Andre

 

I can’t believe my luck, or lack thereof. With Will turning on me and then this whole jail fiasco, I can’t help but think I’m losing my edge. How could I not have known that Will was really my enemy? I let emotions cloud my judgment, and now here I am in a jail cell with no way out. This is why, above all else, I’ve never let anyone close to me. Kristel, although I believe she’s different, could just as easily be the same as Will.

 

“Un-fucking-believable.” I pace slowly back and forth across the cell. My mind whirls, and it takes me back to the scene of the chase. If I had dropped down to the first-floor balcony, I might have gotten away. Those dogs likely would have caught up to me, though. No, I think. Whether I let them take me or ran, I’d still be here in the end.

 

“It is, isn’t it?” At the sound of Officer Bryce’s voice, I look up.

 

“It is what?”

 

“Un-fucking-believable. You know, that you’re in this place. That you got caught. That you knocked up my daughter.”

 

The breath catches in my throat, and I swallow hard. My eyes automatically seek escape, but I don’t see any way out. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I didn’t do shit to your daughter.”

 

“No?” Bryce pulls out his wallet and closes in on the bars. He holds up a picture of him and Kristel. She can’t be more than fifteen. “You see this, you piece of shit? This is Kristel Bryce,my daughter, and you fucking ruined her life. And mark my words, I’m going to make you pay for what you did to her. I’m going to make you pay right now.”

 

A snort makes my nostrils flare, and I stop pacing to face the cell door. “You won’t do fuck all because you know I have rights. And you know what will happen if you violate them.”

 

“People who violate my daughter don’t have rights!!”

 

“I didn’t violate her; she came to me!”

 

“BULLSHIT! I know Kristel, and she would never stoop as low as biker trash like you!”

 

A growl rolls from my throat, and I surge up to the bars. “But shedid. She followed me into the bathroom of my club, and we fucked all night long. So,what do you have to say about that,pig?”

 

The officer goes still. All I can see is the rise and fall of his chest, and I’m sure I can smell his sweat. He’s no longer mad, he’s pissed, but he’s riled me up enough that I don’t give a shit about that. Veins pop under the skin of his skull and hands, and I can see his fingers clench into fists. I can tell from where I stand that all he wants to do is beat the hell out of me. If he takes things that far, maybe I’ll let him. Then again, who would believe me over an officer of the law?

 

Keys jingle as Bryce opens the door to my cell. I can’t help what’s in my nature, and I make a run for the opening. He wasn’t as fast as me at the inn, so in all likelihood he won’t be as fast as me here.

 

Unfortunately, my judgment is wrong.

 

The door slams in my face with an ugly crash, and I stagger away from it with my hands up. The officer comes toward me, his big fists balled up. It looks like he’s ready to give me a pounding.

 

“If you fucking touch me without due cause, you’re gonna be in a world of shit.” I point at him as I back away. There’s nowhere for me to run, but if I can keep some distance between us, I’ll be able to figure out what his weak spots are. The cell is small, though, and he’s a big man who takes up a lot of space.

 

“I have all the cause in the world, you piece of shit!”

 

When he lunges for me, I’m not fast enough to get away from his fist. It glances off my cheekbone and sends me into the wall. For a moment, I see stars, but red rage flickers on the edges of my vision. I lose all sense of self-preservation as I slam my fist into his jaw. He hits me back, and he hits me back hard. I can’t even tell where it came from. I reel back and once again find myself with the wall supporting me. Before I can get away from it, one of his knees crashes into my gut. I swear I hear a rib crack as I double over. My breath is gone, and I gasp for air. There’s no way I can call for help.

 

I’m positive that’s the end of it, but once again my judgment is wrong. Officer Bryce seems like a man of the law, but the next blow he lands sends me to my knees. The heel of his boot comes for my face, and this time I manage to scramble back from it. With a snarl, I push off from against the wall and rush him. He outweighs me by at least 50 pounds, but my momentum sends us both crashing to the floor. I still can’t find my breath, but I still manage to land a solid blow to the officer’s nose before he uses his superior weight to throw me off. I land hard on my left shoulder, and a sharp pain snaps through it. All it does is piss me off more, though. It makes me want to rip his balls off and stuff them down his throat.

 

When he comes at me again, I know I won’t be able to get up in time. My teeth bared, I draw in a hiss and curl up into the fetal position. My hands cover the back of my head and neck while my knees protect my chest and belly. Again and again, he kicks me with his heavy, police issue boots. My hands, forearms, legs, and back feel like they’re going to shatter with every blow. At no point, however, do I tell him to stop or make a sound. I’ve already given him enough satisfaction by getting caught. I refuse to give this asshole more.

 

His hands are on me without warning. They try to rip my own away from my head and neck. I uncurl just long enough to send a sharp jab into his face, but all he does is roar and smash the back of my head against the hard floor. I’ve come to the conclusion that this man is completely insane. In fact, he belongs in an institution, not a fucking police station. As I curl myself up for the second time, all I can think about are Kristel and the baby. I can’t leave them with a man like this. The police have never been a friend to me, but they have always, in the past, followed rules and protocols. I still barely even know what I’m in here for, and Bryce’s asshole partner is just as bad.

