by Lynn Carmer
The police station looked clean but well used. Cracked linoleum was everywhere and blinking fluorescent lights buzzed off and on, setting the mood for her biggest fuck-up yet. She’d gotten in a lot of trouble, but she’d managed to avoid being arrested before tonight.
It was Christmas Eve and this may be the worst one yet. She sat in a booking area, about to be charged, and jailed, for accidentally breaking a dirty cop’s nose. Sounds about right. She took a quick peek around, worried to the core. Not about herself but because of Sebastián. She was hours late. Did he already hate her? Was he concerned?
It was all one person’s fault. Pendejo. She glared at the bloated cop as he stormed through the deserted precinct.
“You’re a bully. Abusing your power,” Ai tugged at the deep V of her dress. All she needed right now was for one of the girls to pop out. No thanks.
Pauls looked around and hissed at her. “Play nice, or I’m going to make you pay.” He clutched a handkerchief to his clotted nose.
“The hell I will. Help!”
“You may not care about yourself, but what do you think I’ll do to that idiot, over there?”
Ai looked at Jesús, his face pressed against the plexi-glass of the cell. Thankfully, someone had found a pair of sweats to cover him up. His skinny body swam in the oversized nylon, but he was covered.
An older cop, with a well-defined paunch, strode through the door. “What the hell is all the noise in here?” His thick, grey-black hair looked like it had been cut by a lawnmower. “And why the hell have you put them over here? It’s deserted. Take them to the main booking area.”
“Byrne, I need you to do me a solid. Book these two. I’ll be back soon.” Officer Pendejo headed toward the exit.
“Where the hell are you going?”
“To the hospital. She broke my nose. All of the charges are written there. Start the paperwork for me, and I’ll finish up as soon as I get back. And you!” he pointed at Ai. “Remember what I said about him.” He motioned toward Jesús before he punched through the door.
“Name?” The portly officer sat and rifled through the folder.
“I want to make a complaint.” Ai crossed her arms and waited.
“I’m sure you do. Name?”
“Ai Zhao. The cop who arrested me was completely out of line.”
“Really? Let’s see what you’ve been arrested for. Disorderly conduct, while naked. Resisting arrest, assaulting an officer. Sorry to break it to you, but all of those things are illegal.” He scribbled down more notes, still not bothering to look up. “Except for the naked part. Unless you’re in public which it looks like you were, so illegal.”
“Naked? I wasn’t naked! Look at this gorgeous dress.” She lifted up the hem. “Why would I take this off.”
“It’s lovely.” He sighed and studied her. “Address?”
Ai narrowed her eyes, completely furious. “That asshole has been harassing me for months. And now he’s stalking us. It’s not right.”
“What officer is this?”
“Officer Pauls. Starts with same letter as pendejo. And perv. He enters my home without permission at least once a week. Just strolls into my backyard.”
“Officer Pauls entered your home without permission?” This time he stopped writing and stared at her. Intensely. Under all of those bushy eyebrows, his blue eyes were almost as intense as Sebastian’s. “Have you reported this, ma’am? On what date?”
She slumped back into her chair. “I didn’t report it.”
“Then there’s nothing I can do to help you.’
“I was trying to let it blow over. I’m no rat. Besides, he would have come at me twice as hard if I reported him.” She threw up her hands. “I wish I had punched him in the nose.”
“Oh, is that a charge I should add?”
“No. That’s the assaulting an officer part. Stop writing.” Her infamous temper blazed out of control. “You know what? Do what you want. I’ll get punished anyway, right? That pervert made one of my roommate’s cry. He’s into some dark shit, let me tell you. But I’m the problem?”
“Hey, Boss Lady! Did they let you call your main squeeze?” Jesús cupped his hand against the glass and hollered. “Mr. 5-0 can get us out of here.”
“No. Shut up with that. I don’t want him to know.” Shame and disappointment swamped her, breaking through the anger and doing a real number on her head. Sebastian would think she’d ghosted him. He already thought the worst of her, she couldn’t embarrass him in front of his colleagues.
