“What the hell?” I asked breathlessly.
“Get away from there, now,” the officer said.
He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me away from the door, stumbling me onto my feet. I scrambled to get my phone out and started recording immediately. As the police officer lunged at me to yank my phone out of my hand, I spoke as loudly as I could.
“What am I doing, Officer? What am I doing that’s breaking the law? Are you going to read me my rights? Why are you taking my phone?”
“Give that to me, you little bitch,” he growled.
The second that grin spread across my face, he knew he had stepped in it. He straightened his back and snarled, and I got all of it on camera. I zoomed into his face, making sure that I could see it clearly in the video. And as I slowly got onto my feet, the officer backed away.
“Turn that off before I get my superior,” he said, backtracking toward his desk.
I nodded. “I hope you do get your superior, because I’m going to show them this video the second you do.”
“What the fuck, Aria,” Jason said flatly as he burst back through the door.
I whipped the camera toward him. “What happened in there?”
He walked over and knocked my phone out of my hand and I watched it drop to the floor. “None of your damn business. Now, get the fuck out of here before I find a reason to arrest you.”
I furrowed my brow. “Seriously? You, too? Do all police officers learn how to abuse people with questions after a certain amount of time on the job?”
He hovered over me, cloaking me in his shadow. “Go. Home.”
I held my head high. “Or what?”
He grabbed my arm and tugged me over into the corner while my camera continued to record on the floor. “This isn’t your place. You don’t belong here. You won’t get any answers you’re seeking, so if you do not do what I tell you do to—”
I wrenched my arm away from him. “Since when the fuck did you become the boss of me?”
“So help me God, Aria, I’ll arrest you for causing a scene and being a disturbance inside of this public-owned building. Now, get your shit and get out.”
I stared him down for a while, and the anger boiling behind his eyes caught me off-guard. I’d never seen Jason that worked up before, and I wondered what in the world had happened in that interrogation room. Still, I knew I wouldn’t get any answers out of him. If I wanted answers, I needed those two men.
At the very least, I needed the one in that interrogation room.
“Fine,” I murmured as I walked toward my phone.
I picked it up and stopped the recording, but I knew I had everything I needed. Cops were nothing but the scourge of the earth, and I couldn’t wait to bury this entire department beneath the weight of my coming influence. All Twin Bays needed was one decent human being to blow the fucking whistle. One person to tell the unadulterated truth instead of trying to cover shit up for the sake of the town itself.
“I’ll wait outside until those two post bail,” I said as I shoved my phone into my purse.
Jason waved his hand at me. “What the fuck ever, Aria. It’s your shitshow.”
He stormed back toward the door that led to where the interrogation rooms were. He slammed it open so hard that the door held itself there for a few seconds and I watched as yet another officer pulled someone else out of that room. I craned my neck as I slowly made my way toward the exit. I didn’t want to cause anymore undue stress for anyone involved, especially those two men. But as they pulled the leather-vested man that had approached me at the clubhouse into the hallway, he turned his head in my direction.
Before tossing me a playful wink.
“Jesus,” I whispered breathlessly.
He blew me a kiss before the officer yanked him further down the hallway and a shiver worked its way up my spine. My skin tingled and the hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. What the hell was happening to me? Why in the world did that man have such an effect on me?
More reason to post his bail.
I figured it was a good idea to wait outside since the front desk officer wouldn’t take his fucking eyes off me. So, I made my way outside. I slipped into my car and cranked it up, blasting the air conditioning as the temperature began to rise. Summer was officially upon us. I drew in deep breaths, trying to keep myself as calm as possible.
But my heart leapt back into my throat when I saw my boss calling me.
