And that was where the anger stopped andturned into a familiar, sick feeling.Because a man was dead.Lucashad killed him.An unnecessary breathalyzer test was just one moreof the long string of punishments that Lucas absolutely had coming.“Yes.Okay.I’ll take it.”
“And just for everyone’s safety, we’d like tocuff you while we do it.Do you have a problem with that?”
A problem with being cuffed for no reason onthe first day he’d spent out of jail?A problem with having thewhole town see him like that?Lucas’s skin tightened and he foughtto keep his voice level as he said, “Okay.If you need to.”
The officer squinted as if trying to figurehim out, then shrugged in disgust.“Turn around, hands on the hoodof the truck.”Lucas did as he was told and ordered his body not toresist as his first arm was wrenched behind him and he felt thecold metal locking around his wrist.Fear battled with anger, buton top of it all was the self-control he’d worked so hard todevelop.Deep breaths, calming thoughts, and then his other arm wasjerked around and he was trapped, cuffed as securely as the dayhe’d first been arrested.He’d sworn he’d never have this sensationagain, and here it was, so soon.
“Step away from the car and walk over to thecurb,” the cop ordered, giving Lucas’s cuffed arms a little jerk toreinforce the words.The other cop was already moving, grabbing thebreathalyzer kit from the front seat of the cop car.
“You having a good night, before this?”thefirst cop asked.He seemed to take savage delight in thinking thathe’d ruined Lucas’s evening.There was no point in spoiling his funby saying that this little visit was no more or less pleasant thanthe time in the bar.
Lucas followed the instructions for thebreathalyzer test and waited patiently while the cops frowned athis results.“We need to do it again,” the first cop said.“Theresults were inconclusive.”
“I haven’t been drinking,” Lucas tried, butthey both ignored him so he didn’t say anything more.
Another test, more scowls, and then the firstcop told his partner, “Keep an eye on him.”He stalked back to thesquad car and Lucas could see him on the radio, complaining tosomebody somewhere and obviously not liking what he was hearing inreturn.
“I really wasn’t drinking,” Lucas said,mostly to himself.
The second officer sneered at him.“You werebreathing, though.That’s enough, in my books.”
Lucas bit back his retort.He needed to keephis mouth shut.He’d just wait for it all to go away.
That was when he looked down the street andsaw the crowd pouring out of the bar’s parking lot.“Oh shit,” hesaid.
The cop followed his gaze.“Oh shit,” heechoed, and he strode toward the squad car, leaving Lucasunattended.“We’ve got company,” he called through the open window.“Might get hostile.”
The crowd was closer now, and Lucas pickedout Sean in the lead.Someone had obviously seen Lucas get pulledover, and word had gotten back to the bar somehow.Phone call,text, Facebook—who knew?And it didn’t matter, really.One way orthe other, about thirty angry drunks were bearing down on the solecop car, and they were doing it because they wanted to defendLucas.
“Everything’s fine,” he yelled as soon as thecrowd was close enough to hear him.“It’s all good.Nothing toworry about.”
But of course the cops couldn’t let himhandle it.They were in front of the crowd now, each of them withone hand on his gun, the other on his baton.“This is a policematter,” the first officer said in a loud, authoritative voice.Exactly the kind of voice that activated Sean’s rebellious naturelike a flame touched to a pile of gunpowder.
“It’s police harassment,” Sean yelled, andthere were cries of agreement from the crowd.“You guys are filmingthis, right?”He waved an arm at his followers, indicating how theyshould spread out.“Get it from all different angles.If they pullanything, we need to make sure we have a record.”The peopleholding cell phones up moved as directed, and Sean turned back tothe police.“What are the charges?Why are you arresting him?”
“He isn’t under arrest.”
“Then why the fuck is he cuffed?”Sean wasworking himself up, and Lucas needed to settle him down before thiswhole thing exploded.
“It’s fine, Sean.I said it was okay.They’rejust being careful.”
Sean scowled at him, then turned back to thepolice.“Parker,” he growled at one of them.“This is just yourfucking style.I mean, why’d you pull him over in the first place?This is bullshit!”
“Citizen tip,” Lucas said, easing forward.Ifhe could get between Sean and the cops, he’d be able to get in theway of anything before it went too far wrong.“Remember what yourmom said.They have to follow up on that shit.It’s not a big deal,man.”
“They’re fucking mall cops, Lucas!Small townfaggots, power-hungry and walking around with their guns so peopledon’t notice they have no dicks.”
“Watch it, Gage,” the second cop said, and hestepped forward.
“Or what?”Sean glanced over to make sure thecameras were rolling, then jutted his chin out.“You going to takeme down, Officer Dickless?You want to drop your little woodendildo and hand your gun to your life-partner there and actuallytake me on man-to-man?”Sean grabbed his crotch through his jeansand added, “Or do you want to take me into the back alley there andsuck my dick?I don’t usually go for guys, but it’d be interestingto compare your technique to your mother’s, so I’d do it in thename of science.Your mom, now, she’s pretty sloppy, but I kind oflike that—”
The cop swung hard and fast, his batoncatching Sean mid-thigh.It might have been his knee if Sean hadn’tdodged a little and that would have been worse, but as it was Seandropped like a stone, grabbing his leg and yelling pain-lacedobscenities.The crowd drew back and it should have ended there,but the cop stepped forward, standing over Sean as if he was goingto strike again.Mikey’s familiar voice yelled, “Protect him!Keepthe pigs away from him!Self-defense!”
The crowd surged forward, and the officerstepped back.There was a moment where everything was poised on theedge of chaos.It wasn’t pure altruism that had Lucas wanting toavoid an escalation—something like this could seriously mess up hisparole.So he made his voice loud and calm and said, “They’recalling for backup.I’m okay, guys.You need to get out of here.Take Sean.”
“We came for you,” someone said, and therewas a murmur of agreement through the crowd.Funny how they hadn’teven noticed him leaving the bar, but were ready to riot to protecthim now.
“I’m okay.”But they didn’t seem convinced.“Maybe one person could stay, with a camera?”
