Page 39 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

Now no one was safe.

13

Max

I paced around in holding, enjoying the space I was afforded. All of the men that had been in here with me had come and gone throughout the night. And for once, I was alone. It wasn’t my first time in a holding cell. But it was my first time alone in one of these places. And the more I paced, the more anxious I grew.

I need to get out of here and find Dani.

She wasn’t safe. My lawyer promised me she’d get me out of this damn place, and I was banking on that. Because without phone calls, I felt like I was going stir crazy. I needed to figure out what happened to my men. I needed to get Dani somewhere safe.

Until my father could be eradicated, I had to make sure everyone I loved was okay.

My lawyer told me I might still be charged, which meant she had a lot of preparation to do in terms of a court case against my father. But she assured me she’d try with all of her might to get me out of here for the time being. I needed that time, too. I needed to be a free man. The only way I could ensure my father really went down for all of this was if I was running the show from the other side.

Heels clicking down the hallway caught my ear and I lifted my head. My incredibly tired lawyer was walking toward me, but the frown on her face told me everything I needed to know.

“They won’t release me, will they?”

She sighed. “Not for another twenty-four hours. They want to hold you another day. I’m assuming to try and sweat out more information from you.”

I shrugged. “I have nothing else to say. I told you everything that happened, and then some.”

She nodded. “The good news is that once you get out, you’re out until the supposed trial. Because I’m almost certain someone is going to try to pin charges on you. You know why.”

Yeah. I did. They’d press charges against me because my father was a ruthless man who controlled half of this damn city and people always bowed to his every whim.

Fearful they might meet the same fate that almost befell Dani.

“But, setting all of that aside, Mr. Ryddle, you have a visitor. And she’s been making some serious noise this morning.”

I blinked. “A visitor?”

“Max!”

The second I heard Dani’s voice, nothing else mattered. My eyes scanned the hallway, looking around as relief flooded my veins. Her voice sounded strong, and her footsteps sounded stronger. And when she finally came into view, I wished with all of my might that I was out of this fucking cell.

So I could hug her and kiss her properly.

“Dani!” I exclaimed.

She rushed to me and slid her hands through the bars.

“Max. I’m here. Holy shit, I’m here, handsome.”

I slid my hands up her arms. “Gorgeous, what in the hell are you doing here?”

Tears dripped against her cheeks. “We don’t have much time. But I need to tell you what’s happening. Can’t they let you out of here?”

My lawyer interjected. “Not for another twenty-four hours.”

Dani groaned. “Fucking hell.”

I brushed her tears away. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She sniffled. “Your father isn’t dead, Max.”

I nodded. “I know.”

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