I heard the doorknob rattle, but I didn’t bother to turn my head and look. I had no desire to see disgusted looks of the men who brought me in. Being treated like a criminal sucked. I guess that explained all the chase scenes in movies when the bad guys were running from the cops. Running was better than this.
The door flew open and all the air in the room shifted, like it was being sucked out with the force of the opening door. Fresh air from the station leaked in; it was much cooler and fresher smelling.
A string of expletives echoed around the room. Someone was good and pissed off.
I knew that voice.
I jerked upright, blinking against my headache at Blue, who was striding into the room.
“Blue,” I said, relief so palpable in my tone that I could taste it in the back of my throat.
“What the fuck is this!” he roared, throwing out his hands and turning around to face whoever was standing in the doorway. “You fucking cuffed her!”
Another voice from out in the hall, a more calm and authoritative voice, said, “Give him the damn cuff keys.” I heard the jangle of keys and saw Blue snatch them out of the air. Then behind him I heard the same voice mutter, “Idiots.”
Blue was at my side in seconds, kneeling down so we were about eye level. “Hey there, sweetness.”
I didn’t say anything because all of a sudden I felt like crying. His gentle tone meant just for me was going to be my undoing.
I had missed him. Yeah, it hadn’t been very long since our night together, but it seemed that the only time I ever got with Blue was stolen moments. Little pockets of time where he filled me up so completely but then left, leaving that fullness to drain away like a too-old battery.
Not only that, but worrying about his safety, where he was, who he was with. Not being able to talk to Dee or anyone about him. And then this… the drugs, the arrest.
He reached around behind me, looping his arms around my waist, and had the cuffs gone within seconds. My arms fell forward in my lap and my shoulders felt numb and prickly from being in the same position for so long.
Blue grabbed my wrists, rubbing them, like someone would do when they were out in the snow too long and needed to generate warmth.
“Rough night, huh?” he asked gently.
I nodded. “I have to pee.”
He chuckled. “Come on.” He stood, drawing me to my feet, and led me to the door. Two officers who had been at the salon stood in our path.
Blue angled himself in front of me. “Step aside,” he said. His words weren’t demanding or mean, but there was steel in them.
The men moved and we walked out of the tiny room. I breathed a sigh of relief. Blue walked beside me, glancing out of the corner of his eye.
“That room smelled like urine.”
He made a face and looked over his shoulder. “You put her in Potty John’s room?” he growled.
“It was the only room open!” one of the guys defended.
We stopped in front of a bare door to what I prayed was the ladies’ room. “Who’s Potty John?” I had to know.
Blue grinned. “One of the local drunks. He gets hauled in here all the time and the guys put him in one of the interrogation rooms to sleep it off.” He cleared his throat. “He has a tendency to, uh… piss himself.”
I laughed but quickly slapped a hand over my mouth. Nothing about this night was funny.
Blue got an angry look on his face and gestured to the door with his chin. “I’ll wait here.”
I nodded and rushed inside to quickly do my business. At the sink, I ran cold water from the tap and splashed it over my face after I washed my hands. Using a paper towel, I dried my skin and then wiped up the raccoon eyes my mascara had given me.
I felt bone tired. Not just bone tired, but weary. I knew it was the reason I felt so emotional, and damn, if looking at Blue wasn’t making it worse.
I wanted to go home, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen for a while.
After glancing at my less-than-stellar reflection in the mirror, I gave a sigh and trudged to the bathroom door. Before pulling the handle, I stood up and pulled my shoulders back. I might be exhausted and scared, but I wasn’t going to show all the men out there that.
Blue wasn’t in the doorway like I thought he would be. He was a few feet away. His back was turned and he was speaking to a few nearby men in uniforms. Judging from their expressions, he wasn’t saying very nice things.
One of the officers who arrested me looked up, noting my reappearance. Blue stilled, said something, and the officers walked away. They didn’t go far, though, stopping at the end of the hallway and watching me.
Like I was a criminal.
Something inside me snapped.
I glared at them. “Y’all are a bunch of idiots!” I spat. “You’ve done nothing but waste everyone’s time tonight.”
Blue was at my side instantly, wrapping a warm palm around my elbow. “Julie,” he murmured.
I glanced at him, anger bubbling up inside me like a soda that was shaken up too much. “Don’t.” I growled. “Don’t you dare tell me to shut up. That was nice compared to the things I’m thinking about them.”
I swear his lips twitched. “I wasn’t going to tell you to shut up. You can yell at them all you want.”
“Thank you.” I sniffed and resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at the men in the hall.
“Come on,” he said, tugging me gently and leading me down the hall and past the officer’s on my shit list.
“I am not going back in that room,” I said, dragging my feet.
“That’s not where we’re going,” he replied calmly. He led me into a private office with a desk and all the usual office furnishings. The most interesting thing in here was a half-dead plant. Once I cleared the threshold, Blue shut the door behind us.
“Are you going to interrogate me now?” I asked a little bitterly.
He didn’t say anything, but I felt his penetrating sapphire stare. He took a step forward. Then another. He came so close that I could feel the heat off his body and smell the scent that seemed to be his calling card. His chest rose and fell evenly with his relaxed breathing. He was wearing the same leather jacket he wore the other night, and the gray knit cap was on his head.
I was ready for the barrage of questions. I was ready for him to ask for my statement.
I was less prepared for his arms.
He wrapped them around me, pulling me tightly against his chest. Basically wrapped himself around me, making me feel small. In that moment, if I would fit, I would have let him put me in his pocket.