Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Get up,” I yell at Jeremy. “Now.”
He groans as I jerk him to his feet. The dick moves too slow for my liking. I end up dragging him down to the second floor and then to the first, all the while, my asshole father following behind us, the light highlighting the way.
On the first floor, I hear voices. Brie. Jax.
“Where’s Callan?” I cry out. “Where is he?”
“Atlas,” Jax says calmly. “Let go of Mr. Powers. We’ll go to the station and sort this all out.”
“Sort what out, Jax?” I demand. “They were beating my goddamn boyfriend to a pulp. He was…” My voice cracks. “He was naked. Oh my God.”
Brie charges forward and grabs my arm. Jax moves in, too, wrenching Jeremy from my grip.
“We have to find him,” I choke out. “Brie, we have to.”
“Look at me,” she says, her voice sad and low. “He’s with Dante.”
“No,” I argue. “I saw him.”
“You’re wrong. He’s safe.”
I shake my head violently. I vaguely hear the sound of Jax talking to my father. More people are joining us. It does nothing to calm the terror running like ice water through my veins.
“Atlas,” Jax says, approaching me. “The video…”
“What video?”
“I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Atlas Larson, I’m placing you under arrest for the assault of Jeremy Powers.”
“No,” I growl. “You can’t fucking do this. What about Callan? What about what he was doing to him?”
Jax jerks me around and forces me against the wall. “Let me handle this, Atlas. Just let me fucking handle this. I’m going to place you in cuffs. We’ll figure out the rest soon enough, I swear.”
Because I do trust Jax and my mind is a confusing mess right now, I give him a clipped nod and stop resisting arrest.
Once Jax has read me my rights, he guides me out of the building and onto the snowy street. A couple of guys stand nearby with Ned Townsend. One of the guys smirks at me and screams as though to mock me.
It’s then I realize I recognize the scream.
From the third floor.
From what I thought was Callan.
I’ve been set up.
They fucking set me up.
Ned’s smile is victorious as hell. My father joins him, both of them watching me as though my arrest is the most entertaining thing they’ve ever witnessed.
Shit.
I really fucked up.
I fell right into their goddamn trap.
Unbelievable.
I’ve been in Afghanistan and been in military combat before. I was trained to outsmart the enemy.
They forgot to teach us the enemies are sometimes living in our town. Some even share the same blood.
Jax guides me to his Tahoe. Brie opens the door for him, shooting me a sympathetic smile. I swallow hard as I climb into the vehicle.
Humiliation and defeat are warring inside me right now. It still doesn’t chase away the lingering worry for Callan.
“How can you be sure he’s okay?” I croak out when Jax gets in the front seat.
“I left him with Dante to come to this call,” he explains. “He stopped by the house upset and shivering from walking his ass through the snow.”
I blink away the confusion. “He’s safe?”
“Yes.” He sighs heavily. “But you, my friend, just walked into a damn setup.”
“What do we do?”
“Right now, all we can do is damage control. Let me figure this out. In the meantime, you can sit in the cell to appease those fucking assholes.”
“I want to see Callan,” I grit out. “I need to see him.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
The drive back to the station is quiet. Adrenaline still pulses through my veins like buzzing electricity. One second the man I love is being beat and possibly raped. The next, I discover it’s all a ruse to entrap me.
It still doesn’t erase the fear lingering in my chest, knowing it wasn’t real.
My heart hurts. It fucking hurts.
“Am I going to get fired?” I ask once he parks in front of the station.
“I don’t know.”
He sighs and then exits the Tahoe. After opening my door and helping me out, we head inside. Cato is waiting at the bottom of his stairs, wide-eyed and horrified. I drop my stare to my feet, unable to look at his eyes.
How could I have been so stupid?
Jax walks me down the hall to the jail cell. He unlocks my cuffs and then removes them. I walk inside and drop down to the bench.
“Give me some time to figure this out, okay?”
I swallow hard and nod. “I don’t care about anything right now but seeing him. Can you let me see him? Please?”
“I can do that, man. Hang tight.”
The door closes with a loud clang, and I bury my face in my hands. The emotions hit me like a tidal wave. Tears leak from my eyes, and a sob catches in my throat.
He’s okay.
He’s not hurt.
Thank fucking God.
Callan
Dante frowns as he frantically texts someone. My guess is that it’s Jax. It makes me wish for the millionth time my phone wasn’t busted.