“Fuck,” he mutters. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Liam?” I ask anxiously.
“I wasn’t doing anything more than speeding a little and not even six over. He’s not going to just dive into the trunk for fun,” Liam says as he grabs the bag with the wrapping paper and slides it under my jacket.
“You’re right. Jesse, it’s okay,” I assure him.
The officer steps up to the window and knocks on it, so Liam rolls it down. “Good evening, Officer.”
“Detectives,” the man says in surprise. I think his name is Officer Wilcox, but that might be his partner’s name.
His partner looks in at us and then leans back and whispers something to Wilcox, who appears uncertain.
What the fuck is going on? Don’t tell me Whitaker was watching and called the police on us the moment we pulled away with the head in the car? We’re fucked. We’re absolutely fucked. What the hell is Liam going to say? That we were just taking the head to the department personally instead of calling it in? There is absolutely no logical reason why any of this would have happened, yet here we are.
One of the officers peers into the back seat, though there’s nothing but Jesse back there. Jesse seems to be trying to keep it together, but I’m not quite sure it’s enough to fool anyone.
“We got the strangest alert… do you mind if we search the vehicle?” Wilcox asks.
“Search away,” Liam says.
I give him a very pointed look, but he appears as calm as can be. He’s always calm.
Thankfully, we’d taken my car because he’s been known to carry things in his trunk… things he uses to kill people.
My stomach is tightening while my heart feels like it’s trying to race out of my chest. I should never have agreed to help Jesse. I know Jesse is our friend, but I should have thrown him under the fucking bus and left.
“Officers, what is the meaning of this?” I ask, and am surprised when I hear how steady my voice is.
“Just a quick look. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Wilcox says as he pulls away from the window.
“Liam,” I hiss.
He sets his hand on my leg and gives it the gentlest squeeze. There is so much in that touch that it leaves me calmly sitting here while Liam gets out of the vehicle.
“The trunk sticks a bit, let me get it for you. There’s a bit of a trick to it,” Liam says as I sit here and question what the fuck I’m supposed to do now. Do I run to his defense? Do I throw it all on Jesse? No, no… I’m panicking. Liam will claim he didn’t know about it. He’ll act shocked that it’s there, and he’ll talk his way out of this, just like he talks his way out of everything.
But when I look back and see Liam’s confident expression, I realize that all I can do is sit here while they open the box and find a head staring back at them. The shock on their faces is apparent. Someone informed them what was happening, and now, they’ve confirmed it.
“Fuck,” Liam says. “What the fuck… is that?”
I can’t hear the police officers clearly, though it sounds like they say something about his arrest. But how can he be arrested?
All I can do is feign confusion when I push open the door and step out. “What’s going on?” I ask as I see them press Liam against the back of the car. “Hey! What are you doing?”
“Gabriel, get back in the car,” Liam says while I hear them read him his rights.
No… that’s what we’re supposed to do to others. We’ve always been the one to read them… not the other way around.
“Please get back in the vehicle,” Liam says.
“Liam, what’s going on?” I ask as I come closer and make a show of looking at the box. The horror on my face doesn’t even have to be faked. “What the fuck is that? Liam, what the fuck?—”
“Get in the car.”
“Where the fuck did the head come from?” I ask.
“Gabriel, now,” Liam barks.
