In Love With A Police Officer

POV: River Lockhart

The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with a police officer.

Every scene that happened during the exquisite lunch looped in my head. It wasn't the first time my father acted that way toward me. Plates slamming against the wall behind me, and his wife screaming at the top of her lungs to stop us from using any violence, while the waiter beside us kept count of the tableware that my father destroyed.

It was my father's birthday, and yesterday I received an invitation from his wife asking me to attend the lunch as he would be happy to see me. I wore a plain shirt beneath and a black jacket to show a little formality, but I never went for a proper tuxedo because I believed it wouldn't be an issue.

Things were all under control. The venue was good, and it was lit dimly to make it appear even more elite. The aroma in the private room made me feel at ease, although I felt like a stranger in there.

That was when my father came in through the doors with his wife clinging to his side, holding his upper arm and whispering something in his ear, to which he laughed a deep chuckle. (My step-brother, Chase, didn't come to the dinner as he was abroad in France, completing his studies.) I almost had my eyes rolling, but I held it in. As he sat in front of me, I stood up and presented him with the black leather box in which I had a nice watch as his gift.

He nodded in affirmation but didn't look too happy to see it. My eyes shifted to the gift his wife was giving him. But my eyes almost instantly caught the bracelet she was wearing.

It belonged to my mom.

Why. This woman, my father's current wife, had all the expensive things she could ask for. Hundreds of different jewellery pieces and bracelets, and she even owned a jewellery shop where she had met my father.

Why was she wearing my mom's bracelet out of all?

Afterwards, what I saw was only red in my eyes.

~.~

"Fuck. Go on the correct path, you wuss." I curse at the vehicle in front of me, which goes so slow and boils my blood, as I am already mad. My hand bangs against the horn for the tenth time in a row, leaving it red against the leather. But the pain in my hand doesn't bother me the slightest. It is the driver in front of me who drives me mad.

"Chill, River. The fact that your father scolded you doesn't mean you can drive like this. You are going to kill yourself if you drive like this! At least think about my poor life here! I am not part of anything," my best friend, Lucas Turner, says with his blue eyes widening as he sends his hand through his dirty blond hair.

But once again, I slam my hand against the horn in anger.

"That bitch is the reason! Ever since my dad married that gold digger, he's been disrespecting my mom! She was wearing my mom's bracelet! My mom used to wear it before she died!" I exclaim.

"Well... you could've ignored her only for this time. You love your mom, and that matters the most." Lucas reasons.

"No way! Dad acts like his late wife doesn't even matter to him. It was last week, and he didn't even attend the ten-year death anniversary of my mom. How can I calm down?" I ask him.

"Um. Kinda fair in that sense," he says, watching the vehicle in front of us.

I am in no mood to fight. If I were, I would've already slammed my vehicle against theirs and picked a fight with them. I just want to drive my anger away.

The vehicle in front of us comes to a stop, so I change gears and drive past it at high speed in the wrong lane, overtaking around ten vehicles, and the speed meter shows 90 miles per hour.

"A police officer might stop us," Lucas says, holding onto his seat and looking a bit concerned. But as he's used to my temper tantrums like this, he doesn't mind much.

"Like shit, they will. They know me well. They might as well kiss my ass," I say, speeding even more, but the Porsche doesn't support any speed after 110, as I've set it for safety precautions. Although I act recklessly from time to time, I keep it at a safe limit.

"River, I swear one day, if I die because of your short temper, I will come back and haunt you for the rest of your life. You better spare my life," Lucas says next to me. His eyes widen as we zoom past dozens of vehicles. And that's also when I hear the police siren.

I look through the side mirror and notice a police car behind us, a mini car with a red and blue light on top of it, with its siren blaring in my ears. I continue with my speed but slow down as the police car doesn't stop following us.

I thought they knew my number plate. Once they see it, they stop chasing after me.

Strange. It's not stopping today.

