Dylan escorted Derek back to his house and waited until he was safely inside before returning to the SUV.
He pulled out his phone and called Hale.
“Pierce.” Hale answered almost immediately.
“Mr.
Pierce.”
“Derek’s home.
He’s inside.”
“Understood.
Thank you.
The Chief wants you back at headquarters.”
Dylan glanced toward Derek’s house.
“Alright.”
The call ended.
Dylan started the engine and drove back to headquarters.
By the time he arrived, the building had settled into its usual rhythm.
Employees moved through the corridors while security personnel stood at their assigned posts.
Dylan barely acknowledged them as he made his way toward the Chief Operations Director’s office.
The receptionist saw him approaching and opened the security door without asking.
Dylan stepped inside.
The Chief was standing behind his desk, looking through a stack of documents.
He glanced up when Dylan entered, then set the papers aside.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah.”
The Chief gave a small nod.
“How’s Derek?”
“Home.
Safe.”
“Any problems?”
“No.”
The Chief studied him for a moment before walking around the desk.
“Good.
Then I suppose I get my bodyguard back.”
Dylan gave him a faint look.
“Guess so.”
The Chief almost smiled.
“Thought you might enjoy the vacation.”
“Wasn’t a vacation.”
“I know.” He returned to his desk and picked up the papers again.
“Derek give you any trouble?”
Dylan shook his head.
“Just complained about havin’ a babysitter.”
The Chief chuckled.
“Sounds like Derek.” He glanced toward the office door.
“Come on.
We’ve got work to do.”
Dylan took his usual position nearby as the Chief returned to his desk, his attention settling back on the documents in front of him.
~~~
The day ended late.
The Chief had decided to take a few days off to spend time with his family, which meant Dylan was finally given some personal time as well.
He wouldn’t need to remain on duty around the clock while the Chief was away.
Dylan didn’t argue.
He nodded, grabbed his things, and headed home.
The drive was uneventful.
For once, he didn’t have to think about work, security details, or where the Chief was supposed to be next.
Then he remembered Yve.
Dylan stared at the road for a moment.
“…Hell.” He glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
He’d completely forgotten about her.
He quickly changed lanes and headed toward the police station.
~~~
Dylan walked into the police station late that evening.
The same officer that assisted Yve looked up and immediately recognized him.
He stared for a second.
Then his face broke into a grin.
“At this point, we’re gonna become buddies.”
The officer placed both hands on his waist.
Dylan didn’t react.
“How much is the bail?”
The officer’s grin faded slightly.
“You don’t even wanna ask what she did?”
Dylan just shook his head.
“Right.” The officer picked up a folder.
“She’s being held for the shop incident.
We also added the assault complaint from yesterday, though that one’s a little more complicated.”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed.
“Mark?”
The officer nodded.
“Yeah.
The guy she put in the hospital.”
Dylan said nothing.
“He’s still being treated.
Doctors say he’ll be there for a while.
His statement claims she attacked him without provocation.” The officer opened the folder and flipped through the paperwork.
“There’s also the fact that she has no identification, no address, no records, and apparently no one who knows where she came from.”
Dylan rubbed a hand over his face.
“How much?”
“For the current charges?”
“Yeah.”
The officer gave him the amount.
Dylan stared at him.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
Dylan exhaled through his nose.
The officer slid the paperwork across the counter.
“Once you post bail, she’ll be released pending the investigation.
She’ll still have to cooperate with the case involving Mark, and there may be a court appearance later.
Since you’re listed as her emergency contact, they’ll probably keep using you as a point of contact unless someone else steps in.”
Dylan looked down at the forms.
He picked up the pen and started filling them out.
The officer watched him.
“You know, most people don’t usually bail someone out twice in two days.”
Dylan didn’t look up. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
“She ain’t most people.”
The officer raised an eyebrow.
“That’s one way to put it.”
Dylan finished the paperwork and looked at the total again.
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, he just stared at the number.
Then he pulled out his wallet.
“Unbelievable.” He paid the bail anyway.
