Page 11 of Hot Mess
The metal clank of the cell lock clicks, and the door opens. A man in street clothes smiles from the doorway and shakes his head.
“Are you Jessie?” he asks, scratching at the scruff on his chin. His knuckles look red and swollen, but for some reason, my internal stranger danger alarm isn't going off in my head.
I straighten. “Yes?”
“I’m here to spring you.”
“Really? I, mean, okay.” I stand and walk over to him.
He doesn’t look like a cop, but I also don’t know why anyone who wasn’t a cop would be able to unlock the cell.
I follow him down a long hallway and past a redhead sitting at a conference room table with her back to the window. For a moment, I swear it's Veronica, but that can't be right. What are the chances that we'd both have run-ins with the law on the same night?
“Your guy is waiting for you outside,” the man says to me in the lobby of the station and points to the door.
“That’s it?” I ask incredulously.
“Yep.” He shrugs. “Unless you want to stay and get booked for a misdemeanor."
“Nope.” I shake my head and grab the plastic bag with my stuff from his hand. “Thank you.”
DYLAN
There is one of two ways this night is going to go—Jessie is going to walk out of the station and run into my arms, or in the more likely scenario, she's going to walk out of there and never want to see me again. A sharp pain stabs in my chest when I think about possibly losing her.
The door opens, and I push off the parked patrol car I'm leaning on when I see her. Dean had advised me to wait outside after I told him what had happened. He said that in appreciation for my help, he’d make sure any charges against Jessie would be dropped.
“Hey, Beautiful,” I say, unable to read Jessie’s poker face expression.
“Hey, Perv,” she says back.
I choke on the laughter that bubbles up inside me. The dread I felt before dissipates in this desert night heat when I hear her call me Perv again.
"Aren't you going to ask me what I've been up to?" she asks, walking over to me.
“I’m going to guess, asserting your dominance over the biggest inmate so none of the other jailbirds will mess with you.”
She shrugs. “Besides that, naturally.”
The engine of a loud truck shatters the silence of the night as it pulls to a stop near us. A woman jumps out, and Jessie gasps in surprise.
“Beth?” She asks, looking at the woman with wide eyes.
The woman glances over at us and smiles, never breaking her stride. “Nope. You’ve got the wrong person.”
Jessie stares after her even after she’s already walked into the station.
“Who was that?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” She turns back, shaking her head. "I think I'm going crazy because that is two now that I've seen tonight.”
“Two?”
“Never mind.” Jessie reaches out to me. "I must be losing my mind."
“I got you,” I say, pulling her close to me. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
She lifts her head to look at me. “There wasn’t anything you could do. We both would have been arrested.”
