All eyes went to Farrah who sat on the sidewalk trembling, arms wrapped tight around herself.
"It's not broken," she protested. "It's just bruised and a little shock. I was expecting to get hit on not hit at tonight."
The officer left, returning with an ice pack then separated us between two cars, the perp being transferred in the third.
Wait. Is perp the right word? Criminal? Disgusting human being?
I opened my mouth to ask when the car pulled to a halt, officer 2 twisting in her seat. "Okay ladies, follow me and we'll get you processed."
Once inside, they took us to an interview room, settling us at the table with coffee and some cinnamon buns while an officer took our statement.
"To sober you up," the kindly officer said with a wink, refilling our coffee cups.
By this stage any buzz I might have earned had long since worn off.
"I should call, Gunnar," I muttered, digging through my tote in search of my phone.
"Don't worry," Gabby said, reaching for her coffee cup. "I already called Rune. He said he'll notify the men. I assume they're already on their way."
I blinked, my gaze flying to Anika, who met my look with a wide-eyed oh shit look of her own.
"Um… Gabby? What did you tell Rune exactly?"
Gabby paused; coffee cup raised to her lips. "Just that we were at the police station and could he get Gunnar to come pick us up. Why?"
Anika, Laura, and I groaned, slumping onto the table and cupping our heads in our hands.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Nah," Astrid waved her half-eaten cinnamon bun around encompassing the table. "It's just that they're all living with over-protective men." She bit into the bun, chewing for a moment before she frowned at Gabby, tilting her head to the side. "Wait, Rune's overprotective too. Did he say anything on the phone?"
She shrugged, "I didn't give him time to ask questions. Just told him where we were and hung up."
"We're doomed," I groaned gently hitting my head against the table. "Totally doomed."
"Oh come on, it won't be that—"
"ELLA!"
***
Gunnar
"Where the fuck is my fiancé?" I demanded of the woman sitting behind the reception desk. She blinked up at me, a small frown settling between her brows.
"Excuse me, you wanna start that over?"
I sucked in a breath, anxiety and fear riding me hard. "Sorry… just—Ella Bronze. She and her bridal party came in. Are they hurt? There was a mugging?"
The woman began to chuckle, pushing up from the desk. "Come on, they're just down in the interview room. The officers are just finishing processing their statement and they'll be done shortly."
I followed her, barely able to keep myself in check. Behind me, my best friends, Mac and Ian, followed.
My brothers had wanted to come, but wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow thanks to work responsibilities. That we'd all managed to find a few days off to spend out here was a goddamned miracle.
Or at least it had been, right up until Rune had called to say my woman was in a motherfucking police station.
"We're here," I heard Ian say over the phone. "Rune, I gotta go. We'll call you as soon as we can with an update." I heard a pause. "Yeah if you can let Erik know that'd be great. Talk soon."
The woman opened the door to the interview room, revealing a cluster of disheveled women—including my gorgeous fiancé. I watched, distressed, as she began to thump her head on the desk, bemoaning their doom.
"Ella!"
I rushed across the room, scooping her into my arms, holding her tight. "God, baby. Tell me where it hurts. Where'd that motherfucker get you? You need a hospital?"
Ella's arms enveloped my neck, her hair brushing my cheek.
"I'm fine, the bastard hit Farrah." She pulled back, pointing to Farrah who sat on a chair in the corner, an icepack held to her cheek.
"Police checked it out, just shitty bruising. I'll live."
"You've made a statement?" I asked, tucking her into my side.
"They have, and they're all good to go." The officer behind me confirmed. "Well, except for that one."
She nodded at Gabby who blinked, turned to look at the wall behind her then whipped her head back, her mouth agape.
"Excuse me?"
The officer gave a small wince. "You threw a rolling pin at a man hitting him in the head. Hun, the guy is pressing charges. You're gonna have to stay here until we get this sorted or someone bails you out."
"What? That's outrageous!"
"He was robbing us!"
"Where did you get the rolling pin?"
I pulled Ella into my side, determined to sort this matter out.
"Now, surely we can—"
A hand clapped down on my shoulder, stopping me.
"I got this," Ian, dressed in a hideous Hawaiian button-up, cutoff jean shorts and crocs. He stepped forward, holding a hand out to the officer. "Ma'am, Ian Campbell. I'm Ms. Gabby's lawyer."
"What?" Liv squawked from across the room. "You're not a—"
"Actually, he is," Mac interrupted, his arms around Anika and Farrah. "The man studied law and took the Bar exam for fun two years ago."
Ella snuggled into me, her lips pressing tiny kisses to my neck, distracting me from the seriousness of the moment.
"Right, well do you need a moment with your client?" the officer asked.
"No, ma'am, I'd just like to get the bail application filed."
"We can do that. If you'll come with me, Mr. Campbell?"
Ian followed her from the room, a giant red sasquatch dressed in cutoff jeans out to save the day.
"You alright?" I asked, looking around the room.
"We're fine," Gabby waved a dismissive hand. "I may have clocked him but the bastard deserved it."
"Maybe don’t say that until we hear the charges," Astrid suggested with a wince. "We need to make sure that what happens in Vegas doesn't come home with you."
"Could I lose my job?" she asked, her face paling.
"Never," I assured her. "You're not only part of the family, you're a valued member of Thor's Shipbuilding."
"And you were defending me," Liv said, giving her a one-armed hug. "And that motherfucker deserved it. He lost my favorite shade of lipstick. They don't even make it any more."
Laura laughed, rolling her eyes. "But you bought a box of it. It's not like you don't have a spare."
Liv sniffed, tipping her nose up. "That's not the point."
Ian returned, holding some papers. "Okay, we're good to go. Gabby, we're filing a petition to drop the charges and the officers are pretty convinced that'll happen—the eyewitness accounts all put you in the right."
She grinned, shooting him two thumbs up.
"Let's get ye all back to the hotel."
With weary groans and moans (and Liv complaining about stealing strippers), we herded them into cabs, delivering them back to the resort. It took me a little while to pour them all into bed, reassuring Erik and Rune via phone that their partners were safe.