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Confronting Demons
Beast
Irene is wearing dark jeans, a Gypsy Bastards supporter t-shirt, and her patch as we pull up to the police station. She isn’t wearing a stitch of makeup, making her bruised face stand out even more prominently.
Pope and Wolf flank us as we stop in the parking area, revving our engines, letting the entire force know we are here before cutting out. The sun is barely rising over the horizon as we step into the station. A young deputy is working at the front desk and his eyes grow to the size of saucers when he sees us. Irene steps toward the desk with a smile.
“I would like to press assault charges.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy replies when he finds his voice. “I’ll have one of the detectives come out and take your statement.”
“I’m actually here to see the chief,” she says in a friendly tone. “I called him before we headed over so if he isn’t here yet then I’ll just wait.”
The man nods before gesturing to the waiting area. Irene and I have barely taken our seats when the door swings open. Pope, Wolf, and I immediately recognized the man from the surveillance video.
His glare bounces from Irene to me, and then to my brothers.
“What are you doing here?” he addresses Irene. I want to step in front of her and protect her, but she is calling the shots right now. We are just here to back her up. I watch her stand, head held high as she faces him head-on.
“I’m here to press charges.”
“What? Did one of your criminal friends rough you up?” He chuckles.
Her gaze turns sharp before she smiles serenely. Behind Gerald is the chief of police.
“Hello, Chief. Thank you for agreeing to meet me here so early.”
“Let’s head to my office,” he says before leading the way. “Gerald, you can join us here.”
“What the fuck are you wearing?” Gerald asks loudly once Irene walks after the chief, his voice drawing the attention of everyone in the station.
“A real man’s mark,” I say, taking her hand when she smiles at me.
I know I’m pushing his buttons but I would really like to see him snap where everyone else can witness it, perhaps do something to dig himself deeper into a hole.
“Please sit,” the chief says and motions to the chair in front of his desk.
“I’ll stand,” Irene says. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time.” The chief nods and she continues. “I’m here to press assault charges against one of your men.”
The chief’s full attention is riveted to Irene, taking in her bruised face before skirting over her patch. “That’s a serious allegation.”
“I have footage from Dusk showing the attack and you can see the rest of the evidence on my face.”
“One of my guys did that?” His face turns red, anger bubbling beneath the surface as he glares at her face.
Gerald tries to leave the office, but Wolf is firmly planted in front of the door.
“Move, criminal,” he demands.
“You should stay,” Irene says. “Seeing as you’re the one I’m pressing charges against.”
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that envelops the office.
It takes us more than two hours to get all the paperwork done. Gerald is taken from the office kicking and screaming. He has been locked up, awaiting arraignment. This is a small town, not a city, and if the chief of police wants to be re-elected for his next term in office, he knows he needs to keep the police force under control. He also needs to make a big production out of this, showing that behavior like this won’t be tolerated.
When we get back to the clubhouse everyone is awake, and breakfast is being made. The roar of applause that goes up when we walk into the kitchen and everyone sees Irene’s patch, is perfect.
In that moment I love my brothers and their women more than I can ever explain. I needed Irene to see and feel the force of love and affection everyone here has for her to help me cement this.
