Chapter Eleven #2
“I’m so sorry. I…I’ll get Ted for you.” Her forced smile sent a tingle along my spine.
I slid my hands into my pockets. I had too much nervous energy coursing through me.
I was too tense to sit, and I couldn’t stand still.
I’d explain that I lost my phone, I’d piss clean, and I’d even confess to having a run-in at Chrome with the Kings.
I shouldn’t have been there, but I hadn’t been drinking. I’d just tell him I wanted to be a designated driver for some friends who’d been drinking. Not that he’d believe me. If he needed validation, Levi would lie for me.
“Ryatt?”
I spun at the sound of Ted’s voice. “Hi.” I croaked the word.
“I’ve been trying to reach you. You’re not answering your phone.”
“I lost it Friday night. But I got a new phone, and I can give you the number.” I pulled the phone from my pocket.
He nodded to his receptionist, and she took my phone from me.
“I swung by Treena’s. She said she hasn’t seen you.”
This wasn’t going how I imagined it. I’d never had a meeting in the waiting room of his office. “I know. I had a rough week.”
He cocked a brow and leaned back on his heels. “Looks like it.”
My brows pinched with worry. “Did an attorney call you?”
“He did.”
I released a breath, but it didn’t ease the anxiety firing through me. Ted was too calm, too measured. I thought he’d throw down the hammer about staying in touch, but with a clean piss test, and a call from Willy, I should’ve been good, right?
“I need to talk to you about my living situation,” I said. “I want to move out of Treena’s.”
“Not a problem. She’s already evicted you for breaking house rules. Your things have been boxed up. They’re in the back.” He tipped his head to indicate the direction of his office.
I exhaled, but my chest was so fucking tight. Eviction wasn’t going to look good on me. “This week was the first time I’d missed a curfew without permission. I wrecked my bike and lost my phone.”
His expression remained the same, hovering somewhere between indifference and ready to pound me into the ground with his big meaty fist.
“I’ve got a room to rent, I’m still making deliveries, and I’ve completed my ninety days of outpatient drug treatment.”
The door swung open and four uniformed officers entered the office. My gaze snapped from the cops to Ted. Fuck no. This couldn’t be happening. I know I fucked up, but there was nothing I could do, and I couldn’t disclose the truth without betraying the Hellers.
“You broke the terms of your probation.”
“I know I made a mistake,” I stammered. “Ted, you’ve known me for three months. Don’t do this.” He had to violate me, go to the courts, and get a judge to rescind my probation. He could give me a warning. Fuck! I raked my fingers through my hair. Oh, fuck. He was going to lock me up.
“You’re cooked, kid.”
One of the officers slipped a pair of cuffs from his utility belt. Like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my chest, my heart pounded painfully. I tried to take a breath, but my ribs burned.
“My attorney was going to work this out.” I took a step toward him. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Instantly, the cop grabbed my elbow and gripped my wrist in an escort hold. With pressure to my side, he took me off balance. I pitched forward, and he twisted my arm behind my back. Fire seared through my torso, and with the damage to my wrist and shoulder, pain ripped through my arms.
“Don’t fight this, Ryatt.”
Panic surged through my system, triggering my need to fight back. Instead, I took a breath and pleaded with Ted. “I’m not fighting. Please, call my attorney.”
“You can talk to him at your probation hearing.”
The door swung open, and Levi rushed into the office with Rosie clutched to her chest. “Ryatt!”
Cops blocked her. “You’ll need to wait outside.”
“What’s going on?” She was small but determined. She tried to sidestep him.
“Levi, they’re arresting me for probation violation.”
Cold metal snapped onto my wrists. The emotional kick to the gut had me ready to puke. Three months wasn’t long enough to forget how I’d felt the last time I was arrested. The cop tugged me upright.
“I’m not going to flee,” I said, gulping air like I’d run a marathon.
“Be careful,” she demanded. “His ribs are broken.”
“Ma’am, you need to leave.” Encroaching into her space, the cop backed Levi toward the door.
“I will after you give me some information.” She planted her feet, squared her shoulders, and stood her ground. And I thought McKelle was badass on her bike. She had nothing on Levi in momma bear mode. “Where will you take him?”
“He’ll process into county. It’ll take a couple days to see the judge.”
“Days?” she sputtered.
“Can I please talk to her for a minute?” I asked the cop.
“You’ll get a phone call later today.” He tightened his hold on my elbow. “You can talk to her then. Is she your wife or girlfriend?”
My brows furrowed.
“I’m his fiancée,” Levi blurted.
“The fuck you say,” Ted barked. “When did this happen?”
“It’s not official,” I said.
“I didn’t know you had a kid.” He rubbed a hand over his head.
