Page 58 of Exile
“Come on, D. I think this one needs to cool his heels some more before he gets his phone call.”
I’m not surprised by his comeback, but I still act indignant as hell. “The fuck! I get a phone call! I demand to call my lawyer!” I make a show of smacking my hands on the door, angry at the injustice.
I don’t give a shit about the phone call. I just need Brad to know we have a common enemy. I already spoke to my parents last night before Dane brought me to my cell. This is all an act for Brad. Eric flips me the bird before turning, ushering Dane down the hallway. He was so focused on me, I’m not sure if he noticed who my cellmate is. When I turn around, Brad looks like he’s seen a ghost.
“He’s a cop! That fuck is a cop?!” He jumps out of bed and begins pacing in the small space, his hands pulling at his hair, making it more disheveled than before. “He’s a cop…he’s a cop…” While he’s distracted, I slip my phone out of my back pocket and turn on the camera. I stuff it back into my pocket, careful to leave the microphone pointed up so it can pick up Brad’s confession.
“Pretty sure the badge and uniform are a dead giveaway, man,” I deadpan.
“You don’t understand! He set me up! He’s the reason I’m in here and my bro is dead!” Brad grasps my shirt in his clenched fists, spitting in my face in his urgency to tell his story.
“He set you up? How?” I leave enough skepticism in my voice to make it sound like I’m not entirely convinced, needing him to elaborate more. This probably won’t be admissible in court but maybe it will be enough to make Dom feel like we have him by the short and curlies.
“That asshat was the one who mentioned that bitch was working late without her pit bull cop boyfriend there to guard her. It’s not our fault the uppity bitch can’t take a compliment. He suggested we should fuck with her to get back at him.” Brad grabs his hair, pulling at it, a slight mad glint in his eyes. When I give him a blank look like I have no fucking idea what he’s on about, he continues, sounding more than a little unhinged and slightly paranoid.
“This prick-tease of a waitress at this bar, she was all over my boy one night, and then her pit bull cop boyfriend shows up and breaks his fucking nose! After that the boyfriend was always hanging around giving us the stink eye, fuck, like we cared about his stupid skank. But then a couple of weeks later, that fucking cop—we didn't know he was a fucking cop—that fucker starts talking about what a hot little ass she has on her, and we're like, ‘Yeah, but good luck getting past her prick bodyguard’, but the guy's like, ‘What boyfriend? I don't see no one standing watch’. We told him what he did to my boy’s nose, and he suggested we teach her a lesson. He even offered to keep an eye on the back door for us when we saw her walk out with the trash.”
I ball my fists at my sides, the tenuous thread holding my self-control together fraying with every insult he slings towards Serena. “Teach her a lesson?” I prod, barely unclenching my jaw enough to get the words out.
“Yeah, you know. Rough her up, maybe have some fun. But her bitch-ass cop boyfriend showed up before we even did anything and fucking shot Todd!”
Rage simmers under my skin, threatening to boil over. I want nothing more than to beat his ass for what he did to Serena, but we need him to take down Dom.
“Yeah…I remember seeing an article about that.” I snap my fingers, like it’s all coming back to me now. “You know her boyfriend? The bitch-ass cop? That dude is his partner. They were together when they pulled me over,” I lie, trying to build camaraderie with this fucknugget. Gag. “I bet they set you up together to teach you and your bro a lesson.” Brad’s eyes go wide as my words cause an epiphany in his brain. “I’d suggest you call your lawyer, dude. Sounds like you’ve got a case.”
Brad lets go of my shirt, runs to the door and begins yelling about needing to speak to his lawyer. While he’s not looking I turn off the recording and send the video to Dane. Now that I’ve done my part, he will call my parents and have them bring my lawyer by to get me out of here. The agreement made last night with my lawyer present was I wouldn’t spend more than forty-eight hours in here. So far, I’m being held without any official charges being brought against me, and I can only hope that means Dom hasn’t concocted some kind of false evidence to hold me for kidnapping. With any luck, Jerry will have me home by dinner time.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
SERENA
The next morning, I find myself slowly slipping out of bed, careful not to wake Dom. I grab the first piece of clothing I can find, one of Dom’s old police academy t-shirts, and pull it on. It swamps my body, hitting me mid-thigh. My heart gives a little pang as I look at the logo. My Granddaddy taught at the police academy for years before officially retiring. The fact that Dom had been one of his recruits was one of the things that made me feel comfortable around him. My naïve brain honestly thought if my Granddaddy had mentored him, then surely that meant he was a good man. I let out a quiet snort of derision at my naïveté.
