Chapter 24
Bailey
The holding cell smelled like urine, stale sweat, and weed. My stomach churned, though I wasn’t sure if it was the scent or nerves over what Holden would have to say when he got here.
I’d forestalled his lecture, but I was sure it was coming. I couldn’t even be mad. I’d done a stupid thing.
Owen had already been racing, but would he have ditched me like Petie if he weren’t? These guys weren’t my friends. I’d let my longing for home, for the mechanic work that was so second nature to me, cloud my judgment.
“You fuck off!”
“No, you fuck off!”
Two dudes started a shoving match on the far side of the cell. I stayed where I was, seated on a hard metal bench near the corner.
The guy to my left laughed like it was the funniest shit he’d ever seen. “Fuckin’ fools!” he called.
I winced, hoping he didn’t attract their attention. They were in each other’s faces, bumping chests, and posturing. Just behind them, I recognized a face from the crowd at the drag race. Another unlucky bastard who got left behind.
“Hey, settle down in there!” a voice boomed.
I recognized the ring of authority. I’d heard it in Dalton’s voice a few times when he got his sheriff on.
A police officer came into view. The guys jumped apart like a couple of lovers caught in the act.
“We gettin’ out of here?” one asked hopefully.
“Not you,” the officer said. “Steele! You’re up.”
My heart skipped. It was way too soon for Holden and Flynn to be here. I glanced around to make sure there wasn’t another Steele in the cell.
“Bailey Steele? C’mon. I don’t have all day.”
I hopped up. “That’s me.”
“Move your ass.” He unlocked and slid back the cell door for me. “The rest of you just hang tight.”
I stepped out into the corridor. The officer locked a hand around my upper bicep to keep me there while he closed the door. Then he tugged me alongside him. “I’m going to do you a favor and not bother with the cuffs, kid. But don’t make me regret that.”
“I’m not being bailed out?”
“Not yet,” he said. “But you got friends in the right places, so we’re going to make you more comfortable.”
Friends in the right places? My mind spun. Did Sebastian’s dad have some pull, or maybe Iris knew someone…
“Sheriff called us up from Elkhorn County. Gave us an earful about what a good kid you are.”
Oh. Dalton. Of course he’d have my back.
“Well, thanks for listening,” I said.
“Wasn’t my call,” Officer Hard-Ass said. “I just follow orders. Here, come around this corner. We’ve got a spot in the break room you can hang until your people show up for you.”
“That’s okay?”
He scoffed. “You’re not the first spoiled kid we’ve picked up, Steele.”
“I’m not spoiled,” I said, appalled.
“No? You wanna go back to the cell?”
I thought of that god-awful smell, the fight trying to break out, the tension of a dozen men just waiting to get out of there.
“No,” I said quickly.
“Didn’t think so.” He pushed me through a doorway. “Take a seat. Don’t go anywhere.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“There’s soda in the fridge.”
“I won’t take it.”
He chuckled a little, loosening up a bit. “No, kid. You can have one. What do you like?”
“Whatever you’ve got.”
“Hell, maybe you’re not spoiled.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a Dr Pepper. Tossed it to me.
I cracked the top and guzzled half of it. My mouth had been dry as a desert ever since the police showed up on that stretch of highway.
“Who’s this sheriff to you?”
I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to get Dalton in trouble for looking out for me. The officer just shook his head. “Well, he’s not your dad. Different last name. Maybe an in-law?”
“Maybe,” I said.
He smirked. “Keep it up, kid, and you’ll be cut out for this business.”
I took a seat at the round table, the plastic seat cool under my ass. “What, law enforcement?”
“No. Criminal.”
I flinched. “I wasn’t doing anything illegal. Watching people drive isn’t against the law.”
“No, but if a felony transpires and you’re on the scene, you’re an accessory. If you played any part at all in something leading to a felony, you’re on the hook.”
All the work I did on Owen’s car flashed through my mind. Fuck. I’d never thought of it as contributing to an illegal act. Could I be held accountable if something went wrong?
“I’ll leave you to think about the choices you’re making,” the officer said. “Stay put.”
He closed the door. I heard a lock turn a minute later. I blew out a shaky breath. The officer was trying to scare me straight. I knew that tactic. But what would Dalton say to someone in my position? The same fucking shit, probably. And he’d be right.
I didn’t have my phone, so I had nothing to do but think until Holden and Flynn arrived. It wasn’t pretty.
I thought not only about the choices that led me to be at the drag race tonight, but the risks I took when I hustled people over pool and why I did it. I liked winning, sure. I liked earning some cash.
