Page 43 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

How am I going to get him out of jail?

I wasn't an idiot. With his father alive, who knew when he was actually going to be free? Or if he’d ever be free again. I felt myself mourning for something I hadn’t lost yet. I felt my heart mourning the loss of Max, even though he was still in my life. It killed me to feel that pain. To feel the tears burning as they rushed down my cheeks. I didn’t have my car. I was running out of cash to have a taxi haul me around. I couldn't call my parents. I refused to call Hannah and listen to her rant of ‘I told you so’ the entire way back to campus.

Where is my car, anyway?

I looked back over my shoulder and watched as a man stormed out of the police station’s doors. He looked about as angry as I felt. Well, as angry as I had been feeling. I wanted to go inside and ask someone what had happened to my car. But I didn’t want to chance another encounter with that front desk officer. I knew he was in on all of this. I knew he had something to do with this bullshit that had transpired.

Maybe my car is still at the bar.

The more I wracked my brain for answers, the less I came up with. How had things gone so wrong? How had we ended up here, with Max in a holding cell they wouldn't release him from? There was an incessant buzzing sound in my ear that wouldn't go away. Like a damn mosquito flying around my head. I wanted to squash the invisible mosquito. I wanted the buzzing noise to go away.

How do I quiet the storm raging inside me?

I felt darkness falling over me. I hung my head and closed my eyes as I let it wash over me. And as I sat there, with tears falling to the chipping paint beneath me, I wondered if I should let it swallow me whole. I drew in ragged breaths. My hands began to tremble. I felt my heart breaking into millions of tiny pieces, threatening to be swept away by the storm raging through my body. I didn’t know what to think. Or where to go. Or who to trust. Or who to call.

Until I felt someone sit down beside me.

“Hey there, Dani.”

I turned my head. “John?”

He gave me a tight-lipped smile that seemed as weak as I felt.

“Wondered if I’d find you here.”

My voice broke. “I’m so sorry I ruined everything.”

He furrowed his brow. “What? No. Dani, you could never do that.”

I sniffled. “I feel like I have.”

His hand on my back was reassuring. Tears flowed down my neck in rivers as I struggled to catch my breath. John scooted closer and rubbed my back softly, trying with all of his might to console me. He even went so far as to wrap his arm around me and pull me in for a soft hug.

One I accepted with great pride.

“Benji ruined everything for us, Dani. My father, too. But not you. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Okay?”

I closed my eyes. “I don’t know what to do now.”

He patted my back. “Come on. Getting you out of here is the first task.”

I raised my head. “I can’t leave Max.”

“Well, you can’t sit here, either. And I think if there’s anyone he’d want you to be with right now, it’s me.”

He had a point. “Are the guys okay?”

“Let’s get in my car first. Then we can talk.”

He stood, with the help of his cane, then offered me a hand. I took it gladly, trying not to put too much pressure on him. I didn’t want him to topple over, or break in two, or shatter. Like I felt my own body was doing. And as I stood to my feet, the two of us headed for his car.

“John?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“What does this mean for the crew?”

He unlocked his car. “Well, at this stage, I’m not really sure.”

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