After the receipt was processed, the officer pointed toward the holding area.
“She’s back there.”
Dylan nodded and walked down the corridor.
When he reached the holding cell, he stopped.
Yve was asleep on one of the benches.
Beside her was another woman, curled up with her head resting against the wall.
Dylan stared through the bars.
Yve picked up his scent before she heard him.
Her eyes opened, and the moment she saw Dylan standing outside the cell, her face lit up.
“Dylan.” She got to her feet and hurried toward him.
The officers opened the cell door, and Yve immediately stepped out.
Dylan just looked at her, taking in the sight of her like he was already trying to figure out what kind of trouble she’d gotten herself into this time.
Then Lara stood up.
Yve turned around, saw her still inside the cell, and reached through the open doorway to grab her hand.
“Come on.” She started leading Lara out.
One of the officers immediately stepped forward.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.
She’s not going anywhere.”
Yve stopped.
“What?”
The officer gently but firmly separated Yve’s hand from Lara’s.
“She stays here.”
The cell door closed again, leaving Lara behind the bars.
Yve stared at her in confusion.
“Eh?
Why aren’t you letting her out?”
“Because she got no bailer.”
Yve looked at Dylan.
“Can you bailer her out as well?
She’s my friend.”
Dylan scoffed.
“How’s she your friend?
Ya just met her.”
Yve shook her head.
“No.
I met her at the shelter.
She’s my friend.
Bailer her out.”
“No.” Dylan turned toward the exit.
“C’mon.” He took Yve by the arms and tried to guide her away.
Yve pulled herself free and grabbed onto the bars.
“No.”
Dylan stopped.
Yve tightened her grip.
“I’m not going anywhere without her.”
The two officers exchanged a look before trying to pry her hands loose.
Lara stepped closer to the bars.
“It’s okay, Yve.
You can go.”
Yve shook her head.
“No.
I don’t want to.
I’m not leaving you here in this cage.”
Dylan’s patience ran out.
“Hey!
We’re leavin’.”
Yve looked at him.
Her expression hardened.
“No!”
She kicked the bars.
The metal gate tore free from its frame with a violent crash.
Lara ducked as the heavy section of bars fell toward the floor, screaming as she scrambled out of the way.
The two officers froze.
Dylan stared at the broken gate, then at Yve.
For several seconds, nobody said a word.
Yve stepped over the fallen bars and went straight to Lara.
“Come on.” She grabbed Lara by the shoulders and guided her toward the exit.
The other officers in the station looked over as the noise echoed through the building.
A few started toward them, but stopped when they saw the destroyed cell gate.
Nobody tried to grab Yve.
Nobody seemed particularly interested in finding out what else she could break.
Dylan remained where he was for a moment, staring after her with his mouth slightly open.
~~~
After spending another couple of hours dealing with the consequences, Dylan was exhausted and ready to be done with the whole thing.
He’d cleaned up Yve’s mess as best he could, though her list of charges seemed to be getting longer by the hour.
He had also bailed Lara out for the trespassing charge, leaving him with nothing left except a strong desire to go home and get some sleep.
Outside the police station, Yve and Lara walked together, holding hands.
Yve kept Lara behind her as though she still expected someone to come after her.
Dylan stopped and turned around.
He ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily.
“What the hell…” He pointed at Yve.
“How’d ya do that?
You some kinda superhuman or somethin’?”
Yve remained still.
” What the fuck’s wrong with ya?
Ya can’t just kick a damn cell door off its hinges ’cause they won’t let ya take your friend with you.
I just spent hours cleanin’ up your mess, and every time I turn around, you’re gettin’ yourself into another damn problem.”
Yve listened without saying a word.
Then she looked at him with the same innocent expression she’d had all night.
“Thank you…”
Dylan stopped.
The anger in his face faded when he saw her eyes glistening.
He stared at her for a moment, unable to find anything else to say.
Finally, he scoffed and messed his hair up with both hands.
“Yeah…
whatever.” He looked toward Lara.
Lara hesitated.
