Officer Hernandez waited for me near the doorway to the ER, her face twisted into a grimace. “Sorry. I promise I’ll make this as quick as I can. I’ve got no doubt if your family is here, it’s important. I just want to get your perspective while it's still fresh.”
Something about the way she called them ‘my family’ made my stomach jump. I’d honestly not thought much about having a family of my own. Jumping into a ready made family already going through the trenches wasn’t part of my plan. But the more time I spent with Elias and the kids, the harder it was for me to walk away. I wanted to be there, to make sure they were happy and things turned out for the best. I wanted to be there to see it happen.
All my efforts to not get attached to students went out the window with this little family. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do about that.
CHAPTER THIRTY
ZERO
My attention was split and I wasn’t sure which thread to follow. I didn’t have all the information. Simone talking to Officer Hernandez? No clue why. Jasper’s meltdown earlier? I wasn’t sure what set him off. He was freaked out, but not about to fall apart when I asked him to go to the waiting room. Was it something I did? Or was there more I didn’t know? Hell, I wasn’t even sure what to do about Isla. The doctor said she’d be fine, but she’d be on antibiotics for a week, and then what? I didn’t know how to keep this kind of thing from happening again.
Standing just outside the door to the trauma room Isla was in, I couldn’t make myself move to go inside. I didn’t want to go in there until I got my head on straight. And I didn’t know how to do that when I only had half the information.
“You can’t arrest me! I’m injured!”
The angry voice made me frown and I turned my head in time to watch one of Battle’s guys being escorted out of another trauma room, his hands cuffed and his arms bandaged like he’d recently gotten into some sort of accident. I narrowed my eyes,tracking them as he dragged his feet and argued with the two officers who were pulling him away.
“We didn’t do shit! It’s not our fault that bitch got spooked! We were just driving by!”
His words made me stiffen and I moved, stepping in front of them before the officers could drag him away. “What bitch?”
“Sir, step out of the way,” one of the officers demanded. I ignored him, glaring at the guy who suddenly looked really damn smug. His face twisted and he jerked his chin at me, giving the officer a scowl.
“You should be arresting him. It’s his crew who’s always causing trouble. Mine haven’t done shit. We were just passing through.”
“I drove a car to the hospital, dumbass,” I countered. “My crew doesn’t ride this late. It’s dangerous.”
His lip lifted into a sneer like I knew it would. “Pussies. Too scared to drive after dark? You’re all so damn pathetic. You’re lucky our prez hasn’t given any orders yet. We could take you out easy.”
He really was an idiot. He said that shit in front of two officers, both of which had their cameras on if the little red lights were anything to go by. Didn't mean they’d use that information to help up, but still. It didn’t look good for him.
“That’s enough,” the officer who spoke before barked. “Get out of the way or you’ll be under arrest for obstruction.”
Stepping to the side, I glowered at the asshole as they dragged him away, freezing when he shouted over his shoulder at me. “Better watch your back! We’ve seen a lot of kids near that clubhouse. It’d be a shame if something happened while you were playing daddy!”
I stepped forward, wanting to go after the guy threatening my crew, but another officer stepped in front of me, stopping me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Stop. He’s baiting you.”
“Yeah, well, it’s working,” I snapped back, still glaring at the back of the guy’s head as they frog-marched him out the door.
The officer didn’t move, but he didn’t immediately try to cuff me either. He stood like a solid presence between me and the door, and didn't even reach for his radio once. It was odd for one of the local officers, odd enough for me to step back and really look at him. The only cop around here who treated us fairly was Officer Hernandez. I didn’t recognize this new guy.
“Who are you?”
Releasing my shoulder, he offered his hand to shake. “Officer Derrick Gillespie. You?”
“Elias Fletcher. Guys call me Zero. You new?”
He nodded, waving his hand in the direction Simone had gone with Officer Hernandez. “Transferred from New York two weeks ago. I’m Hernandez’s partner. She told me about your crew. A lot of the guys think the recent crimes are your doing. She doesn’t. Says your crew isn’t like that. She’s the most levelheaded of the bunch I’ve met so far, so I’m inclined to believe her. Mind if I ask you some questions?”
A part of me wanted to agree. If we could get more officers on our side, they might be less likely to cause trouble for us. But I could practically hear Prez’s voice in my head. We weren’t allowed to talk to the cops without him being present, even if it was laid out as ‘casual’.
“I’d say yes, but I need to get back to the kids,” I hedged. “You willing to talk to my Prez instead?”
His eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “You think he’d be willing to talk to me?”
I shrugged. “He’s willing to talk to anyone if there’s mutual respect. Our club doesn’t hate cops just because of your job. We just don’t like being hassled for no reason.”
