AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was being pushed from all directions as I tried to get to an exit.
Soon I heard police sirens. Thank God the cops were here—the in-house security were completely overwhelmed and had lost control of the situation.
As the cops stormed in, I heaved a sigh of relief.
Someone grabbed me by the arm. I saw it was the lady who’d told me earlier that she loved my cat costume. “She’s one of them!” she yelled.
What?
“She’s one of the protesters,” she screamed as she pushed me into the arms of a police officer.
Oh shit… She thought I was a protester because I was dressed in a cat outfit like them. “No wait,” I cried. “I’m just here for Cat-Con! I’m not a protester!”
“You’re under arrest!” the cop shouted. He clinked shut a pair of cuffs around my wrists, patted me down, and dragged me away as he read me my rights. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court—”
“No, you’re making a mistake!” I screamed.
But it was to no avail and my pleas fell on deaf ears as I was hauled toward a police car.
Oh God, what had I got myself into?
CHAPTER 37
ANNUNCIATA
When we got to the police car, the officer pushed me into the back seat.
“Officer, please, I wasn’t part of the protest—this is all a big misunderstanding.”
“Lady, save it for the judge,” he responded in a cold tone. “I hear the same excuses all day long.”
He’d taken my backpack from me when cuffing me and now he was searching it.
“My name’s Anni,” I gabbled. “I have a husband, two children called Clara and Clemente, well, technically stepchildren, plus a cat called Wilbur.” That’s what you were supposed to do when you were taken against your will, right? To get the person to empathize with you?
Wait, maybe that was when you were taken by a serial killer?
I was trying to stay calm but in reality I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.
“Do you have pets?” I prattled on. “Like, maybe a cat?” If he was an animal-lover, then he might understand why I was at Cat-Con dressed up as a cat, and that it wasn’t because I was an animal-rights protester.
His eyes darkened at me in response. I took that as a no.
“Or a dog?”
He scowled at me.
“Or…a gerbil?”
He glared menacingly at me. He definitely wasn’t a pet person.
After checking my backpack contained no weapons, he tossed it into the trunk, slammed my door shut and clicked the locks in place.
I sat there for a few minutes, alternating between hyperventilating and trying to figure a way out of this. Maybe the filming by the media crew showed that I was just a regular girl visiting the convention, and that I had nothing to do with the protesters and paint throwing?
A sharp tap on the window made me jump.
Looking up, I saw a pair of dark eyes watching me.
