Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
KAI
D ane’s plan is simple in theory. Brad is still here at the local jail waiting for trial. While I’m waiting to be bailed out, he wants me to talk to Brad to see if I can get him to open up about being set up by Eric. If we can confirm Eric did put Brad and his bro up to harassing Serena, it’s a strong foundation for building a case against him and Dom.
It took a while for Dane to get me on board with this plan. As much as I want to nail Dom’s ass to the wall, I don’t have any pity for Brad’s situation. He’s harassed my girl twice. Eric may have instigated the second assault, but Brad is still responsible for his actions. Dane assured me he’s going to make sure the frat douche still pays for his crimes, but sometimes we have to cut a little fish loose in order to catch a bigger one. Like making a deal with a small-time street dealer in order to catch his supplier. Right now, Dominick Reeves is the biggest threat to Serena, so there isn’t anything I won’t do to get her out of his orbit.
I only agreed to his plan after he let me call my parents and tell them where I was. To my surprise, they were already on the way to the station. A message from Serena made it to Arianna who called my dad’s number. Knowing Serena still had the cell phone I bought her gave me some measure of comfort, and having Jerry—my dad’s lawyer friend—sit in on my meeting with Dane made me more comfortable with going forward with his plan.
Through some careful maneuvering, Dane has me sharing a cell with Brad the Rapist. I have my cell phone back, hidden in my back pocket. Somehow, I’m supposed to build some sort of relationship with him and trick him into confessing.
Just imagining his spoiled fuckboy face has me wanting to punch him, but I fight back the urge. I have to put on a good show to get him to open up. As Dane walks me to my temporary home, I close my eyes, inhale a deep breath and channel all the anger I’ve been holding onto. I let my frustration at the injustice of our justice system bubble up to the surface. If Brad wants someone to believe him when he says he was set up by a crooked cop, who better than a young black man who has suffered at the hands of power-hungry, prejudiced cops?
When we reach the cell door, I begin to put on a show. “Get your hands off me, fucking pig.” I jerk my arm out of Dane’s grasp and shoulder-check him as I walk through the door.
“Watch it, Roberts. You don’t want to be on my bad side.” Dane gives me a shove before he slams the cell door closed, selling the ruse. Brad is lying on the bottom bunk, his blond hair looking greasy and sticking out at all angles. He cuts me a sideways glance before returning his gaze to the bunk above. Poor spoiled frat boy. He must be depressed from being kept away from a steady supply of drunk sorority sisters and shitty beer.
Time to put those high school drama classes to good use. “Fucking asshole cops.” I punch the wall, picturing Dominick’s smug-as-fuck face as he whispered in my ear how he was planning on fucking Serena’s ass as punishment, letting my real anger bleed through. “Fucking. Power. Hungry. Abusive. Shit. Stain.” I punctuate each word with a new hit to the cinder blocks, my knuckles busting open, leaving blood splatters on the wall. My anger is so white hot, I don’t even feel the pain.
When I turn around, I sneak a surreptitious glance at Brad to see if I have his attention. He’s eyeing me with wary interest.
“What’d they do? Pull you over and take your weed stash?” Oh, great. He’s a rapist and a racist. Silently I wonder if Dane will care if I get a few hits in and ruin this fuck’s pretty-boy face before I’m done in here.
“Fuck you.” I shoot my cellmate a venomous look before settling on the other bunk bed on the opposite wall. We settle into an uneasy silence. He doesn’t trust me enough to open up yet, but he knows there is no love lost between me and the police. That’s good enough for phase one.
I lie there on the stiff cot, on top of the scratchy blanket, my mind racing and sleep evasive. Serena is all I can think about. What is he doing to her? Has he hurt her? Dane promised he would go check on her after we were done, but I won’t stop worrying until I have eyes on her again. There is no limit to what Dom could have done to her in the time I’ve been in here. That sick fuck was looking forward to punishing her for daring to leave his ass. There is still a dull throb in my head from where I headbutted him, but I don’t regret it. I hope I broke his goddamn nose.
I must drift off at some point. When I open my eyes, there are two figures standing outside of our cell. It’s Dane and Eric. I guess it’s time for the next stage of our plan. They aren’t paying attention to Brad or me. Just having a conversation in front of our door. Dane was supposed to get Eric to where Brad can see him, so Brad will know the man who set him up is a cop. My job is to make Brad feel like we are both victims of his shadiness.
I sneak a look at Brad and see he’s still lying there, eyes closed, either sleeping or tuning out his surroundings. Not willing to risk him missing Eric while he’s in place, I raise my voice.
“Hey! Yeah you!” Eric and Dane turn towards me, as Brad opens his eyes. “Where’s my fucking phone call, fuckface?” I stalk to the bars, glaring at the cops. “Or do I not get to speak to a lawyer while you’re busy coming up with your cover story?” In my periphery, I see Brad sit up on his cot, hopefully recognizing Eric by now.
