CHAPTER SEVEN
Akio
LUCAS’ HAND on his back was the only thing he could think about as they passed all the other holding cells in the police station. His heart was thumping in his chest, his hands getting clammy around his phone and keys.
He shoved his keys into his pocket, and it was as if the movement brought Lucas out of whatever trance he’d been in and the hand disappeared from Akio’s back, taking the warmth with it. He swallowed against the lump of disappointment in his throat and kept walking as if his heart wasn’t trying to beat its way out of his chest.
His phone was low on battery, but he managed to send a text to Maggie before it succumbed. There was one missed call from her but nothing else. He wasn’t sure if she’d been arrested or not. Maybe they’d arrested her later?
He was quiet as he followed Lucas out of the police station. He wasn’t sure what to say. Lucas had caught him looking at him and it certainly hadn’t been thoughts of his father going through his head.
Lucas led the way to a black SUV and opened the passenger side door for Akio who crawled in and promptly fastened his seatbelt.
Lucas got in the driver’s seat and backed out of the parking spot. Once they were on the road, Akio turned to the man whose knuckles were white from how tight he was squeezing the wheel. Lucas had never once been mad at him before so he figured it was Holland he was stewing over.
“Where are we going?”
“Your place. We’ll go grab a bag and then you’re staying with me. I have the next two weeks off anyway and I don’t like the way that asshole looked at you. I think this is far from over.”
Akio gulped and hurried to nod when Lucas glanced at him.
He was back to tapping his foot though Lucas didn’t seem to mind. He had never been to see him at his dorm and yet he knew exactly where to park. He hesitated as he stepped out of the SUV. Mostly because he knew his room looked like a bomb of clothes had exploded in there, though also because knowing that Lucas had cared enough to find out where he was staying had his heart speeding up.
Logically, he knew that it was probably just because Chris had told Lucas so he could keep an eye on him since they were in the same city, but his stupid heart would have none of it.
He quietly led the way through the dorm building until they reached his room. He took a breath before pulling out his keys and unlocking the door. He stepped inside first, holding the door for Lucas, and as he ran his gaze across the room, he decided that it didn’t look as bad as he’d thought. Yes, there were clothes on his bed, but everything else seemed to be in the right place.
He grabbed his duffel bag. The one he’d just emptied after having spent the weekend at home. Now he was filling it again and he had no idea which clothes to pack. He had no idea what was really going on.
“What do I…?”
He looked up at Lucas and he knew from the look of pity in the man’s eyes that he had to be looking like a lost puppy.
Lucas stepped closer and grabbed Akio’s hand, tugging him down on the bed to sit with him.
“It’s gonna be alright,” Lucas said and that conviction in his voice was making it hard not to believe him, but there was a part of him that had been through indescribable things and had learned the hard way that things very rarely ended up being alright. He’d gotten lucky once. There was no guarantee that it would happen again.
Lucas wrapped an arm around him, and he buried his face in Lucas’ shoulder, drawing in a deep breath, the man’s cologne filling his nose and making him feel safer instantly.
“Grab enough clothes for a week if you can.”
“You don’t have a washing machine?”
Lucas’ voice was light and teasing as he said, “I do, but you might also have to stay longer than a week.”
Akio nodded, a smile tugging at his lips.
He pulled back, feeling the loss of contact quite heavily when Lucas’ arm dropped from around him. He kept his expression as neutral as possible and went to his small closet.
Being gone for a week or more wasn’t exactly ideal. Diesel and Chris were likely to find out and they wouldn’t be happy. He didn’t even want to think about the classes he’d be missing.
He grabbed some shirts, pants, and socks and shoved them into the bag, then went to grab some underwear and hesitated. He glanced over his shoulder at Lucas but found him looking at the books on his desk. He hurriedly grabbed a handful of boxers, unsure why he was being so weird about it. It was just underwear. It wasn’t like he was wearing them.
He grabbed his toiletry bag from its usual place on the shelf by the door along with his shaving kit though he rarely had to use it and dropped both into the duffel bag. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to figure out what he was missing because he knew he’d definitely forgotten something.
There was a knock on his door and before Lucas could tell him to ignore it, he was pushing down the handle because he knew that particular knock very well. He barely had the door open before his best friend was walking inside. His mouth dropped open when someone followed her inside. Ryder. What the hell were those two doing together?
