Page 14 of Towles

“Okay. You win, Manning.” I tossed the gun, and two of his men rushed forward. I put my hands behind my back to help them out.

“You’re making a mistake, officer,” April said. “He was doing the right thing.”

“See what I mean, April.” I stopped before we got to the exit. The two deputies nearly stumbled forward. “The world operates in a gray area. These assholes operate in a gray area.”

The deputies put me in a squad car and returned to the bank. Moments later, they returned with the two real thieves in handcuffs. April stood inside, wagging her finger at Manning. She pointed outside, but I doubted she could see me.

April appeared through the exit. Her long, curly blonde hair hung past her shoulder and bounced as she walked. She brushed a few stray strands back over her head, and her blue, caring eyes caught mine. I wasn’t used to people giving a damn about me.

I hadn’t really noticed the light tan or slim legs in her office. She walked directly to the car I sat in.

“How’s it going?” I asked. “The bank treat you well? How was the customer service?”

“It isn’t funny, Ethan. We both could have died.”

“The gun’s safety was on, and the other guy wasn’t paying attention. We were both safe.”

“I can get you an attorney,” she said, resting her hand on the open window. The large diamond on her engagement ring sparkled. The wedding ring looked dull. She noticed that I noticed and jerked her hand away.

“Trust me, the club has an attorney on retainer. We have to,” I said and smiled warmly. “I appreciate what you tried to do in there, but Manning has it out for the club. He wants to make a statement and show the town it belongs to him, not us.”

“Why’re you doing this?” April asked Manning when he came outside.

“He’s a felon and fired a gun out in public.” Manning climbed into the front seat and pulled away. I looked back at April, who waved faintly. “So much for your anger management sessions.”

“Those assholes could have killed someone, Manning.” His eyes shifted to the rearview mirror. “Seems like you should be thanking me for doing your job.”

“Fuck you, Towles.”

Ten minutes after leaving the bank, we pulled into county’s parking lot, and Manning ushered me inside and straight to a cell. Beast and Diesel were gone. He wouldn’t have made the mistake of having all three of us detained at once in the same place. He closed the cell door, and I lay on the cot in the corner. The cots were made for lesser men, and my feet hung over the end.

My mind returned to April Summers, and my dick grew hard. I wanted her. Not just to fuck her but also to listen to her words. To hear her voice.

There was one problem. Me. I fucked pretty much anything that wanted to fuck me. She obviously didn’t. She couldn’t. The ring on her finger said as much. No woman in her right mind would give up her comfort for a wild ass like me. What did I have to offer?

“Towles,” Jeremy Waters said from the other side of the cell door. “How’s it hanging?”

“Twelve inches to the right.” I stood and leaned against the bars. “Manning’s playing a dangerous game with his bullshit. One minute, he’s on our side. The next minute, I’m standing in a cell.”

Waters, the mayor's younger brother, a brother the mayor hated, was the club’s attorney—the man, also a Stanford grad, knew the law frontwards and backward. “Manning knew he had nothing. That’s why he didn’t book you when he brought you in.”

“What the fuck is his deal?”

“He’s new, Towles. You gotta let him have a little win now and again.” He motioned over his shoulder. “Who was this woman in the lobby demanding they let you go? I thought she was going to punch Manning in the mouth.”

I chuckled. “April Summers.”

“Shit. That’s Paul Summers’ wife. Fucker owns half the new construction around Pine Bluff.” Waters stepped aside when a deputy joined us and unlocked the cell door. He didn’t bother pushing it open. Instead, he hurried back to his buddies.

I opened the cell door and walked out behind Waters. Unfortunately, April was gone. Manning watched us leave the building and followed us to Waters’ car.

“You’re still going before a judge,” Manning said. “Maybe not now, but eventually.”

I stepped away from Waters and approached Manning. “There’s two sides of the fence you can be on, Manning. Make sure you choose the correct side. You won’t be happy with the wrong side.”

I climbed into Waters’ car, and he drove me back to the bank to get my Harley. April wasn’t there.

I looked her up on my phone and found the address. She lived in the wealthiest part of the city. There was no way she was walking away from that life. Besides, I never knowingly slept with another man’s woman.

---