33. Jake
CHAPTER 33
JAKE
I fucked up. When I saw that motherfucker put his hands on June and call her a whore, I lost it. If Lachy and Ryan hadn’t pulled me off him, I might have committed murder. Now I’m waiting in jail for my lawyer to work his magic and get me out of here. I’m lucky that my cell isn’t full and my other companions are leaving me alone for the time being.
I’m staring at the floor when a commotion makes me look up. Ryan and Lachy are the ones responsible for the ruckus as they’re dragged to my prison cell by two burly cops each. I sit straighter on the bench. “What the hell did you do?”
The cops shove them inside the cell and lock the cage again. “Your teammates missed you,” one of the cops sneers.
“What the fuck did you do?” I glower at the duo, who don’t look one bit phased to be in jail with me.
“Bill tripped and fell on my knuckles.” Ryan grins.
“Then he met my elbow and crashed against the wall,” Lachy adds. “Totally accidental.”
The drunk sitting at the end of the bench laughs. “Good one. I never heard that before.”
“You assaulted him inside a police station? What are you? A couple of morons?”
Ryan frowns. “Who said anything about assault?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Coach Haagen will kill us all. Hell... if he doesn’t, Melissa will.”
“Why do you think we’re here?” Ryan sits next to me.
“Wait? Did you get arrested on purpose?”
Lachy shrugs. “We couldn’t let you take all the blame because you got to that arsehole first. Ryan or I would have done the same thing to him, or worse.”
I laugh in derision. “I’m the captain. I should lead by example. Now they’re going to say I’m a bad influence on you.”
“Like I said, we didn’t do anything wrong.” Ryan waves a hand dismissively. “It’s not our fault that assface is a klutz.”
“Yeah, that’s why the cops threw your asses in here with me. Where’s June?”
“She was giving her statement. Don’t worry. She didn’t see anything,” Ryan replies.
I rub my face, feeling more dejected. “I can’t believe I lost control like that in front of her students. She must hate me.”
Ryan throws an arm over my shoulder. “She doesn’t hate you. Besides, that son of a bitch asked for it. He had no business showing up at her workplace.”
“You were only protecting her. He had his hands on our lass.”
I don’t bother telling Lachy to be subtle. I doubt any of the men in here care or can make sense of this conversation.
Not much later, our lawyer shows up with a police officer. Otto Mayfair in his sharp suit and perfectly styled hair looks as out of place here as a polar bear in the desert. It’s not the expensive suit, it’s the whole package that screams I should be walking the red carpet and not getting my stupid-ass clients out of jail.
The cop opens our cell. “You’re free to go.”
“That was quick,” Ryan pipes up. “You’re worth every penny of your obscene fee.”
“You bet I am. But in this case, your speedy release has nothing to do with my talents.”
“Oh?” I arch a brow. “Then who do we need to thank?”
Otto looks me straight in the eye. “Your girlfriend. I don’t know what she did to convince her ex to drop the charges, but thank her.”
My stomach coils tightly, making me sick. Junebug, what did you do?
JUNE
I’m in the middle of giving my statement when I hear loud voices outside. The police officer asks me to stay inside his office while he goes investigate. But as soon as he opens the door, I identify Lachy’s, Ryan’s, and Bill’s raised voices. Nothing can keep me in my seat now.
I jump from the chair and run to the door. Four cops—including the one who was interviewing me—have restrained Lachy and Ryan and are taking them somewhere. Shit. That can’t be good. On the other side of the room, Bill is covering his bloody nose with one hand. Jake already made him bleed, but Bill’s wound looks fresh.
He sees me staring by the door and glowers. “Are you happy now? Your goon friends broke my nose.”
“My goon friends were the ones you idolized not too long ago.”
“That was before you got involved. Why did you have to steal my team? You don’t even like hockey.”
My brows shoot up. “I didn’t steal your team. And if you hadn’t chased me in the arena, security wouldn’t have thrown you out.”
“I’ll probably be banned for life.”
I narrow my eyes. “It’s not my fault you decided to act like a crazy stalker. I’m not interested in taking you back, if that’s your intention.”
He snorts. “Take me back? That’s rich. I’ve never been happier.”
He’s only saying that to hurt me. But the joke is on him. I don’t care. “Ditto. Then why the hell won’t you leave me alone?”
“Because my great aunt decided to take your side, and she disowned me.”
My jaw drops. “And what the hell do you want me to do about that?”
“You need to convince her I’m not the bad guy here.”
I stare at him without saying a word while my mind spirals. “So... you want me to lie?”
He steps closer, but I hold my ground. He wouldn’t dare to touch me while we’re surrounded by cops. “After what you put me through, you owe me.”
“Pray tell me, what did I do to you ?”
“You humiliated me by showing up at the Titans afterparty, then a few days later, you were dating Jake motherfucking Phillips. Do you expect me to believe you met him at the party?”
I cross my arms. “What the hell are you implying, Bill? Do you think I was sleeping with Jake while we were together?”
“It’s what everyone I know is saying. It makes total sense.”
“Only to someone as delusional as you. First of all, I’m not a cheater, and second of all, if I had met Jake before that Jumbotron fiasco, I wouldn’t have proposed to you! I’d have dumped your sorry ass.”
His face twists into an ugly mask. “Well, it seems to me you’re about to get dumped again. I doubt Jake Phillips will keep you around after he gets charged with assault because of you.”
“You’re not pressing charges.”
“Oh, darling. I am. I’ll also get his friends thrown into the mix. The Titans season is about to tank, and all because of you.”
Bill, you fucking snake . I know exactly where he’s going with this. He wants to guilt me into helping him with his aunt, and it’s working. I can’t let Jake, Lachy, and Ryan get in trouble because I have a good-for-nothing ex.
“I’ll call your great aunt if you agree not to press charges.”
His eyes turn into slits. “That’s not good enough. You need to?—”
“I know. Convince her that you’re an upstanding fella and deserve all of her money.”
“Don’t give me that look. I do deserve the money after having to suffer that witch all these years. You know very well what kind of woman she is.”
“Yes... it must run in the family.”