I slow down to an 80, and the police car overtakes us. I look to my right just as it drives past me and see an unfamiliar person in the driver's seat, but I cannot see him well as he overtakes my vehicle and stops in front of us, blocking my way.

I come to an abrupt stop with my boot slamming against the brakes. The police car door swings open, and an unfamiliar person walks out of it. Around six feet tall, his black hair combed back in a unique manner.

He moves toward us with a commanding stride, his uniform highlighting his well-defined physique and the shirt with the numerous badges perfectly hugging his body. As he stands next to my window, I notice his cold gaze. It makes my heart skip a beat, leaving me momentarily breathless as I pull down the window while secretly tossing a beer can from the front to the backseat.

Lucas looks at me with wide eyes, signalling with his eyes about the alcohol bottles in the backseat as well. Hopefully, the tinted windows won't show those empty bottles to the officer outside.

River Lockhart

I haven't had a police officer stop me like this before. So it annoys me a little, although he, in fact, is so hot. I click my tongue in annoyance but decide to speak first.

"Yeah?" I ask him with my eyes on the road ahead of me and my hands chillingly resting on the steering wheel.

"Yeah?? Speeding to one hundred and ten miles per hour, ignoring the police sirens, overtaking from the wrong side, crossing the double-white line. Hand over your driver's license," he says.

I scoff at his words, "Do you know who I am?" I finally look up at him. His forest green eyes are sharply trained on me with a sense of strictness. And I quickly look away from him.

I never thought police officers could be... young and handsome like this. The previous ones that I am familiar with are all old buggers who simply wave their hands and let me be on my way without interfering with my decisions.

"If you give me the driver's license, I will know," he says with a little frown.

"How can I be sure if you are a real police officer? I haven't seen you around here before." I say, sparing a glance at Lucas, who looks extremely conscious about the alcohol in the backseat. "It's better if you ignore what just happened and walk back to your car. That's the best solution." I add.

The police officer pulls out a card from his pocket, which shows his name clearly with his title.

Damian Reid

With an annoyed sigh, I pull out my wallet and give him my driver's license. He takes it and reads the details.

"River Lockhart. Twenty years old. Do you want to die at this young age?" he asks.

"Probably," I mutter.

"I will give you a speeding ticket," he says, pulling out the ticket book to write the details.

"Trust me, officer. You don't want to do that." I say with a little smirk.

"Yeah. You will wish you never even thought of it." Lucas adds by the passenger's seat, and I watch the officer's expressions.

"Why?" he asks, raising his eyebrow in question while scribbling down on the ticket. He tears it over and hands me the ticket. "Are you the Prime Minister's son?"

"What if I am?" I intervene. I mean, I am already mad now, and he's just testing my patience.

"It doesn't matter."

I internally roll my eyes at his words and look at the ticket.

"Fifty dollars? Seriously? Shouldn't this be over a thousand dollars?" I ask.

"Sure. I considered your age. Don't let me see you overspeeding again," he says.

Something about him pisses me off at that point. He not only doesn't let me go, but he doesn't even know who I am after reading my last name. Not only that. He even gave me a speeding ticket!

I take out my wallet and pull out a hundred-dollar bill.

"Here." I hand it through the window.

" "

"You can keep the change," I say with a tilt of my head.

"Pay to the court or online. Not to me," he says again, turning back to walk toward his police car. I watch his broad back for a while before getting annoyed again.

"Fuck. Like I would waste my time on that!" I say after him.

With an abrupt silence, he turns to look at me, his face saying that I am not playing with him but testing his limits. I remain in my seat, arms crossed over my chest and a bit mad, yet a chill down my spine at his gaze.

"Don't make me come over there," he says before getting into his car and driving off.

Oh damn.

There's silence in my vehicle for a minute.

"Damn. That went bad." Lucas exhales next to me with a sense of relief that the officer didn't find the empty alcohol bottles behind.

I tighten the grip around the steering wheel with a continuous pounding in my heart, which I don't know how to stop or how it came.

