Page 52 of Havoc

I forced my hand off my weapon, even though every cell in my body screamed to draw. The cruiser stopped just a few feet away, and Slater stepped out like he was posing for a damn magazine—clean uniform, shiny badge, mirrored sunglasses reflecting our images back at us like some smug omen of doom.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Well, shit. They’ll give a badge to anyone these days.”

He stopped short, lips twitching. “Didn’t I drop you off at county lockup a few weeks ago?”

I jerked my chin at him. “Arresting me is easy. Making it stick—that’s where you keep falling short.”

He shrugged, feigning boredom. “I’ll leave your fate to the prosecutor. Me, I’m here for her.” He nodded towards Riley.

She stiffened behind me. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I stayed rooted between them. “You heard the lady. Unless you’ve got a warrant, you’re trespassing.”

Slater’s mouth curled into something that tried to pass for a smirk. “Since when are you sheriff, Havoc? You got no right to interfere in police business.”

“This is club property. No warrant, no business here. Walk away while you still can.”

He stepped closer. “I’m looking for a suspect, and I found her.”

Riley’s voice cut through like a blade. “Funny how I’m the suspect when you’re the one who attacked me.”

“That was a misunderstanding,” Slater spat, his tone tightening. “You resisted arrest. And now you’ll pay for it.”

“Actually,” Riley shot back, cool and sharp, “you ran like a coward once you realized you were being recorded.”

I swear my heart swelled with pride. She was fearless. Goddamn fearless.

Slater snapped, “Hush now, Riley. You have the right to remain silent. I strongly suggest you use it.”

I took a step forward. “You still haven’t said what you’re charging her with.”

He raised one brow. “Obstruction. Resisting. And whatever else I can dream up. Now get out of my way.”

I shook my head. “Everyone saw that video. You tried to rip her shirt off. You came here to finish what you started. You think that’s gonna go unnoticed?”

He bristled. “Bullshit. You think if there was anything incriminating on that video I’d be standing here now? You know as well as I do that you can’t touch me. You and your little biker gang are on my radar too. You’re just another rebel with a patch.”

I stepped into his space, voice low and lethal. “If you’re here to arrest me, you’d better have an army behind you.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t blink.

“What do you really want, Slater?”

His eyes flicked to Riley, then back to me. “I want her—and that damn phone.”

A chill of satisfaction flooded my chest. “You’re not getting either. What phone is that, exactly?”

“You know the one. Her friend’s. The one that recorded the arrest.”

So that was what this was about, he was bluffing. He really didn’t know what we had on him, but the fact we hadn’t made a move, was unsettling him.

“You’re not taking her. And you’re not getting that phone.”

He flinched when I took another step. There was panic behind those mirrored lenses. It was fast, but I saw it.

Then he pulled his taser.

I surged forward, ripped it from his hand before he could aim, and flung it onto the hood of his cruiser.

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