The cop shook his head. “There’s still the matter of the doors.”
“Valerie will pay for my doors. I think she was frightened.” Mateo lowered his bat. “I don’t want her to get in trouble for it, Officer. I was only afraid because of the car.”
“You all know she couldn’t have done it,” Val insisted.
The cop’s eyes narrowed.
“Officer, come on. It sounds to me like those guys are trying to dodge a reckless driving charge.” Val raised her eyebrows. “They almost caused an accident, but we won’t press charges. Will we, Tetra?”
The faerie bared her teeth.
“I’m telling you, she flipped our car!” one of the men yelled.
Val turned on him. “This five-foot-four, hundred-pound woman rolled your car? Are you serious? Maybe you’re not sober, sir. I’m sure a breathalyzer will tell us what we need to know.”
The cop raised his eyebrows. “Or a search of the vehicle.”
The men exchanged wide-eyed glances, then backed away.
“There must be a misunderstanding,” one muttered.
“You may still file an assault charge against her.” The cop gestured at Tetra. “I witnessed her verbally abusing you.”
“No, no. That’s all right. Thank you.” The guy gave a polite smile, and they all bolted.
“Does that mean she’s free to go?” Val asked.
The cop eyed Tetra, then slowly removed her handcuffs. Tetra yanked her hands away and scampered to Val, rubbing her wrists.
“You’re free to go,” the cop muttered, “but this is my beat. I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.”
“Thank you, Officer. Mateo, I’ll be in touch about your door, okay?” Val grimaced. “I’m really sorry. Do you need help cleaning up?”
“No, no. My son has the overnight shift. He can help me,” Mateo reassured her. “I think it’s better if you take her away.”
Val gritted her teeth as her vision’s red hue darkened. “Yeah, I agree. Come on, Tetra.”
Val shook as they marched across the parking lot to Genevieve. Tetra pointed at her mouth and raised her eyebrows.
“Fine,” Val snapped. “You can talk now.”
“Thanks.” Tetra wrapped her arms around herself. A trickle of blood had dried dark on her cheek. “Thanks for getting me out of that situation. I was so—”
Val raised a hand. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Tetra blinked. “What do you mean? Those guys were crazy! They nearly killed me!”
Val grabbed the faerie by the scruff of her neck and propelled her into Genevieve, who was all too happy to slam the passenger door. Val flung herself behind the wheel and pulled away as gently as she could, hoping to avoid the cops’ attention, as much as she wanted to accelerate away using every one of Genevieve’s three hundred seventy-five horses.
“Why are you mad at me?” Tetra yelled.
“You flipped a car, stupid!” Val barked. “Then you ran through a solid glass door! What were you thinking?”
“I didn’t know what to do. They wanted to fight me!” Tetra snapped. “I thought you’d be pleased that I didn’t try to fight back!”
“Because you’re not allowed to fight back,” Val snarled, yanking the wheel hard. Genevieve skidded around the turn. “You’re a convicted traitor, remember?”
“How could I forget when you ordered me to be silent?” Tetra screamed.
“I’m inches away from ordering you again!” Val yelled. “I gave you an inch of freedom, and you blew it, Tetra. You totally blew it!”
Tetra’s voice cracked. “It wasn’t my fault they nearly drove into me!”
Genevieve screeched into the garage.
“You could have handled it like a reasonable person.” Val stomped on the brake, almost sending Tetra through the windshield. Genevieve had neglected to buckle her seatbelt. “But no. You had to sow chaos and destruction everywhere you go, as usual. I thought you could be different.”
Tetra sprang out of the car. “Why should I be different? Life’s a bitch, and that’s never going to change!”
“No, it’s not!” Val exited Genevieve and yelled at the faerie over the roof. “It could have if you’d behaved yourself, but clearly you’re incapable of that!”
Tears of fury welled in Tetra’s eyes. “Oh, so now what? You’re going to keep me prisoner again?”
“Yes. I should have done that in the first place!” Val roared. “I’m responsible for you and everything you do. If someone had gotten hurt today, it would have been on my head. Nobody innocent suffers on my watch. Do you hear me?”
Tetra sneered. “I’m so sick of your ‘on my watch’ bullshit.”
“Well, get used to it,” Val barked. “From now on, you’re not leaving that apartment without me or Enzo. Ever again.”
