Page 106 of The Love Penalty

“Isn’t it your job to investigate that?”

He huffs and leans back, wiping a hand over his mouth before giving her a pointed look. “I will do my job. This report will get passed on to a detective, who will contact you in due course. I’m just being realistic here. With the serious lack of evidence, the case will likely be thrown out before it gets any real traction. I’ve been doing this job long enough to know what any detective will say to you—witness statements from a party that happened months ago are hardly reliable, and there was no one in the room when this went down.”

“So, it’s my word against his.” My shoulders slump.

The officer gives me a pained frown before muttering, “We’ll do what we can.”

It’s hardly encouraging, but I nod and shuffle out of the police station, feeling numb and let down.

Mikayla is fuming, spitting out harsh insults as we walk away from the station. “I want to squeeze his balls to toothpaste. That asswipe doesn’t deserve to sire children! Officer McFuckface with his arrogant smirk and ‘I need more evidence!’ It’s his job to find that shit!” She points at the station, her voice pitching in time with her eyebrows.

It's kind of a detective’s job, actually, but I don’t have the energy to correct her. All I can hope is that whichever detective gets assigned to my case will have a little more enthusiasm than that old-time cop who should have retired a few years ago.

“The DA might not press charges.” Mick scoffs. “That’s a whole lot of bullshit right there!” She punches the air with her fists and lets out a roar.

I share a quick look with Caroline, who is blinking and squirming in her blue Converse with the sparkly laces.

“Have you ever seen her like this before?” I murmur out the side of my mouth.

“No.”

“What should we do?”

“I think we just leave her to it and she’ll get it out of her system.”

“Do you think we should let her drive?”

“Definitely not.” Caroline snatches the keys from Mikayla’s flailing hands.

And I step into her space before she starts smashing her fists through car windows. “Mick, it’s gonna be okay.”

“Why the fuck are you comforting me?” she shouts up at me. “How are you not losing your shit right now?”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head, kind of perplexed myself. “You’re doing a pretty good job for both of us, so maybe I’m letting you carry it.”

“Oh.” She nods, the thought seeming to calm her a little. “Okay. Do you need me to hit something or smash windows? I’ve got a bunch more insults I can scream at the station if that’s helpful.”

“You know what?” I find myself fighting a grin. “The ‘squeezing his balls to toothpaste’ thing kind of covers how I’m feeling.”

Mikayla’s lips twitch and she crosses her arms, kicking the ground with her scuffed-up sneakers.

“Unfortunately, I think the jackass may have already sired children.” Caroline’s shoulder hitches. “But I’d still love to see his ball sack as flat as a pancake.”

“Ew.” I make a face. “Now I’m picturing his ball sack.”

Mick snorts and then lets out this watery laugh that soon turns into a miserable whine. “I’m sorry, Lani.” She yanks me into a hug, her small arms surprisingly strong. “You don’t deserve to be treated like that. It’s not fair.”

“It’s also not over.” Caroline wraps her arms around both of us. “I don’t care what Officer McFuckface says. We’re not dropping this. We’re gonna keep coming back until we’re taken seriously.”

“I just need some decent evidence,” I mumble against Mikayla’s shoulder.

“And we’ll find some,” she assures me.

I pull myself out of the group hug. “How?”

“I don’t know.” Caroline shrugs again. “I just know we will. This can’t be over without some justice.”

She brushes her hand down the back of my ponytail, her smile sad in spite of her fierce tone.

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