“But he told us to call him if Pendejo bothered us again. I want my one call!”
“Shh,” Ai sat up and eyed the officer who suddenly decided to pay attention. “Ignore him.”
“Señor, 5-0? Do you know an officer that can shed some light on this situation?” Eyebrows addressed the question to Jesús, completely ignoring her.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yeah! I do. He’s a Sergeant. I wish I wasn’t so high, so I could remember his real name. You know what I mean, homes?”
Oh, for the love of…Ai looked to the heavens, but there was only a paint-chipped ceiling above her. “I’m surrounded by idiots.’
The cop cleared his throat, and Ai snapped her gaze back to him.
“Not you. Him.’ She glared at Jesús and then back at eyebrows. “Can I get my one call? Is that really a thing?”
“You going to call anyone I know?”
She looked down, refusing to use Sebastian like this. Karma was kicking her ass once again, and it was time to accept it. Whenever the holidays came around, she would find her cave and wait out the horrible month when life owned her. Kicked her ass, royally. Beat her like a drum. She’d slink back out of the shadows after the New Year, if she were lucky.
But the idea made her so sad, she felt tears prick her eyes. She didn’t want to disappear and leave Sebastian behind. Who would whisper dirty-nothings in her ear? Whose beautiful body would she get to trace…with her tongue? It was all so unfair. She ran the back of her hand over her eyes. “I don’t know who he’s talking about. I want to call my friend, Dacey.”
“Listen to me. They call him Sarge. He’s White, like all you, cops,” Jesús said.
“Sergeant Sarge?” She mumbled to herself. “Yeah, sure, that’s it.”
“He’s in the LAPD. Damn, where’s Nacho? I bet he would remember.” Jesús laughed to himself. “I wouldn’t mind eating some nachos right now, too. I’m crazy, hungry.”
“You should have thought about that before the interpretive dancing!”
“If I call Nacho, he’ll know. It’s a matter of life and death.” Jesús nodded, completely convinced of his plan.
“Quiet down. You’ll have your chance to talk in a minute.” The booking officer pointed at Jesús. “Enough.”
“Let her free!” Shouting and loud protests floated through the doorway. “I have to see her.”
“Dacey, is that you?” Ai called, relief rushing her like a wave.
Through the doors, Ai spotted a mob of people. It looked like the whole Christmas party. The Ladies were there, the Quads, their guys, a bunch of the regulars at the adult classes. Everybody.
“Whoa, who are all these people?” Eyebrows spun around. “Do not come beyond those double doors. This is strictly for booking.”
“I’m her sister,” Dacey yelled.
“And we’re her family,” Ms. Hattie chimed in.
He eyed Dacey’s corkscrew curls and mocha skin, then he studied Ms. Hattie’s velvety brown hand as she brandished her cane at him. “You’re all family. Related by blood?”
“We might as well be. Let my baby, go.” Ms. Hattie implored. “Look at her sweet, innocent face. You can’t put her behind bars.
Ai stared at Eyebrows, he stared back.
“Baby. Please try not to frown so hard, or he won’t believe me,” Ms. Hattie huffed.
The officer sighed. “Why the hell did I volunteer to work the holidays? Time-and-a-half is not worth it
.” He stood and called through the door. “All of you settle down. If you disrupt my holding area, I’ll kick you out.” He scowled over his bushy brows and the mob settled down.
“Don’t worry, Sarge will be here soon.”
“You told him?” For some reason, Ai felt like bursting into tears. Again. “Why?”
“What do you mean, did I tell him?” Dacey pressed a hand against her chest. “Didn’t you? Ai? Why haven’t you called Sarge? To fix this?” Her friend’s voice rose about five octaves.
“How can I make this situation disappear?” The Devil strode in, as far as he could, before the barrier blocked him from entering.
“You trying to bribe me?” Eyebrows looked absolutely thunderous; his malleable face hard at work.
Willem lifted a brow. “Is it working?”
“Sit down!”
“Ai, I saw him. At the school. He was waiting for you.” Dacey stuck her head through the door. “He’ll be worried sick.”
