I’m flipped around quickly. Handcuffs ratchet closed around my wrists. Kat’s already handcuffed, Decker silent and stone-faced.
“Reasonable cause, wouldn’t you say, Officer Decker?” Allen says. “Let’s get the whores in the car and search the trunk.”
Decker’s eyes are locked on my arm, where the sergeant is still holding me. “Get your fucking hands off her.”
Allen pauses, his grip tightening. “The fuck did you just say to me?”
“Your hands,” he says, voice dropping dangerously. He takes a long breath, then says, “You bruise her up again, and thatlawyer bitchwill make sure none of this sticks. So I’ll say it again. Get your fucking hands off her. Now.”
For a long moment, the sergeant’s grip remains near unbearable. Maybe Decker notices, because he takes a threatening step forward.
I grit my teeth, not letting the pain show, and swallow the whimper lodged in my throat.Never let ’em see you sweat, kid. You let ’em rattle you, you let ’em win.
“Gold star, Decker,” Allen says as he tosses me forward.
Decker catches me, one warm hand finding the small of my back and the other gently gripping my upper arm. With his thumb, he rubs the skin there, easing the throb of the bruise that’s already forming.
“Get the She-Donovan secured,” Allen barks as he leans inside Kat’s car and pops the trunk.
Decker pauses a beat, suspicion marring his face, attention on Allen as the asshole rifles through the trunk.
“Bad girls,” Allen says as he holds up another bag of drugs. This one much bigger.
My stomach drops. Shit.Shit.That’s… that’s a lot of coke.
Decker tenses. “Sergeant?—”
“Isaidget the slut in the car, Decker.” Allen turns and speaks into his radio. Then he grabs Kat and yanks her towards the cruiser. “Can release the other bitch when we get to the station.”
Decker tilts his head. “You… don’t want to charge them both?”
“Grace had nothing to do with this,” Kat blurts.
“You admitting to something?” Allen asks.
Kat clamps her lips shut, wincing as Allen twists her arm at an uncomfortable angle.
“I don’t need the sister.” Smirking, Allen yanks open the door and tosses Kat inside. “Not when I’ve got his queen.”
“It’snotours,” I say to Decker, voice low. “I swear.”
He lets out a frustrated breath. “I know. I’ll fix this.”
“How?”
“No fucking idea. But I will. There’s a way out of this, Grace. There’s always a way out.”
After we’re both secured in the back seat, Decker drives towards the station downtown. Every minute or so, his attention snaps to the rearview mirror, his eyes locking with mine. I can’t decipher his thoughts, but I can feel the rage coming from the front seat.
“That’s an indictable offence, Danforth.” Allen chuckles. “What do think she’ll get, Decker? First time offence will grant her a little leniency, but spreading her legs for that Sinner scum bag boyfriend of hers won’t do her any favours. I’m thinking… five years.”
Decker angles his head left, then right, as if trying to relieve the tension coiling around his muscles. “Two,” he grunts. “Unless the judge wants to make an example out of her.”
Allen laughs. “An examplewillbe made.” He twists around and smiles, eyes on Kat. “It’s a damn shame. You’re a pretty one. Soiled and used-up. But pretty.”
Kat says nothing. Her eyes focused ahead, face emotionless.
“Such a sad story, isn’t it? Just as you’ve been reunited with that cockroach, you’re ripped away again.”
