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“Don’t fucking bring it up, Jaxon.”
“You’re his son. He’ll make time to see you. Forget your fucking problems with him. You’re an adult and you could tackle him if needed. Just make it happen or I promise you that your shit will be so rocked that—”
“Cut the threats,” I order. “Dimitri, we don’t need your dad specifically. Any officer will work.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling my dad is not going to give us a choice,” Dimitri says.
Even though Dimitri clearly has shit going on, Jax just turns and starts walking back to the car. I pat Dimitri’s shoulder. “You have us.”
“Yeah,” he answers.
It doesn’t change what we have to do. We all get in the silent, stuffy car and ride to the police station.
DIMITRI
I hate the sounds, smells, and general feeling of the police station. People yelling, fax machines and printers working, the sound of cuffs jingling and perps complaining. It’s all noise I could get over if one specific person wasn’t involved.
Okay, maybe two.
The second Johnny, (a cop my age who idolizes my dad) sees me, he beams. “Dimitri. I’ll get Officer Kessler for you.”
There’s no point in saying it’s not necessary. There’s no point in fighting it. I’m on my dad’s turf and he’s in control.
That means dealing with him.
“Could have done it over the phone,” Jax hisses. “While we head there.”
“Shut it,” Knox warns.
“We don’t even fucking need them. We have the address, let’s go.”
“Thenhecould call the cops and get us in trouble,” Knox reminds.
Shockingly, Knox has been the voice of reason. I don’t like the role reversal, but as long as Jaxon doesn’t get thrown in jail and cause us more problems, I don’t care enough to get involved.
A few minutes later, my dad’s in front of us. He adjusts his belt, lifting his pants as he stares at me. He’s still chewing the same gum—the kind that helps a person stop smoking with just a hint of nicotine. It makes no sense since he never smoked, but I know better than to say a word about it.
“What’re you doing here?” Dad asks, looking only at me.
“Wehave something to report,” I say dryly.
“About that damn girl again?” He snorts.
Jax pushes forward. “Go ahead and ignore citizens reporting a fucking crime. See how well that goes for you.”
Knox grabs Jaxon’s arm. “We have evidence.”
He snorts. “We’re not a public spectacle. Let’s go.” He nods his head back to his office. “That girl is so tangled in trouble… Thought she’d turned her life around. Guess a zebra can’t change its stripes.”
Once we’re in the room, Knox’s air of pleasantness is gone. “You could have stopped this earlier.”
“Bullshit. Kids always see the worst in their parents, especially at that age. What’s the issue?” Dad dismisses, pushing more gum into his mouth.
“He kidnapped her. She didn’t go with him willingly. He found her, took her, and he’s holding her hostage,” I list.
He doesn’t believe me. I see it in his eyes. He just keeps chomping his gum. “Who’s he?”
“Her father!” Jaxon’s face is red. He slams his fist on my father’s desk, then grips his name plate. He doesn’t look away from my dad’s bored face. “Her father kidnapped her. She’s an adult. You can’t sweep this under the rug by saying she’s a minorin the care of her father. We know where she is. So get off your fat ass and let’s get her.”