Maybe believing little Rosie was mine would make him change his mind. “Can my fiancée take my phone?”
Ted nodded. Levi pushed around the officer and snatched the phone from what’s her name.
“Can I give him a hug?”
The cop holding my elbow nodded.
I bent over, and Levi wrapped her left arm around my shoulder as she held Rosie with her right. “Don’t talk without Willy there.”
I fought my fear to force a smile. “I won’t.” I pressed my forehead to hers. A black feeling roiled in my gut. I thought I was done getting into trouble because I’d found something special, but I was losing out again.
“Tell McKelle…” Regrets clawed at my thoughts. Regret for not telling her how I felt. Regret for not kissing her one more time this morning. If I’d known it would be our last, I would have made it count. Maybe I’d even have given Cruz that three-way kiss he wanted. “Tell her, I’m sorry.”
Levi nodded.
“Tell Romeo I’ll see him when I get out.
It’s going to be a while.” I walked with eighteen months of probation, but my sentence was five years.
My gut tightened when I thought of what I’d say to Cruz if I had the chance.
I didn’t have to ask him to take care of our girl.
He’d changed for her. He’d changed because of me. “Tell Cruz…”
I’d tell Cruz I was sorry my jealousy and insecurities kept me from knowing him better. I’d tell him he was still a dick, and I didn’t hate him for it. I’d tell him I was ready to figure out whatever this was between the three of us.
I’d make sure he knew that I’d never forget what he did for me. My throat thickened because those words were just for me and Cruz.
“Tell Cruz—” I couldn’t keep the smirk from my lips, “—tell Cruz to fuck off.” I chuckled. “And that Harleys are still slow as fuck.”
Cruz
“Wait. What?” Romeo pushed his phone to his ear and walked over to the Bluetooth to turn down Jazzy’s work mix.
“Hey.” She poked her head in.
Romeo waved her down with a sharp swish of his hand. His gaze narrowed, and his jaw clenched. Jazzy came into the shop and sat on the hard plastic chair next to the tool cabinet.
“When? Levi, take a breath. Can I put you on speakerphone? Cruz is here working on a bike for him.”
I stood and wiped my hand on a towel as I approached the phone. This had to be about Ryatt since the bike in question was going to be his.
Romeo set the phone on the tool chest and hit the speaker button. “You’re on speaker.”
“They arrested him,” she cried. “They put him in handcuffs!”
A rush of adrenaline spiked my blood, and a dose of anxiety slithered down my spine. The toxic cocktail coiled in my gut and pulsed through my limbs. At the same time, my nerves electrified. “Slow down.” Although my heartrate kicked and my guts were instantly rolling with unease. “Where?”
“At his probation officer’s office.”
“What happened? Did he piss dirty?”
Because I hadn’t seen Ryatt high, but he’d been locked in the bathroom with heroin and meth users. He could’ve picked up trace amounts in his system.
Dozer and Torch came up the metal stairs from the pit. Crew Custom Cycle used to be a lube, oil, and filter service station.
“What’s up?” he whispered to Jazzy.
“Ryatt’s been arrested.”
We all stared at Romeo’s phone, listening to Levi retell the events as she understood them.
“I was sitting in the car with Rosie, waiting for him. Four cops rushed into the building. One had his hand on his weapon. I knew they were arresting Ryatt.”
“Is he still at his PO’s office?” I asked. Maybe there was a chance to keep him out of county.
“No. They’ve already taken him away.
“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Have you told McKelle?”
“Not yet. I’m on my way over to you guys. I don’t know what to do.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Romeo said.
There wasn’t anything any of us could do.
“Hey, Levi, don’t say anything to anyone until I talk to McKelle. She needs to hear it from me.”
“I won’t. I’ll be there in a minute.”
The call disconnected, and we all sat in silence for a moment, the gravity of the situation weighing heavy.
“I need to talk to Tank.” He was my link to the attorney who was supposed to handle Ryatt’s PO. “Do you know where he is?” I asked Dozer.
“My guess, balls-deep in one of Bullet’s girls. Said he was swinging by Good Girls.”
“Take off,” Romeo said. “I know you’re freaking out. Talk to Tank. Tonight, at the MC, we’ll figure out what’s next. Ryatt doesn’t have the patch, but he’s fucking family.”
I nodded, afraid to speak with regrets choking me. I needed to tell McKelle. But other than he’d been arrested, I didn’t have the answers she’d want.
I sat on my bike and fired off a text to Tank.
Cruz: Ryatt’s arrested. I need a meeting with the attorney.
Then I lifted the sidestand and headed over to McKelle’s. The garage doors were open, and McKelle’s bike sat next to her dad’s Ducati. I killed the engine, dropped the sidestand, and peeled off my gloves.