward the car.

From behind, I could hear her quietly pleading with Sage to stay inside. But he didn’t listen. Of course not. He stepped out, walking toward me with that smug confidence.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

I folded my arms, standing firm. “That depends. Is there a problem?”

Sage had one of those patchy, stick-on beards that looked like someone had stapled it to his face. He dressed like every low-level street thug I used to chase down, pants sagging past his ass, shirt two sizes too big for his already bloated frame. He looked like he couldn't run ten feet without gasping for breath. And yet no one had taken him down. Why? Because the women he surrounded himself with—naïve, misguided, or afraid—kept shielding him.

“Nah, I’m just saying… you see us on the street, and you cops cower.”

I took a brave step toward him, anything but scared. “Wrong. You don’t scare me.”

He scoffed. “You’re just a girl.”

“A girl who can handle your ass just fine.”

“Look at that a cop talking reckless to a civilian.”

“Call it whatever the hell you want.”

He paused, then tilted his head. “By the way you know that girl you were talking to today?”

I smirked. “I talk to a lot of girls.”

“You know who I’m talking about. Stay the fuck away from her. She doesn’t need help from people like you.”

I nodded, almost laughing. That’s how guys like him operated used girls like tools, then tried to gatekeep them like property. I’d seen it before. He was the type that thrived by dragging people like us down just to climb over our backs.

Men like him didn’t come from anything noble. And I’d be genuinely surprised if he could even point out his mother unless she was the same dog that raised him. “You just be on your way,” I said calmly. “And avoid parking on the wrong side of the road next time. You never know when something might come crashing into your car.”

He stared at me blankly. Clearly, not bright enough to catch the warning beneath the words.

I stood there, waiting for him to leave. I never turned my back on men like Sage. That was when they struck—cowardly, from behind. And Sage didn’t turn his back on me either. Whether it was because he didn’t trust me or he was too scared, I couldn’t say. Probably both.

When you're on the wrong side of the law, you trust no one. And when you're on the right side, you learn exactly who you can't trust. I remembered what it was like sleeping with one eye open. That was the rhythm of the street; always alert, never safe.

I didn’t miss it. Not one bit. I was disgusted by what the streets made me, and even more disgusted by what I used to be. But I was proud of who I’d become and I only wished more people had made it out like I did.

*************

I sat down at my desk, flipping open a file. A quick glance was enough. I closed it again and slid it back into the cabinet tucked neatly between the desks.

Leaning back, I undid the top button of my shirt and let the office air conditioning wash over me. The cruiser didn’t have AC, and if my personal car wasn’t blasting full-speed, I barely got a breeze. For now, this was the first bit of real cool air I’d felt all day.

I leaned back, resting my head against my knuckles. My black hair felt greasy, mostly thanks to the glue gel I’d used to slick it back. A lazy attempt at keeping my short hair in line.

“Showing off the muscles again?” came Orion’s voice, laced with amusement.

“Eat shit,” I muttered without looking at him.

“Bingo night with the captain,” he said casually, dropping into the seat across from me.

We usually met up twice a week for a little low-stakes gambling, just to blow off steam.

“My bet? You won’t win more than three games tonight,” he smirked.

“I’m not going.”

“Why not? You scared of the bet now?” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gave me a playful shake.

I shoved my palm into his chest. “Fuck off.”

“What?” he said, laughing.

“Today was… weird. I just want to go home and sleep it off.”

“Come on, just slide through. You’ll feel better.”

“I don’t know,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

He leaned in, voice dropping like he was letting me in on some secret. “So, I was thinking… maybe I could get a little pass with the captain’s daughter. Woo-wee—she’s sexy.”

I let out a quiet sigh. Should I tell him Niahm was laying up with some flea-bitten street punk? Probably not. As she’d made it crystal clear earlier, it wasn’t my business.

“Try making a pass at someone else’s daughter,” I said with a smirk. “Pastor Falcone, maybe.”

He made a face. “She’s foul-looking.”

“They're better—and tighter,” I muttered as I stood and walked over to the coffee machine.

Orion snorted. “What the hell do you know about tight little cunt bitches?”

I shrugged. “Just calling it like I see it. Some of these girls don’t want to date cops. They want the ones out there in the streets, the ones covered in grime and bullshit.” What did Sage have that made him worth chasing? Besides his dick, absolutely nothing. Yet somehow, two beautiful women had fallen for him. One more naïve than the other.

“If I don’t try, I’ll never know,” Orion said, eyes gleaming. “Fifty bucks says I land a date with her.”

Fifty bucks that I’d be finding him full of bullet holes, like a damn strainer. I knew Sage wasn’t just some street-level clown. He was a coward, yeah but he had power. He wasn’t smart, but he had protection. Walls. Muscle. Influence. I probably shouldn’t even see Natura again.

But I wanted to. Who the fuck did Sage think he was? Like he knew me? Like he could call the shots?

I wasn’t about that life anymore. I had to leave it alone. I should leave it alone.

“Bet,” I said with a smirk, raising my half-full cup of coffee.

“I’m totally getting her,” Orion grinned.

Stay tune for next chapter or subscribe to my Patreon. This book is complete on patreon. Click here

NEXT PAGE >>>