“Shut your fucking mouth, inmate,” Eric spits out. Dane stands behind him, his eyes bouncing from me to Brad in an unasked question. I ignore him, focusing my ire on the older cop standing in front of me.
“You think you’re so fucking big and bad. Invincible behind that badge. I can’t wait to see how tough you are when that mask comes down. When people see all the only way you have any power is from setting people up. I can’t wait until I talk to my lawyer.” I stand close enough to press my chest against the bars, daring Eric to get close enough for me to grab him. Fantasies of smashing his face into the bars play through my mind. Eric doesn’t take the bait. A slow grin spreads across his face, like he’s amused by my outburst. Cocky bastard.
“Come on, D. I think this one needs to cool his heels some more before he gets his phone call.”
I’m not surprised by his comeback, but I still act indignant as hell. “The fuck! I get a phone call! I demand to call my lawyer!” I make a show of smacking my hands on the door, angry at the injustice.
I don’t give a shit about the phone call. I just need Brad to know we have a common enemy. I already spoke to my parents last night before Dane brought me to my cell. This is all an act for Brad. Eric flips me the bird before turning, ushering Dane down the hallway. He was so focused on me, I’m not sure if he noticed who my cellmate is. When I turn around, Brad looks like he’s seen a ghost.
“He’s a cop! That fuck is a cop?!” He jumps out of bed and begins pacing in the small space, his hands pulling at his hair, making it more disheveled than before. “He’s a cop…he’s a cop…” While he’s distracted, I slip my phone out of my back pocket and turn on the camera. I stuff it back into my pocket, careful to leave the microphone pointed up so it can pick up Brad’s confession.
“Pretty sure the badge and uniform are a dead giveaway, man,” I deadpan.
“You don’t understand! He set me up! He’s the reason I’m in here and my bro is dead!” Brad grasps my shirt in his clenched fists, spitting in my face in his urgency to tell his story.
“He set you up? How?” I leave enough skepticism in my voice to make it sound like I’m not entirely convinced, needing him to elaborate more. This probably won’t be admissible in court but maybe it will be enough to make Dom feel like we have him by the short and curlies.
“That asshat was the one who mentioned that bitch was working late without her pit bull cop boyfriend there to guard her. It’s not our fault the uppity bitch can’t take a compliment. He suggested we should fuck with her to get back at him.” Brad grabs his hair, pulling at it, a slight mad glint in his eyes. When I give him a blank look like I have no fucking idea what he’s on about, he continues, sounding more than a little unhinged and slightly paranoid.
“This prick-tease of a waitress at this bar, she was all over my boy one night, and then her pit bull cop boyfriend shows up and breaks his fucking nose! After that the boyfriend was always hanging around giving us the stink eye, fuck, like we cared about his stupid skank. But then a couple of weeks later, that fucking cop—we didn't know he was a fucking cop—that fucker starts talking about what a hot little ass she has on her, and we're like, ‘Yeah, but good luck getting past her prick bodyguard’, but the guy's like, ‘What boyfriend? I don't see no one standing watch’. We told him what he did to my boy’s nose, and he suggested we teach her a lesson. He even offered to keep an eye on the back door for us when we saw her walk out with the trash.”
I ball my fists at my sides, the tenuous thread holding my self-control together fraying with every insult he slings towards Serena. “Teach her a lesson?” I prod, barely unclenching my jaw enough to get the words out.
“Yeah, you know. Rough her up, maybe have some fun. But her bitch-ass cop boyfriend showed up before we even did anything and fucking shot Todd!”
Rage simmers under my skin, threatening to boil over. I want nothing more than to beat his ass for what he did to Serena, but we need him to take down Dom.
“Yeah…I remember seeing an article about that.” I snap my fingers, like it’s all coming back to me now. “You know her boyfriend? The bitch-ass cop? That dude is his partner. They were together when they pulled me over,” I lie, trying to build camaraderie with this fucknugget. Gag. “I bet they set you up together to teach you and your bro a lesson.” Brad’s eyes go wide as my words cause an epiphany in his brain. “I’d suggest you call your lawyer, dude. Sounds like you’ve got a case.”
Brad lets go of my shirt, runs to the door and begins yelling about needing to speak to his lawyer. While he’s not looking I turn off the recording and send the video to Dane. Now that I’ve done my part, he will call my parents and have them bring my lawyer by to get me out of here. The agreement made last night with my lawyer present was I wouldn’t spend more than forty-eight hours in here. So far, I’m being held without any official charges being brought against me, and I can only hope that means Dom hasn’t concocted some kind of false evidence to hold me for kidnapping. With any luck, Jerry will have me home by dinner time.