Chapter Eighteen #2
“Now, now, Calliope. That kind of language is beneath you.” Porter glares at Judy. “Call the cops. Tell them you want to report an assault.”
“What?” Judy whispers as she gets up, ready to head over and help Sarah, who isn’t moving.
“I saw Calliope attack Sarah. If you want to keep her out of Calliope’s evil clutches, this is the only way. You know what she’s capable of.”
Judy looks from me to Sarah before picking up the phone and dialing, I assume, 911.
“Isn’t this getting old? You blaming me for things I didn’t do?” I cross my arms so I don’t claw his smug face off.
He pauses, unsure, his eyes roving over mine as he tries to figure out if I know his big secret. He must want to come clean so bad, even if it’s just in hopes of trying to manipulate the ranch out of my hands. After all, he’d have more of a chance, being my father and all.
He tugs at the cap he’s wearing, one with Corvis Wing embossed across the front. I want to rip it from his head and force it down his throat. “I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Nothing you say will change anything. I have a witness to your brutal attack after all.”
“What? Judy?” I snort.
“No. Him.” He points to the door as it opens, and Derek asshole Andrews walks in.
“You fucking idiot,” I seethe at Derek. “You’re going to break your mother’s heart. And what for? I honestly have no fucking clue what your problem is with me.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” He smirks as he walks over to where Sarah is. “Poor girl. Shame she had to learn the hard way about who she made friends with.” He reaches down and drags his finger across her forehead, which comes back streaked with blood.
“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“You hear that, Porter? She threatened to kill me. Threatening a police officer will land you in jail. Guess that will be like going home to you.”
“You’re not a police officer anymore. You’re a washed-up has-been.
A pathetic excuse for a man who can’t get it up, so you hate on women because it’s easier to blame them for your failings than to admit you suffer from big-man-with-a-small-dick syndrome.
Congratulations. You turned into your father. ”
He swings his foot back in anger and kicks Sarah in the face, taking his anger at me out on her. I scream in rage as I dive toward him, but Porter grabs me by the arms and yanks me back.
I do what any woman in my situation would do.
I lift my leg and ram my foot into his balls.
He collapses with a grunt, and I waste no time running over to Sarah.
I cover her body with mine, knowing Derek’s temper is going to play into my hands.
Sure, I could probably throw him across the room, but exposing myself like that will be the wrong move.
Half this town might be warming to me, but the other half is like Judy—waiting for an excuse to kick me back out.
I let Derek get a few kicks in, putting up no fight.
I’m going to have some gnarly bruises afterward.
I wait until he kicks me hard enough to steal my breath before I roll off Sarah, onto my back, and stare up at the ceiling.
I bide my time. Derek crouches next to me to gloat with that smarmy fucking smirk.
I slide my hand between his legs, cup his cock and balls, causing his eyes to widen for a fraction before I send a powerful jolt of electricity through them.
He squeals like a pig. His hair stands on end as his eyes roll into the back of his head before I release him, and he passes out.
I roll back over to Sarah, keeping her body covered in case Porter finds the strength to get up and start something.
I lift my head when I hear shuffling steps, but it’s just Judy, moving closer as she wrings her hands.
“Is she okay?”
I slip my hand around Sarah’s throat and use two fingers to find her pulse, which thunders under my touch.
“Her pulse is steady, but I don’t like that she’s still unconscious,” I admit, smoothing Sarah’s hair from her face.
There is a deep gash in her forehead where the door hit her.
Her nose and lip are split, which I assume is from Derek’s boot.
“How long until emergency services get here?”
“They’re a few minutes out.” As soon as she says it, I hear the sirens approaching, and relief washes over me.
It’s not that I can’t take these three—I likely could easily, but that will paint a target on my back if the story gets out.
I’m not ready to scorch the relationships I’ve just begun to build. Not unless I have to.
When the door pushes open, I hear a familiar voice curse before Shepard drops down beside me with his gun drawn. “What the fuck happened?”
Before I can get a word out, Porter speaks, pain evident in his hoarse voice. “Calliope did it. She attacked us all.”
Shepard looks over at him with a scowl. “Bullshit.”
“It’s true,” Judy says softly, and something inside me dies.
It doesn’t matter what she thinks of me, but for Sarah, this is fucked-up.
Judy would rather have me arrested than see the people who willingly hurt Sarah behind bars, just to keep her away from me.
That’s not love. That’s not serving Sarah’s best interests.
It’s a stark reminder that, though some people are willing to change, others aren’t.
“Calliope?” Shepard looks to me. For the first time, I hate that he’s not calling me Poppy.
Before I can begin to give him my side, the paramedics arrive. I move so they can tend to Sarah, but stay sitting down, my body aching because shithead didn’t exactly pull his kicks.
Derek speaks up, his voice a pain-filled lash against my skin.
“Sarah made a comment about you. Something flirty—you know what she’s like—and Calliope lost it.
” He’s looking at me with such hatred, I’d be scared if I weren’t so angry.
“She was smashing her face into the door as I walked in,” he adds as Shepard snorts, clearly not buying it. He turns back to Porter, who nods.
“I was here when she got here. She told me I had to leave as I can’t be in the same space she is. Then she threatened me with how Hannah will grow up to hate me and how Dawn is already fucking around on me. Sarah tried to defuse the situation, but there was no calming her down.”
“And you, Miss Pembridge. What’s your version of events?”
“What they said. She attacked Sarah for being nice about you. She wasn’t even flirting.” She scowls at Derek when she says that part. I have to fight back a snort because that’s the bit she took issue with? “When Porter and Derek tried to intervene, she hurt them both in their boy parts.”
“In their boy parts? Seriously?” Shepard grits out.
“Just because you’re sleeping with her doesn’t give her free rein to attack people, Sheriff,” Derek snaps. “If you don’t arrest her, I’ll go above your head.”
Shepard shakes his head before offering me a hand up. His eyes look remorseful as he turns me around and tugs my hands behind my back. He snaps the cuffs around my wrists and indicates to his officers. “Bring them all in, but split them up and take their statements.”
“I can’t leave the library,” Judy protests.
“You can and you will,” Shepard snaps.
“This violates her parole, correct?” Porter hisses.
“She’s not on parole, so no.”
“What?” Porter looks to Derek for confirmation. By then, Shepard is gently leading me outside, where a crowd has gathered. I can hear the gossip take on a vicious edge, making me want to curl in on myself. Instead, I hold my head high and ignore them all.
“We’ll get this cleared up,” Shepard assures me as he eases me into the back of his cruiser.
“I know. It won’t undo all of this, though, which is exactly what they want—the spectacle.”
“I’m sorry. I know this is bullshit, but if I don’t bring you in—”
“They’ll come for your job. I get it, Shepard.
I’m not mad. They seem to forget that when Sarah wakes up, she’ll contradict everything they’re saying.
” I frown at that, because none of them seemed worried about Sarah spilling the truth.
“Something doesn’t feel right. Can you call Henry from the bar?
Tell him Sarah got hurt, and see if he can sit with her at the hospital? ”
“Why Henry?”
“Her parents are gone. She’s on the outs with her friends, and Judy just lied about what happened to her, so she clearly doesn’t have her best interests at heart.”
“Why Henry, though?”
“Because I saw the way he looked at her earlier. He looks at her the same way Riggs looks at me. Shit.”
“What?”
“You’d better call Riggs and tell him to meet us at the station. Because if he gets his hands on Porter and Derek, I’ll be the least of your worries.”