Page 76 of Possession

But Mason had a weird feeling in his gut, something telling him that that wasn’t going to be the case. He waited until he heard Tomas going downstairs and then got up, grabbed his pants, and tossed Vinnie’s toward him.

“What are we doing?” Vinnie asked, even as he tugged them on, nearly falling in his haste.

“I have a bad feeling.”

“Oh, fuck. Me too,” Vinnie said.

They didn’t bother pulling on shirts. As quietly as they could, they crept out into the hallway and peered over the banister. He couldn’t see the front door from there, but the house was quiet enough they heard when Tomas opened the door and said, “Evening, Keith. What can I help you with?”

“Mr. Ortiz,” the man said with a slight Southern accent. “I’m going to need you to come with me.”

“I’m going to need you to explain before I go anywhere,” Tomas said, a hard edge to his voice.

Mason looked over at Vinnie with wide eyes. This was bad. Really bad. Should they go down there or maybe call somebody for help?

“I’ve got an arrest warrant for you. Aggravated assault.”

“The fuck you say?” Tomas exploded. “I haven’t assaulted anyone today or any other day. How did you come up with this bullshit?”

“I’ve got three witnesses,” the sheriff said, sounding smug. “Said you nearly beat a man to death outside the courthouse a week ago.”

“Oh, please. Those men started it.”

Shut up, Mason wanted to shout.

He didn’t know why, but he was surprised the men who’d waited until Tomas and Marv were alone and out of sight of the deputies at the courthouse had gone to the police. And why had they waited a week to report it?

Despite Tomas telling him about the troubles the MC was having with the sheriff and mayor, he hadn’t thought it would escalate beyond the nuisance traffic stops meant to intimidate the members of the club.

He’d been painfully naïve, it appeared.

“You’re going to have to come down to the station with me, and then you can take it up with the judge on Monday.”

“This is bullshit,” Tomas said again, but they could hear him moving around.

Mason darted to the top of the steps, and a second later, Tomas was standing at the bottom of them, tugging on his boots.

“Call Houston. Tell him to get Cynthia down to the sheriff’s department.”

“Okay,” he said as Vinnie darted back into the bedroom to grab one of their phones.

“I don’t want you to worry.”

Like that was even a possibility.

“I’m not,” he lied, forcing a smile.

“I’ll be back soon.” Tomas’s jaw was tight, and he hesitated, like he wanted to say something more, but the sheriff cleared his throat loudly behind him.

Biting the inside of his lip, he nodded. “I know. See you in a little bit.”

SUB CLUB INTERLUDE

Ollie

*jittery video of room full of people dancing and singing to Don’t Stop Believin’*

Best house-warming party ever

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