Released (The Eternal Balance #3)(9)
One of the men that arrived in the second car came forward, eyes trained on me. His tag read Officer Lang—which was slightly familiar. It took a second, but I realized it was Keith Lang, a guy we’d gone to school with.
Oh, yeah. We’re seriously f*cked.
Keith and I had never been buds. In fact, I’d kicked his ass twice for spreading rumors about my brother Chase—which was stupid in hindsight. Especially since the rumors were true.
Keith’s lips twitched, and he didn’t try hiding his grin. “A Mrs. Kelly Merrick reported this vehicle stolen. Would you like to explain what you’re doing with it?”
“Kelly is my aunt,” Sam said. “This is a misunderstanding. We borrowed the truck.”
Lang lifted his eyebrows and turned to Sam. “She also said you were taken from her home against your will.”
“Again,” Sam said. Her voice was deceptively calm, but the gray in the air, mixed with the smallest tint of red, told me otherwise. “A misunderstanding.”
“She told us you might say that.” Lang glanced back in my direction. “Your aunt says Mr. Flynn is manipulating you.” He leaned toward her, and my muscles tightened. Azi didn’t like him being so close. Neither did I. “You’re safe now, Miss Merrick. I promise.”
“I was safe before you showed up, too.” There was an edge to her voice. She glanced at me then sighed. To Lang, she said, “I’m guessing you’re not going to take my word for it, though, huh?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to take you both back to the station. I’m sorry.”
She grumbled something about him not looking sorry and allowed Lang to show her to his patrol car. The two from the first squad car, their tags reading Mitchel and Franke, stepped up on either side of me. “Are we going to have a problem, Flynn?” Mitchel asked. Something in the tone of his voice made me think he desperately wanted me to say yes.
What an *…
Azi agreed, but thankfully stood down. It shook my head. “There’s no problem. Let’s just clear this shit up so we can get back to it.”
…
Frank Spencer wasn’t a fan of mine. The Harlow police chief sat on the other side of his desk, drumming his fingers against the side of his coffee cup, the sound of it echoing inside my head and giving me a migraine.
He’d been watching me for a few minutes, silently, furiously glaring. I disliked the man, even felt threatened by him as a teenager, so naturally Azi was on the defensive.
“Hate to burst your bubble, Spencer, but I wouldn’t get your celebratory lotion ready just yet. You know damn well I didn’t kidnap Sam.” The impression of me was spot-on. Then again, I’d never had any doubt. Azi had been my constant shadow since the moment I entered this world. It was the only one who knew me better than Sam. “You’ve got jack shit on me.”
“I agree. There’s no way she’d tell me you forced her to leave Kelly’s with you—even if there was a fraction of truth in it—but you did steal a car.” His grin went from ear to ear, and the itch to wipe it from his face nearly compelled Azi from the chair. Spencer leaned in and planted both elbows on the desk in front of him. He was looking a little haggard lately. Life on the force was getting to him. It was a shame that in my current situation I didn’t have the ability to gloat. “Grand theft auto, motherf*cker. I got you.”
It was the opportunity he’d been waiting for since the moment I landed across from him at the age of fourteen. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t be too concerned. Eventually Sam would get Kelly to drop the charges. But with Azi behind the wheel? The demon wouldn’t sit by and wait patiently while I cooled my heels in a small town jail cell waiting for this to get resolved. Plus, we had the carnivi to worry about. They didn’t have the ability to reason. They were given a task by their master and followed it through to the end —no matter what. If they caught wind of us here, a lot of good people—and Spencer—would be killed.
We need to get out of here. Don’t do anything stupid.
The demon matched Spencer’s movements, leaning forward. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
He’s a friend of Sam’s. Don’t even f*cking think about it.
“I’m not going to harm him,” the demon said out loud.
The police chief narrowed his eyes. “Who aren’t you going to harm?”
The demon didn’t answer.
Fucking brilliant. Talking to yourself isn’t going to make him think you’re solid.
Spencer stood. He made his way around the desk without taking his eyes from me. If he had any idea what was crawling around in my skin, he would have run for the hills. Instead, he was grinning like an *. “You’re all wrong, Flynn. I’ve been telling people for years.”
Azi shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a special kind of sunshine.”
The wrinkles on his forehead became more pronounced as his grin widened. “Not for long, punk. When I’m done—”
There was a soft knock on the door, and a moment later, a small-framed blonde poked her head into the room. “Sir?”
Spencer didn’t turn around. “In the middle of something, Sarah.”
“That’s why I’m here, Chief.” She hesitated, shuffling from foot to foot. Her colors swirled. The haze around her shoulders shifted from concern to fear. “The charges against Mr. Flynn have been dropped.”