Chapter Thirty-Two
Renegade
I’ve had a cup of coffee and I could be on my second Monster of the day, but I’ll neither confirm or deny that to anyone. I am tired as fuck.
“You okay over there?” Ace asks as we continue making our rounds through town.
We drive back and forth, up and down a grid pattern, before we make our way out of the more populated edges of town.
Once we’re on what’s considered a back road, Ace presses the accelerator, letting us speed up and down the hills, making me grab hold of my oh shit handle as we take a curve faster than we need to.
“Perfect.”
“Am I scaring you?” Ace asked, a grin in his voice as he straightens the car out when we hit another straight stretch.
“I’d like to live to see my child born, if that’s what you’re asking,” I take a healthy drink of the Monster before setting it down again.
“Figured I’d wake up you. Why are you so tired anyway?” He looks over the console at me, genuine question and concern in his eyes.
No way I’m going to tell him what I was doing, instead I answer. “Getting the last of the nursery done and it’s my sixth day on.” He doesn’t have to know the nursery has been done for months.
“Oh yeah, how did the ultrasound go?”
I struggle with not pulling the picture out of my wallet and showing him with a dumb smile on my face. “It went great. She looks like the perfect mix of both me and her.”
“You seem happy, Renegade. I’m thrilled for you.” Judging by the sincerity in his voice, I believe him. It’s nice to have friends who like it when you do good, and Stella is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“Thanks man,” I smile because it’s all true. “I’m very happy. If someone had told me a year ago I’d be where I am now, I’d say they were fucking crazy,” I laugh, because sometimes I truly can’t believe it. “But I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”
Whitney
I hear a sharp catcall as I get out of my mom’s car. Used to dealing with that type of thing, I turn around, ready to give the person a piece of my mind, when I see Trevor. The harsh lines of my face relax and I grin at my younger brother.
“Hey,” I hold my arms open to him, hugging him as well as I can with the belly I sport.
“Hey, Sis,” he lets me go and gives mom a hug too. “Didn’t expect to see the two of you here.”
“Meeting a client,” I explain, hooking a thumb at The Café. “What are you doing here?”
He lifts up a brown paper bag. “Grabbing some sandwiches. I think I’m gonna see if the fish bite today.”
I can see he’s dressed for fishing – an old band t-shirt covers his torso, holes in it here and there. Old camo pants have been turned into shorts and a hat rests on his head.
“How’s it going to be without your fishing buddy?” I know Ryan usually fishes with him.
Trevor gives me a tight smile. “Guess I’m going to have to figure it out. In a few weeks he won’t have much time to fish, now will he?”
I’m shocked by the tone Trevor uses. “He’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you want him to do with you.
Just because we’ll have a baby doesn’t mean either one of us won’t have time for you.
You’re one of the most important people in our lives, and not only are you Stella’s uncle, but you’ll be her Godfather, too. Don’t even think that.”
He gives me a disbelieving look. “I know, just gonna take some getting used to.”
“You’re tellin’ me? I’m gonna be a mom.” Some days it still hasn’t sunk in, other days I can’t wait to hold her in my arms.
“You’ve wanted it for years, you were born to be a mom. There’s absolutely no reason you won’t blow motherhood out the park.”
I giggle because I’m not sure I’ve ever knocked anything out of the park, but leave it to him to use a sports analogy. “I love you, Trev.”
“Love you too. I gotta get goin’. See ya, Mama,” he leans down and gives our mom a kiss on the cheek.
Mom heads for The Café, but I stand there a few minutes, watching him as he goes to his truck and gets in.
For a split-second I have a feeling of suffocation, like I want to grab him and hold him close to me, never let him go.
I’ve never felt anything like it before, but I also know my emotions are crazy because of the pregnancy, and I don’t need to push my craziness off on him.
Shaking my head, I go in, smiling as I see mom greeting our mutual client.
“Hey Ashley,” I wave to the bride as I have a seat. It’s time to get to work and push anything besides doing my job out of my brain.