Yve answered for her.
“Let’s take her with us.”
Dylan looked at her.
“No.”
“Please…” Yve stared at him with wide, pitiful eyes.
Dylan’s expression tightened.
“No.”
Yve had apparently discovered something important tonight.
Whenever she looked at Dylan that way, he had trouble staying angry with her.
She made her lips form a small pout.
“Please…”
Dylan looked away.
“No…”
Yve lowered her head.
“Please…
she’s my friend.
And Mark also did some bad stuff on her.”
Dylan’s attention returned to Lara.
“What kinda stuff?”
Lara hesitated before telling him.
Dylan listened, his expression becoming more serious as she explained what Mark had done and why she’d left the shelter.
An eyewitness.
That was useful.
If Lara could confirm what had happened, her statement might help support Yve’s account of the assault and potentially make a difference in the charges against her.
Dylan stood there for a moment, considering it.
He looked at Lara, then at Yve.
Maybe taking her with them wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.
~~~
Dylan opened the apartment door and stepped inside with the expression of a man who had just lost an argument with himself.
No matter how reluctant he was, no matter how many times he’d tried to say no, he always ended up doing exactly what Yve wanted.
Yve happily walked inside as though she’d never left, with Lara following close behind.
Lara remained cautious, glancing around the unfamiliar apartment while Yve wandered in without a second thought.
Dylan barely acknowledged either of them as he walked straight toward his bedroom.
What the hell was he doing?
He’d wanted peace.
That was all.
Just a quiet life, work, home, sleep.
No unnecessary problems.
No strange women appearing out of nowhere.
No police stations.
No bail payments.
No broken cell doors.
And yet here he was.
Again.
He’d already regretted making that U-turn yesterday.
He hadn’t needed to stop for Yve.
He could’ve kept driving and gone home.
Instead, he’d picked her up.
Then he’d bailed her out.
Then he’d gotten dragged into another mess.
And now he had brought her back to his apartment with a second stranger.
Dylan sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor.
A dry, sarcastic chuckle escaped him.
“This is fuckin’ ridiculous.” He shook his head.
“Can’t even mind my own damn business…”
He sat there for another moment before getting up to change his clothes.
As he pulled his shirt over his head, he continued muttering under his breath.
“Should’ve left her there…” He changed into something more comfortable and dropped his uniform onto a chair.
“Would’ve been easier.”
He rubbed his face and groaned.
It was too late now.
Lara was already in his apartment.
Yve clearly wasn’t going to let her leave, either.
That much was obvious.
Dylan could still kick them both out.
The thought crossed his mind.
Then he imagined Yve walking out the door with Lara and getting herself into another mess within the next twenty-four hours.
His jaw tightened.
No.
He immediately pushed the thought away.
Why did he even care?
So what if she got into trouble?
He barely knew the woman, she wasn’t his responsibility and he didn’t owe her anything.
Right?
Dylan sat back down on the bed.
Then why the hell did he keep getting involved?
He’d told himself it was because she was a problem.
Because she had no identification, no records, no place to stay, and apparently no understanding of how normal human society worked.
But that didn’t explain everything.
He’d seen plenty of people in trouble before.
He hadn’t stopped for all of them.
He hadn’t paid their bills.
He hadn’t bailed them out.
He certainly hadn’t let them move into his apartment.
Dylan stared at the floor again.
To anyone else, Yve probably looked like trouble waiting to happen.
Homeless.
Clueless.
Mysterious.
Completely unfamiliar with the world around her.
And then there was that strength.
A woman who could break a police cell door off its hinges without even understanding why everyone was staring at her afterward.
To a soldier, that wasn’t harmless.
That was trouble.
And trouble was exactly what Dylan spent his life avoiding when he wasn’t being paid to deal with it.
He leaned back and let out another heavy sigh.
“Why the hell can’t I just leave her alone?”
He had no answer.
That irritated him more than anything.
Somehow, despite every warning sign, every inconvenience, and every reason to walk away, something about Yve kept pulling him back.