Chapter 31
31
Melissa
I could just see the shit hitting the fan. The officer who was glaring down at our table had that look on his face that said he already decided Mattias was guilty and was looking for any excuse to take him down. Slowly, I put my hand on Mattias’s arm. His shoulders were bunched, and he was already on the defensive. That would only make this worse.
“Officer, I don’t think you understand–”
He put up a hand to stop me. “I’m going to need you to calm down, ma’am. My first priority is to get the boy somewhere safe. I’ll talk to you in a minute. Son, I’m going to need you to come with me.”
Xander’s chair flew out from behind him as he launched to his feet, putting as much space between him and the officer as he could without all out running away. It surprised the man, and his hand immediately went to his hip. That set Mattias off and he moved like a wraith, putting himself between the officer and his little brother.
“Are you fucking serious? Are you gonna pull a weapon on a scared little kid?” he growled.
The officer startled when Mattias moved so fast and drew his weapon. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me, and I was frozen, watching the ignorant cop pull a weapon on the man I’d been in love with since I was a teenager and the boy I cared about.
“Don’t move!” the officer bellowed. He used his walkie-talkie, requesting backup. Which meant this would only get worse.
With his focus on the brothers, he didn’t notice me pulling out my phone. I called Wyatt, putting it on speaker.
“Mel, not now. I–”
“Oliver.”
He went quiet at the use of our secret code. We made it up when we were kids when we wanted someone to back us up. As adults, it was a code to get the other to pay attention. No matter what was happening, if we used the other’s middle name, we had to stop and listen.
“Go ahead,” he said gravely.
“We’re at the mall. We’ve got an officer here pointing a gun at Mattias and Xander. Get here. Now.”
“Ma’am, hang up the phone!” the officer shouted at me. He didn’t pull his gun away from where it was trained on Mattias, but he looked pissed.
“On my way. Am I on speaker?”
“Yes,” I answered, moving slowly toward Xander. If this asshole got trigger-happy, I didn’t want Xander doing something insane like trying to get in the way. I was terrified for Mattias, but I couldn’t step in front of him. I could protect Xander, though.
“Officer, my name is Wyatt Lawson. I’m a lawyer. On what grounds are you threatening to discharge a weapon? Is my client armed?”
The officer sneered. “There is a viable threat in the vicinity and a boy who looked like he got the shit kicked out of him recently. I’m well within my rights to protect the general public. Ma’am, stop moving! Put your hands up!”
His gun shifted my direction and I could almost feel Mattias’s muscles bunch as he thought about moving.
“Mattias, don’t!” I hissed at him.
“Hands up! Both of you!” the officer bellowed.
“Do it,” Wyatt demanded. “Do as he says. Officer, do not discharge that weapon on unarmed civilians. Your station is already in enough trouble.”
Slowly, I raised my hands, watching the nervous cop’s eyes dart around. A nervous cop was a dangerous one. Too many pulled the trigger with just the slightest provocation instead of using their words like they were supposed to. If he had just spoken to us instead of immediately trying to take Xander away, none of this would’ve happened.
I could hear Xander’s panicked breathing from a few feet away. I couldn’t turn my head without drawing the cop’s attention his way, so instead, I spoke up, my voice calm. “Xander. Move away. See the hostess stand? Go wait for us there.”
He made a noise of protest, and I wished I could look at him and reassure him better. I needed him out of the line of sight.
Luckily, the officer didn’t argue with my directions. He jerked his chin at Xander, snapping at him. “Go. I’ll talk to you in a minute.”
“Fuck you!” Xander screamed at him. “Leave my brother alone!”
“Xander,” Mattias growled. “Go. Now.”
Xander began to sob, his choked cries echoing in my ears and breaking my heart. He was so young. He’d been through too much already. I did not want him watching his brother die. I was more than a little grateful that our server was nearby, and carefully edged closer until he could grab Xander’s hand and drag him out of the way.
Thundering footsteps approached and more cops spilled into the little restaurant to back up the asshole in front. A couple swarmed Mattias, shoving him roughly to the ground, while another one grabbed me and forced my hands behind my back.
“Wyatt,” I said quietly. “We’re being arrested. Xander is here alone. He needs a guardian.”
“I’m two minutes out. Don’t–”
“Take him with us,” the officer who had pointed his weapon at us said with a glower. “We don’t need a hostage situation if their gang shows up.”
“Leave me the hell alone!” Xander shouted, darting away from the officers who turned to grab him. “Mattias!”
His terrified cries got Mattias moving, and he tried to force himself off his knees, but the officers wouldn’t allow it. They kneeled on his back, pinning him to the ground, and I heard him grunt from the force of it.
“Don’t! You’ll hurt him!” I screamed.
