There was a small silence after the word. Not because the road had become quieter, but because it had made plain what the traffic stop was becoming. Nyla looked at Maddox and saw that he had noticed the effect. He did not apologize.
"We're complying," she said. "You need to lower the temperature of this encounter."
"I decide what happens here."
"You can decide your actions," she replied. "You cannot rewrite ours."
He stepped away from the door and pointed at the ground. "Both of you, out. Right now."
Dominic looked at his sister. They exchanged a glance she would later describe to investigators with precision. There was no hidden plan to overpower the officer, no secret signal to reveal their credentials and demand special treatment. They both understood only that roadside encounters could worsen rapidly when an officer wanted a conflict.
"All right," Dominic said. "We'll step out slowly."
Maddox backed toward his cruiser while Dominic opened the driver's door. Gravel shifted beneath the SUV's tires as the big man put one foot on the shoulder. Nyla exited on the opposite side and came around the front, keeping her hands visible and away from her purse.
The sun fell directly across the black hood. Heat radiated from the paint. Across the road, the church office door closed. The person who had been standing there was gone.
"Hands on the hood," Maddox ordered. "Feet apart."
Dominic did not immediately move. "Am I under arrest, Officer?"
"You're detained."
"On what grounds?"
"My investigation. Now spread your legs."
Maddox smiled again, briefly and without pleasure. In the cruiser behind them, the dash camera continued to record. Its microphone captured most of the exchange, including the insult, the orders, and the absence of any threat from the two people Maddox had stopped.
None of the three knew how many other cameras were watching.
The metal burned through Dominic's palms the moment he touched it. He kept his hands flat anyway, fingers apart, elbows unlocked. The road was quiet except for an approaching farm truck, which slowed when the driver saw the patrol lights and then continued without stopping. Dominic could hear the engine grow faint toward town.
Behind him, Maddox ordered his feet farther apart.