"River?" Lucas calls my name, and I turn to him.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Um... you look red. Are you okay? Should we tell your father about this police officer? He'll finish him off so you can be at peace. I mean. That idiot clearly disrespected you. Acted like he didn't know you and gave you a speeding ticket. He should be taken care of. He doesn't know his place." Lucas rants about the situation.

"No! No... It's um- fine. I am just... Can you do me a favour?" I ask him.

"Yeah?"

"Pay the speeding ticket for me." I give him the ticket and the hundred-dollar bill.

"What?? Are you seriously going to consider this ticket? Dude! I'll tell my dad! He always takes care of things for you. He'll take care of this officer as well-" he says about informing his dad, Mr Turner, who's my dad's secretary and right-hand man.

I interrupt Lucas' words, "It's fine. It's just a speeding ticket, nothing else."

"But this officer completely crossed the line! He even threatened you at the end. Don't you understand? He should know his place before anything. He's acting that way because he is new to this area and doesn't know anything. When he gets to know who you are, he will immediately regret his actions," he blabbers.

"Yeah. He'll get to know. So reacting to what happened now is unnecessary." I say, wondering how he might react when he gets to know who I am.

I look out of the window and notice the police car taking a U-turn to go the other way. I notice Officer Damian Reid sparing a glance at me before driving off.

God. How can someone who works against illegal activities be this illegally intimidating and handsome?

---

As I lie in my bed in my lonely penthouse, I scroll through my phone, where I type the same Police Officer's name here and there to find anything interesting about him.

A lot of suggestions appear, and I find his information on an official site. He had lived in another state before transferring here for his first duty. Oh. He's twenty-five years old, and he did look around that age with his sharp jawline and hard gaze.

There isn't much information about him other than that.

But he's indeed a tad bit interesting. I mean, he didn't even give a fuck about what I had to say. He didn't even take the money that I gave him.

I can remember one time, an officer let me pass by after I handed him the only note left in my pocket, which was fifty dollars. This man didn't even budge for a hundred dollars.

I remember the hard gaze he gave me before leaving. He does know how to frown and intimidate another person.

I should wait for Lucas to pay the speeding ticket so I can show this officer, Officer Damien that I indeed paid the price. His hard glare will go away when he gets to know that.

And then...

Yeah.

Sounds like a perfect plan.

River Lockhart

I awkwardly stand in front of the police station. One of the places that I shouldn't be visiting since my dad is rather the opposite of everything here.

I step into the police station with the speeding ticket and the receipt tightly crumbled between my fingers. A police officer notices me and walks over to me. I have seen him speaking with my father before, but I don't know his name.

"Did anything happen that you need help with?" he inquires with a bit of timidness.

"Umm... actually, I am here for the new police officer. Damian Reid??" I ask him.

"I am sorry. Did he make any mistake to anger you?" he asks.

"No. Actually. He impressed me. I just wanted to see if he's here. Is he?"

"He's the Mobile Police Officer of the area, so he's rarely in the police station. He's situated outside to spot high-speed drivers and to attend emergency calls," he explains.

"Is that so..." I mumble. "So if I want to meet him. He won't be here?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, no. But I can ask him to report to your mansion as soon as-"

"No need. It's rude to bother someone on duty."

I walk out of the station feeling bitter in my mind. The workers and officers walk past me while sparing a glance at me. They all know that I am the eldest son of Lockhart, who's known to be an infamous and dangerous businessman around here. I am also his 'famous' son who won't get anything from him in the future because I am a 'spoiled brat'.

It's so obvious that my father has bent all the officers' heads to his side so that if something goes wrong with his business, he would be able to slip past any punishments.

That's why I dislike the police station. Although standing high as "police officers", they bend their heads to my father. Even to me. Like meek mice, which is so pathetic in my eyes.

Will Officer Damian be the same when he gets to know that I am Mr Lockhart's son?

It's still a question.

~.~

So, just like that day, I visited the police station four times before feeling like giving up.

