My heart dropped suddenly, thinking there had been some sort of emergency. With who, I didn’t know. My thoughts went to my mother. Maybe something had happened to her and I was the only family to contact. Or maybe something had happened to Kevin on a job. I quickly unlocked the door and flung it open, my heart racing.
I was met with four police officers. I swallowed hard as I realized this wasn’t a family emergency.
“Jeremiah Mason?” asked one of the officers, eyeing me up and down.
“Yes. That’s me.” I nodded. “What’s this about?”
Another officer stepped forward. “There is a warrant for your arrest. You’ll have to come with us.”
I blinked a few times, trying to understand if I was hearing him correctly.
“I think you’ve made a mistake,” I said, shaking my head.
“You can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, you’re coming with us.”
I felt like the floor was falling out from underneath me as I watched the officer pull cuffs from his belt. I heard Sadie’s slippers scuffing down the hallway and looked in her direction, trying to calm the panic that was surely on my face. As soon as she saw the officers and the handcuffs, she rushed toward me frantically.
“What the hell is going on?” she asked, looking at the officers, her green eyes wide as she clutched her robe.
“Miss, I need you to stay back.” One of the officers held up his hand in a warning.
“Like hell I will,” she spat. “There’s been some mistake!”
“Miss, please.” The same officer pleaded, his eyes drifting toward her bump.
Sadie placed her hands on her stomach protectively and gave a solemn nod, as if understanding he didn’t want to have to put his hands on her. She stayed by my side as I turned and let the officers put the cold, metal cuffs around my wrists. I knew better than to argue.
“Jeremiah Mason, you are under arrest. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law…” said the officer, tightening the cuffs slightly.
His words droned on. I had heard them before. Twenty something years ago.
Sadie watched on, teary-eyed. I hated that she had to witness this. As the officers began to lead me out the door and into the hallway, I looked at her and narrowed my gaze.
“Everything is going to be okay, baby,” I said. “I’ll sort this out.”
“I-I don’t understand…” she stammered, following us out the door.
“Me either,” I said. “But I’ll get to the bottom of it. Call Erica. Call Gabriella. Tell them to come get you.”
“That’s enough,” said the officer, shoving me forward.
I jerked my head forward, but not before getting one last look at the panicked look on Sadie’s face as she clutched her bump desperately. Worry set in as the officers shoved me in the elevator. Sadie was five months pregnant. This kind of stress wasn’t good for her or the baby. She needed somebody with her. I didn’t want her to be alone.
“Please, tell me what this is about,” I pleaded as the elevator began its descent, along with my stomach. “My girlfriend…she’s pregnant. I can’t just leave her like this.”
It was the first time I had called her that. These weren’t the circumstances I had expected.
The police officers ignored me, staring straight ahead, their backs rigid. I shook my head frustratedly, adjusting my wrists in the cuffs that dug into my skin. I was helpless. There was nothing I could do right now. I just had to get to the station and make my phone call. My attorney would be the first person I dialed. This whole thing had to be some sort of mix-up.
Unless…
I clenched my jaw at the creeping feeling that writhed through me.
Anderson.
He had to be behind this.
Bastard.
