“Debbie, you’re looking pretty as a picture. How is your newest grandbaby?” he says, tossing his briefcase up on the counter. As she answers, he begins to unbuckle the battered tote and draw out some paper.
“She’s a doll, Mr. Bailey, an honest to God doll! I have pictures here.”
“I want to see them. Here, you take a look at these while I take a look at your precious baby girl.” The two make an exchange.
While Santa looks over the photographs and Deb starts paging through a legal document, I crack my knuckles. This is taking too long.
“You said you’d give him a chance,” Fast whispers in my ear.
“It’s been at least a minute since we walked in here,” I growl. I want her out now.
“Mr. Bailey, are you suing the station?”
“I don’t wait, Deb. I sincerely don’t want to but the men here have taken an innocent into custody and we can’t condone that kind of behavior, can we?”
“But Mr. Bailey, the sheriff from Hottenberg sent the arrest papers over.”
“I didn’t realize the Hottenberg sheriff was in charge of our town,” Santa says.
“Of course he isn’t, but—“
“Best bring the girl out here so we can see that she’s all right. I don’t want to tack on any claims about physical abuse.”
“Oh, Mr. Bailey, we would never allow any of that.”
Santa responds with a disappointed look that causes Deb to lower her eyes in shame. Fuck, what goes on here?
I clear my throat to let Santa know that his chance is about up. He acknowledges me by raising his hand.
“Deb, I don’t want to press you but I have young Carter here and you can only hold back an angry bull for so long.”
Deb gives me an uncertain look. I bare my teeth at her.
“Well, I don’t know…”
I take a step forward. She jumps to her feet. “I’ll be right back.” She scoots her chair back and disappears out a back door. My fight instinct kicks in and I launch myself toward the glass barrier. My shoulder makes impact but the bulletproof glass holds. I look around for a weapon but the only thing I can see is a row of plastic chairs bolted to the ground.
“It’s all right, Carter. Deb is fetching your girl,” Santa tells me, taking a seat in one of the dumpy chairs.
“How do you know? She’s not even a police officer.”
“She’s got keys.” He’s so fucking placid and unconcerned. That should alleviate my anxiety but it doesn’t.
I turn to Fast. “You got a jack in your car?”
“Yes but why?”
“Because I’m breaking this wall down and I need some tool.” I stomp toward the exit. As I’m reaching for the handle, a buzz sounds from behind me and a small voice calls out, “Carter?”
I spin around to see Mallory flying across the lobby and into my arms.
Chapter 30
Mallory
Carter catches me easily as I hold him tight, burying my face in his neck. “I’m sorry,” I say against his warm skin.
His scent immediately calms me. He’s my home. The only real one that I’ve ever known. He’s done so much for me in the short time that we’ve known each other. I can’t imagine where I would be if it wasn’t for him leaving his car doors unlocked. I shiver at that thought because I know I’d still be in that jail cell with no hope of getting out. I don’t think I’m ever going to leave his side again. This time my poking Carter went a little too far but that isn’t going to stop me from continuing to try to ruffle his feathers in the future. I better get used to him being around because he’s never going to let me out of his sight after this little fiasco.
“Did you just say sorry?” Carter says, almost sounding pissed about it. I lean back to look at him. He’s got his hand on my ass holding me in place with my legs wrapped around him. I kiss him. I can’t help myself. I’m so grateful to have him in my corner. He can be grumpy about whatever it is he’s over here frowning about but he’ll have to wait until after I’m done kissing him. Whatever it is will have to be put on the back burner until I get my fill of my man. I deepen our kiss, silencing him for as long as I can. I knew deep down inside that he would come to get me, but seeing is believing. I now know without a doubt that this man is always going to be here for me. Even if I steal his car.
He pulls back from the kiss. “Fucking hell. We’re in public,” he reminds me. I feel his hard cock dig into my stomach. Not only are we in public, we are in the middle of the police station. A shiver runs through me when I think about the officers that took me in. Worry starts to overwhelm me at the thought of seeing them again. Carter shifts his hold on me as one of his fingers comes to lift my chin, causing me to look into his eyes.