I meet another officer by the front and give him my paid ticket.

"Would you leave a message for me?" I ask him.

"Sure. What is it?" he asks.

"Officer Damian. Let him know that I paid the speeding ticket," I say.

He looks at the ticket with a puzzled expression, "You didn't have to pay for it. Why did he give you one?" he asks.

"I sped on the road, and he gave it to me. I paid for it a few days back. Can't you pass the message for me?" I ask, totally getting annoyed as everyone's been asking me the same thing for the past few days.

"I will-I surely will do."

So I walk out of the police station, still haven't seen that officer, wondering if he's actually not an officer here.

One week passed after handing the speeding ticket to that officer.

As I am in bed watching Netflix, I realise that I am kind of thinking about that strange police officer. I shift on my bed and rethink for the umpteenth time.

Why the hell am I even bothered about this whole thing?

Well. It isn't really a mystery why he intimidated me.

I like guys. He's hot.

It all makes sense.

But on the other hand... maybe I just liked how he looked. That's why I am too engrossed in this situation.

Or maybe the fact that he was indifferent and not like the other police officers I'd met before. So I find him a bit interesting. I have no idea what it is all about. All I know is that I've spent a lot of time looking around for him these days.

But he does have a big attitude.

I usually hate people with big attitudes like him. So maybe if I see him one more time, I'll be able to know which part of him intimidates me a lot like this. Is it his hot-ass body or the way he looks when he's mad? Or the fact that he didn't give a fuck about what I was trying to say and offer(money)?

My phone rings and I notice the caller ID. It's my dad's wife, and I have no idea why she's calling me a week after the horrible dinner night. I contemplate whether to pick it up or not. My guts tell me not to.

But the last time she called, she informed me about my dad's birthday. So this time might also be something regarding an occasion. So I pick it up.

She laughs as she speaks, "River. It took you a while to pick up the phone. Were you going to decline the call?"

I roll my eyes at her words though she cannot really see it, "You got it right. What do you want?" I ask.

"Your dad didn't want to invite you... Because you made a scene last time, you know. Plus you still haven't apologized to him for ruining his birthday. He was really excited that night to have dinner with his family." she says.

"There wasn't a family. His wife is in the graveyard." I mumble.

I hear her release an exasperated sigh, "Look, I just want to invite you to the gender reveal party in the morning. Many people are going to show up, and it would be good for you to show up as well," she says.

"Oh. Wait, what?? Gender reveal?" I ask.

"Yeah. I am pregnant, didn't you notice?" she asks.

As if I look at her anyway, "No." I say with a frown. I can't believe that the old man is having a child with this woman. After cheating on my mom after two years of my birth and giving birth to my step-sibling... Now I am having another sibling. This isn't something I should be celebrating about.

"So. Will you come?"

"Like hell, I would! I would gladly come to his funeral but not to a fucking gender reveal party. Julia, do you think he would treat your son fair and square? You should know after seeing how he treats me!"

"He doesn't treat Chase badly. It's all because he dislikes how you act. And your mother," she whispers.

Silence rings in my ears, and it becomes too loud. I clench the phone and speak through gritted teeth, "Don't make me murder you at your gender reveal party."

"Come on. That's the truth," she laughs. "It was his idea to have this baby as well. You can't blame me now about anything, alright?"

As much as I don't want to believe Julia's words, I feel like it isn't wholly a lie either. My dad might've actually made the decision.

"Tell the old man that I am not sorry for ruining his birthday." I decline the call after saying that.

I get down from the bed and walk out of my room, too annoyed to rest back and watch the movie.

The penthouse that I live in seems a bit too big to me as I stand by the door while looking around at the empty halls and rooms. It always gives me the chills when I remember that I am the only person living here. It has been like that ever since my nanny passed away three years ago and my dad married Julia. I detached myself from them and asked to live separately.

My friends are the only people who come to this penthouse, and my dad has never been here even once. Not that I wanted him to come here.

Damn it, I should go out for a drink.