But did I need to prove I was better than those men I played?
At some level, maybe. I wanted to stand out.
To know I was the best at something. And when my brothers—or Flynn—had to rescue me from a hothead?
Well, I got to see how much they cared, right?
Because deep down, I was still a little boy who got dumped by his mom for not being good enough.
“So fucking stupid,” I muttered to myself.
My brothers had it so much worse than I did.
I went to the Forresters so young I didn’t remember my mom.
I sure as fuck wasn’t abused like Holden had been.
I didn’t wear scars. I didn’t watch my parents die like Gray and carry a burden of survivor’s guilt.
I wasn’t neglected—as far as I remembered—like Axel.
So why did I do this shit? Why couldn’t I just go to school like Holden wanted and be happy that I had opportunities none of my brothers had? Why couldn’t I fucking want what they wanted for me?
It was an agonizing two hours, but I found some clarity. I couldn’t go on the way I had been. I had to define my future, my happiness. I couldn’t rely on my brothers for that. I couldn’t let Holden tell me how to be happy, and I couldn’t turn to my brothers for a rescue either.
My future was mine. My life was mine.
My choices and my mistakes were mine.
The rattle of a key in the lock made my heart leap. I got to my feet as the door opened. Holden came in first, face set in a stern mask.
Shit. Telling myself I’d face his disappointment was so much easier than actually facing his disappointment.
“Hey,” I croaked. “Sorry.”
Flynn stepped in behind him, filling the doorway and blotting out everything behind him. My eyes locked on his, taking strength from the warmth there, the concern, the…if not love, very real affection.
“Are you okay?” Flynn asked. “They treated you all right?”
“He’s in a break room,” Holden said. “Looks like he’s been treated just fine.”
Flynn stepped past him, ignoring his comment, eyes only on me.
I nodded. “Just, um, feeling stupid and…sorry that you had to come all this way for me.”
“I’ll always come for you,” Flynn said.
Holden shot him a narrow-eyed look, but I couldn’t worry about that now. Flynn was opening his arms for me, and I fell into them, letting him enfold me in a hug.
“Thank you,” I mumbled into his shirt. I breathed him in, the motor oil scent I associated with home, the laundry soap and hint of sweat beneath it. The smell of my man. I tightened my arms around his waist and felt the brush of his lips against my temple.
“I’ve got you,” he rumbled. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded without looking at Holden. He’d have plenty to say, but I didn’t want to do that here.
Flynn turned me, keeping an arm around my shoulders, and guided me from the room. Holden brought up the rear. At the front desk, Holden stopped and asked for my belongings. I would have forgotten.
I pocketed my phone and slipped on my fleece-lined jean jacket, keeping my gaze averted. But once we were outside, there was no avoiding his grim expression.
“Okay,” Holden said. “Flynn dodged my questions all the way here. Time to clear the air. How long has this been going on?” He waved a finger between us.
“A while,” I said.
“Not long,” Flynn said at the same time.
We glanced at each other. I took a breath and stepped away from Flynn so I could square up with Holden. If we were going to do this, I had to face him like a man, not a scared little brother.
“Goddamn it, Bailey, you’re supposed to be focusing on school,” Holden burst out, as if he’d been holding in a tide of words for a long-ass time, which I guess he had.
“Going to drag races and fucking around with Flynn won’t help you get ahead in life!
You want to be treated like an adult, you say.
Well, you need to get your fucking priorities straight. ”
All my defensive hackles went up. “I know I fucked up tonight, but that doesn’t have anything to do with Flynn. Don’t drag him into this lecture.”
“He’s a distraction you don’t need right now.” He spared a look at Flynn. “Sorry, but you are. He’s nineteen years old. He doesn’t know what he wants yet.”
“I’m turning twenty this weekend! I don’t just keep telling you I’m an adult; I am one—and just because my priorities aren’t yours doesn’t mean I don’t know what they are.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Holden asked.
A sudden tense silence fell between us. The air crackled like the calm before a storm. If I was honest with Holden, if I told him everything, would he ever stop being disappointed in me?
Flynn cleared his throat. “Maybe I should give you two a minute to talk.”
“No.” I reached out and snagged Flynn’s hand, holding on tight. “You’re important to me, and I want you here.” I glanced over. “If that’s…okay with you?”
This could get ugly. Maybe it wasn’t fair to drag Flynn into my family drama. But he just nodded and squeezed my hand in support.
Holden rubbed at his temples as if I exhausted him. Hell, maybe I did. Sometimes, I exhausted myself.