Chapter Forty-Seven

Justin's P.O.V.

I have to say, I'm a little torn in this situation. I'm glad Ariya was here to stop Emmett and help Lou. I'm also pleased he got what he deserves, especially from a girl. The irony is not lost on me. But, I'm also at a loss for words with how badly Ariya beat him. He's a scum bag and he deserved a beating, but the objective and sensible part of me knows that this was over the top.

Chris walks over and assesses the situation. He stares at Ariya and then looks more closely at Emmett.

He looks shocked and then questions, "Is that Emmett?"

I nod an affirmative.

He lets out a long, slow breath, "Geez, what did you do to him? Is he even alive?"

Ariya grinds out, "I didn't kill him."

"Justin, did you call the doc?"

"No. I thought you needed to know first."

He calls the doc and then turns his attention to Ariya.

"What happened here, Miss Flynn?"

I literally hear her grind her teeth at the use of her full name. Before she can make a comment about it, I jump in.

"Ariya, take a breath... Chris, do you want to question Louise first?"

"No, I think I'll find out from Miss Flynn first and then see if her story has any truth to it."

I thought that's what he would say but I only wanted to divert Ariya's attention before she did something stupid and messed everything up.

"Care to explain this situation?"

Ariya stares straight at Chris, almost in defiance. She's showing that she's not scared of him. It's very important to her not to show any form of weakness.

"That dude tried to grab Louise. He was saying something about her stopping all the messing around and that she should be at home. I told him she wasn't interested and he got real angry. Louise tried to get away from him but he'd backed her into the railings so he grabbed her arm. He was hurting her, so I grabbed ahold of him until he let Louise go. He took a swing at me so I released him. He hit me first, so I hit him back. That is the result."

She turns to glare at Emmett's still frame.

The doc appears so Chris tells Ariya, "Go stand over by my car. Don't go anywhere. I'm just going to figure out the damage here and then I'll deal with you. Don't talk to Louise either. Justin, I'm trusting you to make sure she does as she's told."

I walk with Ariya to Chris' car. I tell her to stand and wait until Chris is finished. Mike comes rushing over soon after that and he finds Louise standing in exactly the same place. She hasn't moved or spoken since she breathed out Emmett's name.

She jumps when Mike touches her shoulder, but when she realizes it's him, she leaps into his arms and starts sobbing.

I ask Ariya, "Can I trust you to stay here while I go and check on Lou? I won't let Chris talk to you without me, but I need to make sure she's ok."

"It's nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"That's not the point. I'm not going to let that happen now. Just wait here for me."

Thankfully, Ariya doesn't argue or disobey my request. I think she's actually pretty smart and she knows that doing anything silly will make this whole situation way worse for her.

I honestly don't know how this thing is going to go. I'm aware that small towns work differently to big cities. There is history with Emmett and Louise; Chris knows that. He could see Ariya's actions as trying to protect Louise, but he could also use this to punish Ariya even more. Personally, I don't think that's going to make a bit of difference to the way Ariya behaves. In fact, it'll probably make her feel like she's being punished for doing a good deed. In her mind, she's helped Louise, so if she's punished for that then it could backfire.

Mike has almost calmed Louise when I get to them.

I quietly ask, "Hey Lou, how are you holding up?"

She whispers, "If Ariya wasn't here... he'd have hurt me..."

"It didn't happen, so don't think about that. I think he'll think twice about ever even talking to you again."

Chris approaches us and speaks to Louise, "Are you ok, Lou? Did he hurt you?"

She shrugs, "A little."

He shoots her a tight smile and asks, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Mike whispers, "Take a breath and talk to Chris..."

Lou takes a deep breath and releases it slowly before speaking.

"Is he... dead?"

Chris frowns, "No ma'am. He's just hurt real bad. What happened Lou?"

"He was waiting out here when we came out of the store. He tried to get me to go with him, but Ariya told him I wasn't interested. He grabbed my wrist..."

She rubs her wrist gently and I can see faint finger marks.

"He backed me up against the railings in front of the store. He grabbed my arm and he was hurting me. I couldn't get away... He wouldn't let me move and he was starting to really hurt me..."

Mike speaks up, "Hey, hey. It's all over now. He's not going to hurt you anymore. I wish I'd have been here to hurt him..."

Chris almost chuckles, "I think that's been done more than adequately, don't you? What happened next, Lou?"

"She wasn't scared. I was terrified but Ariya wasn't scared at all. She grabbed him and made him let go of me. She told me to go, but I was so frightened that I couldn't move. How was she not scared?"

