Page 19 of Sapphire's Gem
Knowles looked between the two of us, and Sapphire smirked. He dragged Dix off as I watched them go.
“Thanks, Wylde,” Rose said, and I offered a brief nod while I held Sapphire’s eyes. She looked vaguely amused.
“Yes, thank you, detective. I appreciate you sitting with Rose until I arrived, but don’t you have a job to do?”
“Huh?”
“I’m sure you said you were taking Rose’s case, and you need to call your captain and also breathalyse those assholes in there,” Sapphire said.
Damn, I was staring at her like a fool.
“Yeah, Rose, I’ll get your statement soon,” I replied, and with a nod to them, I walked in the direction Knowles and Dix had come from.
“What the hell was that?” Rose demanded as I began walking away.
“What?” Sapphire replied.
“You two were eye-fucking each other—and don’t deny it!”
“Shut up bitch, your eyesight is clearly compromised. Let me see your face,” Sapphire retorted even as I smiled.
Sapphire was eye-fucking me, was she? Nice to know.
Sapphire
I was infuriated with the situation and worried about how Rose’s face might heal. The doctor had mentioned her eyesightmight be damaged to the point of blindness. Rose had to wear an eyepatch for a few days while the swelling went down. After the usual scans and whatnot, I hung around to see what was happening.
Two different uniforms had turned up, and I’d seen Wylde talking to them. His captain had also arrived and spotted me. Chase Hatton listened intently and then headed over to me.
“Sapphire,” he said, approaching.
“Captain Hatton.”
“I understand two of my uniforms were rude earlier and made—”
“Let me stop you there, Captain. The video is already with my lawyer, who will no doubt be contacting your chief soon. I know my club has a reputation for many things; we don’t tend to let it bother us. People will judge where they want,” I said, holding up a hand.
For a brief moment, Hatton looked relieved, like he might wriggle his boys out of this. Not likely.
“However, when an officer makes allegations that are unproven in the open, it’s no wonder we’ve a bad rep. Add to that, they hadn’t taken Rose’s statement and were prepared to arrest her. Our boats have cameras; that footage, in addition to my recording, is on its way to your chief. It shows a clear attempt at sexually assaulting Rose. It also shows Rose defending herself. Those men are very lucky; all they did was grab her ass and tits. If they’d gone any further, Rose should have dumped their asses at sea.
“I don’t care who they are, rich or poor; they assaulted a member of my club. I expect the book to be thrown at them, like it would anyone else. Rose ought to be treated like a victim because she was. Just because Rose can defend herself doesn’t make her experience any less traumatic. Your cop wasjudgmental, rude, and about to make a wrong arrest, and he didn’t give a shit. He just wanted to bang cuffs on a Royal Harlot.
“I can’t tell you, Captain, how tired I am of this shit. But my lawyer will ensure your department knows. I’ve nothing against you or Detective Wylde, but that uniform needs a fuckin’ wake-up call, and I’m about to give him one,” I said calmly.
Chase Hatton held my eye. “I understand, Sapphire, and he will be reprimanded.”
“Good, but I want blood. Rose might be blind in one eye because of those assholes, yet your officers were going to arrest her without her getting medical attention. That’s bad policing.”
“Agreed.”
“We do a lot for this community, as in bringing jobs to the area, helping charities, raising funds, and so on. We are very community-minded, and I’m sick of being suspected of illegal crap. There’s no proof because we aren’t doing shit. One day, your officers might get that into their thick skulls. In the meantime, we’ll continue to deal as we’ve always done. With dignity.”
Hatton stared at me as I baldly lied to his face. He smirked a little but wiped it away quickly. “I understand. And apologise. You said Rose might be blind?”
“The boom those fuckers swung at her impacted right on the eye socket. There is damage, but the doctors can’t tell how severe it is because her eye is too swollen. Her eye socket was fractured alongside her cheekbone. Those idiots are lucky, because she managed to get them back alive and in one piece. Me? I’d have drowned them,” I admitted.
Wylde winced behind his captain, and I wondered what Hatton would say to my words.
