3. Davien

Chapter 3

Davien

Turned out, Stanmore Police Station was busy this evening. Maybe Grams had a lot of friends and they'd all been arrested.

I had to park a block away, and my beast fumed that he couldn't let me perform the boring human stuff and that I should allow him to prance into the building and whisk Grams away.

Doesn't work like that, which you know .

I can dream , he shot back.

That would be a sight, though. My beast galloping under the moonlight and Grams on his back, waving as cars skidded to a halt and avoided my unicorn.

Standing and waiting my turn at the front desk, I surveyed the room, heaving with people who were exhausted, some were crying, others were taking a nap, and a few were shouting in an effort to be heard. When I made it to the head of the line, the guy directed me to the booking area.

And that was just as crowded. And while people were jostling and my beast complained about humans not bathing, one guy was arguing with a uniformed cop.

"Your grandmother needs to be in a home. She ends up here at least three times a week. This is not an assisted living community."

"No. If I put her in one of those places, she'll be dead in three months."

The cop whose scent announced him as a bear shifter, muttered under his breath that it was probably true. "Another resident would probably slip something into her tea."

Yikes. I hoped Grams was just high-spirited and acting differently to what society expected of someone in their later years. Surely no one would bump off an elderly lady.

This had to be the guy who phoned me. Unless there was a team of grannies waiting to be bailed out.

"Hi. I'm Davien."

"Hey, buddy, we're having a private conversation," the guy snapped.

Not so private that the whole room couldn't hear. People were straining to listen to the pair. Might be the most fun they'd had all night. But his words evaporated in the stale air as the grandson's scent wafted around me. No, it couldn't be. What were the odds?

Nothing odd , my unicorn noted. You know who he is .

"Sit down and wait your turn."

Now the cop was pissed at me. Gods, if this were anyone else, I might have marched out and left them to it. Except I wouldn't have left Grams languishing in a jail cell and her grandson's scent was calling to me, begging me to stay close.

"You called me." I folded my arms and stood my ground.

"Called as in—" The guy raised one brow, a feat I'd never managed to pull off.

"Phoned," I finished his sentence. "About Grams."

"Grams?" the cop and the grandson said in unison.

I waved my wallet at him, wishing I could have paid Grams's bail with a QR code and kept my distance from the cop and dragged the grandson and Grams away from the room heaving with people.

"But I?—"

This was taking way too long. "Wrong number, I guess."

The grandson told the cop he'd be right back, and taking my arm, he pulled me through the throng and outside onto the sidewalk. Sirens blared, and people who'd been arrested were manhandled inside.

"You're not Julian."

I sighed. That was obvious. The guy was under a lot of stress with his grandmother, but I'd become bogged down in this dilemma. On the flip side, I relished being near him, no matter where we were. I'd stay in that dank booking area forever if I had to.

"Nope. Davien."

"Damn. Grams said she gave me Julian's number."

Grams might have been a little preoccupied having been arrested. Or perhaps she wanted to be locked up and deliberately given her grandson the wrong number.

I held up my phone, side-stepping him asking me what my number was. That should speed up the process.

He took out his phone and showed me the dialed number. Inwardly I was screaming, wanting to fast-forward to handing over the money and get to the "I love you" part of the conversation.

"Yep, you dialed me."

I pulled out five one-hundred-dollar bills. Now that we'd reached the money part of the discussion, I expected our interaction was at an end and we could take Grams home and talk. Or do other things.

"I can't take that." He pushed my hand away, his face screwed up in distaste.

Dear gods, this was like walking through syrup.

How do you know? My unicorn was very literal.

Never mind .

I counted to ten. We'd been so close, and now our discussion might morph into an argument. I couldn't let our first night end with us shouting at one another.

"Let's backtrack for a minute. You called Julian."

"No. I thought I did."

This guy would get along well with my unicorn.

I look forward to it .

"Fine. Your intention was to call Julian, but you phoned me instead."

"Correct."

Good, we were on the same page.

"And you begged Julian for bail money?"

"No, I asked you."

He was so like my beast. Ahhh!

I like him .

"You wanted Julian to bail Grams out." He opened his mouth, and I raced on before he could say a word. "You asked me instead of Julian for five hundred bucks."

"Yes. But I don't know you and can't accept the money. Five hundred dollars is a lot."

On that we were in agreement.

"Do you have the five hundred dollars?" I asked.

The guy's face flushed, and I regretted being such a hardass, but I had to make him see sense.

"No, I… sorry." He studied his nails.

"Grams needs the money and I've got it, so let me bail her out."

"Who does that? Posts bail for a complete stranger? You're not a loan shark, are you?"

"Nope. Just a guy at the end of a wrong number."

He nibbled his nail. "Okay, but I'll pay you back at the end of the month."

I hated that he didn't have any spare cash. No emergency fund for when the car broke down, or he needed an X-ray, or bail money for his grandmother.

"I heard what the cop was saying. Do you need any help?" I placed the money in his hand and curled his finger over it.

"You've done enough. No, it's fine. I can deal with her."

I pictured him bundling his grandma into the trunk of his car and taking her to a deserted cabin in the woods.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I've been down this road many times."

I couldn't barge into his relationship with Grams more than I already had, so I let it go. My mind zipped ahead decades, and I saw myself in Grams's place. There might not be anyone advocating for me as this guy was for her. But my life choices had little to do with what was happening here.

"I've got your number, so I'll text you when I have the cash." He grabbed both my hands, his skin soft and warm. "I promise."

"Nah, that was a landline."

His eyes widened. "Wow! It's rare to see anyone with a landline, except, you know…"

"Old people?"

He caught my eye, and we burst into laughter. I explained why I had one, and his eyes misted up.

"That's sweet. I hope your grandfather is sitting beside the goddess, telling her ‘That's my grandson.'"

Now it was my turn to get teary-eyed. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.

"I don't even know your name." Taking out my phone, I had my finger poised above New Contact.

"Errol."

"Nice to meet you, Errol."

"Sorry, what was your name again?" He jerked his head toward the doorway. "There was so much going on in there, I didn't catch it."

"Davien."

He repeated it, letting the vowels and consonants slide over his tongue. "Davien."

We shook hands before exchanging phone numbers. I was eager to get a glimpse of Grams, but that was kinda yucky, like she was a lab specimen or a zoo animal.

I was tempted to ask if he needed a ride or money for food, but he might be insulted, and I bit back my questions.

"I promise I won't forget to pay you back."

I had a good feeling about Errol and was certain he'd do his best. Following him inside, we discovered the cop Errol had been arguing with was dealing with a man whose dog had bitten his neighbor. The owner insisted it was justified, as the guy had pitched a stone at his pet.

I was on the dog's side.

Errol and I said our goodbyes, and I weaved through the crowd and into the cool night air.

You can't leave .

I have his number. He's too stressed right now to hear about you or meet you . I'd give it a few days.

My beast wanted to know where Grams was.

Behind bars .

A zoo . He shuddered, having seen a documentary on how some zoos treated their animals.

She'll be out soon .

An hour later when I fell into bed, I'd expected to sleep straight away, but my mind was full, wondering how Grams was and where Errol had taken her.

And then my thoughts drifted to Errol himself.