Dustin Combs wasn’t certain he had what it takes to be an officer of the law. Sure, he’d made it through the academy, but there was so much stress and danger that came with the job. He hated how the gangs had turned his home into a battleground, it was why he signed up for the police force, he wanted to make a difference.
The latest shootout was just further proof of why he had done it, his parents home had a dozen new holes in it, not counting what his neighbors got out of it. Thank god nobody had died this time, but it was only a matter of when the next funeral would be held. He’d lost too many childhood friends to gang violence as it was.
At least he would be able to just enjoy himself for once, the police union was hosting a picnic open to any and all current or retired members of the force, and somehow he was off the rotation for the day. He had a feeling that was intentional, one of the lieutenants was apparently asking around about him, and he confirmed that the man would be present.
He just hoped that whatever the man was looking for wasn’t anything serious. He kept his nose clean, he made sure that nobody could question if he was an asset for another group, unlike half his coworkers with their barely hidden Patriot tattoos. Not that they would ever let him join, what with his far too dark skin that he inherited from his grandfather. He was actually looking to transfer when the next bids came out, as working under Captain Hamilton would get him away from most of those who were less than subtle supporters of the so-called religious movement.
If anything, they were a paramilitary organization parading as a private militia that used a poorly thought out religious freedom bill passed half a decade ago as a shield for their actions. His family were always devout to the old ways, before Christianity was fully Americanized with guns and hating anyone with darker skin.
The picnic itself wasn’t anything extravagant, just a large gathering at a local park, which happened to be deep in Patriot held territory. Senator Ellington himself had donated a large sum to cover the costs of hosting the gathering, something about his drive to prove he backed the blue. The only reason Dustin had agreed to attend was because the Hamiltons would be present, likely an attempt to push diversity quotas and claim he wasn’t as homophobic as his own submitted bills would otherwise suggest. The Hamiltons were the right sort in the eyes of his supporters, those that wouldn’t be part of the first round of abductions.
Sometimes Dustin hated that he actually enjoyed history as a subject.
He’d been milling about, avoiding socializing with those that looked at him like he didn’t belong. He wasn’t even foreign, his mother was Native American and his father could trace his lineage back to the damn Revolutionary. Dustin was more American than anyone else present. Still, he would play along and keep his head down and nose clean if it meant that he could work his way up the ladder and make a difference.
Senator Ellington would be arriving to give a speech at some point, and he wanted nothing to do with that whole mess. Thankfully, he spotted Captain Hamilton speaking with a few others and made his way through the crowd to them. She was with her wife, which was a bonus. Linda was a credit to the SWAT team and the best sharpshooter they had.
The other girl with them wasn’t someone he recognized, she was almost as tall as him, which put her at least at five nine, and the girl had some well defined muscle on her frame. She was wearing a sleeveless top and a pair of baggy basketball shorts that went down to her knees. It didn’t do anything to hide her wide hips and rather nice ass. Eyes trailing back up, he noted how her brown hair was up in a ponytail and she was smiling and laughing at something being said by the Captain.
She was positively radiant and he was certain his heart had just skipped a beat.
He’d also stumbled in his approach, nearly spilling his drink as he did. That had the unfortunate effect of drawing the attention of all three women to him. He tried to smile and play it off, but the way the young woman snorted, he failed miserably.
“Nice save there,” she said.
Her voice was a bit deep, but he kind of liked it. Her chest was on the flat side, but not offensively so. It worked well with her build, nice and fit. Deciding to roll with it, he figured he should at least try to introduce himself, assuming he hadn’t already sunk his chances with his earlier gaff.
“Hey. Dustin,” he said, proud he hadn’t stammered or stuttered.
“Ashe, actually,” the woman, Ashe, said. Her smile had shifted into a soft scowl as all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the piercing glare the woman sent his way. He felt like he was staring down a wolf in the wild, he’d seen the look in her eyes before, veteran officers often carried that sharpened gaze that she had affixed him with. “Never call me by that name again.”
“Ashe, that’s his name,” Captain Hamilton said, her tone soft and understanding as she pointed right at him. “Dustin Combs, right?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, unsure what he had missed.
Ashe blinked, then she let out a heavy sigh as her entire body uncoiled, the sense of danger leaving with it. “Sorry about that, touchy subject.”
“It’s cool,” he said with a shrug, still not sure what that was all about. He needed to deflect from whatever had set the hot girl off and hope he hadn’t just sunk his chances. “I was actually hoping to speak with the Captain about a possible transfer.”
