Page 57 of Exile

Before I can leave, he grips my arm again, leaning in to growl into my ear, “Don’t bother getting dressed when you’re done. Just come to the bedroom.”

Swallowing, I nod my understanding. Finally, he lets go, and I practically sprint to the bathroom, desperate to put space between us.

Once behind the safety of the locked bathroom door, I pull the burner phone out and see a missed text from Arianna checking on us. We were supposed to let her know when we were heading back with Mom. Quickly, I tap out a series of rapid-fire texts to her.

Me: Dom has Mom but I don’t know where. Got pulled over. Kai in jail. I’m with Dom.

Me: Call Kai’s parents. Let them know he needs help.

Me: Dom reported me as kidnapped.

Me: Don’t text me back. Gotta hide phone. Will text when I can.

I send the contact for Kai’s parents, to Arianna before shutting the phone off. Frantically, I look around the master bathroom for a hiding place for my phone. Digging through the cabinet under the sink, I find a box of tampons. Perfect. I bury the phone under the sanitary products and shove the box behind some spare toiletries.

Afraid to give Dom any reason to get impatient and angry, I strip out of my clothes, throw my hair up in a bun and hop in the steaming spray of water. As the water scalds the reminder of his touch from my skin, I pray Arianna will get my message and get Kai help. If they can get a lawyer involved, maybe it will be enough to get Kai out of this mess. Now I just need to convince Dom to let me see my mom.

When I step out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a white bath towel, Dom is lying on the bed, naked, fisting his cock. His bare torso flexes and ripples as he slowly pumps his fist up and down his shaft. My mouth goes dry at the sight of him. His eyes are burning with a hunger that would look just as natural on a wolf or a lion. He is a predator. I am his prey, his next meal.

I close my eyes and inhale deeply, letting my racing heart slow, and a sense of calm settles over my body. When I open them again, I drop the towel at my feet. I stride across the room, purpose in my walk. I will do this on my terms. I will not let him make this hurt. I will do what it takes to get through this alive. I will get through this.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

KAI

Dane’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.

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