Chapter 5
SEPTEMBER 9 – TUESDAY 7:03 PM
L iam
Slamming my car door, I smacked my hands off the top of the steering wheel.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Theo was the only one who could make me this insane. I was so tempted to stomp back in there and…and what?
Fuck him, show him who is boss, make him scream my name?
He knew who I was, what I was, what I hated. There were no sweet declarations of love or public displays of affection. The thing I detested most of all was people knowing anything about me. My family hardly knew me, and that was how it should remain, but no, fucking Ren came along, and suddenly he wanted me to prove I loved him. How? What the hell did he want from me?
Starting the car, I drove down through the gates and forgot all about this morning until the cop left his hiding spot, and the red and blue lights flashed. Fucking Nash and his bright ideas. Pulling over, I got my license and registration ready, then quickly sent my irritating best friend a text.
L: The fish is in the barrel.
N: Just don’t shoot it.
L: No promises.
N: A.S.S.H.O.L.E
Chuckling at Nash’s annoyance, I put my phone in the cup holder and waited for Agent Ellis to say hi. I’d still love to know why he was posing as a cop. Of all the things a Fed could pretend to be for undercover research into mafia families, this was the stupidest one. Yes, he had the power to pull us over, but he was never going to get close to us. We were missing something from the equation, but I’d figure it out. I always did.
The bright light from his flashlight blinded me as he walked up to my window, and for just a split second, I wondered if I could take my anger out on him and stuff him in my trunk, but instead, I smiled.
“Hi there, Deputy Ellis. How can I help you? I wasn’t speeding,” I said.
Even though I couldn’t see his face clearly, there was no doubt who it was. He’d been the perfect little stalker.
“It’s Sheriff Ellis now. License and registration,” he ordered, and I held them out between my fingers.
“Oh, fancy new title, congratulations. Are you going to answer my question, Sheriff Ellis? There are a lot of sketchy officers around. I wouldn’t want to needlessly end up with a hole in my head and become another statistic.”
“Why would I shoot you? Do I have a reason to?”
I shrugged. “Just repeating what I see in the news. I have a right to know what I’ve done. You know, for when I call my lawyer and press charges for harassment.”
There was a long pregnant pause, which made me smirk, waiting for him to make the next move.
“I pulled you over for racing this morning and evading police.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must have the wrong person. Do you have any evidence of this occurrence? A radar lock or camera footage, perhaps?”
“I saw what I saw.” I picked up my phone. “Put the phone down.”
“No, I don’t think I will.” I made it look like I was calling my lawyer and wasn’t shocked when he yanked my door open and pointed his Taser at me.
“Put the phone down and get out of the car.”
Glancing at the taser and then the sheriff’s face, I dropped my phone dramatically into the cup holder and undid my seatbelt. As soon as I stepped out, he grabbed me and shoved me up against the vehicle. If this asshole wasn’t a Fed, I really would snap his neck for touching me. But we were playing the long game.
“You think I don’t know who you are,” he asked.
“I know you do. I just gave you my license. I would hope the sheriff could read. If not, standards have really dropped off from Morrison.”
“You think you’re funny,” he asked, pushing me harder into the car. It took all my control not to fight back.
“I wouldn’t say it’s my strong suit, no,” I said as he turned me around to face him.
“You’re Liam Hicks.” I cocked an eyebrow.
“So, you can read. That’s good. Do you need me to type it into your report for you? I have someplace to be and would prefer not to stand here all night with you telling me my name.”
His face twisted with rage, but I leaned against my car in the most unthreatening pose I could for the camera installed in the dashboard of the cruiser.
“I know what your family does. Don’t think I’m not watching you. I have eyes everywhere.”
“You sound like a creepy stalker. Are you a stalker, Sheriff? Or do you want to get into the import-export business of clothes? We have some top-quality suppliers in Italy. You can’t beat their suits.”
“We both know that your family is into more than clothing,” he said.
“Of course we are. We have a very diverse portfolio.”
He smiled. “Diverse portfolio, that’s funny.” The smile dropped. “Empty your pockets.”
The fish was zeroing in on the bait.
“Are you sure you want me to do that,” I asked as a couple more cars pulled out of Wayward and drove by slowly. I nodded to the people watching. “Especially now that there are witnesses to your harassing behavior.”
“Empty your pockets.”
With a sigh, I shoved my hands into my jeans and pulled out everything that I had, which included a small clear baggie with our logo on it. His eyes went wide as he stared at the small amount of white powder. Ellis put his taser away and pulled his gun.
“Open the trunk.”
“I’ll ask again. Are you sure you want to do that without a warrant?” Red flags should be waving around in his mind, but he would ignore them for the possibility of nailing me with a large amount of drugs.
For me, being a criminal was no different than flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant, only it paid better. This wasn’t just a job. It was our lifestyle and our livelihood. People would say that we were killing people, but so were heart attacks and cancer, and yet they still sold grease and chemical-laden food and cigarettes. Hypocrites, as far as I was concerned.
“I said open the trunk.”
“I need my fob. It’s in the cup holder.”
“Get it, but don’t do anything stupid. Wouldn’t want you to end up that stat you mentioned.”
Making sure he could see my hands, I grabbed my fob and hit the unlock button.
“Last chance to let me go. Once it’s open, there is no going back. I will sue you and the department.” Gripping my arm, he pulled me to the trunk. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Stuffed inside were the two black duffel bags. “Open the bags.”
This time, I didn’t give him a chance to back out. I opened the bags to show off the neatly wrapped kilos of white powder.
“You’re under arrest,” he said. Grabbing me, he shoved me up against my car and handcuffed my hands as he read me my rights. The entire time, I smiled.
“Can I call my lawyer now?”
“You may want to call a whole team of lawyers. You’re going to need them,” he said, walking me to the cruiser and putting me in the back. Most people didn’t have get arrested in their evening plans, but then again, they weren’t me. I had to hand it to Nash. This whole setup was kind of brilliant.
Laying my head back against the leather of the seat, I settled in to spend the next few hours in custody until they realized we’d played them for fools. Act like an idiot and get treated like one.
I couldn’t wait to get out and laugh with Theo about this. My smirk fell with the thought of the locker room. For a few minutes, I’d forgotten that we were at odds, and of course, the only person that I wanted to share this with was him.
Fuck.