“I don’t want him to know.”
“We all rushed out so fast.” Dacey turned toward the Ladies and the rest of the crowd. “One of us must have said something. Did any of you tell Sebastian?”
Athena, Brynn, Caelen and all of their significant others, as well as about twenty other people, shook their heads. “Nope.”
“He’s going to be so pissed we didn’t tell him,” Dacey whispered.
Ai’s bottom lip trembled, to her deep horror.
“Why don’t you call him now?” Brynn asked Dacey.
“Who?
“Sarge!” The group yelled.
“That’s right. I can call him, right now.” Dacey fumbled for her phone.
“What’s the use?” Ai felt completely defeated, drained. She’d spent more time on picking the dress than on the relationship. More time than she had in dating the past few years. Now that her worst suspicions came true, she felt lost. Obviously, she cared about this guy and that was terrifying enough. After what he’d shared about his ex-fiancé, he’d never get over it. Ai had abandoned him, just like her. And now she was the one thing he fought against every day—a criminal.
“This reaction is not normal. Why aren’t you cursing out the cop? Why aren’t you cursing out everybody?” Dacey looked at the group. “I think she really likes Sebastian. We have to fix this.”
“Call him, baby. Don’t listen to her.” Ms. Hattie motioned toward her phone. “Now.”
“Christmas Karma’s a bitch. And then you die. He’s better off hating me.” Ai zoned them all out, lost in memories of betrayal and loss.
Two seconds later, Sebastian burst through the door, and she burst into tears.
Chapter 20
‡
What in the holy hell?
Sebastian walked into madness. He’d never seen a booking center packed with so many holiday gowns. Why the hell had they swarmed the precinct?
“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” He went into drill Sergeant mode, but damn it to hell—this shit was not normal.
“I’m so sorry, Sarge.” Dacey rushed over to him. “How did you know we were here?”
“You mean after I tried to follow your limo.” Sebastian stretched his tight neck. “Nacho finally called me. But his phone cut out before he told me what was going on.”
“Thank God. This is an emergency.” Dacey bounced in her boots.
“Why? What happened. Who’s hurt?” Sebastian snapped into attention, the disbelief and panic fading. If this was a true emergency, he had no time to feel. Only act. “Why the hell are you here instead of the hospital?”
Athena sat in a plastic chair, her feet in Tommy’s lap. “Slow you’re roll, Copper. No one is physically hurt.”
Dare walked over and slapped him on the back. “Look.” Dare pointed toward the back of the room. Too many people blocked his path, Christmas sweaters and swirling dresses kept him from understanding.
“Move!”
The crowd parted like the Dead Sea. Ai sat, quietly sobbing in the corner. Across from her sat Officer Byrne, one of his instructors from the police academy.
“Ai is crying?” the words whispered past his lips. Concrete bricks sat in his stomach. She wasn’t ever supposed to cry.
“Captain Byrne. It’s me, Jacobs, from LAPD.”
“Come on back, son. I’m hoping you might bring a little clarity to this circus.”
Sebastian heard nothing beyond, “come on back”. “What’s wrong, lovely?” When she didn’t answer, he looked at Byrne. He spotted red stains on her dress. “Is that blood? Are you hurt? Is that why you’re crying?” His palms shook, so he fisted them. “Talk to me.”
“All is good. She’s fine. Pauls brought her in.” He slapped the manila folder closed. “You must be the Sergeant Sarge everyone’s been talking about.”
“Yeah, what is your name, ese? I couldn’t remember,” Jesús shouted from the holding cell.
“Jesús is here, too?” Sebastian felt like he’d entered the Twilight Zone. He bent down and tried to gently pull Ai’s hands off her face. That’s when he saw the cuffs. “Handcuffs? What the hell is going on?”
She batted his hands away.
“Jesús, is she hurt?” Sebastian called out, for some reason trusting his opinion in this.
“Nah, she’s upset. That blood belongs to Officer Pendejo. Look at that dress, man. What a waste. That’s not supposed to…”
Sebastian ignored whatever else the pot head said. Ai wasn’t hurt, physically. That was all that mattered. “What are the charges?”
