Page 35 of Last First Time
As casually as I can, I nod. “Could be that’s right.”
The man’s mouth curls up in a smile. “I’d have given him a fucking black eye and a few less teeth too. What a dirty bunch of work.”
I let out a long breath. “Thanks. You don’t know how much that means to me to hear you say that.”
He jerks his chin toward the bedding, which has a large brownish stain that looks suspiciously like someone literally shit the bed in recent times. “Don’t sit on that. It’s disgusting.”
I nod gravely. “Thanks. Will you please let me know when K.T. gets here? I called her a couple of hours ago, and I keep thinking she’ll be here any minute.”
“That your girl?”
I nod again, not trusting my voice. Damn right she’s my girl.
“I’ll keep an eye out for you. Let me go see what the situation is, and I’ll be back.” He walks to the end of the hall and I hear the door lock as he goes out.
Well this is an all-new experience for me. Arrested, humiliated, and now kept in a filthy jail that reeks of pee. I really don’t understand how an entire building could be so thoroughly saturated with the scent of human urine. Does everyone here pee all over the walls, marking their territory? Like graffiti, but with pee. Pee-fiti.
I give myself a quick mental shake. Obviously, I misread the entire situation with the senator, and now it’s cost me. Not only that, it cost Karisma everything that matters to her. All she’s ever wanted was her privacy, and because of me, she’s had it all stripped away.
I apologized to her as best as I could during our three-minute phone call, but it was nothing more than words. I can’t do anything to protect her right now. If the story hasn’t already hit, it will momentarily. Because I have no doubts that the senator is going to make good on all of his threats to ruin me and drag Kar through the mud in the process.
My campaign manager is going to have a cat. Like an actual cat come flying out of her wherever. That’s how upset she’s going to be about this shitshow. Poor Maryanne. If the stress from this whole arrest and assault and dirty pictures thing doesn’t kill her outright, I’ll definitely give her a raise. Maybe even a vacation.
To make matters worse, I am certain I’ll be hearing from my father as soon as I’m released. He lives to crow over my failures, both big and small. When I didn’t fall into line and go into the family business with him, he was angry. When I went into public service, he assumed I’d use my political clout to help him and his cronies, but instead I built my entire career on helping the very people that his company works to squash down. He hates that I am a champion of the little guy, and he mocks my beliefs at every single opportunity.
And now I’ve handed him an invitation to shame me. Perhaps he’ll even give a little news conference of his own and discussed how appalled he is at my violent tendencies. Asshole. He loves hearing himself speak on television. He’s probably mustering up a gaggle of reporters right now.
The friendly cop I talked to earlier comes back in, but his face is grave. “Your girl’s not here, but your lawyer is. He’s trying to get you in front of the judge tonight, but there’s something sketchy going on.” He shakes his head slowly. “Well, your lawyer will be calling back here for you in a few—” The phone on the duty desk rings, and he holds up a finger toward me.
“Yes, sir.” He nods at me and hangs up. “Abernathy’s waiting for you. I’ll take you down loose, as long as you promise not to take a swing at me.” He laughs a little.
“As long as you aren’t trying to mess with my lady, we’ll be fine.” I square my shoulders at him.
“My old lady would kill me if I even thought about another woman.” The man chortles, then unlocks the door and gestures for me to come out. “She knows how to hide bodies too, man. I don’t mess with her.”
I grin at him. “K.T. is that type too, the hide-a-body type.”
He all but high fives me, but then his eyes flick toward the camera, and he urges me toward the door. “That’s the best type, isn’t it? One of those dangerous women.”
“That’s the truth. I wouldn’t have any other woman than her.” I sigh. What a sap I am, being escorted through the underbelly of the local jail for punching a man who took dirty pictures of the woman I love. Idiot face. I can almost hear her calling me that now.
I’m led to a little booth with a short red stool, a phone on one wall, and some heavy-duty glass in front. Through the layer of who knows what sort of germs and bodily fluids, I can see Thom Abernathy, the best lawyer I know.
“Hey Thom,” I say into the little phone.
“Reed,” he says, his voice as bland as could be. For a moment, it feels as if we are catching up on community events, rather than meeting at the jail. I appreciate that he wants to act like everything is normal, even when it clearly isn’t.
“Look, I’ve got bad news and more bad news. Which one do you want first?”
I grip the phone handle a little tighter, trying not to think about how it feels slightly sticky to my touch. “Well Thom, I guess I’ll take the bad news.”
His mouth twists up. Is that how he actually smiles? Sheesh. No wonder he’s single. “The judge who’s on duty tonight is a big campaign contributor for Senator von Esrington. He’s told the station that there’s simply no way he’s able to come in tonight to set bond for you.”
I flinch. I know that a night in jail isn’t going to kill me, but I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.
“Do we have another option?” I ask cautiously.
“Well, they have to see you for arraignment and set bond within twenty-four hours. But I think I can probably call this guy’s presiding judge and make him see us before tomorrow.”