Slipping out of the room quietly, I make my way downstairs, needing some space away from the slumbering monster currently holding me hostage so I can think. I can’t run. Not yet. Not until I know where my mother is and that he’s not going to push for charges to be brought up against Kai. I know I can tell the truth and say I wasn’t kidnapped, but it will be Dom’s word against mine. Would they believe me?
Standing in the living room, staring out the window, I am lost in a tailspin of doubt and what ifs. The sound of tires crunching on gravel draws my attention to the driveway. I see a beat-up red pickup truck. that’s seen better days, slowly making its way up towards the house. I stand there, holding my breath, waiting to see who it is, hoping maybe I might finally be catching a break.
When I see Dane hop out of the truck, I rush over to the front door, opening it before he has a chance to ring the bell. I don’t know if he’s here as a friend of Dom’s or on cop business, but either way, I don’t want him waking Dom up. When I open the door and Dane’s gaze meets mine, a look of shocked relief crosses his face. His expression ignites the smallest spark of hope in my chest.
“Fuck, Serena. Thank God you’re okay.” He jogs up the stairs and pulls me into a hug before I know it’s happening. My arms hang limply by my side as my brain works to catch up to what is going on. After a long, awkward moment, I pat his back and pull away. He takes a long moment to study my face and my bare arms and legs, like he’s checking me over for injuries.
“Kai didn’t hurt me,” I spit out defensively, thinking he’s heard Dom’s bullshit story and thinks I was kidnapped. I refuse to play into that bullshit—I will not help Dom bury Kai.
“I know, Serena. I know. I was worried about you after Dom didn’t bring you to the station.” My mouth falls open in shock at Dane’s words. He was worried about me? Does this mean he’s talked to Kai? Does he believe us? I open my mouth to respond, but something dark up on the porch ceiling catches my eye. I glance up, seeing one of Dom’s security cameras pointed directly at the front door. I don’t know if these cameras have audio, but I don’t want to risk it. I close my mouth, and Dane’s eyes narrow in suspicion. He turns his head slightly to see what my gaze is locked on, clocking the camera behind his shoulder.
When he returns his attention to me, I can see a glint of understanding in his eyes. “Yeah, after I heard the crazy rumor going around the station about you being kidnapped, I wanted to come check on you. I thought it was odd Dom didn’t bring you by right away so charges could be filed…unless of course it was a misunderstanding.” He gives me a knowing look, like we are sharing a secret. Excitement tingles through my limbs when I realize Dane might actually be on our side.
Before I can confirm his suspicion, I hear heavy footsteps come up behind me a moment before Dom’s hard body presses into my back, his strong arms wrapping around me, pulling me tight against him. I tense but try not to flinch at the contact, afraid of angering him if I make the wrong move in front of his buddy.
“What’s a misunderstanding?” Dom’s voice is dark and ominous, rolling through me like thunder. My heart rate ratchets up to a panicked tempo at the threat-laced tone of his voice.
“This whole kidnapping business. Kai is at the station claiming Serena left with him willingly. He’s got a lawyer there causing problems and we need to know if there will be any charges brought or if we need to cut him loose.” Dane’s demeanor shifts immediately, like he’s annoyed. Like Kai is being totally unreasonable about insisting on his innocence.
He’s putting on a good enough act, I start doubting what I thought I saw in his eyes moments ago.
Dom lets out a dark chuckle with no humor to it at all. “We can hold him for seventy-two hours. Let him sit and spin. He needs to learn not to mess with another man’s girl. My girl.” A chill runs down my spine at how casually Dom is toying with Kai’s freedom.
Dane furrows his brows, making a show of hesitating. “You sure, bro? If his lawyer catches wind of you holding him with no intention of bringing charges, he will raise a fuck ton of hell. I don’t know if you want that kind of heat on you with the whole country actively looking for examples of police abusing their position.”