“I can’t believe you were arrested,” Maggie said, curls bouncing as she whirled around to face him. “What even―”
Before she could finish her sentence, Ryder had drawn his gun and aimed it at Lucas. Akio’s heart skipped a beat, and he stepped between them, hands up as he exclaimed, “Whoa. He’s a friend.”
“Friend?” Ryder sneered. “I know a fed when I see one.”
“So, this is the asshole that got you into trouble?” Lucas asked, making Akio groan. Neither of them was helping the situation and while Ryder had lowered his gun to point at the floor, the tension coming off the man had Akio’s pulse spiking.
“No wonder you got out so fast.” Ryder’s expression was thunderous as he stared at Akio. “Does your brother know?”
“Know what? What the hell is going on?” Maggie asked, taking the words straight out of Akio’s mouth.
“He’s a fucking snitch.”
Akio felt like rolling his eyes might set Ryder off, so he settled for crossing his arms and glaring at him.
“Looks like your friend here is the world champion at jumping to conclusions,” Lucas drawled, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Lucas leaned back against Akio’s desk, hands grabbing the edge on either side of him. His jacket was hanging open, revealing the gun holstered on his left hip. He looked completely unfazed by Ryder but also quite intimidating. His gaze was on Ryder, one brow raised slightly, but Akio felt like Lucas might as well have been staring straight at him. The intensity coming off Lucas was making his legs weak and from the look Maggie shot him, she noticed.
“You must be Lucas,” Maggie said and stepped forward, Akio snapping wide eyes onto her.
Lucas’ lips twitched just slightly when Ryder’s hand shot out to prevent Maggie from moving any closer to Lucas. He recognized that move for what it was. He’d been around his brother’s club enough to know how a member was with their old lady.
“And you must be Maggie,” Lucas said, giving her a nod.
“You know this asshole?” Ryder asked Maggie, his tone flat.
“He’s a family friend,” Akio said, his voice finally deciding to work.
Ryder glared at Lucas for a beat longer, then holstered his gun.
“Want to tell me why your whole club was just arrested?”
He found Lucas’ stare chilling, and the man wasn’t even looking at him.
Ryder seemed reluctant to talk, but Maggie put a hand on his arm and after a moment of those two staring into each other’s eyes, Ryder relented.
“I’m not entirely sure. Obviously, the cops thought they were going to find something.” Ryder turned his gaze on Akio. “I don’t know why the hell they arrested you, though. You’re quite clearly not a member.”
“The cop that interrogated me thought I was,” he said with a confused shrug.
Ryder pulled a face, looking just as surprised as Akio had been.
He glanced between Ryder and Lucas, then settled his gaze on Maggie. They needed to talk. Like, really talk.
“Don’t shoot each other,” he said and grabbed Maggie’s hand, dragging her out of the room with him.
He didn’t stop until they reached the empty common room. He let go of Maggie’s hand to turn around and stare at her in disbelief.
“What the hell? You and Ryder? Since when?”
Maggie dropped her head back with a loud sigh.
“It’s complicated.”
He arched a brow at her, head cocked to the side. “What about all those other guys?”
Maggie shook her head, eyes rolling.
“The fucker kept telling the others to beat it. He was the first one I hooked up with at the bar and he made sure he was the only one after that.”
Akio frowned at her and said, “But I didn’t see you with―”
“I went there with one of my girlfriends after you’d taken me there a few times. That’s when I hooked up with Ryder.”
He crossed his arms as he went over her words. Neither of them had been arrested, which probably meant they’d been together and had gotten away together as well.
“How long have you been his old lady without telling me?”
Maggie spluttered.
“I am not his anything,” she said, voice snappy. “I’m way too young to settle down and he just wants a lawyer he doesn’t have to pay for, anyway.”
Akio arched a brow at her. “He’s a bit early out if that’s the case.”
Maggie’s brows lowered and she gave him a peevish look.
“What? You’re not done with college for a few months and then you’ve got at least three years of law school.”
When she sighed and rolled her eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh. He linked his arm with hers and tugged her back down the hallway.
“We should probably check on our trigger-happy guys.”
“ Your guy is gorgeous,” Maggie said.
A groan pushed past his lips. “Don’t even.”