“We’re going to take this guy in and get him processed. Ladies, and Ryder, come down to the station and we’ll take your statements.” Kaden turns and squints at Devon. “You and I have some things to talk about later.”
Kaden and his partner walk Andrew out to their police cruiser, and Aiden leaves behind them. I watch through the window and Andrew’s head ‘accidentally’ slams into the side of the car as Kaden helps him into the back seat. I let out a small chuckle before turning to Denise.
“He could have hurt you,” I whisper, taking her hands in mine. “I was so scared when Devon showed me the message from Kaden telling him what you and Xena were up to.”
“You were more worried about me than you were about your Gran?” Denise whispers back. “She’s the cute old lady. Andrew could have really hurt her.”
I raise my eyebrows and scrunch my nose, tilting my head a little. “Well, that doesn’t really appear to be the case now, does it?” I point over to where Gran and Gladys are winding up Gran’s pink rope. “They look like they’re capable of taking care of themselves. You should have just let the cops handle it. Or at least told me and let me come with you. You can’t be running off doing dangerous stuff like this with a baby on the way. Especially not anything that involves Andrew, now that you really know the kind of person he is.”
Denise’s face suddenly turns stormy, telling me I’ve said exactly the wrong thing.
“Listen, Ryder.” Denise puts her hands on her hips. “If I want to deal with a problem myself, a problem that is my fault, let’s not forget, then I will do so. It’s not like I was rushing in here to play hero. I called the police. I didn’t come alone, and I was perfectly safe the whole time. I don’t need you butting in and telling me what I can and can’t do just because you think you’re in love with me. The last thing I need after Andrew is another guy thinking he’s entitled to have a say in how I run my life.” She pokes her finger into my chest and turns. “Xena, let’s go. Can you drive me home?”
Xena turns from where she’s talking to Devon. “Uh, yeah, sure, OK.” She turns back to Devon and says something too quietly for me to hear. Not that I’m listening, anyway. I have a feeling I’ve just really screwed up with Denise. And we were finally doing so well, too.
Way to go, Ryder. Why can’t I go any length of time without fucking everything up?
