Page 23 of Rah
“Ma’am, you know why I pulled you over?”
“No, officer.”
“You were doing forty in a thirty, and you drifted a little over the line back there. Everything alright this morning?”
“Yeah.We’re just on the way to breakfast.”
He nodded slowly, glancing past me into the car. “I’m also getting a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. That gives me probable cause to search it.”
My pulse kicked up. “Search it? For what? There’s nothing—”
He cut me off. “Ma’am, go ahead and turn the vehicle off. Both of you step out for me.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the other officer posted on Moses’ side with his hand resting near his holster, peering in through the passenger window. Moses stayed still, but I could feel his tension radiating across the center console.
I turned the key and unbuckled slowly.
By the time I stepped out, the officer’s partner was already telling Moses to exit, too.
“Ma’am, for everyone’s safety, I’m going to place you in handcuffs while we conduct the search. You’re not under arrest. It’s just standard procedure when we have probable cause and two occupants.”
Behind me, I heard the other officer give Moses the same rundown. “Sir, same for you. It’s just to make sure nothing happens while we’re out here on the side of the road. Soon as we’re done, these come right off if everything checks out.”
The metal was cold against my wrists as he clicked the cuffs into place. My heart was beating so loud I barely heard him tell me to have a seat on the curb.
Moses lowered himself beside me. His eyes locked on the ground like he was thinking through a hundred scenarios at once.
Moses leaned toward me. “Baby, I’m sorry—”
“You can’t get arrested,” I cut in, staring out into the street. “You’re already on probation—”
“They’re going to find that bag. So, I’m going to get arrested.”
Finally, I looked at him. “You don’t have to.”
His breathing immediately sped up. “Nah, fuck that—”
“Moses—”
“No,” he snapped out of desperation. “You can’t get locked up. This ain’t on you.”
“Moses, if get charged with this, you’re done. You’ll get time for real. You got that meeting with Interscope coming. You can’t mess that up!”
“That’s just a maybe. A meeting don’t mean shit ‘til I sign something. What if that never happens?”
“And what if it does? I can’t stand by and watch you lose everything before you even get the chance to have it.”
He clenched his jaw. “This ain’t your fight—”
“Itis. I’m in this with you, remember?”
Before he could answer, an officer walked up holding three bricks of cocaine. He stopped in front of us, glaring down at us. “Whose bag is this?”
My heart was hammering so loud, I could barely hear my own voice. “It’s mine.”
The cop’s gaze slid over to Moses, like he wasn’t buying it. “Yeah? You sure about that?”
“Yes,” I claimed, louder this time. “It’s mine.”