“Get off him!” Xander made to come to Mattias’s aid, but an officer grabbed him, banding their arms around his and dragging him towards the door.
“He hasn’t done anything! Let him go!” I demanded, fighting against the officer who held my arm. My hands were cuffed behind my back, but I could still hear Wyatt’s heavy breathing as he all out ran to meet us. Tears spilled down my cheeks as Mattias’s face turned red. They were hurting him. How did it all go to hell in such a short amount of time?
Wyatt appeared in the doorway to the restaurant, blocking the officer from dragging Xander away.
“What the hell is going on here?”
“Out of my way or I’ll arrest you too,” the officer holding Xander growled. Xander was putting up a fight, and the officer’s face was all red from the effort of trying to get him away.
“On what grounds?” a striking female voice demanded.
Oh. Wyatt didn’t come alone.
A few of the officers flinched, recognizing the voice, and when Danielle stomped into the room, I could feel the energy change.
“Officers, unless you want me to bring you to court for excessive force and potentially murder, I suggest you get off that man and let him breathe.”
That startled a few of them and the ones on top of Mattias immediately moved off him. He sucked in a breath, coughing a few times. I wanted to check on him, but I was still handcuffed, and that asshole who showed up first hadn’t put his weapon away.
“Officer, that boy is being treated for malnourishment. You’ll hurt him if you manhandle him. Let him go,” Wyatt snarled.
He did and Xander immediately went after Mattias again, but Wyatt caught him around the waist, whispering in his ear to stop him from approaching. Whatever he said was enough to get Xander to pause, though he was gripping Wyatt’s arm like he was ready to fling it off and go to his brother’s rescue if he needed to.
“Who’s in charge here?” Danielle demanded with a scowl.
“I am,” the asshole cop answered, turning to face her. “We got a call about potential domestic violence and when I questioned them, they got aggressive.”
“That’s not what happened!” I shouted at him. I jerked away from the officer holding my arm, glaring at him. “You didn’t ask any questions. You tried to take Xander without saying a word to either of us. And when he got scared, you reached for your weapon!”
“Liar!” the officer hissed. “I was doing my job and–”
“He’s lying.”
All eyes swung to the server, who looked spooked and ready to bolt, but he lifted his chin when the officer glared at him. “I heard him. He was pointing his weapon at unarmed patrons because the kid didn’t immediately get up and go with some random stranger.”
There were murmurs of agreement from the few other patrons, who were all hiding behind tables or hovering near the back hall toward the bathrooms, scared shitless.
“I’m an officer of the law!” the officer bellowed.
“And unstable enough to draw your weapon in a public space without cause,” Danielle finished for him. “Someone call in the CO or I’ll do it myself.”
The officer who had been holding Xander did as she asked, though he wasn’t happy about it. All five were glaring at Danielle and Wyatt, but none of them seemed willing to argue with them.
The minutes that passed by while we waited for the commanding officer were strained and tense. Mattias didn’t move from where he was lying on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back, but he looked a little better. His face had its normal color to it, and he stopped coughing. I still wanted to check him over, but it reassured me a little that he was breathing and not wincing or making any pained noises.
Two new officers joined the fray. One was an older man with white hair and a deep snarl on his face. The other was a woman with a long brown braid and an air of calm the other officers just didn’t have. They went straight for Wyatt and Danielle, listening as they gave their statements. I saw irritation flash over the man’s face more than once, but whatever they had to say seemed to work because the woman turned to face the officers holding me and Mattias with a frown.
“Uncuff them. They aren’t under arrest.”
The officer who started all this looked incredulous. “Captain–”
The older man scowled at him. “You shut your mouth. We’ll discuss this at the station.”
The second Mattias was uncuffed and hauled to his feet, Xander dodged around the officers to go to him. Mattias caught him in a strong hug, almost curling himself around Xander’s smaller frame protectively.
I felt the cuffs give and the officer behind me stepped back. Rubbing at the sore skin on my wrists, I stepped forward, joining the hug when Mattias reached for me. The confrontation lasted only minutes, but it scared the living daylights out of me.
Slowly, the officers filtered out of the restaurant, waiting in the hall instead. No one approached us, and I didn't look up, not even when I heard the ignorant officer screeching in the hallway.
“How the hell was I supposed to know? I was doing my job!”
“You were supposed to ask,” the female officer snapped. “You could’ve gone about this a dozen different ways, Clayton! I understand you were buddies with Maskery, but don’t let his rhetoric poison you. You’ll end up in the same situation as him.”
“Are you three okay?” Wyatt’s voice was soft and concerned, and when I finally looked up, his eyes were filled with worry. Stepping out of the embrace, I went for my brother, hugging him tightly.
“Thank you for coming.”
“You know I always will,” he murmured, hugging me back just as tight. “Come on. Let’s get you guys home.”