Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Eighty Two

     The rest of the drive to the police station was relatively quiet, minus Rhett's racing thoughts and the low hum of the radio in the background. He was too engrossed in what was going on in his head that he couldn't bother to try and figure out what song was playing. Eventually he wound up turning the radio off and contended with listening to his own frantic breathing. 

     There was no unforeseen threat lurking at the police station, yet he felt like he was being threatened somehow. The flight or fight responses were kicking in, shooting adrenaline through his veins like electricity. It crackled and popped through his system, crippling his inner strength that would normally be encouraging him to be brave. He didn't realize just how much he needed Link by his side. Just as he was rolling to a stop at a stop sign, he noticed two kids in their early teens huddled beneath the sign, sharing a blanket that was muddied with dirt and ripped with tears.

     One of them was a younger girl, and her hair was longer in some spots where in others her hair appeared to be shaven off. The hair that was in tact was matted and filthy, and her slightly older brother didn't look to be in any better condition. Their faces were caked in filth, and sadness flooded Rhett's heart as he looked at them. He couldn't imagine what those poor kids were going through, and he didn't even want to try to imagine what brought them there in the first place. 

     He made a mental note to bring it up to the sheriff when he arrived at the station as he began to drive, realizing that saying something probably wouldn't help realistically. There were numerous homeless people on the streets of L.A, and children were no exception.

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     Rhett finally arrived at the station, pulling up into the parking lot. He took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel. He was only going in there to talk about the werewolf incidents and that was it. He had nothing to worry about. Link was going to be okay, the Alpha werewolf was going to be taken care of, and everything was going to go back to normal. He sighed and released himself from the seat belt, stepping into the warm sunshine. 

     As he was walking up to the door, he felt like his legs were failing to work. They wobbled like he was trapped in a life size tub of jello, trying to escape the confines of it. He would have thought to eat his way out of the tub of jello, but his appetite flew out the window and into the sky with the birds. It wasn't normal for him to feel this way, and he took the handle of the door into his hand cautiously.

     Pulling the door open, he was hit with a wave of crisp air conditioning. He found himself relaxing his shoulders just slightly as he meandered to the desk, eyeing his left and right before crossing to the front desk. He honestly didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe he thought an inmate had broken out and was going to hijack a car and run it through the building. Then he realized that they didn't keep inmates here, only holding cells and he shook his head, taking it into his hand as he stopped at the desk. 

     The woman that sat behind it was typing away on a laptop before she pulled her attention away, looking up at the tall man towering above the desk. Her eyes widened just slightly and she tilted her head to the side, a look of concern on her face. "Are you alright, sir?" 

     Rhett drew his lips into a tight line, his eyes widening also. He dropped his hand and coughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. I'm here to see the sheriff," he said, tripping up on his own voice. If you could trip on your voice literally, Rhett would be flat on the ground flailing his arms and legs. The woman smiled warmly, the smile reaching her honey brown eyes. 

     She brushed a strand of curly blonde hair behind her ear, pressing a button on the landline beside her. "I just paged you in, honey. His office is down the hall and the first door on the right." Her voice was light and bouncy, and that's when Rhett realized that she was the woman that he spoke with on the phone.