Captain Hamilton looked off to the side for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Ah, I did get your email, and unfortunately you will have to win a bid just like everyone else.”
“I figured as much,” he said. “Still, doesn’t hurt to try and get some good words put in. Lieutenant Bibbs has been trying to suck up for a bit, and I’m not sure I want to do whatever the man is wanting of me.”
The two Hamiltons shared a look before the Captain returned her focus to him. “I have an inkling as to what he might be looking to get from you. A word of warning, if you take him up on it, document everything and forward it to me as well.”
“Always safer to cover your ass,” Ashe said in agreement. “Doesn’t matter what it is, if it isn’t on paper, it didn’t happen.”
“Well said,” Linda agreed. “It’s saved both mine and my wife’s career on more than one occasion.”
“Kept me from being expelled too,” Ashe said. “I can’t wait until I’m done with that shithole.”
Dustin saw that as an opening for conversation and jumped on it. “Oh? Which college do you go to?”
Her head tilted a bit. “Uh, I go to Jericho high, it’s my senior year.”
Oh. Oh fuck, he was hitting on a fucking high schooler. “Oh shit, I am so sorry. I didn’t know you were…”
“Seventeen?” Linda said, chuckling to herself. “It was a bit amusing, but we weren’t worried. Our daughter is quite taken with a lovely young lady after all.”
Ashe, for all she had been the center of his attention, just shrugged. “Technically Crystal and I still aren’t dating.”
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“Semantics,” Captain Hamilton said. “In any event, I would certainly appreciate you joining my chain of command, but I can’t influence the bidding process.”
“I still appreciate whatever you can do,” he said. “Sorry for the trouble I caused.”
“Eh, I’ve dealt with worse,” Ashe said, looking off behind him. Her eyes widened and she muttered some curse under her breath. “Excuse me, something just came up.”
She hurried past him and he tried to see what had caught her attention. Oh, Senator Ellington had arrived, and was speaking to the mayor who was with a younger version of himself, likely his son then. There were others in the group, but the young man stood out, his arm was in a sling and seemed to be generally pissed with the whole situation.
“I wonder what that was about,” Linda said.
“You have to ask?” Captain Hamilton said. “You know how Ellington is, and with her relationship status, it probably isn’t a good idea for them to meet like this.”
Dustin filed that tidbit away as something to avoid bringing up ever as he stepped away from the two. He was trying his best to not be mortified that he just hit on a captain’s underage daughter, gay or not. He could easily have crossed a line there that he never wanted to consider.
Shaking that thought off, he made his way to the food table and started to put together a plate. He could at least get a meal out of it before he decided to go home. He was just about through building a monster of a burger when a firm hand clasped his shoulder.
“Ah, officer Combs, just the man I was looking for,” Lieutenant Bibbs said. “I trust you’re enjoying yourself?”
“I am,” he said cautiously.
He didn’t like the look he was being given. While Ashe had looked at him like a predator would their prey, Bibbs was eyeing him like the jocks who wanted him to do their homework used to.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Walk with me, I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet.”
He was hesitant to follow, but disregarding a request from a superior officer, even off the clock, was considered a bad career move, so he followed along to the outskirts of the event where a uniformed officer was standing with another young man.
“Ah, Dustin, perfect timing,” the officer said. “I’d like you to meet officer Akins.”
The man was about the same age as he was, with a similarly dark complexion, which made his skin crawl that the open Patriot member was introducing them for something that had to be bad news.
Akins eyed him for a moment, then offered an extended hand. “Jared Akins, nice to meet you.”
Dustin shook the offered hand. “Dustin Combs.”
“Good, good,” the lieutenant said. “We were hoping to pair the two of you on assignment for a week, see how things shake out. Do you think you’re up to that?”
Looking at Jared, there was nothing remarkable about him, just another person with the wrong skin color that signed up for a mostly thankless job in a shit hole city. He didn’t see any reason to refuse a simple assignment, and if the guy turned out to be an ass, he could just request reassignment. The next round of bids wouldn’t be posted for two more weeks regardless.
“I don’t see any issue,” Dustin said.
Jared shrugged. “Me either, assignment’s an assignment.”
“A good outlook,” the lieutenant said. “If the two of you work well together, we have some specialty work that you might be well suited to.”
“Looking forward to it, sir,” Jared said.
