“We’re supposed to ride in booster seats too, Rory. You got one of those?” he asks and he’s smiling at me. I shake my head in a no direction. I’m not sure if I’m shaking it because I don’t have one of those or because suddenly cute little Ryan has turned into a smartass and it’s cute.
“Then, I’m good,” he says, looking out the window, rocking his leg back and forth.
I give up arguing. I’m not far away from the jail and hopefully I’ll be able to get Noah out and he can take over dealing with Ryan and Mrs. Slater.
Then, I’ll go home and pack up everything and run… Again.21DieselI’m pacing the fucking cell. I was supposed to pick up Ryan an hour ago. He has to be worried to death. I always told him to go back into the office and wait for one of the brothers to pick him up if I wasn’t there.
But what if he doesn’t listen?
“Damn it! I need my phone call!” I growl, calling out to anyone that will listen inside this damn holding cell. They haven’t transferred me to an actual jail cell yet. They did the fingerprinting and the mugshot and I’ve just been waiting. I haven’t seen the other guy, hopefully the fucker never walks again.
I’m fucking stupid and it involves a woman yet again. I thought I didn’t care about the consequences, but that was before I realized I wouldn’t be there to pick my child up. Now it’s fear burning in my gut because I can’t get to my boy and I can’t even call someone to go see to him.
Fuck!
“Cheer up, Sunshine,” a uniformed cop says walking to my cell. “You’ve been bailed out,” he says and my body goes solid.
Did Crusher and the boys find me already?
“Cute little piece that did it too. I’d say that you are one lucky son of a bitch,” he adds. I ignore him, walking behind him as he leads me back to the front lobby area where they brought me in.
My eyes instantly scan the room, expecting to find Dani or maybe one of the other old ladies from the club. Surprise runs through me when I see Rory and standing by her is Ryan.
After spending the time in here worrying like hell over him, seeing my boy is like a bolt of lightning, almost strong enough to bring me to my fucking knees.
I go down on my knees and my boy comes running straight to me, hurling himself at my body and wrapping his arms tight. I close my eyes, smelling his sweet scent. It’s not going to be long that I won’t get this from my boy and I cherish every damn minute of it.
“Hey,” Rory says, shyly. She looks scared or maybe worried and she definitely is more frazzled than I’ve seen her before.
“How did the school let you have my boy?” I ask, my voice gruff. I mean, right now I’m glad, but considering the warnings I’ve given them, it fucking pisses me off at the same time.
“I went to get him, and they wouldn’t actually,” she says, her face coloring.
“Then how?”
“I snuck out and stowed in her car!” Ryan pipes up. “You should have seen Rory’s face. She almost had a shit-fit, Dad!”
“Ryan, don’t say shit,” I grumble, doing my best not to laugh. The officer behind me laughs and when I look over at Rory she’s fighting a smile—even if she’s distracted.
“Okay Mr. Cross, you’re free to go. There’s a court date next Thursday at nine in the morning, but if the papers that Ms. McDaniels have supplied check out, my suspicion is that it will all be dismissed as self-defense,” he says, causing my head to jerk up.
“And Tony?” Rory prompts, obviously worried.
“We have officers at the emergency room. As soon as he’s able to transport he’ll be behind bars. The judge okayed a temporary emergency protection order, based on your past history and the papers you had. Still, you’ll need to visit the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and make sure all that is made permanent first thing tomorrow morning,” the officer says and I instantly go on alert. I stand up, pulling Ryan up my body and holding him on my hip. He’s almost getting too tall, but he’s not quite there yet.
“I will. Thanks, Officer Dumont,” Rory says quietly, taking some papers from him.
“You all have a good evening,” he says and I nod and walk toward Rory.
“I’m really sorry, Noah,” she whispers, guilt thick in her words.
“Thanks for seeing to my boy,” I respond, my voice gruff.
“I didn’t do much, he mostly did it all. Although, you might want to call Mrs. Slater…”
“I will,” I tell her.
“Let’s get you two home then,” she says turning away from us. She leads me out to her car and I secure Ryan in the backseat.