Into the Night {In Edits}

Chapter Twelve

I waved goodbye to officer Martinez feeling no better about his offer to “look out for me” than with the Elves similar promise- I mess I just didn’t have the brainpower to compute right now. I didn’t need more eyes watching me, regardless of the good intentions they came with. It was an unfortunate consequence to accepting his offer of a ride into San Antonio on account of my lack of transportation.

After the initial shock of the situation wore off, my synapses finally started firing again and quickly figured out I had no way to get to Tristan. Hiring a taxi was out of the question assuming I was going to be flipping the bill for his bail. Wait, correction, I knew I’d be paying his bail. If Tristan hadn’t intended on me coming to get him, then I would’ve never known he got locked up in the first place. It’s “everything for a reason” in the Fae world.

There was a cab company in town that wouldn’t be too outrageous, but they didn’t go to downtown SA. Kelly was in court all day today so she was no help. She had promised to come check on me after she was finished –despite complaining about the gas draining ride it would be –but that was still hours away yet. Then lo and behold! Officer Mark Martinez lived in the same subdivision I did and offered to give me a lift! That’s why he was delivering the message in person, because he was doing it on his way home. Knowing my luck is never that good, it was only a matter of time till the repercussions set in i.e.; his friendship. I had made far too many friends in this last week, I really didn’t need to make any more, especially of the “helpful” variety.

However I did need the lift to SA, so after throwing on some more appropriate attire and grabbing my messenger bag, I met Mark at the curb in his personal vehicle and off to the South Santa Rosa station we went. Once I explained away all my injuries I got the pleasure of hearing all about his family on the way down, which included his wife of three years who chewed him a new one for not introducing himself earlier. And there was even more good news! I had moved into a “tight knit” kind of neighborhood, the kind where everyone treats everyone like family…mostly because they were. Mark’s mom lived next door to him and his wife, his aunt and uncle two doors down from that, another uncle up on one of the side roads, plus all those cousins with them. Then his wife’s brother was across the street from me and a cousin of hers around the corner the opposite of Mark’s house.

Oh, and I was also invited to the barbecue at Mark’s mom’s house on Sunday after church so I could meet said family and neighbors. That part wasn’t so bad, being the tight budget I was on these days, free food and beer worked for me. Should I still be breathing, then I was definitely going to make an appearance. Maybe by showing my face I could take some of the mystery out of the new woman on the block. Then I wouldn’t have to worry so much about curious bystanders and the noses they’d be sticking into my business trying to figure out who I was.

After taking a moment’s pause on the curb figuring it would be my last bit of peace before the shit hit the fan, I sucked in a deep breath before turning to face the brand spankin’ new building. It didn’t look much like a police station if you asked me, no brick façade, no ten step stoop leading to the front doors, it simply blended in with all the other concrete and glass buildings in the area. The thought crossed my mind to just walk away from this whole mess, to leave Tristan deep in the bowels of this place and let the situation clean itself up. Not that it would do me any good in the long run on account of the pledge I had made to him, but it could potentially save me a bunch of hassle in the short term. In the end I made the right decision and made my way through the doors and metal detectors till I found the appropriate desk, as quickly as I physically could. Police stations weren’t much better than hospitals for an empath. Less hurt and sorrow yes, but a helluva lot more anger and hatred and I wasn’t looking to hang around any longer than I needed to.