Paisley
Passersby stop to watch us from a distance.
Public fodder has never been my style. Drawing attention to myself in social situations is typically something I shy away from at all costs. I have balls … well, figurative ones, but I’ve always been the one to keep to myself.
Today, I have a role to play.
I’m in a position that doesn’t happen that often. I’m never afraid to put Burke in his place when he needs to be told he’s being an ass, but it’s very rarely that I stand in his way. Now is one of those times.
I throw my purse at his chest. It bounces off, falls to the cement, and scatters its contents everywhere.
The crowd starts whispering to one another, and a few more people stop to watch.
“Do not go in there! Nothing good will come from it. We need to go home. Now!” My bag does little to slow him, and I find my hands pressing against his chest.
“You need to stop defending him. I’m tired of it. He fucking killed her, Paisley.”
We’re no strangers to fighting outside this hospital. The last time it happened, I lied through my teeth and pushed him away, but this time, I’m fighting for him, for our family.
“What are you going to do? Walk into a public hospital and revenge-kill him while the nurses watch? Don’t be stupid, Burke. Let’s go home!”
A few spectators hold up their camera phones, but not one of them attempts to step in.
People are so predictable.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Whoop. Whoop.
The siren on the approaching cop car wails only twice, that well-known quick, alerting sound. I tug on Burke’s arm, begging him to rein it in and walk away with me, but that isn’t how my man rolls. The arrival of our company only eggs him on.
“These motherfucking pigs should have kept him in a cell when they came and got Kai last time. They’re obviously on someone’s payroll. What do I need to do to get them to eat out of my pocket?”
The male cop saunters our way, the petite female officer in tow behind him. He’s tall with a distinct edge of danger, and she’s a blonde bombshell in a uniform. That woman is the perfect and complete match for the man she works beside.
She smirks. He scowls. Unable to look them in the eyes as they approach, I look down and stare at the male officer’s last name—Bailer. Bailer the Jailer. Burke doesn’t pay them a micro-nuisance of attention. He’s too busy continuing his fit.
“He killed my sister. He killed her. She’s fucking gone. It should have been him!” Burke falls to his knees, and I squat down to his level and lay my hands against his neck. The boiling Florida sun and his temper have him sweating onto my fingers. My touch won’t do anything to stop what is about to unfold, but I keep up the act.
“Sir, after a number of complaints, we’re going to have to ask you to leave the property. The hospital is no place for such a dramatic scene. Families are in crisis here. Please have some respect.” As Bailer the Jailer speaks, the woman officer’s hand stays positioned on her gun while her other arm rests calmly at her side.
“Get the fuck out of my face.” Burke’s voice is eerily calm.
The male officer bends to pull Burke up by the shoulder.
Everything else happens in fast-forward.
Burke rears back for a wild swing. The officer doesn’t flinch as Burke’s fist makes contact with his nose. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the cop chuckles just a little. Clouds of rage and aggression pour from my man in the form of deep grunts and twisted, furious facial expressions. At this point, all I can do is watch, nothing more than just another face in the crowd.
The cop grabs Burke’s elbow, pulls hard enough for Burke to turn, kicks the back of his knee, and has Burke facedown on the ground in seconds. The female cop, who looks almost bored, draws her gun and aims it at Burke. Bystanders gasp, but the ones holding up their phones never give up their shot. My stomach goes weak as Burke’s face is crunched against the parking lot, and I look away. By the time I gather the courage to check back on the action, the cop has Burke pretty much apprehended. The second cuff is snapped down around his wrist as I tentatively step forward.
“Stay right where you are, ma’am, unless you want to join your boyfriend on the ground,” the female cop warns as her aim fixates on my face, and I freeze. That is fucking unnecessary for the situation. It’s not like I’m a fucking threat.
Outside the hospital where Kai lies hurt from an accident he caused, his best friend, the brother of the girl that he loves, the man who has my heart is taken away in handcuffs in the back of a beat-up police cruiser. Teagan is out of the picture, Kai is injured and stuck on doctor’s orders, Burke is being taken away, and I’m totally alone.