Mike mutters, "I don't think she even knows how to feel anymore..."

If Lou hears, she doesn't comment on it. Instead she continues to tell us how everything unfolded.

"He hit Ariya in the face. He kept trying to hit her, but she pushed him away. Everything else happened so quickly, but he kept trying to get through her to get to me. She wouldn't let him get anywhere near me and then they started fighting. He was shouting that he was going to make us regret crossing him. He was so angry and he kept trying to get to me. Ariya just lost it and the next thing, he's on the floor and Justin turned up."

Chris' eyebrows knit together and he asks, "Didn't Landon come out of the store to see what was going on?"

Lou shrugs, "I don't know. I don't remember. I couldn't make myself move or look away from what was happening."

He nods, "I'm glad you're ok, Lou. You ok to wait here for a little bit longer?"

"Yes sir."

"Justin, you want to take a walk with me?"

I follow him towards the store and I guess we're going to talk to Landon.

Chris breaks the brief silence, "She sure gave Emmett a beating. You think she knew what she was doing and just couldn't stop?"

I shrug, "I think she thought he was a threat to Lou and she stopped that from being a reality. We know Emmett and the only way he would have given up was if he was unconscious..."

"Yeah, but Miss Flynn didn't know that. Unless you guys told her...?"

"Nope. No one has said anything about Lou's history. Not that Ariya would want to know anyway. She didn't even know who he was. She's not stupid, Chris. She can read a situation far better than any of us realize."

Landon is standing in the doorway of the store when we approach.

"Hey Sheriff, Justin."

We greet him and then Chris asks, "Did you see what happened here, Landon?"

"Not all of it. I heard a commotion and then I heard Lou scream. By the time I got out here, the guy was on the floor and Justin was running over."

I frown, "You didn't think to check what the commotion was all about?"

"Stuff like that happens all the time with kids. The Jenson boys have been causing trouble the last few weeks so I guessed it was them being stupid kids again. Obviously, I was wrong. I've never seen anyone cause that much damage in a fight..."

Chris cuts across his thoughts, "So, you can't give any information on what happened or how it started?"

"No sir. Sorry."

"Next time, how about you just check what's going on, huh? It might save someone getting hurt."

"Yes sir."

As we walk down the steps on the store porch, I ask, "What's going to happen now, Chris? Is Ariya going to be charged?"

He sighs, "I don't know, J. I need to speak to Emmett before I make a decision, but he has to be conscious and lucid for that kind of conversation. If he presses charges, then I'll have no choice but to charge her. Do you really think she should get away with causing that much damage? There is something seriously wrong with her, Justin..."

"That wouldn't have happened if Emmett hadn't threatened Lou..."

"You say that, but we can't know if that's true. She has a history of unprovoked violence so we can't know if she would have just beat up the next person she saw. Has she been better now that her friend is visiting?"

I raise my eyebrows in confusion and I question, "Friend?"

"Yeah, that guy from New York? How did that reunion go?"

I scoff, "He's definitely not her friend. He was her arresting officer and you brought him to my house, how do you think it went?"

He seems a little shocked for a second but then disguised it with a smirk.

I stiffly comment, "I don't know why you're smirking. She already hates you. You've given her more reason to hate you and law enforcement."

Chris chuckles at my words, "There ain't nothing that's going to stop that girl from hating law enforcement."

As we approach Ariya, Chris gets serious. Ariya looks bored but I can see something else hidden in her eyes. I don't know what that is but she's not as relaxed and comfortable as she would like us to believe.

Chris speaks directly to Ariya, "So Louise confirms your account of things..."

"That's coz it's the truth, you dumb cockerel..."

I warn, "Ariya..."

My tone leaves no room for argument here. She must realize this because she snaps her mouth shut again, but then mutters something under her breath. She's never one to shy away from speaking her mind or obeying anyone, so she must know she's walking a thin line here.

Chris shoots me a look and then continues, "Unfortunately, I have to take you in Miss Flynn..."

Ariya doesn't seem surprized, but I am. He could have warned me on the way over from the store.

I question, "Is that really necessary, Chris? She's been with me this whole time and she's stayed put. Why not just let her continue staying with me?"

"Until I can speak to Mr Spencer, then I have no choice, Justin. You know the rules. When Emmett wakes up then we'll sort all this out... If you could turn around and place your hands behind your back..."

I'm actually shocked that Chris would do this. Ariya isn't putting up a fight and she certainly isn't trying to escape.

"Chris, this really isn't necessary. You don't need to put cuffs on her..."

