“I wish I had Lily’s dad,” she sobs. “This isn’t fair.”
Her bottom lip is trembling, frowning the most I’ve ever seen someone frown. Tears prick my eyes as she starts to cry harder.
Zephyr and I look at each other. He knows what I’m thinking, but he keeps it to himself as he rubs Zinnia’s back.
The police approach us. One of them crouches down to Zinnia’s level. “Hi. We need to talk to you for a few minutes, okay?”
Zinnia nods but doesn’t let go of my arm.
Another cop approaches me and Zephyr. “We need statements from both of you.”
I glance at Zephyr.
She wishes she had Tigerlily’s father.
Which means—
The cop clears his throat. “Sir?”
I follow him to a quieter corner of the waiting room. I answer every question and tell them everything from the moment we saw her leave for Barnes & Noble to the moment the gun went off.
I leave out the part about the two guys we left at Morris Reservoir. That’s not relevant right now.
When I’m done, I look over at Zinnia. She’s still talking to a female officer. Still crying.
The cop I’ve been talking to starts to walk away.
“Hey,” I call after him. “Can she wait with us? We’re not leaving the hospital until Tigerlily wakes up.”
He looks at Zinnia. Then back at me. “Sorry. She needs to go down to the station.”
“What?” I mutter, butterflies filling my stomach.
I walk over to the officer Zinnia’s talking to. She’s young. Maybe late twenties. But looks exhausted.
“Excuse me,” I say. “Can she stay with us until Tigerlily wakes up?”
The officer scoffs. Actually scoffs. “That’s not how this works.”
“How about you keep one of your guys here with her until Tigerlily wakes up—”
“That’s not how it works, kid.”
“Delay it,” I say, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. “Please. Don’t take her anywhere. Her sister just got shot. She doesn’t need to be processed somewhere right now. She needs to know if her sister’s okay.”
The cop raises a brow at me. “In order for her to have a bed tonight, she needs to be processed right now.”
The pit in my stomach drops. “What?”
“She can’t go home with her father under arrest,” she says to me like I’m stupid.
“She has Tigerlily. She’s over eighteen.”
The officer shakes her head. “I don’t make the rules.”
I look at the other cop standing nearby. “Please.”
Zinnia grabs my arm. “Don’t let them take me, Jax. Please.”
