The leaders up the front started to storm the building, and like sheep, everyone followed, sweeping Annie along with them. The momentum forced people at the back to surge forward but for some reason the front of the pulsing crowd had already stopped. From her vantage point of five feet two inches Annie could see absolutely nothing. And with the crowd pressing in around her, she couldn't go anywhere.
Then chaos erupted as police on horses and on foot cut swathes through the protesters ordering them to get back. Everyone more or less did as they were told and tried to back away but the people behind hadn't heard the order and continued to push forward. What ensued was something akin to an accordion and Annie got stuck in the middle.
Later, she couldn't remember if she shrieked, but she did remember being nearly trampled by feet and hooves. Flinging her arms up to protect herself she accidentally hit someone leaning over her. Next thing she knew she was hauled to her feet by the front of her T-shirt and dragged off. When she finally dared to open her eyes, she saw it was a cop, and he wasn't amused.
He cuffed her, read her the rights she knew by heart from TV shows and practically threw her in the back of a police van.
Great. Thanks to Zack, she was going to get a police record. She'd kill him when she got her hands on him.
CHAPTER 13
"Good going," said a long-haired kid dressed in the same T-shirt as Annie. "We showed 'em."
Annie had a hard time working out what she'd showed and to whom, but she accepted his congratulations with relief. At least she wasn't in the back of a van with real criminals.
They took her and the three other over zealous protesters to the police station, recorded their details and gave them all one phone call.
She used hers to call Zack. When she finished using every swear word in her vocabulary, she managed to calm down enough to tell him where she was. When she hung up, she couldn't remember if he'd said anything. Actually, she wasn't even sure if she'd got him in person or his voice mail, but it had felt damn good to let off steam.
The cop who marched her back to the cell eyed her with caution and the other protesters backed away from her a little when she rejoined them.
"Wow," said a sixty-ish woman with wild gray hair sticking out at weird angles as if she'd been playing with an electrical socket. "You've got a set of lungs on you, Girl. Way to go."
"Yeah," said the same kid who'd spoken to her in the back of the van. "You tell them pigs where it's at."
She didn't have the heart to tell him she hadn't yelled at the police. Besides, she could chalk up the episode as being good for her image. Maybe she could get one of them to talk to Zack's journalist friends.
An hour later she was let out of the cell and led into a waiting room where Zack paced like a caged lion. He looked horrible. His hair stood on end, his face was as hard as granite, and a small muscle twitched in his jaw.
But she barely had time to notice these things. He scooped her up and held her so tightly to his chest she thought she'd snap in two.
"Jeez," he breathed into her hair. "I'm sorry, Annie. I'm so sorry." He rubbed the back of her neck with his big, warm hand. With her ear pressed to his chest, she could hear his heart beating fiercely.
So he was worried about her. Maybe she should get arrested more often.
He held her until a police officer coughed discreetly and told them to move on. Zack caught her hand and led her out of the station after giving the officer a glare.
"Did they hurt you?" He inspected her face and neck then her arms. "If they did, I'll-"
"I'm fine." She headed to the Ferrari parked out front. "How did you get me out so fast?"
"I know a couple of high-ranking cops. I told them you weren't involved and they put the paperwork through straight away." He paused at the hood of the Ferrari and caught her face in his hands. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded.
He let go and swore. "I shouldn't have left you. I should have known you'd end up getting into trouble." He smacked the hood of the car so hard she was surprised he didn't dent it.
"Gee, thanks." She pulled away but he caught her hand and gently reeled her back to him. He placed his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"I had a feeling about today." He kissed her again in the same spot but this time he lingered, then gave her another fierce hug before releasing her. "I'll take you home."
Home had a bed, a couch, and privacy. "No, that's okay, you can drop me back at the office. I'm fine."
"Yeah, but I'm a nervous wreck. I need a drink."
But instead of going home, he drove to a bar called Ed's Place.
"What are we doing here?"