Page 100 of More Than Nothing
She fixed her eyes on the blue emergency light mounted on the roof of an unremarkable black sedan and let all the crazy wash over her.
Hours passed before she was allowed to make a call.
Separated from Frank and Dean immediately, they’d been transported to the police station in different cars and she hadn’t seen either of them since. Elenie asked to speak to someone in charge but was told they’d get to her in due course. And due course hadn’t happened yet.
She’d been searched, processed, led to the cells, and left there until the custody officer came to tell her she had the right to inform someone of her detention. Stripped of her saturated hoodie, Elenie had wrapped the thin blanket from her cell around her shoulders instead.
She dialed Roman’s cell number on the phone in the interview room, her fingers shaking uncontrollably. Panic froze the cords in her throat. The custody officer clattered away on a keyboard at his desk as the ring tone sounded in her ear.
Please pick up.
The cold had seeped right into her bones; her feet were still wet. Without her purse and her phone, she had no idea of the time. She should have asked someone. Her teeth chattered.
“Hello?”
Elenie’s fingers fumbled the receiver.
“Who is this?” But, dear God, if she didn’t know already.
“It’s Zena. If you’re after Roman, he’s not available right now.”
There was music, conversation, and laughter in the background. It sounded like a party. The pain in her chest was indescribable.
“Um, this is Elenie Dax. We met at the gala dinner. I need—”
“Look, we’re busy tonight but I’ll give you some quick advice.” Zena’s voice softened. Somehow the sympathy cut deeper than her acerbity. Elenie couldn’t string any words together. She thought she might throw up. “Keep your contact to his on-duty hours. I’m prepared to turn a blind eye here and there, but you can’t offer him what I can. Roman is meant for greater things than policingsmall-town squabbles, and he will be coming home soon. To me.” Her words drifted away slightly, as if she’d turned her head from the phone. “I’ll tell him you called, Melanie.”
“It’s Elenie,” she corrected in a whisper, but Zena had hung up.
“You done?” the custody officer asked.
Elenie lowered the handset and nodded. Tugging the blanket tighter around her shoulders, she rubbed at her arms. An overhead light buzzed and blinked.
Forcing herself to think, her brain fuzzy, she trudged through her options. This felt nothing like the days when Chief Roberts would pull her in for questioning. The absence of Roman was huge. So much worse for having had his support and losing it than when she’d only had herself to rely on. She ached for reassurance, a friendly voice, someone on her side. But Dougie, Summer, and especially Caitlyn and Milo all had more important things to concentrate on right now.
Elenie drew on her last vestiges of grit and squared her shoulders. Crumbling was not an option. “I need someone to reach either Special Agent Faith Dorsey from the DEA or Chief Deputy Shawn Booth. You can tell whoever’s in charge that I’m asking for them and it’s urgent.”
The custody officer noted down the names without any change of expression. He opened the door and gestured. “This way.”
Each minute of the walk back to her cell felt like a soul-destroying shift at Diner 43. Elenie locked the jumbled tangle of misery down tight and turned her back on it. If Zena was right, there would be endless time for a pity party in the future.
She’d managed alone before. She would manage again now. With or without the help of Roman Martinez.
Chapter 47
Roman
When Roman came back from the bathroom, Zena pushed another drink into his hand. She was still talking to Ben and Philippa. He didn’t know how she had the nerve.
Another couple joined them. He proved to be a stuffy stereotype of every middle-aged, white lawyer across the country. His wife had clearly given up on having an opinion. For the next half an hour, they all talked shop. Roman was so fucking bored he could have set fire to the soft furnishings.
He wouldn’t miss any of this if he stayed in Pine Springs.
Without even realizing it, he’d built a life he loved. The desperate, high-octane chase for promotion held no appeal anymore. He was finding far more satisfaction in the immediate and visible effect he could have on his own tight community. He wanted to keep doing it. He wanted to stay.
“The law is the law,” the Pompous Ass declared as if he were making a groundbreaking announcement. “People need to accept it’s there to protect them for a reason, whether they’re smart enough to understand that reason or not.”
It was the perfect setup for one of Elenie’s curveball conversation pieces. Roman’s lips twitched. He couldn’t resist. “Dueling is stilllegal in Paraguay as long as those taking part are registered blood donors. So, does that protect the duelers or only the recipients of their blood?”
