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The police station in Edwards was inside the town hall, an attractive but small brick building that sat on Main Street. Cutter parked in the lot, and they hurried through the plate glass doors. Signs pointed them toward the basement, but Cutter seemed to already know the way. Had he been arrested and held here too? Was this a normal part of biker life?
They descended a flight of stairs and pushed through another glass door. Inside lay a utilitarian government room filled with metal desks. Cutter approached one where the officer who had taken her statement the night before sat.
‘Yo, Stanley,” Cutter said, and the officer looked up. “Where’s Dog?”
Officer Stanley gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “In with his attorney. Interrogation Room 2. They’re waiting for formal charges.”
“Charges?” Cutter’s voice had a biting edge. “What the fuck, man? He only did what had to be done to save Charley.”
Charley’s heart skipped a beat. This could not happen. She stepped out of Cutter’s formidable shadow and extended her hand to the policeman, who rose to shake it. “If you remember, I’m Charlene Abbott. I’m here to give my formal statement and press charges against Nate Burgess.
“I think you’ll see from my statement that Cutter is right. Dog saved me last night. Had he not shown up when he did, Nate would have fulfilled his promise to—” Charley gulped past the knot growing in her throat and took a shaky breath. “He promised to rape me until he was satisfied and then pass me on to his henchman. Now, who do I need to talk to?”
Looking uncomfortable, Officer Stanley released her hand. “DA’s coming from Asheville and should be here soon. Best you talk to her. Burgess is pressing assault charges—”
Cutter pounded his fist on the desk and got in Stanley’s face. “That’s bullshit, and you know it!”
The officer held up a hand. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Witnesses at the scene say Dog continued to beat Burgess after he was contained. Dog’s got a history of fighting. The DA isn’t ignoring that.” The officer leaned forward and dropped his voice. “DA’s got a bee up her ass about you guys. Thinks you’ve gotten away with too much already.”
Cutter lowered his voice as well. “That’s why we pay you—to make sure these things disappear.”
Charley barely squashed a gasp at this allegation. She wasn’t naïve and knew some police officers were on the take, but to hear it put so bluntly left her breathless.
Officer Stanley cast a glance Charley’s way and frowned. “Let’s not advertise that, okay? You need me in place, not kicked out on my ass for colluding with you. There’s only so much I can do without drawing attention to myself. When I see an opening, I’ll take it.”
Cutter leaned even closer. “You better, or I’ll take it out of your hide.”
Charley grabbed his arm and whispered, “Cutter! You’re threatening a police officer.”
The door to Interrogation Room 2 swung open. A petite woman with dark hair, cut in an asymmetrical curly style and sporting a sharp, pin striped suit, stepped outside. She motioned to a young female officer sitting at another desk. “We’re finished in here. You can take him to his cell.”
Through the doorway, Charley could see Dog handcuffed to a table. Her heart twisted at the sight. She navigated the metal desks to the open door and tried to enter, but the petite woman blocked her way.
When Dog saw her, his handsome face softened into a smile. “Baby, thank god you’re okay.”
Charley tried to pass the woman. “Please let me in. I need to talk to him.”
“You’re Charlene Abbott?”
“Yes.”
The woman extended her hand. “Gabriela Martinez, Dog’s attorney.” They shook hands. “Let them get your statement first. Talk to him here, where the officers can hear you.”
Charley’s stomach hardened. Oh, god. This was real. Nate was pressing charges, and Dog might go to prison.
She looked at Dog over Gabriela’s shoulder. “Are you alright? I came as soon as they released me.”
“Yeah.” He raised his hands a few inches, stretching the chain that held the handcuffs to the table. “Just a little inconvenienced right now. What about you?”
Charley touched the bruise on her temple. “Mild concussion. They kept me overnight just as a precaution, because of before. I’ll be fine.” She turned to the attorney. “Why is he in handcuffs?”
Gabriela scowled. “The DA is playing hardball. I’m glad you’re here. I need all the witnesses on our side that I can get. They’re also hoping you can identify the other perpetrator from some photos they have of men that work at the mine and are known to associate with Burgess.”
Charley would do that with pleasure. Anything to keep what had happened to her from happening to someone else. Yet there was something more immediate on her mind.“Are they charging Nate for what he did to me?”
The female officer slipped between the women into the interrogation room and unlocked the handcuff linked to the table. Dog stood and extended his arms. The officer wrapped the empty cuff around his wrist and snapped it closed.
“He’s being held under police guard at the hospital pending your statement,” Gabriela said. “They also have Dog on record saying he recognized Nate from the Asheville video, so they’ll be looking into that case as well. Maybe the victim will be able to ID him. Hopefully, he will move from the hospital room straight to a cell in Asheville.”
