Back in town, I walked to the police department. I stepped closer to the counter with the receptionist locked eyes with me. A woman in her police uniform lifts her shoulders as if to make herself appear professional.
"I am here to bail out Elizabeth."
She furrows her brow at me. "She is-"
I shake my head. "May I talk with the sheriff?"
She twists her lips before lifting herself, gesturing for me to follow. Leading me towards the back where all the cells are, I can hear Ashe yell for the Sherif who was close by. He looks at me from the corner of his eye.
"It didn't need to be like this, Elizabeth," he says with no lack of disappointment and annoyance. "But you've really done it now. Starting a gang? Stealing from your family's company? With the number of charges you're about to be slapped with, you're going away until you have the wrinkles to match that white hair of yours."
She clenched the bars in her fists. "Oh yeah? Where's the proof?"
"You and I both know that with parents like yours, and all of their resources, it won't matter. No one is going to get the charges against you dropped this time, Ashe. From what they said, it sounds more like they're going to do whatever they can to make them stick."
He was right. It grated Ashe to admit it, but that was exactly what was going to happen. "Look, I can't stay here. I have a friend, he's in trouble, and if I don't get out of here—"
"You think I'm going to open the door and let you waltz out because of a friend?"
"No," Ashe replied, increasingly infuriated. "But my parents don't get to change how the whole system of law works, do they? The court's already set my bail by now, right?"
The sheriff looks at her sceptically. "Sure, but how would you pay for it? It's not exactly pocket change, and I doubt any of your lines of credit are working now."
"I don't need my parents' money anymore. I have my own now. A lot of it."
At her response, the sheriff laughs. "And how did you get that, I wonder? Careful, Elizabeth; you're getting close to an admission of guilt."
I step forward clearing my throat. "Doesn't matter where she got her money because I am here to pay for the bail. As she said it should be set in stone at this point and all they are waiting for is for her to pay her dues."
He looks at me. She presses her face against the bars, she smiles at me softly the moment she could confirm that it was in fact me here.
"Forget it"—he shook his head—"I don't need the wrath of the Ashe family."
"No, but you're the one who always complained about us getting what we wanted, because of who we were." Ashe choosing her words carefully. "Well, you heard my parents, Sheriff. They've disowned me for real. I'm not part of the family anymore."
The sheriff stays silent, but he eyed her more closely.
"You want to see my parents knocked down a few pegs?" she continues. "Let me pay my bail. I've got the account numbers and all the right codes. Nothing would make them angrier than me walking out of here, and them not being able to do a damn thing about it."
Oh, he was mulling it over. She could see it on his face, plain as day. "C'mon, Sheriff," she pushes further. "Aren't you as tired of playing by their rules as I am?"
His expression turned sceptical. "What guarantee would I have that, once you posted bail, you'd show up to court when called?"
She smiles at his question. "None at all. Look, I know you and I don't exactly have the nicest history between us. But I'm not going to lie to you, not about this. I know two things: One, that as soon as I get out of here, I'm going after my friend; and two, I'm done with my parents. As they said, I'm eighteen now. That means neither of us needs to get their permission when it comes to my bail. You've always hated their sway, all because ... What did you say? Because they own half the town? Well, Sheriff, do they own you?"
*** *** ***
It took a little bit less than an hour but I am broke because good lord we had a lot of crimes on our name and that was a lot of money that needed to be paid. At least I can always claim some of that from my boss.
"We've been waiting." She almost tackles me to the ground the moment we reach the exit of the station.
"We?" she looks up at me with watery eyes, but she didn't shed a single tear.
"B.O.B. is standing out in the rain." I chuckle. "Always reliable that one, I am starting to feel like it is going to be hard to compete with him."
She hugs me tighter. "We need to save Cole. The Diamondbacks got him."
I hold her tightly. "We will get to him. Got to save every idiot."
"C'mon," she said finally, wiping away what, if anyone had asked, she would have sworn up and down were raindrops. "And send a message to Frankie. Make sure she and Julian made it to the barn, and tell them I'll meet them there in a little bit. We've got work to do."
