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Aiden immediately recognizes his fuck-up. His eyes soften and his shoulders droop. “Addison, I’m sorry.”
Too late.
I look up to the dingy ceiling. Anger is replaced by hurt. Tears burn my eyes, and I blink them back. I glance at Aiden and see the regret in his eyes. “Aiden, please go. I’ll meet you back at the hotel,” I say quietly.
“Addison, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“If you didn’t mean it, why did you say it?” barks Barb. I turn my head in Barb’s direction and nod once before turning back to Aiden. I look at him expectantly. Yeah, what she said. His eyes shut for a beat.
“I’m sorry,” he repeats.
I chew the inside of my cheek and nod again but stay silent. Crossing my arms, I turn around and sit back on the cool metal seat. I welcome the cold and intentionally don’t try and pull my dress down. I watch him walk away until he’s out of view before sighing loudly. Deep down, I know his response is from a place of jealousy, but what he said hurts deeper than that. It touches a place I keep hidden for a reason. I don’t need reminders. He should know that.
“He seemed genuinely sorry, hun.”
My head rolls to the side in Barb’s direction. “He is.”
“And he was damn mighty fine.”
I chuckle. “He’s that, too.” He’s also an asshole right now. I wonder how much longer I’m going to be in here. If Aiden was here, I must be getting out soon. About fifteen minutes go by before I hear anything.
“Ms. Mason.” I glance to the cell door and there’s an older gentleman in a uniform, standing there. “I’m Lieutenant Graves. You’re free to go,” he says, opening the door. The way he says it, with sympathy, I’m not sure if he heard Aiden or if he knows that his cop arrested me without any reason and he’s afraid of the recourse.
I stand and turn toward Barb. My lovely government-issued shoes squeak on the laminated floor. “Barb, it’s been nice talking to you.”
“You, too, hun. And hey, go enjoy that jealous, alpha stud muffin. He seems like he loves you.” I laugh at her description of Aiden. It’s pretty spot-on.
As I walk through the door, the lieutenant guides me into an office. He gestures for me to sit down in the chair across from his desk. I sit and watch him round the desk and take a seat, too. He plops his elbows on the table and links his fingers together.
“You’ve definitely made my night interesting,” he says, blowing out a breath through his nose. I glance down at my sore hand, opening and closing it a couple times. Damn, that hurts. “I hear you pack a hell of a punch. And kick.” I look back up to him. He smiles and sits back in his chair.
“It probably wasn’t hard enough.”
“I think he’ll remember it for a while,” he says. “We heard from actual witnesses about what happened and they say he deserved it.” I nod in agreement. He definitely did. “Do you know anything about the guy?”
“He was a drunk asshole.”
“He was that. But did you know he was a police officer?” My eyes widen in surprise. “And the arresting officer was his buddy.” Now it all makes sense. “We put both officers on administrative leave while IA does an investigation, but we have enough proof that you shouldn’t be here. If you want to file a sexual assault report, I would fully understand.”
I think about it for a few seconds. As much as I want to walk out these doors and never have a second thought about what happened tonight, can I? I look at the lieutenant. “I feel he got what he deserved and his decision might cost him his job even without my report.” I take a deep breath. “Lieutenant Graves, to be honest, my past has a habit of coming back to haunt me and I’m tired of being on people’s revenge list. I would just like to go take a shower right now.” I wrinkle my nose. The stench in the cell seems to have seeped into my clothes. He chuckles and nods.
“Well, we’re sorry for what transpired tonight. I’m sure Agent Webb will follow up on things on behalf of you and Agent Roberts.” Agent Webb? I tilt my head, unsure who that is. “Agent Drake Webb,” he says slowly.
“Oh, Drake. Sorry, I didn’t remember his last name.”
“I went to retrieve your things, but they told me you didn’t come with anything?” He gives me an unsure look. I think about my shoes and my purse, hoping they made it back with the girls.
“Nope. Would you like your shoes back?” I ask, lifting my leg and flopping my shoe against my foot.
His laugh echoes in the tiny office. “No, you can keep those courtesy of the Las Vegas Police Department.” He stands and walks around his desk. “You’ll find Agent Roberts outside, waiting on his Cinderella.” I look up to him and my brows furrow. Cinderella? What is he talking about? He flashes a lopsided grin and shakes his head. “You’ll understand,” he says as he ushers me out.
As I walk outside, the heat hits me and helps thaw the cold from my bones. The building’s lights shine bright against the pitch-black sky. I don’t have a clue what time it is but it has to be after one in the morning since I was brought in around eleven. I can’t believe that asshole was a cop. I can’t believe I was arrested. I can’t believe the words that came out of Aiden’s mouth. Damn this night.
Looking around, there are only a few people walking around out here. For a town that never sleeps, it’s awfully quiet right now, or maybe it’s just the part of town that people avoid. I find Aiden sitting halfway down the stairs, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. A lone heel sits beside him. I snicker. Cinderella. Where the hell is my other shoe?
I walk down, taking each step slowly. The hurt left by his words hasn’t dissipated. Time has allowed me to understand his frustration. I know he’s a jealous man, but I will not accept him talking to me like that.
I sit down next to him, stretching my feet out in front of me so I don’t flash anyone walking by. That’s all I need right now. “Have you found her yet?” I whisper.
