45. Chapter 45
Rosalina
Holy fucking fuck. I did it.
They hadn’t noticed me turning onto the side street.
As the sound of their bikes disappeared into the darkness, I slipped out of the truck, wincing as my sore feet navigated the gravel parking lot.
I tugged down the hem of the hoodie, trying to cover my state of undress.
A bell jingled cheerfully as I pushed through the door, and the lady behind the counter’s smile faltered as she took in my disheveled appearance.
“Can I…” She hesitated, taking in my dirty feet and bare legs. “Help you?”
“I…uh. Can I use your phone? It’s been a hell of a day.” I tried to make light of the situation, but the furrow between her bushy gray brows grew. “Sorry, my name is Rosa. My abusive boyfriend stole my phone and is trying to find me. I need to call someone to pick me up.”
“Oh! Are you all right? Here. Let me get the sheriff down here. You just make yourself comfortable.” She picked up the phone receiver and dialed before I could stop her.
Fuck. I was planning to call Diego, but the sheriff would be closer. I had no idea how long it would take for Diego or one of my father’s cronies to get here. This was a safer bet.
By the time I was seated in a toothpaste-green vinyl chair, the woman was already chatting to someone on the other end of the phone.
The scent of cleaning products and dog hair filled the room from the fake, terrazzo-look linoleum floors all the way up to the lazily rotating white ceiling fan.
Stacks of old magazines littered small glass side tables, and plastic ferns swayed in the disinfectant-filled breeze.
My leg bounced as anxiety ebbed through my veins.
I hoped the sheriff hurried. It wouldn’t be long before my pursuers figured out I’d turned off somewhere and doubled back looking for me.
The receptionist, Suzan, if her name tag was anything to go by, brought me a paper cup filled with water. “Don’t worry, dear, it’s a small town. Doug will be here soon.”
I didn’t know if Suzan being on a first-name basis with the sheriff was a good thing or a bad thing, but he couldn’t get here soon enough. The pit in my stomach grew as the analogue clock ticked its way past nine p.m.
A few minutes later, headlights flashed through the glass front door, and I flinched when the bell above the door jingled and a portly middle-aged man in a brown sheriff’s uniform walked in, his thumbs hooked through his belt loops.
“Suzan.” He nodded in the receptionist’s direction.
His eyes raked over my disheveled appearance, and I pulled the zipper of my hoodie up to better cover the wound on my neck as I stood up.
“Hello, officer…” I glanced at his name badge, “Officer Smit. Thank you for coming so quickly. As I was telling Suzan, I have an abusive boyfriend, and I’m afraid he’s going to find me. I just need to call my family to pick me up.”
“Well, ma’am. If you don’t mind my saying so, you don’t look to be in any shape to travel.
But if that’s what you need, let’s get you down to the station, and we’ll call your people.
We look after our own out here.” His smile was a little too bright considering the circumstances, but this was at the top of a very short list of options.
He led me out into the chilly night. The yellow glow from the vet clinic’s sign lit up the back seat of the Sheriff’s SUV as he pulled open the door. A metal grate divided it from the front seat, and goosebumps pricked up along my arms. That looked a lot like a cage.
As I hesitated, Officer Smit chuckled. “Don’t worry, little lady. You’re not in any trouble. It’s just policy. Keeps me safe, you know how that goes.”
He held out his hand, offering to help me up into the plastic seat. Everything I’d been through must have made me paranoid. Of course, I couldn’t sit in the front with him. What if I were a criminal and stabbed him while he was driving? It made perfect sense.
As soon as the door banged shut, worry churned in my chest. There were no handles on the inside of the door, and I was surrounded by metal mesh. Even the windows were covered, but worse, he picked up his radio, telling dispatch that he was out at the vet, dealing with a stray.
That was a straight-up lie. Why would he be lying to dispatch?
As soon as he slid into the driver’s seat, I grabbed onto the metal divider and pulled myself forward.
“Excuse me officer, I’m not sure if Suzan told you, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.
My abusive ex-boyfriend is looking for me, and I’m scared of what he might do if he finds me. ”
“Don’t you worry. I told you, we always take care of our own.” He didn’t put his car in drive, though. He just turned up the heater and settled deeper into his seat as if he were getting ready to take a nap.
What in the ever-loving fuck was he doing? Didn’t he understand? “Listen, we really need to go. Or, if I could just use your phone real quick, I’ll be out of your hair. You don’t have to take me to the station. Just drop me off at a bus stop. That would be totally fine. More than fine, in fact.”
“Ma’am, does this look like a taxi to you?” He pulled out his phone, tapped out a text, and started scrolling through some kind of funny videos, ignoring my urgency entirely.
My fingers tightened in the wire mesh. “Listen, he has guns. He’s dangerous.”
“I know. That’s why we stay out of their way ‘round here. A favor here and there keeps money comin’ into this one-stoplight town. Good folks up there at the winery. Even if they seem to have a bit of a problem with strays gettin’ out.” He went right back to scrolling.
How in the motherfuck… Honestly, I should’ve seen this coming. The first thing my father did when taking over a new territory was to pay off the law enforcement. Fucking motherfucking fucker. This was why I hated criminals.
I wanted to scream and cry and rage, but I’d seen enough of those body cam videos to understand the futility of it, but when those angry beastly headlights broke through the fog and pulled into the parking lot I broke down, bashing against the mesh-covered windows.
All it did was bruise up my arms, but it felt better than sitting there doing nothing.
Doug got out and shook hands with the leather-clad, helmeted riders. A flash of green, lit by the headlights, passed between their hands. A bribe, no doubt. I hoped I was expensive.
When the sheriff opened the back door, I squirmed away, kicking at the gloved hands reaching for me, but they latched onto my ankle and dragged me across the slick seats with ease.
I fought with one arm and held my hoodie-dress down with the other, but it didn’t do any good.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, my knee came up, narrowly missing the crotch I’d been aiming for.
“Shit, babe. Be careful with the family jewels. You might need those one day.” Oliver pulled his helmet off, sending a gust of his maple scent straight to my nose.
I wanted to punch him. I wanted to kick him.
I wanted to lick him. His eye was swollen, and he had a bruise on his jaw, but his cocky grin was still intact.
I considered asking if he was okay, but also, it served him right.
The other two were leaning up against their bikes with their arms crossed over their chests, helmets still on, but who else would it be?
“Y’all have a nice night, ya hear? Best keep those strays locked up good’n tight. I hate havin’ my scrolling interrupted.” The sheriff pushed the door closed behind me and got back into the driver’s seat, utterly no help at all.
“I should’ve known you’d have the cops paid off.”
Oliver set his helmet on my head and pushed it down over my face. “You really should have.”
Bundled in Ollie’s leather jacket and helmet, he helped me onto the back of his bike and drove us home.
The alphas kept their distance, but they certainly would have chased me down if I tried anything stupid.
Like jumping off the back of the bike, which I considered briefly, but my bare legs and lack of shoes reminded me what a horrible plan that would be.
As we pulled up the drive, there was a new car parked behind the Bentley that hadn’t been there when I ran earlier, and bulky figures shadowed the front porch.
What the fuck else could possibly go wrong tonight?