“Good morning, beautiful,” Jack says, kissing me when I find him in the kitchen.
I love his soft but commanding lips on mine, but I push him back with a giggle. “Wait a second. I have morning breath. Let me brush my teeth.”
He walks around the island and says, “I love your morning breath.”
“What’s the plan for today?”
Bang. Bang. Bang.The newly replaced front door vibrates with the force of each knock. “Police! Open up.”
I jump up from my chair and follow on Jack’s heels to the makeshift door he barricaded using a beat-up two-by-four. He swings it open and eyes the two uniformed officers staring back at us. One is tall, but not quite as tall as Jack, while the other is a few inches shorter. Both look as old as my dad.
“Jack Winters?” the taller officer says.
“That’s me. What’s this about?” Jack’s blocking my view.
“We’re here to arrest you for the assault on David Sullivan. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law.”
“What! No!” I cry, elbowing Jack out of the way. “You can’t do that. You can’t take him.”
“Step back, ma’am,” the shorter officer says. “We don’t want to make this any more difficult than it needs to be.” He stands between me and Jack and brings out a pair of handcuffs.
“Jack!” I sob as the officer snaps the cuffs on Jack’s wrists. “No! David started this.”
Jack tosses his head back, clearing his dark hair from his eyes. “Jessi, baby. Please don’t say another word. Call Mike. Take my phone and call Mike. He’ll know what to do. It’s alright. Everything will be okay.”
The taller officer guides Jack across the front lawn, as the other one makes sure I don’t bolt after them. My eyes swing toward the officer next to me. “This isn’t right. You can’t take him.”
The police officer hangs his head. “Please let us do our job. We have a warrant for his arrest. I don’t want to take you in with him.”
I comply as tears run down my face.
Jack disappears behind the police car’s darkened glass and heavy black doors. “I’ll call Mike, Jack!” I yell. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.” My entire body quakes. Using the bottom of Jack’s T-shirt, I wipe my eyes and nose as the second police officer climbs in, and the vehicle peels out of the driveway.
Once the taillights vanish, I run back into the house.Mike. Mike! I need to call Mike.
As I reach for the doorknob, Austin strolls outside our house, a wicked grin on his face. “Aww, you and your boyfriend fucked with the wrong people, Jess. You think I’d let you get away with pointing a gun at me and my friends? David is in the hospital. Do you know what sort of a wrench that put in our operations? Do you? You and your piece-of-shit dad have done nothing but ruin my life and cause me problems.” He circles me as I trembleand struggle to stay upright. “You and your boyfriend are going to find out exactly who you’ve fucked with.”
He strikes out at me, grabbing my neck. Not enough to cut off my airway, but enough to threaten it. “Your boyfriend is going away for a long time. He has a rap sheet longer than Santa’s Naughty list. Looks like you’re going to have to come back to your dear old stepbrother’s house. You know what else? David is going to need some cheering up when he gets out. For reasons I can’t begin to understand, he still wants you.” Austin wrenches me to him and hisses in my ear, “If you want the charges dropped, you will give him what he wants.”
I cry out and twist my head away from him, but Austin doesn’t let go.
“Now get your shit from Jack’s house and get your pathetic ass back home and ready for David. He breaks free this afternoon. I think he more than deserves to have his way with you. And if anyone asks, you’re going to act like none of this ever happened. When Mom and Jeremy get back, you’re going to tell them that everything went fine.” Austin snarls and cups my chin so tight my mouth puckers. “Because if you don’t, Jessi, Jack is never getting out, and we have friends who owe us favors. They know exactly who Jack and his club are, and we’ll have them pay a few visits. Now, move.”
He sneers once more, then stalks off. I try to stand, but my knees are so wobbly I can’t find my balance. Sobs rack my body and snot streams down my face. How did this happen? I knew Jack shouldn’t have gone after them.
I fall to the floor as soon as I close the door behind me. My chest constricts, and no amount of breath satisfies my need for air. My heart races like it’s going to explode. I can’t let them do this. Jack can’t go to jail—or worse—because of me.
I crawl to the kitchen to grab Jack’s phone. I need to call Mike and then get my stuff out of here and head back home.More sobs consume me at what I need to do to protect Jack. How is this happening!
My shaking hands eventually unlock Jack’s phone and find Mike’s number.
He answers on the third ring. “Hey, buddy! What the hell has you calling me so early?”
“M-m-mmmmiiiike. It’s Jessi . . . Jack was arrested. He put David in the hospital on Saturday. David’s pressing charges. Mike, they took Jack away. I couldn’t stop them.”
“Fuck. I knew this would happen. Okay, I’ll call our attorney. Don’t say a word to the police if they question you.”
“Okay.”
