“I should be okay,” I answer him hesitantly because I’m honestly not sure if I will be okay to drive to the hospital knowing my son is coming home today.
“Not likin’ that answer, Little Fairy,” he says and I can imagine him sending a message to someone to drive me to the hospital. “I’ll be okay. One of the Prospects will be following me so he’ll know if anything happens.”
“You drive very carefully, Sheridan. I mean it,” he warns me, his voice taking a harder edge to it than he typically uses with me.
“Yes, sir,” I tell him, my voice fading as I get in the SUV and wave to Eric as he climbs on his bike.
Axel doesn’t say anything for a minute and I wonder what made him go quiet. After several seconds, he finally tells me he’s hanging up so I can concentrate on the road and that he’ll meet me at the hospital. I quickly hang up and put my phone on the passenger seat with my bag. Axel hates when I do that shit because my phone slides all over the place and it takes time to find it if I need it in an emergency. Still, I don’t move it to the cup holder like I should.
Starting the engine, I back out of the driveway and head toward the front of the compound. Eric follows me closely and I’m sure he’s already been called by Axel to ensure I’m careful on the road and that he doesn’t let me out of his sight for any reason. A smile is on my face as I look in the mirror when I wait for another Prospect to open the gate and let me out. I have a feeling the smile won’t be leaving my face any time soon because for the first time since the accident happened, I’m truly happy. My family will all be under one roof and we won’t have to drive to the hospital every single day to spend time with Leo where I feel as if we’re being observed. The staff doesn’t ever keep their eyes on us when we’re in there, but it feels as if every single move we make is under a microscope.
The Prospect opens the gate and I barely wait for it to be open enough for the SUV to fit through before I’m driving away from the compound and toward my son. With each passing second, excitement fills me more and more. I roll down the window and turn up the radio so the music is blaring as loud as I can stand it. Very soon I won’t be able to play my musicloud because I’ll have to be able to hear Leo when he’s with me. I make my way through town and it’s not long before I see the flash of red and blue lights in my rearview mirror. Eric pulls over immediately and the cop I never even noticed bypasses him and races up on my ass.
“What the fuck is going on? I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” I murmur to myself as I turn down the music and pull over on the side of the road. Eric doesn’t get too far away as the cop car pulls over behind me.
Keeping my window down, I shut the engine off and wait for the cop to walk up to my window and tell me what I was doing wrong. I know I wasn’t speeding and there’s no way in hell he could hear my music. Despite it being loud, I never make it loud enough for a cop on the side of the road with his windows up to hear it.
“Do you know why I pulled you over today?” the cop asks as I look up and find the same cop that was in the diner, laughing along with Jess the day she was bullying me.
“No, I don’t. I wasn’t speeding and there’s nothing wrong with my vehicle,” I answer him, my voice trying to be respectful despite my hatred of this cop because there’s something wrong with him. I noticed it that day in the diner.
“We got a report of suspicious activity in this vehicle. Step out so I can search it,” he states with a glimmer in his eyes I don’t trust.
“Yeah, I’m not stepping out of my vehicle when I don’t trust you. I remember you in the diner that day. So, please, get a different officer here to deal with the report or follow me to the police station where I can talk to someone else,” I tell him, knowing there’s no way in hell I’m about to put myself in asituation where this cop hurts me despite Eric being behind us and watching everything going on.
“You listen here, Bitch. I told you to get out of the vehicle and that’s what you’re gonna do,” he yells at me and I watch as he reaches out to open my door.
“Is somethin’ wrong here?” Eric questions him, stepping up where I can see him.
“This is none of your concern. Walk back and get on your bike and move along,” the cop says, his voice hard and cold as he reaches toward his gun.
“It is my concern. Sheridan is Tease’s ol’ lady and he’ll be on his way here the very second I call him. I heard her ask for a different officer, so I suggest you make the call,” Eric says, standing tall as he stares the cop down in my defense.
“Leave. Now,” the cop yells, spittle flying from his mouth as his face turns red and he pulls out his gun. “If you don’t leave, I’ll shoot and arrest you for obstruction.”
“You have no grounds to shoot or arrest me,” Eric says, his voice hard and cold as he remains where he is and doesn’t move an inch.
Without hesitation, the cop pulls the trigger and shoots Eric right in front of me. I scream loud as fuck and lean out the window to find Eric on the ground clutching his stomach as his shirt soaks up the blood leaving his body. There’s too much of it and his shirt is almost completely covered. It’s been less than a minute and I know he’s losing too much blood for him to be left on the side of the road for very long. He needs to be taken to the hospital and it needs to happen now.
“Call for an ambulance,” I yell at the cop as he turns his attention back to me.
“I’m not calling for an ambulance at all,” he says, reaching out and ripping open the door as I practically fall out on my face since I was leaning on it to look at Eric. “This is his fault and he deserves to die here on the side of the road.”
I’m ripped from the SUV and slammed against the side as another scream is ripped from me. Looking down at Eric, I see him on his phone but I’m not sure who he’s called. I have to keep the attention on me and not on Eric before he gets hurt even more.
“Get the fuck off of me!” I yell and try to fight the asshole off of me.
I literally just got my cast off a few days ago and my wrist still hurts. Right now, it’s on fire because the cop is being aggressive and wrenching on it while keeping me forcefully pushed against the vehicle.
“I’m not getting off of you. You’re feisty as hell and it’s turning me on,” he says, grinding himself against me.
“Fuck you!” I yell, fighting against him as I feel my first wrist being surrounded by his handcuffs. The second one clicks in place around my weak wrist seconds later. “Get the hell off of me! Someone help!”
I’m fighting so hard I barely register another vehicle pulling up alongside the cop car, blocking the road. My face is smashed even harder against my SUV and I know I’ll have a bruise there.
“Well, well, well,” my mother’s voice sounds from behind us. “I always knew you were a little whore.”
“That’s you, not me,” I spit out angrily and know I’ve been set up by my incubator and this cop.
