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A flicker of relief passes through me when a familiar face pushes through the crowd and taps the officer talking to me on the shoulder. “I can finish up here,” Officer Derek says to his coworker, giving me an empathetic look. The other cop, who I never caught his name, nods and moves back towards my car.
“Not the circumstances I like to see you under, Miss Torryn,” he greets, giving me a soft smile.
I huff, crossing my arms over my chest and balling my hands into fists. “It’s definitely not a vodka tonic and good music.” He laughs as Baylor gives me and the older cop a bewildered look, but I ignore him as Derek pulls out his notepad.
“Any idea who could have done it?”
I shake my head, lifting my shoulder in a partial shrug. “I’m not exactly known for making friends everywhere I go.”
Both Baylor and Derek chuckle. “But I can’t really say I make enemies either,” I continue. “Maybe someone from the bar?” I meet Derek’s eyes and can tell he was thinking the same thing.
“If you make enemies anywhere, it’s definitely there,” he agrees, amusement lining his face, despite the situation.
I huff a laugh, waving at my car. “The message they left sure fits the bar as well.”
Derek nods his head, making a few notes. “Anyone specific stand out?”
I shake my head. “Anyone who’s met Betty?”
He snorts and Baylor chews on his lip as he watches the interaction, but doesn’t say anything. Surprisingly, I appreciate his presence. “Reggie would know more about dates and names. He’s pretty good about keeping track of all that for our safety.”
Derek nods and flips his notepad closed. “I’m real sorry this happened, Miss Torryn. I’ll follow up with Reggie and some of your neighbors. See if anyone saw or heard anything and keep you updated.”
I nod my thanks, not having much hope they’ll catch the person behind trashing my car. There are a lot of disgruntled assholes who’ve passed through the bar. “Could I get a copy of the police report for insurance?” I ask.
“Of course,” he agrees. “Stop by the station tomorrow afternoon and I’ll make sure it’s ready for you.”
“Thanks again, Derek. Your next drink is on me.”
He pats my shoulder, handing both Baylor and I his card before he walks away, leaving me alone with Baylor. He opens his mouth to say something, probably ask about Derek, but is cut off by a high-pitched shriek. “What the fuck happened?”
Isla jumps out of Wells’ Jeep and runs towards where Baylor and I now stand alone in the parking lot. “Pissed off the wrong person, I guess.”
“Fucking hell,” she cruses, making my lips twitch at her anger on my behalf.
“You just missed the cops,” I explain as Wells joins us staring at my car that’s now being loaded onto the back of a tow truck. “They’re gonna look into it.”
Isla shakes her hands in front of her, immediately going into planning mode. “Okay, okay, okay. It’s fine. It’s all fine. We can figure this out.” Her words come out rushed and high-pitched, obviously rattled and stressed for me. Her anxiety instantly soothes mine. One of us has to be the calm one. “I’ll just look atyour schedule and we can share my car. It’ll totally be fine. We’re together most of the time anyway.”
I arch a brow at her. We have very different schedules actually. “The biggest thing is work,” I say instead. “And I can just take the bus there.”
Her shriek is so loud, if my car windows weren’t already busted, they sure as fuck would be now. “No, you will not! You can’t take the bus across town. At night. When you’ve obviously managed to piss off someone with very clear anger issues. I’ll drop you off and pick you up. It’ll be fine. I can move things around.”
I roll my eyes. “No, you can’t. And I’ll be fine. I took the bus to work before I got my car. I know my way around public transportation.”
She’s already shaking her head. “It was just as dangerous back then, but I had no options to help you. Now, I sure as fuck do and I’m not letting you do this.”
I sigh in exasperation, trying to find the right words to diffuse her worry. If I could rent a car, it would be problem solved, but there’s no way my insurance is covering this in total. I’ll barely be able to feed myself let alone rent a car.
Baylor raises his hand, his eyes flicking back and forth between Isla and me. “Umm, you could take my truck?” My eyes flash to his, but not before I catch the shocked look on Wells’ face, but Baylor just waves away all our disbelief. “I have a bike to get around with. It actually won’t inconvenience me at all and Isla won’t have to worry about you.”
A surprised snort escapes me. “Sorry, sorry,” I laugh. “I was just imagining you riding your bike across campus or showing up to a game with your gear on your handle bars.”
Wells and Isla also burst out laughing but Baylor just rolls his eyes and smacks my ass. “Not that kind of bike,” he growls. “A motorcycle, you smart ass.”
At least that makes more sense and also puts another picture in my head. This one a whole lot more sexy than comical. “Come on.” Baylor smacks my ass again to get me moving. “My keys are upstairs, I just need to grab some things from my truck and then Wells can take me home and she’s all yours.”
Wells snorts from behind us. “Yeah, sure. I had no other plans today.”
