Page 51 of Enforce This

A painful, feminine-sounding grunt turned into a whimper and slowly climbed until it erupted in a scream that turned into a sob on the other end of the line.

“Feloni…” I blurted out, causing everyone around to look at me.

The sheriff and Tiffany stopped chatting and started to gravitate toward me.

“Demetri, listen to me,” I frantically whispered, walking away from the uniforms, and increasing my pace as they started to jog.

“No, you listen, Eric. We’ve chatted together for as long as someone of my caliber and yours can without one of us saying something foolish that will ruin our future together. So, it is, unfortunately, about time that this drew to a conclusion, don’t you agree? Here is what is going to happen… Your friend Oakland O’Brian is now a patched member of the Steel Disciples. He’s also a gunnery sergeant. He has access to and knowledge of military-style arms. That is excellent news, that a soldier is going to come in handy in the next few weeks when your club starts supplying me. Enough about that end of things, though… I’m an old-fashioned man. I like to seal my alliances the way all good men do, with a wedding. What do you say?”

“Hu– What?” My mind was reeling, and Banshee was doing what he could to keep Tiffany and the sheriff from reaching me, which wasn’t much. They were still inching closer, forcing me to drop my voice. “Give. I…”

Fuck!

I needed him to give her back to me. I needed to hear him say he would give her back, but I knew if I used the wrong words those cops were going to hold me in a cage and Makaveli would indeed burn the kingdom down as Demetri had so poetically predicted.

The Outlaw Prince himself was currently glaring at me, his chest heaving as he clung to my every word.

“Look, Mister, I’m supposed to be on my fucking honeymoon…” I couldn’t stand even a fraction of a second of the silence, so I immediately whispered, “Okay?”

“You will be, Eric. Soon enough, you will be. Once I have my wedding, of course…”

“Wha- Who…?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Hm… Michael is a good sport, and you know… That’s right he has three motherless children as you pointed out, and he… Unlike you… Is not currently married. Perfect solution, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re a fucking monster,” I breathlessly exclaimed as Tiffany broke past Banshee.

“Oh, I’m more than that, boy,” Demetri sounded absolutely tickled. “Just you disobey me again and see.”

Trista erupted in the background, pleading, and screaming.

“Hush now, Sweetheart. You’ll waste all your tears before I get to the part I like to call ‘the rough wooing…’You don’t want to spoil all of your new Daddy’s fun now, do you?” Demetri gave a laugh that sealed his fate and cheerfully called, “I’ll send the invitation soon. Do try to convince Michael to wear something more becoming than that dreadful clip-on tie he wore when he married that farm girl, won’t you?”

The phone blipped as he ended the call, and Tiffany grabbed my free hand and twisted it crudely behind my back. It was a little different than the last time we got physical together, and I’d been the one doing the manhandling. Apparently, Maryette County had taught her a trick or two about dealing with assholes like me.

As good as she was, she didn’t have time to grab my other wrist before I hurled Mak’s cellphone as hard as I could against the viaduct wall.

It shattered into more pieces than I could count before Tiffany planted her boot against my ass and pushed me. I tried to break my fall and ended up crunching my wrist in the process. I roared with pain, but that girl didn’t give a fuck. She tore my broken wrist out from under me and slapped a set of cuffs on with enough speed to leave me speechless.

I took a deep breath, reached down deep inside of myself to a tiny place that I didn’t even know existed, and found the ability to collect myself while I breathed in the anhydrous fumes and rested my forehead against the pavement.

“I need you to calm down.” Tiffany didn’t sound as pissed as she seemed.

Her hand gently found my shoulder and she remained squatted beside me for what felt like an eternity.

“I just needed you to calm down before you hurt yourself, or someone else. I don’t want to see anything happen to you, okay?” she quietly pleaded.

“Eric, take a few deep breaths,” Sheriff Philpot instructed.

“I will,” I promised.

“Good. That’s good.” The sheriff sounded relieved. “Let’s get him off his face and get everybody back. This is a tragedy and I’m deeply sorry for the loss and ….” Sheriff Philpot stopped and just shook her head for a moment. “We have to get back. It isn’t good for anyone to breathe this stuff in.”

I allowed her to haul me to my feet and cooperated with them as they marched me past a long row of bikes and onlookers.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Eric

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