John gestures to the table and we sit. “Well, Mr. Ransome, I’ve been in contact with the prosecutors in Ohio. The location of the incident adds quite a bit of complication to our situation here, but we’re working on it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The state of New York is not the prosecuting entity, but they are required to provide for your extradition to Ohio, where you would be charged. Technically, Ohio has thirty days to decide whether or not they want to come and get you.”
My mouth drops open.
“He can be here for thirty days?” Reed asks, sounding equally shocked. “Can’t he just post bail?”
“He hasn’t been charged with anything yet. And he won’t be until he’s extradited back to Ohio.”
“Which can take thirty days,” I mutter, resting my head in my hands. I feel sick. “Shit.”
“Yes, well, we’re going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ll recommend waiving your extradition rights, which can speed up the process, but we’ll work to get you released even sooner. My colleagues in Ohio will be speaking with a judge first thing tomorrow. Our goal will be to arrange for your release with the promise that you will present yourself in Ohio.”
“Yeah,” I say quickly. “I totally will. Whatever I have to do.”
“In the meantime, is there anything I can get for you? Are you comfortable? You haven’t had any issues, have you?”
I shake my head. They put me in a private holding cell, which I’m thinking has something to do with my name. I’m not complaining.
“You are within your rights to have access to your attorney at regular intervals,” John says, handing me a card. “That’s my direct line.”
I take the card without looking at it. “Thanks.”
“We’ll get you out of here, Mr. Ransome.” John smiles for the first time. “The label has a great amount of interest in getting you back on stage as soon as possible. No expense will be spared.”
Somehow, this makes me feel worse. I’m letting a heck of a lot of people down here. “Thanks,” I mumble.
The lawyer starts to stand.
“Can I talk to him for a few minutes?” Reed asks him.
John looks toward the door, where the officer who escorted me stands on the other side. “That should be fine,” he says. “I’ll wait outside.”
Once he’s gone, Reed lets out a deep sigh. “So. You really fucked up, huh?”
I laugh bitterly. “I was just thinking that.” I look at my knees. “Dad didn’t want to come?”
“He probably didn’t want to get arrested himself.”
“He’s that pissed?”
“Pissed is an understatement.”
“I’m really sorry, man. I wasn’t thinking, you know? I mean, I knew I could get into trouble, but I didn’t think it would be this fast. I thought maybe once we got back to Ohio or something…”
“The press got a hold of it. Someone posted cell phone footage online, so it’s all over the news. And that Justin punk is insisting on pressing charges. Law enforcement was probably feeling some pressure to take action, not look the other way because you’re a celebrity.”
I swallow hard. “I went out there because he has pictures, Reed. Of Daisy. I had to make sure that he knew I’d come after him with the full force of the best lawyers money could buy if they ever got out again.”
“I know,” he says, his voice sad.
My stomach sinks. Daisy must have told them all what happened. She shouldn’t have had to do that. I’m such an asshole.
“We’ve got people on it,” he adds.
“What do you mean?”
“Dad’s got some lawyers looking into it. We’ll make sure those pictures stay hidden if we possibly can.”
His words bring a rush of warmth to my chest. My father may be too angry to come visit me in jail, but at least he’s going to do his best to protect Daisy.
“What all did she tell you?” I ask.
He looks at me blankly. “What do you mean?”
“Daisy. She told you about the pictures, right? What else did she say?”
His face falls. “Man, I don’t know how to tell you this. Daisy didn’t tell us anything. We heard it on the news.”
The room seems to get very quiet all of a sudden. I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. “What?”
“It’s all over the news that you beat up Justin because he passed around nude pictures of your girlfriend.”
No. This can’t be happening. “Do they have her name?” He doesn’t have to answer. The look in his eyes tells me everything that I need to know. “Do they have the pictures?”