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I jolt so badly; I spill tea on my hand.

Cassian looks down at my cup, his expression mildly confused. Apparently, people in his life don’t randomly flail.

“You’re not on the payroll,” Reid argues, growingreallyuncomfortable.

Cassian takes several steps forward, lowering his voice. “No, but I fund it, don’t I?”

Reid gulps. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Good.” He turns to me. “Now that we’ve settled that, shall we go to the hospital, Piper?”

“I…” I clear my throat. “I don’t usually get in the car with strangers.”

“If that were true, we wouldn’t be standing here.” His eyes drop to my neck.

Swallowing, I cover the twin scars he’s blatantly eyeing. “I learned my lesson.”

His eyes spark with amusement. “Go with your brother. I’ll follow you and make sure you get there all right.”

Not feeling like I have much of a choice, I give him a sage nod, offer Reid and Ainsley a tight smile, and start down the hall.

“I’m sorry,” Max interrupts, following us. “Whoare you?”

“My name is Cassian Chevalier.”

Max raises his brows, waiting. Cassian doesn’t offer more.

The three of us step into the cool night, and I realize I’m still holding the Strawberry Days mug.

“Oh, shoot.” I turn back toward the door, but before I can take so much as a step, Cassian snatches the cup from my hand and hands it to a female officer as she walks toward the building.

“Will you return this to its owner?” he asks.

She blinks at him, starstruck as she palms the cup. “Of course.”

He gives her a half-smile and nods, collecting me by the arm and directing me toward the parking lot.

“You can’t talk to an officer like that.” I pull my arm from his hand.

He turns toward me, his eyes sweeping over my face. “Like what?”

“Like…bossy?”

“She didn’t object.”

“Well, that’s because…” I frown. “You know why.”

The man’s good humor reaches his lips. “Enlighten me.”

My phone vibrates, and I snatch it out of my purse, relieved when I see Noah’s name on the screen. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

“Yeah, you hear that about bullet wounds all the time—not that big of a deal. Papercuts, really.”

He chuckles. “How are you doing? Have you given your witness statement yet?”

“I’m just leaving the police station with Max andCassian.”