Ariya grinds out, "Justin, shut up."

She turns her back to us and puts her hands behind her back, but she turns her head so she can still see us. I see a smirk on her face but I'm not sure what she can be smirking at right now.

"It's protocol, Justin. You've seen the damage she's done. I'm not getting myself or my men put in that same position."

"She'll go quietly, won't you Ariya?"

Ariya's New York accent seems really thick when she speaks next.

"Forget about it, Justin. I don't need you to fight my battles."

Chris slaps the cuffs on Ariya and opens his car door.

Within seconds I think I understand why Ariya was smirking. Although, I'm not sure I'll ever fully understand that girl at all.

Ariya escapes the cuffs and cockily hands them back to Chris.

She smirks, "There really isn't much point in cuffing me."

Chris doesn't even try to mask the shock from clouding his features. I almost laugh, but I decide it's best not to test Chris anymore than we already have.

Ariya chuckles, "Your face..."

Chris manages to ask, "How did you...?"

"I got skills. You have no idea what I can do."

I interrupt, "Ariya, don't say anything until I'm with you. I'll be right behind you."

She pins me with a glare, "Are you for real? I don't need you to babysit me. I'll be just fine on my own."

She seems to be a bit more like her usual self now. I don't know what's going on with her, but she definitely wasn't acting like herself when I first arrived at the scene.

I turn to Chris, "Don't talk to her without me present. I'm serious, Chris."

Ariya rolls her eyes as she gets into the back of the patrol car. I don't think she quite as comfortable as she's pretending to be. I believe she doesn't want to show weakness in front of anyone, but especially Chris.

The doc calls Mike and I to help him get Emmett into his truck. Despite not wanting to help the guy that's caused Lou a lot of pain, we do it anyway. We weren't raised that way. Once the doc and Emmett are gone, I turn to Mike and Lou.

"I need to go and sort everything out with Ariya and Chris. You guys going to be ok heading back to the ranch?"

They both nod and Lou asks, "Is Chris charging Ariya? She was just helping me..."

"I know, Lou, I know. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that. Chris needs to see if Emmett is pressing charges before he can decide what to do."

"Did he need to take her to the jail though? She didn't do anything wrong..."

Mike speaks up, "As much as I'm happy Emmett got a taste of his own medicine, I think that it was a bit drastic. There is something seriously wrong with that girl. It looks like she couldn't stop. It's a wonder she didn't kill him..."

Knowing what I know now, I actually believe she had no intention of killing Emmett. I don't think she would deliberately kill someone, but I do think she wasn't thinking straight when she dealt with Emmett.

I shrug, "I don't think she had any intention of doing that. We both know Emmett wouldn't have given up unless he was unconscious."

"Ariya didn't know that. No one told her about Emmett."

"That might be true, Mike, but I think she's far more perceptive than we realize. Anyway, I'm wasting time. I'll have to leave everything in your hands; I don't know when I'll be back. I'll call when I can."

As I jog away from the pair, Lou calls out, "Make sure he believes me, Justin. She was trying to help me."

"I will!"

When I get to the jail, Ariya is actually behind bars. She's laying on the cot like she hasn't got a care in the world.

As I walk up to Chris' desk, I say, "Behind bars? Really?"

"Well, apparently I can't keep her in cuffs, so that's the next best thing. She's already shown us what she can and will do. I'm not risking any of our safety. What happens if or when she gets angry again?"

"She's got no reason to do anything to any of you..."

Chris scoffs, "That's not what her file says. It's written a number of times that she's extremely volatile and dangerous. I'm not taking any chances..."

"I'll stay by her side and make sure she doesn't do any damage..."

Ariya's voice sounds bored when she speaks, "You know I'm right here? I can hear everything you are saying. I can take care of myself, Justin. I don't need you to babysit me. Let's face it, it's not like I'm new to this."

I let out an exasperated sigh, "That's not the point! I'm trying to help you and I'm not taking no for an answer..."

She laughs. She actually laughs at me.

"You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped."

I shake my head at her and turn to Chris, "Can we talk outside?"

As we step outside of the sheriff's office, I see his eyebrows raised, waiting for an explanation.

"I've actually been making some progress with her and I don't want it all to be completely ruined because of this. I don't believe she went looking for that fight and I think she was just protecting Louise. Is it really necessary to keep her locked up in here?"

