Page 144 of Gunner

A horde of cops dressed in protective gear burst into the room with their guns drawn and pointed at us. Hands shot up into the air, and everyone stood still. A room full of bikers and cops bearing arms spelled nothing but disaster.

I rose to my feet, frowning when that familiar cop called Thoms slipped through them. Of course he would be the one behind this.

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Thoms said. “We’re only here for one man, and if no one interferes with our job, we can all have a nice day except for the asshole who thought he could get away with killing a cop.”

“What the fuck’s this fool talking about?” I growled. Had one of my men stupidly murdered a cop? We didn’t touch men in blue. As much as we hated them, they had a purpose, and often that purpose saw them lining their pockets with our money and looking away.

Ben came in behind Thoms, breathing hard as if he’d been running to catch up. Next to him, Zeus appeared, his swishing tail slowing down. The room was tense, and he must have picked up on it.

Thoms stepped toward me, a pair of handcuffs in his hand. “You don’t speak, you filthy piece of—”

Zeus growled, his demeanor changing from the friendly dog I was used to. His body went rigid as he rushed to Thoms, baring his teeth and barking.

“Someone get rid of that mutt!” Thoms raised his foot, his attention fixed on Zeus.

I smashed my fist into his face hard, sending him stumbling back into another cop. “You touch that dog, and you’re fuckingdead.” Zeus came up to me and wound himself around my legs, whining. I patted his head to calm him down.

Thoms’s nostrils flared, and he touched the corner of his mouth. The cops looked nervous, as if waiting for further instructions from him. Thoms inhaled sharply and brandished his gun.

In a flash, Ben was before me and him. “You pull that trigger, and you’ll regret it,” he said calmly.

“He assaulted a cop in front of you, and you defend him? Well, isn’t this rich?”

“He defendedmydog, so yes, I’ll stop you from making this situation worse. I’ll handle the arrest.”

Thoms shook his head. “At least you’re no longer hiding that you’re fucking him. You lie down with dogs, you catch their fleas,Chief.”

“You can all leave,” Ben said to the other cops. “There won’t be any incident, and I’ll take him in.”

The cops hesitated, glancing between Ben and Thoms. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Do I have to remind you who you take orders from?”

Quietly they backed out of the room save for Thoms. Most of the tension eased from Ben’s shoulders.

“You’re a fucking disgrace of a cop,” Thoms snapped. “Using your authority to show favoritism because he’s your lover, but you won’t be chief for too long after this. I’ll make sure of it.”

“A man like you shouldn’t sleep at night,” I said to Thoms.

“Gunner, don’t make this worse,” Ben said softly, removing his handcuffs.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to not make worse. What the hell is going on?”

“I knew he couldn’t be trusted,” Tango said.

“Just trust me, please,” Ben said to me. “I know what I’m doing. You’re under arrest for the murder of Officer Jim Anders.”

Murder? When had I killed a cop? Ben must have seen the questions in my eyes because he gave a tiny shake of his head as he read me my Miranda rights.

He expected me to trust him, even as he snapped the handcuffs around my wrists. Everything inside me wanted to protest, to fight back. All my life, I’d been fighting. It was the only thing I knew. Perhaps if Thoms were the one handcuffing me, I would have resisted.

But this was Ben. The man I’d fallen in love with. How could I fight back?

I don’t know what the fuck is going on, Ben, but I’m trusting you to make this right.

Being processed at the Smoky Vale PD felt familiar, yet each step was laced with a new sense of dread. As a biker who loved the open road, I didn’t do well with being confined. Thoms had insisted on riding with Ben, so I didn’t get to ask him just why the hell he was arresting me for something I didn’t do. On the way to the police station, Thoms kept up with his vile commentary. A couple of times, I wanted to answer him, but Ben would look in the rearview mirror and shake his head. I swallowed my words.

This time I had to follow his lead. I didn’t know the details of this murder they were trying to pin on me. The last thing I wanted to do was complicate matters for him. The sooner he got me out of the handcuffs, the better.

Ironically, Ben had put me through this process before, and he was at it again. At least this time, he seemed to believe my innocence and was working to get the charges dropped. All he asked was for my patience so he could do things the right way. For Ben, I suffered through it all.

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