Page 28 of Inevitable Destruction

EVERETT

“3AM”—Kamiyada+

“What exactly doyou plan on doing with him? That wasn’t the most legal thing I’ve seen.”

“I’m going to book him.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jamie blurts, her voice raising a few octaves in the small space of the car.

“No, I’m not kidding you.”

Jamie sighs heavily and lowers her voice as she leans over the center console. “Rhett, I don’t know what the fuck is going on right now, but what I do know is you can’t book him. That was the most illegal arrest and search I have ever seen in my life. Even Mr. Duval back there saw that. We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t call us in.”

“He won’t. That baggie scared the shit out of him. I bet you a hundred bucks he’s the one that gave it to Dominik,” I mutter, and Jamie sits up straight.

“And who exactly is Dominik, Everett?”

“He’s no one.” I force my words to come out calm, cold. But of course, Jamie isn’t fooled.

“Riiight. And I’m no one either. Cut the shit, Rhett. He’s someone.”

“Jamie, fucking drop it,” I almost growl. I can’t have anyone knowing about my connection to Dominik Reed. It’s been long enough since Pop’s death that it shouldn’t be easily seen, but I can’t take any chances.

I sigh. “Please,” I add as I tighten my grip on the wheel. I flick on the turn signal and turn into the parking lot of the precinct. It’s three A.M., and the place is deserted. I’m almost certain Jamie and I are the only ones left on duty—which I’m kind of surprised about since it’s spring break and things are always a little wilder around this time, but I’m relieved about it.

The less people who see me with Dominik, the better.

“Fine. But only because I trust you. Don’t mess that up.”

I turn the car off and grab the keys. “Ah, you know me, Jame. I’m an angel.”

She scoffs, which turns to a snort. “Uh huh. If you’re an angel, I’m a fucking saint.”

“Whatever.” I let a laugh loose and get out of the car, and Jamie does the same. We meet at the back of the cruiser, and I nod at her. “Go ahead and go home, Jame. I’ve got this.”

She narrows her eyes at me for a moment, and I feel her scrutiny, though I don’t act on it. I know she’s confused. And curious. I love Jamie, but even though she is my best friend, she can’t know about this.

This is fucking personal.

“All right. Call me when you get home, got it?”

I nod. “You got it, boss.”

“Whatever, daddy.” She rolls her eyes. I watch as she jumps into her truck and pulls out of the lot, leaving a small plume of exhaust smoke in her wake. I take this time of being alone to pull a smoke out and light up. I rest back against the tailgate of the Ford Explorer as I ponder what in the actual fuck I’m going to do next.

I could book him, do the loads of paperwork. But then I’ll have to lie about what happened, and with that little punk dealer seeing it all, he could easily counteract my story, and I’m not exactly jumping at the opportunity of being made a liar.

As I think about what to do with the rash decision I made, I finger the zippo. I twist it back and forth between my fingers, tracing every groove and ridge I have long since memorized.

Small raindrops land on the back of my hand with a splatter. I stare at the wet drops over my tattoos as I drop my cigarette to the ground. I smash it with my boot and yank open the back door. Dominik is slumped over, the left side of his face plastered to the black leather seat. Drool flows from his mouth and soaks the side of his face and hair. Somehow, his white hat has managed to stay on his head, and in his state of unconsciousness, I pull it from his head and drop it to the floorboard.

Taking a deep breath, I grab the fabric of his sweatshirt and pull him into a sitting position. His head flops to the right before falling forward until his chin rests against his chest. I let out a sigh of exasperation and yank him toward me. He sags against my front, and I tuck my arms underneath his armpits and haul him to his feet.

Pinning my arm against his chest, keeping him pressed against me, I kick the door shut and drag him into the precinct. Overall, the building is dark, and because it’s the middle of the night, I have to swipe my card and enter in the keycode. Once it blinks green, the door pops open, and the lights flicker on, temporarily blinding me.

I grunt as I drag Dominik down the long hall, finally making it to the interrogation rooms. They’re located in the furthest part of the building, completely isolated, and surrounded by floor-to-ceiling walls.

I grab my keys and unlock the door to the first room. I pull Dominik over to the small, probably rock hard cot in the corner of the room and drop his ass into it. He folds over on himself; his arms tangling with his legs as he lands on his side. His head thumps against the mattress, but he thankfully remains asleep—which gives me some time to figure out what the fuck I’m doing.

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