Page 139 of Wild Card
“It’s not good,” I agreed, “but I’m not Hale. Don’t apologize for doing your job. Is he booked already?”
“Yeah, but listen, I don’t think it was his fault. He got into it with some asshole at the bar. The bar owner called it in.”
I swore quietly under my breath. If I’d turned up for dinner on time, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s going to have a few bruises, but he should be all right. The bar owner is pissed, but I doubt he files formal charges. We just dumped them in holding. They won’t spend more than a night in jail.”
Not even that. I couldn’t look the other way like Hale or twist the law to serve my personal wishes, but I’d sure as hell bail Axel out ASAP.
“He stopped that other asshole from assaulting me,” Deputy Sing added. “My old ass would probably be bruised worse than him if it weren’t for that. I think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I appreciated Deputy Sing’s assurances, but I didn’t need them. What I needed was to lay eyes on Axel and make sure he was all right.
I swiped my key card and pushed through the heavy metal door that gave me access to the jail cells.
Someone swore up a blue streak loudly in the back. I headed down the corridor between cells, most of them empty. “Axel?”
“The dick-sucking cavalry has arrived!” a guy called with sharp, angry laughter following.
That wasn’t Axel. I strode up to his cell, eyes narrowing. Jett. Well, that wasn’t too surprising. He was a hellion I’d tangled with a time or two.
“Are you the asshole who fucked with my man?” I demanded.
Jett’s laughter cut off abruptly. He eyed me warily. “You gonna come in here and beat my ass for it?”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Axel said from one cell over. His tone was thin and flat, as if he was too exhausted or defeated to speak any louder. “I’m not worth it, anyway.”
The hell he wasn’t.
I forgot about Jett. I could deal with him later. Axel needed me now.
I got out my key ring and went one cell over, where Axel was sitting against the back wall. His hair was a rat’s nest, hanging around his face, and a bruise was blooming along his jawline.
“Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“Don’t bother,” he rasped.
“I’m sure as hell bothering,” I snapped. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m a fuckup,” he said, eyes on his knees instead of me. “You oughta just leave me in here and throw away the key.”
“Fuck that.” I unlocked the cell and slid open the heavy door. I strode inside and crouched in front of him. “Axel, darlin’, haven’t we been over this? I’m not leaving you. Not for anything.”
I put two fingers under his chin, lifting his face. His eyes glittered. At first, I thought it was anger, but then I realized there was nothing but pain darkening his blue eyes.
“I messed everything up,” he said. “You can’t run for election with me dragging you down. I’ll ruin your reputation.”
“He’s right,” Jett called from the next cell.
“Shut the fuck up, Jett,” I called. “I won’t tell you again.”
He grumbled under his voice but quieted down. I turned my attention back to Axel, speaking softly. “First off, I’m already sheriff, so let’s not worry about the election for now.”
Axel’s eyes widened. “What?”
“A lot has happened,” I said. “Hale and Dallas are being booked in right now.”
