Page 89 of For Emery

“Wayne attacked me,” I explained. “Jordan showed up and protected me.”

“You know the guy?” the officer at Wayne’s side asked as he searched for a weapon on Wayne.

“He was my stepfather.”

“Her abusive stepfather,” Jordan growled through clenched teeth.

“There’s a warrant out for his arrest,” I explained.

“Did you invite him here?” the short one asked as he assessed my room.

“What the fuck?” Jordan released me and straightened himself defensively. “Of course she didn’t. The lunatic beat up her mother and put her in the hospital. He must’ve followed Emery here after she left the hospital.”

“He did,” I said. “He pretty much told me that’s how he found me.”

“Are you hurt?” the shorter officer asked me.

I wrapped my arms around myself. “He slapped me…pushed me around. But mostly, I’m a little shaken up.”

“He tried to kill her mother. Left her for dead,” Jordan reiterated.

“Did he attack you?” the kneeling officer asked Jordan.

Jordan shook his head. “He didn’t have time. As soon as I found him here, I pounced.”

“That’s when I called 9-1-1,” I said.

EMTs walked through the door with a gurney, instantly attending to Wayne, all bloody and battered. We watched as they waved something under his nose. It took no more than a couple seconds and he stirred.

My body stiffened. Jordan held me, tucking me into his chest.

Wayne’s eyes shot around the room, ultimately landing on Jordan. “He attacked me,” Wayne said, low and menacing.

“What were you doing here?” one of the officers asked Wayne.

“Where am I?” Wayne asked, his eyes flashing around my room, as if he hadn’t come to my room on his own accord.

I could feel Jordan tense. “Don’t,” I whispered, holding on tightly and trying to help reel in his anger.

“He’s full of shit,” Jordan growled.

The shorter officer, aware that Jordan could snap at any moment and attack Wayne again, moved between us and Wayne. “Don’t make me cuff you,” he warned Jordan.

“You better be cuffing him,” Jordan spat.

“You don’t need to tell us how to do our jobs,” the officer said.

I pulled back from Jordan, holding my hands to his chest. “Jordan. They’re here now. It’s over.”

The officer moved to Wayne. His partner already stood at Wayne’s side as the EMTs transferred him onto the gurney. He groaned, and I hoped he had broken ribs like he’d given my mother. The shorter officer handcuffed Wayne to the gurney before the EMTs wheeled him to the door.

“Hope you get everything you deserve, you bastard!” Jordan called to Wayne as they disappeared into the hallway.

The taller officer walked over to us as the shorter one followed Wayne out. He pressed his hand to Jordan’s chest a little harder than probably necessary. “You, my friend, need to calm down. Whether or not there’s a warrant out for his arrest or not, you’re the one with blood on your hands. You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t press charges.”

“Fuck you.”

“Jordan,” I admonished.

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