 

As he slams me viciously into the floor again, I hear a lowcrack as one of my ribs snaps. I gasp in pain and lash out without thinking, and my fist collides with his jaw hard enough to knock him away from me. Before he can come at me again, I hear gunfire from the front of the station. Screams and shouts follow, and I swear I recognize the voices of some of my crew members. How the hell did they find out I’m in here?

 

Bryce backs away from me and points. “We’re not done here.” He slips through the door of the cell, locks it behind him, and runs down the hall toward the front.

 

Since the cops are occupied, I let my guard down for the first time and allow myself to cringe. Everything hurts, and as I sit up, the world around me spins. Despite my attempts to protect my head, he kicked me there one time too many. I’m lucky if I’ll even be able to stand up without falling over at this point.

 

“Son of a bitch, that asshole is fucking crazy.” I grimace and manage to crawl up against a nearby wall. With its help, I struggle to my feet and lean heavily against it.

 

The jingle of keys echo down the hall, and I brace myself for a second beating. When I see Grant turn the corner, though, my eyes light up with hope. “Grant? What the fuck are you doing here? How did you get back here?”

 

“Shut up, there’s no time to explain.” He uses the keys to open my cell, strong hands dragging it open. “We gotta be out of here yesterday, come on!”

 

I open my mouth to ask him something else, but snap it shut as I limp out of the cell. Adrenaline surges through my system, and I manage to half run, half hobble down the hall and to the front door. Grant is there every step of the way to support me in case I lose my balance and fall. I’m hurt worse than I’m willing to let on, but somehow he seems to know. As we get to the front doors, my heart leaps into my throat. There are dead and wounded police officers everywhere. Three of them are slumped against the wall while one groans and writhes on the floor in the waiting area. I don’t have time to look if there are more, but I have no doubt that there are.

 

“What the fuck did you do?” I gasp.

 

“We saved your life, dumbass. Now come on, you see that van out front?” He points to it, and I nod. “That’s Plan B.”

 

“The fuck was Plan A?”

 

“Ask nicely.”

 

I let out a laugh, but immediately regret it. Bryce wasn’t kind to my ribs. We burst through the front doors and almost fall down the steps. I can hear the footfalls of people, likely officers, as they hurry through the station to get to us. Without a second thought, I throw myself into the van as soon as Grant slides the door open. He jumps in right beside me just as the vehicle shoots off onto the road hard enough to knock me flat onto my back.

 

“Fuck, who’s driving?”

 

Grant shakes his head at me as he starts an assessment of my injuries. “Your mouth just keeps getting worse and worse as time goes on, you know that?”

 

“Whatever, how did you know I was in prison?”

 

“Kristel.”

 

“Kristel? What? How the hell did she find out?”

 

“Me.”

 

“Okay, you need to give me more than one-word answers here, Grant.” I grind my teeth as he pulls up my shirt and prods around my ribs.

 

“You have some busted ribs, but the hospital’s not a good idea right now. I’ll take you to the safe house on the west side of town.”

 

“That place is full of contraband, Grant, it’s not a good plan.”

 

“It is. Just trust me. Don’t ask how or why, we have more important things to think about right now.”

 

“Like?” I brace against the bottom of the van as the driver takes a dangerously tight turn.

 

“Like staying low and keeping you out of sight. We didn’t bust you out of prison for nothing you know. Besides, considering what happened with Will…” He drifts off and looks at me.

 

“Did you find him?”

 

“Yeah. And I took care of him and everyone else who was in on your downfall, including Morris. Your position is safe enough for now, so don’t worry yourself over it. I know that if I linger on it too long, my head starts to spin. No one was closer to you than him. And to know he turned on you for money… hell, it breaks my heart.”

 

Before I can say a word, Grant’s phone rings. When he looks at the caller ID, he hands it to me. I see the number and sit back against the side of the van even though it hurts just to breathe. We’re slowing down, and I know we’re nearly at the safe house. “Kristel?”

 

“Oh my God, Andre! What happened?”

 

The sound of her voice makes me laugh, and I ignore the surprised expression on Grant’s face. “Yeah, baby, it’s me. They got me out. Are you okay?”

 

“No… my dad is taking my mom and me to the airport in two hours. He wants to get us as far away from you for our ‘safety.’ Fuck, I hate him so much right now. I’m sorry, Andre, it’s my fault he-”

 

“Wait, what? You’re going where? Listen, your dad is fucking nuts, Kristel, you can’t go anywhere with him!” I breathe faster as my heart picks up the pace. Sweat prickles across my brow. Bryce took away my freedom twice, nearly ripped apart my gang, and now he’s trying to take Kristel and our baby from me. There’s no way I’ll let this stand.

 

“Shit! I can’t talk right now, he’s coming.”

 

“No, no, no! Kristel, wait! Where are you-”

 

Click.

 

“FUCK!” With a snarl, I throw the phone across the van and watch it bounce violently off the side and onto the floor. This is unbelievable. The cops are everywhere and the woman I love is about to be ripped from me. I’m running out of time.