22. Tobias
CHAPTER 22
Tobias
I look up from giving Mom one last once over in time to see Harmony double over as the cop twists her arm behind her back. She cries out. If my stomach wasn’t twisted in knots over Mom missing, maybe I’d go over there and help.
“Stop resisting!” His loud, angry voice echoes in the quiet Port Haven night, skittering along the beach and twirling with the salty air.
“I’m pregnant! Stop pushing me. I’ll go. Don’t hurt me, please!” Her head and shoulder slam into the SUV as the cop shoves her face down, his elbow on the back of her neck as he leans his weight into her. She bends awkwardly at the waist to keep her abdomen from being crushed against the metal of the car.
This guy probably outweighs her by a good seventy pounds at the minimum, and that’s not including his tactical gear.
“That’s what they all say.” He grumbles. When he adjusts his weight on her, Harmony goes limp.
She’s pregnant? My hands grow cold and my heart races.
I’m going to be a dad?
Wait—that’s not how it works. If it’s mine, there’s no way she’d know already. Right?!
Regardless of whether she’s pregnant or not, if it’s mine or not, she doesn’t deserve to be shoved around like she’s a man.
The other officer steps away from Mom and me, facing them.
“Is this really necessary? It’s not like I’m pressing charges.” I really just want them to let her go. “Let her go. She’s done nothing. She’s practically a kid.”
“It’s out of your hands now. Out of our hands. The DA makes the decision regarding whether charges stick. Being that Claire can’t reasonably judge situations for herself, it’s considered a special circumstance.”
“Would you want someone to manhandle your sister, Dean, and push her around over a misunderstanding?” I’ve known him since high school. He’s a little younger than me, but I remember him. He’s the kind of guy who’d do anything for his family. He certainly wouldn’t be okay with someone pushing his little sister around. The guy put hands on a kid in tenth grade because he was bullying his freshman sister. The officer pushing Harmony around isn’t a local. If memory serves, he’s an implant from Chico. Where he was before that, I can’t be sure. You can’t trust the cops who don’t put down roots.
“For fuck’s sake, he just pushed a potentially pregnant woman into his car.”
“Leave it be, Toby. It’s not your decision. She was resisting Officer Handler. And he’s not wrong about them lying about it all the time. She’s probably not even pregnant. Let us take care of it,” Dean warns, settling his hands on his duty belt. Probably in an act to exude authority.
I run my hand through my hair. This is total bullshit. Total and complete bullshit. And Dean fucking knows it.
“She’s not a local, anyway. You of all people know that. Best you tend to your mom and keep a better watch over her.” He nods toward my car where my mother sits watching the scene unfold in front of her with an indifference that punches me in the gut.
“Seriously, Toby. You don’t want to get hit with neglect charges for your mother wandering the streets.” His voice is a stern warning. “Drop this.”
I narrow my eyes at Dean.
Is he really threatening me? Yes, this isn’t the first time this has happened. My mother is an escape artist—a stubborn and downright cantankerous one at that. The police are aware of her. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to care for someone like my mom. No one does.