Dustin didn’t like the sound of it, but he tipped his cup regardless before taking a drink. He wanted off the shift, not to get involved in some old white guy’s vanity project. Whatever, he could make it through the week, then he would be in the clear to bid off the shift and be done with it. He just had to make it that far and hope they didn’t bury him out behind the station once things went pear shaped.
After finishing his plate, he made his way back to the parking lot and saw a flashy green motorcycle pull up, the rider wearing a leather jacket and tight jeans, he stopped, admiring the image as she pulled her helmet off and shook loose the brightest blue hair he had ever seen. The woman was intimidating as all hell, and he knew right then that he didn’t have a chance in hell no matter what he tried.
Then, he watched as Ashe emerged from somewhere and walked right up to her, a grin on her face as the pair started talking. Oh. Her girlfriend must be picking her up. He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way to his shit box of a car and prayed the engine would start.
Thankfully it did.
Wearing his duty belt to the picnic might have been a bit much, but he was glad he had. He took it off and set it in the passenger seat and took a moment to check his phone while trying to not be obvious that he was more focused on the two girls across the lot.
He watched as Ashe hopped on the back of the bike, having pulled on some baggy pants, obscuring her still amazing ass. She’d also pulled on a jacket and purple helmet before gripping her girlfriend and the pair rode off.
Maybe someday he would find a girl, but that would have to wait for another day it seemed. It was a long drive back to Sutton.
***
He pulled onto the street with his apartment, keeping his head on a swivel. Gang violence usually took a few weeks to pick up following the most recent shootout, but that wasn’t a guarantee. The building was in sight when he happened to spot three girls hanging around one of the better lit street corners.
They weren’t familiar, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why they were there, he just had to wonder who was backing them. The girls that worked with the Viuda rarely ventured across the river, it just wasn’t safe, and the Patriots all ran more upscale establishments that he couldn’t afford if he wanted to.
Thinking back to the two girls he’d seen, he decided he deserved something special, even if it was a really bad idea. His luck at the bars had been terrible lately, and he was getting really pent up. He’d worked hard after all, and he was a gentleman and a catch, not that most girls could see it.
Yeah, he earned this, and any girl would be lucky to have him. Plus, he still had a condom in his wallet, so he’d even be safe about it. Grabbing his duty belt, he was quick to toss it into the back seat where it would be out of the way.
Dustin took a quick detour and pulled up alongside the ladies in waiting and rolled down the passenger side window. An older girl stepped forward, her outfit alluring yet tasteful with how it showed off her tits and ass without showing much skin. He was so thoroughly taken with her that he almost missed it as she leaned into the window and flashed him a winning smile.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
Swallowing heavily, he licked his lips as his eyes dropped to her ample cleavage. With a shaking hand, he got his wallet out and counted out the cash he had on hand. “What will a hundred get me?”
He really hoped he wouldn’t need to run to an ATM, as that would be embarrassing as hell.
She eyed him a bit more critically, eyes flicking to the floorboard, then to the back seat for a moment. Then she smiled wider as she took the money from him, counted it out, and passed it to one of the girls. “For you, I can think of a few things.”
Now grinning, Dustin unlocked the door and the woman climbed in, slowly, seductively, and he couldn’t help the tightness in his pants. Well, she would be taking care of that before too long.
“So, your place, or shall I recommend a motel,” the woman asked.
He swallowed. “My place, if that’s alright?”
She grinned. “Absolutely. Just understand that I will be telling my friend over there where I am. Can’t be too safe in this city.”
“I hear that,” Dustin said, putting the car back in drive. “You have a name you want to go by?”
“Brie,” she said, checking herself in a pocket mirror.
He nodded, knowing he should probably confirm her age, but if she was selling herself, she had to be over eighteen. If not, well, what she was doing was quite illegal and he could apply pressure there if she was entraping him. So consumed with those thoughts, he had to blink when he realized he was already pulling up to his apartment complex. It wasn’t amazing, but it was better than most. The place around the corner had someone die just a few days prior from an OD. Thankfully he hadn’t been on that call.
Stepping out of the car, he was quick to move around the side and open the door for Brie.
She smiled. “A gentleman I see.”
Damn right he was. “Someone has to keep chivalry alive.”
“Then lead on valiant knight,” Brie said, then leaned in close. “Or else I might make you my steed.”
And just like that he was standing at attention, knowing full well that his evening would be more than pleasant.