Page 126 of Outcast
Gray gave me a fast and hard kiss. “It was sexy as hell. But right now, I have to help my brothers.”
In just the short time I’d turned away, things had gone from bad to worse. Deputy Harvey was hauling Bailey off Dallas while Axel got in his face, yelling, and Dallas went in for the sucker punch.
Gray got between them, blocking Dallas and shoving him back. Dallas held on to his arm, and they fell onto the floor together.
Sirens wailed outside. The deputy must have called in backup. The door slammed open, and a deep, booming voice cut across the room.
I grabbed Gray’s arm, tugging him away from Dallas, hoping to mitigate the damage as Sheriff Hale—Dallas’s fucking father—stormed over.
I was closest, so he grabbed my right arm and yanked it behind my back, then reached for my left. “You’re under arrest!”
“What? No!” Gray protested, turning toward us. “Emory didn’t do anyth—fuck!”
He went down hard as the sheriff hit the side of his knee with his nightstick. “Back the fuck up, son, or I’ll break out the Taser.”
Gray raised his hands in front of him, fingers trembling a bit, as the sheriff snapped the cold metal cuffs over my wrists.
Deputy Harvey had found his own cuffs, snapping them onto Axel’s wrists. He moved to Bailey, pulling his arms back.
“No!” Axel cried. “Not him. He’s just a kid.”
Harvey hesitated, but the sheriff shook his head. “It was four on one against my fucking son. He goes to jail. He’s no kid.”
Four on one?Not exactly! I was the only one who’d actually hit Dallas. He’d assaulted Gray with a barstool, and the brothers had merely tried to intervene to protect one another.
“I’m sorry,” Gray said as we got herded out to the sheriff’s cars. “This is my fault for baiting him. I was just so pissed over how he treated you.”
“No, you didn’t sta?—”
Gray was yanked away, putting a sudden end to the conversation.
All of us were in cuffs—except Dallas. He followed us outside, smirking.
“Enjoy jail, assholes. Don’t worry, Emory. Your daddy will bail you out in no time. These losers, though? They’ll be stuck for a while.”
“Fuck you!” Gray lunged toward him, even though he was cuffed, and Dallas skittered back like the true coward he was.
The deputy yanked Gray back by his wrists, slamming him against the side of the car. “Settle down!”
Dallas laughed, and I glared at him so hard that if looks could kill, I’d have straight-up murdered the creep right where he stood. “Never talk to me again. Never look at me. Never text me or call me. Do you understand?”
I was so angry I was shaking. I turned to the sheriff. “Tell your son to leave me the fuck alone, or I’ll go to the court for a protection order. He’ll be banned from the bank.”
The sheriff clucked. “I don’t know what happened to start this bar brawl, son, but you best calm down. You’re a good man who got caught up in a mess. I’m sure we can work something out. These foster brats have always been trouble. You’d do better to keep your distance from them.”
“They didn’t start it,” I insisted as he shoved my head down, pushing me into the car. “Dallas has been harassing me for weeks!”
The sheriff slammed the door on my words, and a minute later, Bailey fell into the other side of the back seat with me, so Gray and Axel must have gone into the deputy’s car.
“Are you okay?” I asked him, knowing Gray would be worried.
Bailey looked stunned. “I’ve never been arrested before.”
“Me either.” I forced a smile. “Look at us, checking off items on the bucket list.”
“Your shirt is torn,” Bailey said, leaning in. “Did you get hurt?”
Huh. I hadn’t noticed during the fight, but there was a faint throbbing over my collarbone. I must have taken an elbow to the chest or something.
