Page 57 of The MC's Little Brother

“Officers, unless you want me to bring you to court for excessive force and potentially murder, I suggest you get off that man and let him breathe.”

That startled a few of them and the ones on top of Mattias immediately moved off him. He sucked in a breath, coughing a few times. I wanted to check on him, but I was still handcuffed, and that asshole who showed up first hadn’t put his weapon away.

“Officer, that boy is being treated for malnourishment. You’ll hurt him if you manhandle him. Let him go,” Wyatt snarled.

He did and Xander immediately went after Mattias again, but Wyatt caught him around the waist, whispering in his ear to stop him from approaching. Whatever he said was enough to get Xander to pause, though he was gripping Wyatt’s arm like he was ready to fling it off and go to his brother’s rescue if he needed to.

“Who’s in charge here?” Danielle demanded with a scowl.

“I am,” the asshole cop answered, turning to face her. “We got a call about potential domestic violence and when I questioned them, they got aggressive.”

“That’s not what happened!” I shouted at him. I jerked away from the officer holding my arm, glaring at him. “You didn’t ask any questions. You tried to take Xanderwithout saying a word to either of us. And when he got scared, you reached for your weapon!”

“Liar!” the officer hissed. “I was doing my job and–”

“He’s lying.”

All eyes swung to the server, who looked spooked and ready to bolt, but he lifted his chin when the officer glared at him. “I heard him. He was pointing his weapon at unarmed patrons because the kid didn’t immediately get up and go with some random stranger.”

There were murmurs of agreement from the few other patrons, who were all hiding behind tables or hovering near the back hall toward the bathrooms, scared shitless.

“I’m an officer of the law!” the officer bellowed.

“And unstable enough to draw your weapon in a public space without cause,” Danielle finished for him. “Someone call in the CO or I’ll do it myself.”

The officer who had been holding Xander did as she asked, though he wasn’t happy about it. All five were glaring at Danielle and Wyatt, but none of them seemed willing to argue with them.

The minutes that passed by while we waited for the commanding officer were strained and tense. Mattias didn’t move from where he was lying on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back, but he looked a little better. His face had its normal color to it, and he stopped coughing. I still wanted to check him over, but it reassured me a little that he was breathing and not wincing or making any pained noises.

Two new officers joined the fray. One was an older man with white hair and a deep snarl on his face. The other was a woman with a long brown braid and an air of calm the other officers just didn’t have. They went straight for Wyatt and Danielle, listening as they gave their statements. I saw irritation flash over the man’s face more than once, but whatever they had to say seemed to work because the woman turned to face the officers holding me and Mattias with a frown.

“Uncuff them. They aren’t under arrest.”

The officer who started all this looked incredulous. “Captain–”

The older man scowled at him. “You shut your mouth. We’ll discuss this at the station.”

The second Mattias was uncuffed and hauled to his feet, Xander dodged aroundthe officers to go to him. Mattias caught him in a strong hug, almost curling himself around Xander’s smaller frame protectively.

I felt the cuffs give and the officer behind me stepped back. Rubbing at the sore skin on my wrists, I stepped forward, joining the hug when Mattias reached for me. The confrontation lasted only minutes, but it scared the living daylights out of me.

Slowly, the officers filtered out of the restaurant, waiting in the hall instead. No one approached us, and I didn't look up, not even when I heard the ignorant officer screeching in the hallway.

“How the hell was I supposed to know? I was doing my job!”

“You were supposed to ask,” the female officer snapped. “You could’ve gone about this a dozen different ways, Clayton! I understand you were buddies with Maskery, but don’t let his rhetoric poison you. You’ll end up in the same situation as him.”

“Are you three okay?” Wyatt’s voice was soft and concerned, and when I finally looked up, his eyes were filled with worry. Stepping out of the embrace, I went for my brother, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you for coming.”

“You know I always will,” he murmured, hugging me back just as tight. “Come on. Let’s get you guys home.”

32

Wraith

Xander hovered the rest of the night. I hated that asshole cop for scaring him. If he had just asked, he would’ve been able to look it up in the system why Xander was hurt and with me. Xander did the right thing by refusing to go with a stranger, but it all went to shit because of one asshole who thought it was smart to reach for a weapon in the face of a scared little kid.

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