To be fair, I wasn’t in a holding cell like the ones I’d seen in the movies. It was an average conference room inside the police station with the door open, and I had free use of the phone as the officer repeatedly reminded me. And there were no bars, technically.
It was underwhelming. My imagination was much more titillating.
“You are free to leave. In fact, soon, I’m going to have to insist on it.” He snapped out the pages of the local paper,Slippery Slopes Sheets,with a little extra emphasis. There was a story on the front about something or another involving Deckard’s mom, the mayor, and a policy she was trying to pass being blocked by the council. I wondered if our tram troubles would make the news? I wondered if anybody even noticed I was gone.
I snorted audibly, knowing the truth. Not a single person would have noticed. If this garnered any attention, it was in thanks to Owen. Officer Martinez sighed and turned his back to me. Maybe I wasn’t as easy to ignore now that I was a hardened criminal.
“I’m waiting on my ride,” I lied.
Sort of.
I didn’t have a car here as it was still at the base of The Slope. I hadn’t technically called anybody for help, and not just because my phone was dead. I could walk the mile home, but Owen had said he was coming. I didn’t want to doubt him already. I’d wait here until they made me leave. With each ticking minute, a little voice in my head warned that he’d forgotten about me and was no different from the rest of the town.
I fidgeted with the zipper on the snowsuit I now owned. Regrettably.
He would be coming. I trusted him. I remembered his face last night as he held me. The regret in it this morning as he delivered me to Benny Jr.
The officer looked at my jumping knee, shaking his cup of coffee, and sighed even more loudly. I smiled endearingly. He blinked slowly back.
Officer Martinez was surprised to learn that we’d gone to school around the same time, and I had lived in Slippery Slopes my whole life. I found this out in my nonstop questioning. Sure, he had a job to do, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t ensure he remembered me in the future.
Just then, Owen came sliding to a stop in the front entry. “Bee?” he called out. His deep voice rumbled, sending shivers down me.
“Back here!” I called.
I almost collapsed forward in relief. I trusted him, but there had still been worry.
Owen came through the small wooden half door to where Officer Martinez and I were sitting, me in the guest chair and him behind his desk. The officer straightened, wary. I guess I could see how intimidating Owen might look from his point of view—large, balled fists, anger tugging his brow to sharp points. But to me, Owen just looked … sweaty.
“Slow down, Romeo. She’s fine. Please tell me you’re here to take her?” he asked Owen.
“I got here as quick as I could. What does she need?” he asked the cop. To me, he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m a little thirsty,” I said softly, voice rough, looking up at him through my lashes. I coughed dryly.
“For crying out loud,” Martinez mumbled and shoved a water bottle at me. “Just get her out of here. Please.”
I stood and went to Owen. My body trembled with nerves. I had worried some part of me romanticized the evening asI sometimes did. That I had inflated our connection and my feelings to the point of fantasy, but seeing him now, my knees were seconds from giving out, and my arms ached to hold him.
There he was, my big, lovable man with a heart like nobody else. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve his attention, but the fear of losing it was palpable.
I kicked his shoe with my own.
“Why are you panting? Did you run all the way here?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said with his hands on his knees, looking up at me.
“From where?” I handed him the water bottle.
“Ivy’s.” He chugged it.
“That’s just behind the park,” I teased, but my heart felt like it was growing so big it might burst out of my chest. I imagined him sprinting through town, calling my name—passersby, likely thinking he was being chased by an actual bumble bee.
“I have a lot more weight to carry when I run,” he said.
“You should think about adding some cardio to your routine. Clearly, you have weightlifting covered.”
“Bee.” He straightened and pulled off his winter hat. He huffed a frustrated laugh as he shook his head. He smiled down at me. How I loved making him smile. “Are you okay?” he asked.