Renegade
“You ever wonder why we have slow days?” Ace asks as he yawns. “I mean why are some days so busy we can’t even take a break to piss, but then you have days like today when we’ve not had one call.”
“I think we should be thankful for it. In the grand scheme of things it means no one’s in trouble or needs help. Maybe everybody is following the law to the letter, we shouldn’t question it.”
“I think I want to know more for the psychological side of things. You know? Why do people commit crimes? What makes one day worse than the next? Why does a full moon bring out all the crazies? I don’t know.” he shrugs. “This is the shit I think about.”
“Dude, you need to go on Dr. Phil or some shit like that,” I laugh. “You’ve got too many questions in your head.”
“I’ve been told that before,” he doesn’t deny. “Just the type of person I am.”
I open my mouth to say something to him, but just as I do, a black pickup drives by in a blur of speed. Literally the only thing I can see is the color as it flies by.
“Holy fuck,” Ace yells as he flips on his lights and takes off after it.
I can see the license plate and know immediately who it is, but I call Brooks Strather in anyway. “He ain’t gonna stop,” I tell Ace. “He never fuckin’ stops.”
“How many tickets have you and Tank had a uniform deliver?”
“Probably around five at this point, but you know other people have tried to stop him, too.”
We’re both quiet as we give chase. This is a dangerous part of the county. S-curves lead to a low-lying creek with a small two-lane bridge that links the two pieces of land together.
“I might be able to get him in the curves. He’s gonna have to slow down. No way in hell he’ll be able to handle them.”
“Dispatch, we’re in pursuit of Brooks Strather, near the bottoms on the S-curves going south. He’s in excess of ninety miles an hour,” I shake my head as I glance at the speedometer. Looking over at Ace, I’m disgusted. “He’s going to kill himself or someone else.”
Again silence takes over the cab of the car. All those Monsters I’ve drank and the coffee I’ve had is rolling through my system as I white-knuckle the console and the handle at my side, sending up a prayer they tell us to stop this pursuit. Nothing about this feels good.
“He’s outta control,” Ace mumbles as he attempts to both keep up and maintain a safe distance back from the truck.
I watch in horror as Brooks gets too far to the right, his passenger side rear tire off the road. “Don’t yank that fuckin’ wheel!” I scream out at him, knowing he can’t hear me. I’m pressing an imaginary break in the floorboard, wanting to stop him as I see him overcorrect.
“He’s lost it,” Ace grimaces as he slows and both of us watch whatever’s about to happen in what feels like slow motion.
“Dispatch suspect has wrecked – oh fuck!”
Out of the blind spot on the curve another truck appears northbound right as Brooks crosses the yellow line.
They hit head on, pieces of wreckage flying everywhere.
It feels like it takes two hours for the two vehicles to come to a stop as we watch one of them barrel roll.
“Be advised dispatch we have two. I repeat two cars involved in this accident. Suspect hit another truck going estimated eighty to ninety miles an hour head on. We need assistance.”
Ace pulls our car at an angle, blocking the road until another unit can get there. “You go to Brooks, I’ll check on the other one,” I unbuckle my seat belt and take off at a run, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I hate accidents, but it’s a part of the job we have to deal with.
The truck has turned in the opposite direction and the back is now facing me, the mass of metal sitting on the driver’s side. For a moment I take in what’s left of the back windshield and of the tailgate. Something looks damn familiar to me, and that’s when I see it.
It’s Tank’s truck. He’s the only person I know with a ‘lake life’ sticker on the back, right next to one that says ‘I brake for Auburn fans – so I can talk to them about their life choices’.
My throat drops into my stomach and my stomach drops somewhere around my knees. I gag as I try not to throw up, but everything I’ve had today is threatening to show itself.
“Dispatch,” I key the radio again, this time not able to recognize my own voice. “Be advised the other person involved is one of ours off-duty. Get help here a-fuckin’-sap.”
Immediately I know I want to get to him, assess the damage.
