“Your ineptitude truly knows no bounds. I’ll add unlawful imprisonment to the list of your sins to the IAB,” my lawyer said coldly. “Remove the cuffs from my client immediately and release Ms. Evans. Trust me when I say, I hope you have fun explaining this shit show of a human rights violation to the chief of police.”
“You may have had the misdemeanor thrown out, but Rodriguez was driving a stolen vehicle.” Collins grinned menacingly, grasping desperately at straws. “That’s a felony.”
“Nonsense,” Ms. DeVries states with a roll of her eyes. “If you scraped your meager brain cells together and actually did your job, you’d know that particular vehicle is registered to my client’s brother. It’s been confirmed that Mr. Rodriguez had express permission to drive said vehicle by its owner, which I have confirmation of in writing.”
Collins visibly wilted under her glare. I could see him mourning the case that could have been his “big break,” as pitiful as it was. It’d be sad if it wasn’t so laughably desperate. Collins nodded his head to Davidson, who huffed an irritated breath before she unlocked the cuffs on my wrists. Ms. DeVries made a show of helping me out of my seat and demanded to be taken to Indigo. It soon became loudly evident which cell caged my chica loca.
“I shot the sheriff,” she sang in a powerful alto voice, “but I did not shoot no deputy.”Indigo lay sideways on a bench in her cell. Her legs were propped on the wall, ankles crossed, and her head dangled off the front of the bed, hair trailing on the floor. Davidson's key ring clanked on the bars of her cage, abruptly cutting Indi off mid-verse.
“She’s been singing the entire time,” Davidson said to me over her shoulder, disgust in her tone. “You’re doing us a favor by taking her out of here. Before Bob Marley, she was singing Public Enemy.”
I ignored the cop and focused on the damaged girl before me. “Time to go home, Indi.”
“Awwww,” she whined as she awkwardly kicked off the wall and rolled off the cot, flopping into a pile on the floor. The blood had rushed to her head, which was probably bad, considering her very recent concussion. Sometimes I wondered how the girl was still alive.
“But I haven’t even found the secret recipe for fermenting toilet wine yet. That’s like… the whole point of even going to jail. Martha Stewart made toilet wine sochic.”
“Ms. Evans,” our lawyer interrupted, capturing Indigo’s attention before she could spiral into a mood, “my name is Sutton DeVries, and I’m your lawyer. You and Mr. Rodriguez are free to go and have friends waiting outside to take you home.”
“Mr. Rodriguez?” Indigo questioned, her button nose scrunching in confusion. I smiled and pointed at myself with my left hand. Her lipsmade an “O” as she pieced together another part of my puzzle in her mind.
“Ohhh, well, lead the way,Mr. Rodriguez.” Indigo gestured for me to walk ahead. She linked arms with our lawyer, whose eyes betrayed her surprise at the familiar gesture before she schooled her features. “So, Sutton…” Indi said in an uncharacteristically serious tone, “how do you feel about vigilante justice and getting in on a femme fatale girl group on the ground floor? Signature weapon and personal aesthetic are completely negotiable, so keep that in mind before you answer.” Our lawyer had her expression locked down so I couldn’t get a read on how she responded to chica loca’s personal brand of clinically “quirky” charm. Instead, she kept her expression stoic and her face forward as she replied, “I’m a lawyer, Ms. Evans. Everything is negotiable.” Despite her aloof demeanor, Sutton DeVries kept her arm looped with Indi’s until we left the station.
Chapter 5
Indigo
After hugging Lennon for a solid two minutes and listening to Ratched and Ivan argue in front of the station over whose vehicle I’d ride in, I was shuffled into Riordan’s car. Look at me, Little Miss Popularity. Sutton sat up front with Ivan, who was driving.
“I’m relieved to have found you in one piece,lisichka,” Riordan said as he slid into the seat next to me and we buckled up for safety.
“Well, I’m relieved you brought a new friend for me to recruit into my Wicked Sisterhood. Lennon and I are tired of the sausage fest you guys have got going on. We need more women around.” I leaned as far forward as my seat belt would allow. “No offense, Ivan. I’m sure your sausage is adequate.”
“None taken,” he replied blandly. I blew Ivan a kiss and settled back into my seat.
“How long will it take to get back to the LC compound?” I asked Riordan. “I was unconscious for the away trip and locked in a trunk so I couldn’t be sure how far Pyro and his goons took us.”
“We’re about two hours away, but we aren’t going back to the clubhouse,” Riordan replied.
“Thank God,” Sutton muttered under her breath.
“Sutton,” Riordan reprimanded her, his tone disapproving but not harsh.
“What’s wrong with the clubhouse? I think it’s nice.” My new friend didn’t seem to agree based on the look on her face.
“It’s nothing personal. Sutton and Sagebrush don’t mix well,” Riordan explained, causing Sutton to mutter, “Understatement.”
“Well, if we’re not going to the clubhouse, where are we going? Do the others know? Because I’ve already been kidnapped once this week, and I’m really not in the mood to go through it again.” I narrowed my eyes at Riordan, who looked completely at ease in the seat next to me.
“Relax, Indigo, they know. We’re all headed to the same place, it’s just not the clubhouse.” Riordan paused as if he were trying to find the right words.“Priest didn’t feel comfortable having people he hadn’t vetted in his clubhouse. Duke decided we’d meet up at the bar in town once Sutton got you and Bones released.”
Ivan snickered. “That’s his diplomatic way to say Priest was livid the Petrovs were helping to secure their compound.”
“There’s nothing wrong with self-reliance,” Sutton said, her tone bored.
“But something is wrong with disrespecting our futurepakhan. Quit playing devil’s advocate,” Ivan argued, shooting Sutton a glare. She gave as good as she got, shooting him a withering look of her own.
“I wasn’t there to have a pissing contest with the VP,” Riordan cut in, effectively ending the subject. He shifted in his seat, giving me his attention. “When we got word that you had been taken, I gathered my men and offered to help secure the perimeter while the Crows figured out what was going on.”
