Page 55 of The Princess, the Prick & the Priest (Confessions 4)

How was he ever going to explain this to his family? To Priest? To Julien? Especially after he’d given Julien such a hard time for needing Priest to bail him out back in the day, gloating that he’d never gotten a speeding ticket in his life.

Yeah, well, look where that karma got you, Bianchi. Handcuffed in the back of a cop car, and taken in for questioning about drugs. Drugs!

This was insanity. He couldn’t even think of a logical answer as to why that bag was in there. Or how it got in there. It was just there. Which he was sure the cop was going to love as an explanation—not to mention Priest.

Robbie shut his eyes, his leg doing a nervous jig as he thought about the phone call he was going to have to make when he got to the station: I’m sorry, Priest, I just happened to get arrested for having drugs in my car. I swear they aren’t mine.

Yeah, okay. Priest was going to think his family had some serious drug problems for sure, and just when he’d finally managed to convince him they were all somewhat normal.

Robbie shook his head and then glanced out the window, and it wasn’t until the cruiser began to slow down that he realized he hadn’t really been paying attention to where they were going.

Officer Bailey had told Robbie that he was taking him to the station. But Robbie had been so preoccupied with how to go about saving his ass that it was only now registering that they’d been driving much longer than they probably should’ve been to get to the closest precinct.

When the car came to a stop, Robbie peered outside, and when all he saw was, well, nothing, his heart just about up and stopped.

Where the hell are we?

Robbie looked around, and all he could see for miles were trees. Lots and lots of trees, and then Officer Bailey got out of the cruiser and shut the door behind him, making Robbie jump.

When Officer Bailey opened the door and reached inside to take hold of his arm, Robbie started to shake his head.

“I, um— Sorry. Where are we?” Robbie asked, as he again scanned his surroundings, but all he saw was a dark forest and a sketchy-looking dirt road lit up by the cruiser’s headlights.

Shit, maybe Officer Bailey isn’t really a cop, Robbie thought. That possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind. But it did now, and as panic started to take over common sense, Robbie tugged his arm back.

Officer Bailey’s grip didn’t loosen in the slightest, and Robbie seriously thought about kicking him in the shins and making a run for it. But that was when a figure stepped out into the path of the cruiser’s headlights, and Robbie’s plans all came to a grinding halt—right along with his brain.

Priest? No. His mind had to be playing tricks on him, because there was no way that Priest was standing out here in the middle of nowhere. This was him hallucinating, right?

Officer Bailey glanced over his shoulder, and when he smirked, Robbie saw it. What the shit is going on?

Robbie’s eyes flew back to the spot where he’d imagined—no, seen—Priest, and as Office Bailey began walking, towing Robbie along with him, relief flooded Robbie’s body.

As they came to a stop, Robbie took in the pressed suit Priest was wearing and noted it was different to the one he’d left for work in that morning. Priest eyed the man in uniform with a stern expression that Robbie was still trying to understand.

“And what have we got here, Officer Bailey?” Priest asked, as though he knew the man who was the star of Robbie’s worst night ever.

“Nothing too bad,” Officer Bailey said, as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and handed it over to Priest. “He was actually pretty good until the end. Got a little mouthy then.”

Robbie’s eyes widened like saucers as he looked between the two, incredulity now shoving aside his confusion, as he finally realized that whatever this was, it had all been orchestrated by—

“Did he now?”

—Priest.

Officer Bailey chuckled. “He did. And I’m going to let you uncuff him. If he kills you out here, I just might take his side. See you around, Priest. Mr. Bianchi.”

Robbie turned to watch him head back to the cruiser, and then he rounded on Priest, his mouth hanging open, his brain still working overtime as it tried to catch up.

Priest hooked a finger over the chain of the handcuffs, and as he tugged Robbie forward, he said, “It was only a matter of time before a troublemaker like you ended up on the wrong side of the law. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Bianchi?”

Chapter Eighteen

We want him to feel as though he’s walking into a dream.

One where he wants to stay forever

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