"Yes, Justin. Until we know what Emmett says then we need to keep everyone safe; herself included. What happens if I let her go back with you and Emmett tells us he's pressing charges? We'll have to go to the ranch to pick her up. What happens if she refuses to go or gets angry and decides to do something stupid? People get hurt. I'm doing this for everyone's safety. You should have thought about all of this already. Are you going soft?"

I'm offended at the insinuation, "No, of course I'm not. I'm just trying not to ruin everything I've worked on so far. She doesn't have the best impression of law enforcement and I think this is only going to make that opinion worse."

He chuckles, "Well, maybe she should stay out of trouble then. It's no one else's fault that she's had so much experience with the law."

I disagree with him on that, but I don't tell him so.

Instead, I say, "Put me in the cell with her. I'll keep her calm and maybe things won't go completely sideways."

He eyes me warily, but eventually nods in agreement.

"For the record, I think you're crazy. I think this girl is beyond help and you're wasting your time. You should just let her go through the system and let justice take it's course."

I scoff, "Clearly the system doesn't work for her. They sent her here because jail hasn't worked. I know what I'm doing, Chris."

Well, I kind of know what I'm doing. I know what I want to achieve; I'm just not quite certain of how to get there. I'm figuring it out as I go along. Obviously, he doesn't need to know that piece of information.

As Chris unlocks the cell and ushers me in, Ariya quirks her eyebrow cheekily and chuckles, "Did you finally take a swing at that fartbag too?"

"No, I'm here to keep you company."

She lets out a disgusted snort, "I don't need it. Go home, Justin."

"Nope, not going to happen."

Chris shuts and locks the door after I've walked into the cell. He shakes his head at me and mutters, "You're just plain crazy."

He leaves the pair of us locked in the cell. I lay on the cot on the opposite wall to where Ariya is. She's watching me cautiously, but she's not particularly interested in this whole situation.

We both lay in silence for at least fifteen minutes and I'm the first to break it.

"Don't tell Chris, but I've figured out at least three ways to break out of this place."

Ariya laughs. She actually lets out a full laugh and the sound is like music to me. I've never heard her laugh properly so I'm momentarily distracted by the sound.

I glance over at her and she's looking at me with an amused smirk on her face.

"I can just pick the lock. It's not exactly intricate..."

I raise an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah, it's real simple."

I think back to her fight with Rob, and I ask, "Is that how you escaped when you went to fight Rob? By picking the lock on your bedroom window?"

She looks caught for a fraction of a second, before smirking, "Nah, I fazed through the wall. Picking the lock would have been too predictable."

I decide not to comment on her sarcastic answer, but ask, "Do you think we should tell Chris about his flawed security?"

She scoffs, "Pssh, nope. Let the idiot learn the hard way."

"And what if a criminal escapes?"

"Then he can add that to the list of reasons why he sucks. Besides, I get the feeling this town is not exactly bursting with hardened criminals. I mean, I might be wrong but that's a rare occurrence..."

"Cocky much?"

She winks, "You have no idea."

We fall quiet for a while and then I whisper, "Hey... Are you doing ok?"

She looks at me, confused.

"Why are you asking that?"

"Well, you're cooped up in a jail cell for one. You also beat a man pretty much to a pulp. I just want to make sure you're ok."

"Jail is no problem for me. I've seen the inside of a cell more times than I can count. I'm no stranger to fights either, so I'm all good..."

She chuckles, "Well, that's debatable, but whatever."

"Did you mean to beat him that badly?"

She frowns at me, "As opposed to what? Letting him get up and walk away? I might not care, but I'm not completely stupid or blind. I know if he was able to walk away, then he would have hurt Louise. I also know that you would have tried to punish me for letting that happen. You would have thrown it in my face that the one time I choose not to fight was the most important time to fight; or something like that. I'm not a complete idiot. Besides, I hated his attitude and everything about him. I wanted to teach him a lesson. If he doesn't remember it when he wakes up, then I have no problem educating him again."

I chuckle, "You going soft on me, Ariya?"

"No chance. I saw an opportunity to beat someone up. An opportunity where I was in the right; so I took it. I still ended up in jail, but whatever. It gets me away from the Turd and the NYPD filth, so I guess its a win whatever way you look at it."

I shake my head at the logic of this girl, "You are something else, Ariya. Seriously. Hopefully when Emmett wakes up, this whole thing will get sorted out."

Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath on that. He's got no reason to not press charges. He's the kind of guy who would want to punish Ariya just because his pride got hurt and she's a female. This could go either way and I just have to hope it goes in Ariya's favor. I'm not someone who usually pins my hope on wishes or luck, but sometimes that's all we've got.