Best Friends (New Species #15)(53)

“What about the reporter? Did Darren send that male into the diner?” Snow asked.

Mel reached over and took his hand. He looked furious. She wanted him to calm down.

Jaded answered. “He said he called some reporters to see if they’d heard anything about a shooting at the diner, once he’d reached this area and he couldn’t locate his sibling. None of them had. He seemed surprised when we told him that one had actually come here to ask questions, since they all hung up on him.”

“So why are you here?” Snow glared at Jaded. “What is your bad news? We have the male. He can’t hurt Mel or her friend.”

Jaded put down his coffee mug. “We have more freedom here at Reservation than we’ll ever see at Homeland. Sherriff Cooper and his deputies are responsible for that. They chase off the paparazzi. They won’t put up with the legitimate news crews for long, either. He and his deputies make them leave quickly and the humans living in this area don’t want that kind of attention, either. We’re all in agreement in our need to keep strangers away.” Jaded paused, then, “Sherriff Cooper insisted on gaining custody of the male we captured. Darren Barrow committed his crimes in the human world. It’s a jurisdiction problem. Justice would have refused his request if there was no punishment involved, but the male will be locked up for his crimes in accordance with the human legal system.”

“No,” Snow snarled. “He attacked my female!”

“None of us like it,” Jaded admitted. “I think we have better ways of dealing with stupid, dangerous humans than they do. Fuller Prison is where that male belongs, as far as we’re concerned, but we’re giving Sherriff Cooper his way this time. Who knows? Perhaps their prisons and jails are just as bad as Fuller, since humans run them, too.”

Brass cleared his throat. “Darren Barrow wasn’t a part of the attack at the diner and was at work in Arizona when Wind was shot. We’ve verified that. The crimes he did commit are breaking and entering into two human apartments. He committed assault on Melinda. The sheriff swore he’d have the human male prosecuted for both.”

“It’s not good enough.”

Mel held Snow’s hand tighter. He sounded as if he might lose his temper. She wasn’t about to let him do that.

“Mel is not technically your mate,” Brass stated softly. “She was living in a human apartment in the town. We’d be able to keep the male we captured last night if he’d come after her here, or if you’d signed the paperwork to make your mating official before this happened. Then this Darren would have been going after a Species female. That’s a New Species crime regardless of where it happens. We can’t ignore the Sheriff’s requests and his valid reasoning for jurisdiction. Those crimes were committed off NSO lands to humans.”

Snow growled.

Mel squeezed his hand tighter. “I see their point.”

He glowered at her. She inwardly winced. “It’s not like this jerk is going to get off scot-free. You heard them. Sheriff Cooper plans to prosecute him for what he did.” She glanced at Brass. “This Darren is facing jail time, right?”

Brass nodded. “Sheriff Cooper is going to take him to something called county lockup. He said the male will get time for his crimes. We have a confession from him about the breakins, him attacking you while trying to capture you to gain answers, and that he planned to take you somewhere else to question you. We gave a copy of the video of us interviewing the male to Sheriff Cooper. The blood found in Mel’s apartment will match the male. He’ll get an attempted kidnapping charge, too. The sheriff implied the human might be facing years of incarceration.”

Jaded stood, drawing their attention. “I understand why you’re angry, Snow. We all do. Human laws are different but it’s important that we keep a good relationship with them. Especially Sherriff Cooper. He didn’t ask for the other two males who shot Wind. Just this one. Please see where Justice is coming from and why this decision was made. This Darren didn’t harm your female.” Jaded glanced at her and smiled. “You hurt him. The injuries I saw on his face and parts of his body seemed painful.”

“I want to see this male.” Snow stood and tried to free his hand from Mel’s.

She clung to him and rose to her feet, too, facing him. “Hey!”

He looked down at her, rage on his features.

“Calm down.”

“I can’t. I want to beat on the male before they let him get away!”

Mel frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Your female would be correct.” Jaded sighed. “Especially since we already allowed Sherriff Cooper to take the male half an hour ago.”

Snow snarled viciously, giving Jaded an enraged look.

“Sheriff Cooper would have gotten into trouble if he’d turned over a human prisoner to another authority with that male half beaten to death by a Species. Be reasonable,” Torrent snapped. “Besides, your female did to a number on him when she fought him off. We strip-searched him. Not only did he have injuries to his face, neck, and the back of his head, but there was bruising on various parts of his body.”

“It wasn’t enough,” Snow growled.

“Calm,” Timber ordered. “We knew you wouldn’t take this well. We have other, more pressing issues to deal with.” He peered at Mel.