“Ma’am, he was caught trespassing on private property. We have it all on camera.”
“Trespassing?”
Onyx’s heart squeezed a little at seeing her devastated face.
“Yes, ma’am. We need to speak with him immediately so that we can escort him back to the station.”
Onyx craned his neck back to where the gazebo was, catching a glimpse of the teenager disappearing behind the gazebo again. He had no idea who this Martin guy was, but the fact that this teenager was being sketchy at Azura’s party made Onyx a little more than protective.
I should go see what that kid is up to before he does something stupid while everyone’s distracted.
Onyx dipped back into the crowd of guests and headed directly for the gazebo. The bushes behind it moved subtly the closer he got, making him realize that the kid was probably trying to move around the property undetected.
Too bad he has a dragon on his tail.
Onyx followed the teenager at a bit of a strolling pace. His tall stature gave him the added advantage of needing only one step for the average person’s several. Which, in this case, gave him quite the advantage.
The teenager poked out from behind the bushes by the edge of the estate, giving the other side of the party one last look before he darted behind the building to cover himself in the shadows.
Onyx followed after him, watching as he opened a door on the side of the house and disappeared inside. Thankfully, the boy had left the door completely unlocked, so all Onyx had to do was simply turn the handle and open it.
Stepping inside, he observed the midsized mudroom that looked like it was well-loved. There were coats hung up by the door, as well as a few pairs of shoes lined up near the doorway. The place was relatively picked up aside from the windows needing a good clean inside and out.
Muttering caught his attention.
“She’s going to kill me … she’s really going to be pissed this time …”
Onyx looked over at the teenage boy who paced back and forth inside of the mudroom, his hands clenched at the roots of his hair.
“Who is?”
The boy turned to him, startled.
“Who are you?”
Onyx crossed his arms. “Are those police here for you?”
The boy sank onto the bench near the window, folding over and holding his head in his hands. “My sister is going to be so mad.”
“They’re looking for a Martin. Is that you?”
The boy nodded before lifting his head. “Did she seem mad?”
“Who, Azura?”
He nodded again.
“She was … upset.”
Martin groaned and held his head in his hands.
While he didn’t approve of the boy’s actions … Onyx knew that being a teenager was hard. Perhaps he hadn’t meant to put himself in that position, maybe someone had pressured him into it, and he didn’t feel like he could back out.
There could’ve been a multitude of reasons as to why Martin had found himself involved in trouble.
A protective instinct surged inside of Onyx as he remembered the look on Azura’s face when the police had explained the charges to her.
Perhaps, if I keep Martin away from the police long enough, Azura will have time to get him a lawyer to protect him.