Page 102 of Wild Card
“Fuck your dad.”
Dallas’s mouth snapped shut in shock. Then he cackled. “Oh shit, you’re so fired.”
I ignored him, starting up the car to drive to the station. I might not have the power to stop Hale from giving his son a free pass, but I could sure as hell make it a lot more difficult for him.
I got Dallas through fingerprinting and was walking him toward a jail cell when Sheriff Hale burst in. He must have seen Dallas’s name in the system.
“What in the fuck is this?” he snarled.
I kept a firm grip on Dallas’s wrists. “Just bringing in a DUI. He’ll be arraigned in the morning.”
“Like hell,” the sheriff said, marching up to us. “What proof do you have that he drove under the influence?”
“None.”
He faltered at that. The man actuallyexpectedme to have proof and still came barreling in here, red in the face? How low could he go?
“Release him if you’ve got nothing.”
“He refused the breath test. That’s grounds for arrest and suspension of his license.”
Sheriff Hale scoffed. “Man wasn’t drunk, obviously. You’ve just got an ax to grind.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped. “He was clearly intoxicated and refused to cooperate, which you know goes against the implied consent law.”
“Take those cuffs off him now,” Hale ordered.
“He needs to spend the night in jail.”
“They’ll just release him tomorrow anyway!”
“So, then, let the system do its job.”
“No.”
He grabbed Dallas’s arm and yanked him away. For a brief second, I held on, not wanting to let this go. Dallas swayed to theleft, then the right, then the left. He looked like a dang toy we were wrestling over.
The thought made my stomach turn over, and I let go.
Dallas fell against his dad’s chest, causing them both to stagger into the jail cell bars behind the sheriff.
“Goddamn it, Deputy, I could have your badge!”
“You can’t keep doing this! It’s not right. He’s a danger. If you don’t care about the people he hurts, think abouthim.The fool is gonna kill himself one of these days.”
“He hasn’t hurt anyone,” the sheriff said. “You just want my job, and you’ll stoop to harassing my son to get it.”
“Neither of us really believes that.”
He stared me down. “Pull this shit again, and I’ll fire you on the spot. You’re insubordinate, and it needs to damn well stop.”
Dallas was grinning at me, looking cocky. But I knew Hale well enough to know that Dallas would get a thorough dressing-down later. I’d heard a few of thelecturesHale gave his son. Often homophobic ones.
I’d feel sorry for the asshole if he wasn’t such a despicable human.
Chloe’s voice echoed from the doorway. “I pulled your son over. Deputy Harvey just backed me up.”
The sheriff scowled down the corridor. “Is that right? You really think my son was driving under the influence?”
