Page 57 of The Gentleness of Rage

“Mac, you got a waitress called Jaelynn?” a man asked.

“Nope, Nando, just Alexa on tonight. And obviously Wraith, Sunny, Slate, and me,” Mac replied.

“Jaelynn’s been here!” Damien’s voice almost rose to a shriek.

“Who’s meant to be unstable?” Nando inquired.

“Look, I’m sorry. Really, I am. I need to find her. Jaelynn must be so scared and alone. She’ll push people away because she thinks they’ll hurt her. Hell, she’s even been known to accuse me of stuff, and everyone knows I’d rather die that harm her,” Damien replied.

“Well, let me tell you something. If Mac and Sunny say she ain’t here, Jaelynn isn’t here. We know these men, we don’t know you. What we do understand is you came in here and threw your weight around and nearly started shit. You’ve not even called in to my chief because he just confirmed that by text.

“That tells me you’re not sanctioned to be here. Barclay, you are not arresting anybody, you ain’t bullying anyone, and you’re not fuckin’ fooling anybody. This is our turf, and you weren’t invited. Pack your shit and get out of our town,” Ramirez said.

Mesmerised, I drew in a sharp breath. Nobody spoke to Damien like that.

“You’re not going to help a brother out?”

“You’re not my brother. Mine are here beside me,” Ramirez retorted.

“A brother in blue,” Damien pushed.

“Told ya. You ain’t mine. I don’t like you. You came in here like your shit don’t stink. This is my town, my turf, not yours. You’ve shown a total lack of respect, and I hate disrespect,” Ramirez stated.

“Trust me, you don’t want to make an enemy of me,” Damien threatened.

“Asshole, we’re facing a fuckin’ war here. I don’t have time to give two shits for your threats. Sergeant, you want to come at me, fine, but I’ll not stand there and take whatever bullshit you wanna hand out. Now get the fuck out of my town,” Ramirez snapped.

“Spic,” Damien spat and shoved Ramirez hard.

Silence fell.

“You’re done,” the guy, Nando, said. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

“What the hell for?” Damien sneered.

“Hate crime. Assaulting an officer of the law. And by the way, it’s Hispanic asshole,” Ben said. There was grunting, followed by a thud.

“And now you’re under arrest for resisting. My chief will meet us at the station. And considering the time, he’s not going to be happy with you,” Ramirez said and sounded almost cheerful.

“I’m a fucking state trooper!” Damien yelled.

“And I’m fuckin’ popeye,” Nando replied.

There was shouting and threats, and then silence fell.

I gazed wide-eyed at the door as the one called Nando and the other cop reappeared.

“Hey. You can come out now. Ramirez and Ben took the asshole away. A word of advice: stay home for a bit. Hole up somewhere,” Nando stated.

“She’ll be flying out with Phoe,” Slate elaborated, barrelling past the two men.

“Good. But lock her down. Chief will have to kick Barclay free or risk potential blowback. But he won’t release him yet. In fact, the chief just texted he has returned to bed. Seems he’s got a migraine,” the other cop said.

“Lucas,” Slate acknowledged, amused.

“Howser’s dealing with a lot,” Lucas replied and opened the kitchen door to leave. He stopped dead on the threshold. “Nando.”

I glanced up at the tone of his voice.

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