Page 24 of Break

Chapter 12

Just Doing my Job

Vincent

~ 1 hour earlier ~

Tony Singh, my partner and one of the few friends I have outside of Ethan and Max, pulls up in front of a house I haven’t visited in the last four or five years.

Danny Reed has a warrant out for his arrest, and I can’t make heads or tails of what the hell is going on. Our friendship has fizzled out ever since we graduated high school, like so many of those types of relationships do. But I truly never expected to find myself in the position of having to cuff him and read him his rights.

I informed Lieutenant Cooper immediately of our history when we were assigned to pick him up, but Cooper felt confident that I could lay that to the side and do my job. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll do what I have to, even though it makes me feel uneasy.

“You good to do this, man?” Tony has the car parked at the end of Danny’s driveway, the car idling, giving me a moment to collect myself.

Clearing away the knot in my throat, I nod, and then answer. “Yep, super good. It’s just really fucking weird to me.”

“Yeah, I know, but you saw the report. People change, ya know?” he reminds me.

People do change, but many don’t. Sometimes they’ve always been exactly who they are, only to fool those closest to them. I feel like that’s what Danny did to us. I’ve known this guy for decades, and although he’s always been an ass, I wouldn’t have pegged him for a wife beater.

And Wilhelmina Bardot? No. WilhelminaReed?From what I remember of her, she was always a quiet girl. Shy, mousey, but incredibly polite no matter the way we treated her, which flares up in my subconscious from time to time. The girl was just a little thing when we were growing up, always looking a couple of years younger than her actual age. I still struggle with understanding why she ever married Danny.

Shrugging off my thoughts, I punch Tony’s arm before hopping out of the squad car. “Come on. Let’s get this shit over with.”

My partner follows me to the front door, quietly stating, “We got three cars in the driveway. I’ll stand back and monitor the side door in case he tries to slip out.”

I snort at him and give him an incredulous look. “He’s not going to run, Singh.”

Jerking his shoulders up, he waves me off. “Look, you never know what someone’s gonna do when they’re cornered. You know this.”

Choosing to ignore him, I press the doorbell and then rap my knuckles on the solid oak door three times in quick succession. Taking a step back, I inhale deeply and then let it out slowly, shaking my hands out by my side to settle the nerves wrapping around my chest. I love my job, but altercations with people I consider friends or family have never been something that I’ve been comfortable with.

It’s not long before Danny cracks the door open and peers through the small gap, his eyes slitted from the early morning sun. He’s confused for a moment when he sees that it’s me standing outside, then flashes me a quick smile and opens the door fully. His smile falls when he steps outside and sees my partner standing at the foot of the stairs, hip leaning against the rail.

There’s no greeting from him, just questions. “What’s going on? What are you doing here withhim?” He jerks his head toward Tony.

“Hey, buddy. So, we’ve got ourselves a situation this morning. We’ve been assigned to bring you in.”

I watch for his reaction, and my heart sinks when he looks unsurprised.

“That fucking bitch. Are you fuckingkiddingme right now?” Danny is seething mad. The best I can do is ignore his question and continue doing my job.

“I’ve got a warrant here for you if you need to read it. Do you want to take a minute to get dressed?” Tony grunts his disapproval, but I give him a small shake of my head, urging him to let it go.

Danny’s face flushes a deep red, and he glares at me. “This is all a massive misunderstanding, and you guys gotta know that she’s feeding you a bunch of bullshit. I’m not going to let her embarrass me with whatever insane story she’s telling you. And they sent you?Youof all people to arrest me? Bet you think this is all just a fucking joke and that I can’t keep a handle on my own goddamn wife, huh?”

Tensing my muscles, I straighten up and prepare for a fight I wasn’t expecting to get from him. “Danny, I don’t think anything. I’m just here to do my job. It’ll get worked out down at the station, but wedohave to bring you down there.”

His voice gets louder when I don’t back down the way he was expecting. “I never should have married thatcunt!This is fucking unbelievable! My God, you’re seriously standing here likeyou, fucking Officer Vincent Mercer, will actually arrest one of your best friends.”

Lowering my voice, I take a step forward so only he can hear me. “Don’t make this into a thing, man. Let’s just get this over with. If you fight me, it’s only going to hurt you in the long run.” I look back and forth between his eyes, begging him silently to not make me force the cuffs on his wrists. “You understand?”

He lets out a small scream through his clenched teeth in fury but nods his head once in compliance. “Let’s just fucking go. I don’t need to change.”

I bring my fist to cover my cough of embarrassment. “I, umm… I have to cuff you, Danny. We’ve got to do this right.”

The look of pure hatred directed at me contains so much malice that I know I’ve permanently lost a friend. As much as you could consider us friends after the distance between us since high school. “Sure,” he hisses out sarcastically.

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