Byrnes opened the file. “Assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, public nudity…I would have called you, but she refused to give me your name.”
Sebastian frowned. “You didn’t call me? When something like this happened?” Yet another confirmation his feelings completely dwarfed hers. “You don’t trust me to help you?”
“It’s not like that.” Dacey started forward.
Willem pulled her back. “You’re going to have to let them work it out. You can’t fix everything.”
Dacey allowed him to pull her away.
Ai sniffled and wiped the back of her hands over her face. It smeared the mascara under her eyes, giving her a baby racoon look. She was still absolutely breathtaking.
“Can I have a few minutes?” Sebastian looked at the nosy group. “From all of you.”
The crowd took two steps back. No more.
Byrne sighed, “I haven’t officially booked her, yet. I’ll give you five. But unless someone can corroborate her story, I’m going to have to charge her.”
Sebastian pulled up a chair and waited for Ai to explain. She ignored his interrogation tactics and waited him out. This woman. He almost smiled, so relieved she wasn’t hurt but still pained to his core.
“Nice dress.” Sebastian took a hint from Jesús, hoping that would break the ice.
Her lips twisted, but she looked away. “Just go.”
“You going to start that shit again? I thought we had a deal. You and me. This date. Countless more.”
“I tried. I swear. Look!” She pulled out her pleated dress open. “But I can’t fight the inevitable.”
“If you say Christmas Karma again, I’m going to punch something. I swear to God, you’re a grown woman. No one believes that shit. If you don’t want to see me. Say it.”
Ai’s mouth dropped, and the tears dried. The familiar murderous looks she wore, so well, returned. “I always say what I mean. You know that.”
“Then what the hell is happening? Why are you in this precinct, about to be arrested for assaulting an off…” his voice faded. Some of the earlier statements filtered in. “Officer Pendejo. That’s what you call Pauls. He arrested you? Did he do anything to you?” He jumped up, ready to take the cop’s face off.
“He grabbed me, and I accidentally broke his nose.”
“What? Byrnes,” he called out. Sebastian took all of the anger of this moment and focused it on Pauls. He would take him apart.<
br />
The crowd stepped closer, murmuring to themselves. “Don’t take your eyes off the prize, baby. Ai needs you.”
“Thank you, Ms. Hattie, I just have to hurt someone real bad.” He tapped his foot, waiting for Byrnes.
“If you’re looking for Officer Pendejo, he’s not here. He went to the hospital to fix his nose,” Jesús snickered. “Pussy.”
Byrnes lumbered in, “You done already?”
“No. I want you to start the paperwork on Pauls. He’s been harassing Ai and her friends for months.”
“You have witnesses?”
“Countless.”
“I’m on it.” He turned to leave. “I’ll be on the phone with the Captain. He won’t like the timing, but we’ve had our eye on Pauls for a while.”
“Ai, I will fix this.”
She looked down and picked at her dress. “I’m sorry about all this.”
“Then admit to me that Christmas Karma is bullshit.”
“It’s not.”
“It is. You—
“I destroyed him.” Ai pushed at his chest. “I did something so bad, that I may never be able to come back from it.”
Chapter 21
‡
This is it. Her worst nightmare had come true.
Their relationship had burned so bright, so fast, that it singed everyone around them. For a while, she hadn’t cared, defying her parents to be with him. A few years later, everything exploded.
Success had come randomly and unexpectedly for Ai. They’d both been starving artists, and her fortune changed the dynamic. Suddenly, she was the star, the bread winner, and although he loved her money, he couldn’t stand that it meant she was better than him.
Ai had never felt superior. She’d just been happy to afford the rent.
When Sebastian heard the whole story, he would look at her like a monster. He would be confronted by the real her. The woman who destroyed a human being, in order to escape.
“Explain.” Sebastian stood with his hands on his hips.
She wanted to wrap herself up in him, in his masculine scent. Just get lost in him. She studied his face, but he was shut down, in officer mode. She hadn’t called him when she’d been arrested and had pushed him away.
