Page 95 of Riot Reunion
“Pax Davis?”
I snap my eyes open to find a cop in uniform staring down at me. He’s maybe thirty. Clean cut to the extreme, hair cut high and tight like he thinks he’s a soldier, not a cop. His hand rests on his sidearm like he already expects trouble from me.
“What now?” I ask.
“Are you Pax Davis?” he repeats.
“Yeah, I am.”
“I’m going to need you to come with me, Mr. Davis.”
“Why?”
He looks at me like I’m stupid. Fuck me, I shouldnothave stolen that car. “You and your friends found a dead body earlier this evening?” the cops says, though.
“Oh. That.”
Robert stares at me, incredulous. “What?”
I may have forgotten to tell him about that.
“We need to ask you some questions to establish exactly what happened,” the officer says. “You and your friends will be interviewed separately—”
“Christ, you can’t think we had anything to do with that. We were up there, looking for some food for my girlfriend, who was sick. She’s currently in the O.R. over there, undergoing major lifesaving surgery—”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Davis, but I have to insist—”
“Am I under arrest?”
“No, not yet.”
“We haven’t been able to reach any of the board members yet.”
“Then I’m not going anywhere. I’ll come to the station and answer your dumb questions the moment I know that my girlfriend is safe, and I’ve laid eyes on her. Until then, I’m staying right here.”
“Pax, maybe you should go,” Robert says.
I swear to God, once this is all over, I’m gonna give this fucker two black eyes. “You think for one second that I’m voluntarily leaving this hospital until I know that Chase is gonna be okay?Seriously?”
“I could arrest you for trespassing on the academy grounds,” the cop warns.
“You couldtry,” I say, correcting him. “Luckily, we’re already in a hospital, though, so you wouldn’t have long to wait for medical assistance.”
“Was that athreat?”
“Pax, shutup.” Robert stands, holding out his hands, making a calming gesture to the cop. “Officer, a little grace, please? Tonight’s been incredibly stressful. Pax and I are both really worried about my daughter. He’s not thinking straight. If it’s all right with you, I can bring him to the station as soon as we have news about the surgery. You have my word; it’ll be the first thing we do. I’m sure he has nothing to hide—”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that, Sir. I can wait a while before I have to take him in, though.”
I roll my eyes. “You think I’m gonna go on the lam for a crime we called in to report? You must think I’m an idiot.”
“Honestly, you must be. If you had any sense, you’d realize the gravity of this situation. And you’d show somerespectwhen dealing with an officer of the law—”
“Jesus Christ. You say that to yourself when you jerk off in front of the mirror every morning?Show me some respect. Show me some respect.” I mime jerking off, and the dipshitactuallyunclips the gun holster on his hip.
“You are walking averyfine line—”
“Mr. Witton? Mr. Davis? Is everything okay here?”Nowthe doctor shows up, right when things are getting interesting. His face mask is pulled down, hanging around his neck, his scrub cap still on his head. A concerned frown draws his brows tight.