I’ve done it in a war zone, I know without a doubt I can do it for my best friend.
The wind has picked up on this overcast day and there’s a storm coming, it’s rocking the truck, and suddenly it rolls completely over.
The driver’s side is no longer resting in the ground.
I’m running as fast as I can, and when I get to the driver’s side door, I feel bile rise up in my throat again. Tank’s out cold, and he’s at a weird angle.
“Don’t fuckin’ do this to me,” I whisper, hands shaking as I dig through the mud, grabbing the handle, but the door doesn’t budge when I try to open it.
Tears spring to my eyes and I tell myself not to show the emotion, to keep my shit together because that’s what Tank needs right now. Getting up, I run to the back. The tailgate is a tangled mess, but it’s twisted enough that I can see to squeeze up through there and go in through the back window.
Lying on the ground, I realize I haven’t done this type of shit since BASIC.
Shimmying halfway up, I curse because with my vest on, I’m not going to fit.
For the first time since I found out about Stella, I’m taking it off on-duty.
But I have to check on my friend, make sure my daughter’s uncle is okay.
Ripping my shirt off and unhooking the vest, leaving my undershirt on to protect me from the elements.
I lay back on the ground and start my shimmy again.
This time I fit, and thank God I’m not claustrophobic.
If I were this would be hell. Getting to the back window, I test the glass and see it’s partway broken.
Unhooking my nightstick from my side, I extend it and push against the glass, hooking it in a hole, and pulling it back towards me.
It falls, but not on the side Tank is on.
If anyone’s going to get cut up, it’s me.
Turning my body in ways I’ve never known it would go, I wiggle myself in, and finally reach Tank. My world stops in this moment because I’m not sure if he’s breathing. I can’t hear it, and that scares me more than anything.
“Trevor, wake up, wake up,” I plead, using two fingers to search for a pulse. It takes forever to find one, and once I do, it’s erratic, but I’ll take what I can get.
“Dispatch advise EMS the officer has a very weak pulse and is trapped inside the wreckage. I’m kind of in here, but we’re gonna need the jaws of life to get him out.”
Putting the radio to my side, I take stock of what’s going on.
His breathing is just as erratic as his heartbeat, but I say a little thank you that he’s breathing.
Now I can hear it, but it’s a wheeze that makes me more worried, if that’s even possible.
“Don’t you give up on me, Trev. Please don’t give up on me.
You have a niece to meet. When I finally convince Whitney to marry me, I’m gonna need a best man. Don’t you dare fuckin’ give up on me.”
It’s then I feel the wetness of the tears streaming down my face.
We’ve been to war and back, we’ve been on many dangerous calls as police officers and members of the Moonshine Task Force.
I’ll be damned if I let my best friend die on the side of the road because some little piece of shit couldn’t obey a speed limit.
“Ryan, they’re here. EMS needs you to come out so the fire department can use the jaws. It’s time to turn him over to someone else.’
I grip Trevor’s hand, promising him things I’m not sure will come true. “I’m gonna be right here, and then I’m gonna go get your sister and momma. You’re gonna be fine, brother. Hang in there for me.”
I extricate myself as quickly as possible, and as I come out, my eyes meet Blaze’s.
“It’s Trevor?” she asks, a look of devastation on her face.
“It’s Trevor,” I confirm. “Get our boy safely to the hospital and give him a fighting chance. I have to go notify his family.”
“What do we do about Brooks?” Ace asks.
For the first time I look over and see Brooks standing on the side of the road, blood running down his face from a gash at his hairline, but he’s fine.
He’s not going to be fighting for his life like Trevor will be.
It takes everything I have not to run over and lay that boy out, to hold my gun to his head and ask him to plead for his life.
I remind myself he’s someone else’s kid, and he’s made a stupid decision, but fuck if I’m going to let him be comfortable while Trevor is stuck in the fuckin’ mud.
“I don’t give two shits. Let him rot out here until transport comes. I’m taking our car.”