Page 1 of Wrecked
Prologue
"Brett, just drive."
Next to me, Kenzie seemed uncharacteristically nervous for what I presumed was a routine traffic stop. She tried to hide it, but I saw her hands tremble in her lap.
"Kenzie?" I stole a quick glance in my side mirror and noticed that the officer had yet to step out of the patrol car. I had a minute, at best, to get to the bottom of my girlfriend's weird behavior.
Kenzie shifting in her seat drew my attention back to her. I frowned when I saw that her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Brett," she pleaded. "Please? I can't get arrested; my dad will kill me."
Arrested?What was she talking about? We were heading back to my apartment after a small get-together with friends. I made sure not to drink, and I wasn't driving over the speed limit. So, why the hell would she think we'd get arrested?
"Kenzie," I said again, firmer this time. "What the hell is going on?"
Those tears that had threatened to fall earlier came running down her cheeks, thick and heavy. Her bottom lip wobbled, and I saw her work down a swallow before she squeaked out, "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you." She swiped at her tears, to no avail; they just kept spilling from her eyes.
My heart dipped, and nervous tension licked its way down my spine. "Tell me what?"
She slipped her hand into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a bag filled with a bunch of white pills. Still crying, she stared at the packet in her palm.
"What's that?" The harsh tone of my voice caused her to jump in her seat. There was no time to feel bad because if that was what I thought it was, wewerein trouble.
Kenzie's gaze slowly lifted to mine before dropping to the bag again. "It's methylphenidate, it helps me study."
There was a slam of a door, and a quick glance in the mirror confirmed that the officer was heading our way. I had zero time to think it through. Holding my hand palm up, I demanded, "Give it here."
"What? Why?"
"Dammit Kenzie," I gritted out. "Give me the damn bag."
We didn't have time for her to be hesitant, I reached forward and snatched the bag from her. When she turned her frown to me, I insisted, "You know nothing about this bag, got it?"
Before she could answer, there was a tap against my window. The instant I spotted the officer I knew why we were pulled over in the first place. All hopes of getting out of this mess immediately dissolved.
Gregory Heart and I did not see eye to eye at all. The disdain we felt for each other traced all the way back to high school. When I'd caught him trying to spike a girl's drink, I'd handled it the only way I knew how—with my fists. But because his daddy was the chief of police, I had been the one in trouble.
Officer Heart tapped against the window again. I placed my hand over Kenzie's trembling ones in her lap. "It's going to be okay, Sweetheart. I'll never let anything bad happen to you." I rolled down the window only to be blinded by the bright ball of light coming from Gregory's flashlight.
"Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle,Brett?" A sense of foreboding tugged at my spine; I just knew trouble was on the horizon.
I gave my girl one last reassuring look before I opened my door and unfolded myself from my car. Outside, the asshat smirked knowingly at me before shining his light in Kenzie's direction. "Hey Kenzie, you alright?"
I couldn't hear her answer, I only saw Gregory nod. A second later, his flashlight was trained on me again. "Did you know you have a broken taillight?"
"Pretty sure it's not broken, Gregory."
"That's officer to you, asshole." He let out a sinister chuckle before he moved to the back of my car. I was still blinking away the tiny stars when I heard the loud smash of glass shattering followed by, "Well, it is now."
Kenzie let out a mortified scream, but just as I ducked inside to console her, Gregory yelled, "Hands where I can see them!"
I raised my hands—when all I wanted to do was break this asshole's face—and slowly turned around. A second later his flashlight blinded me again.
"You been drinking tonight?"
I squinted and held my hand above my eyes as a shield. Flashing red and blue light was already slicing through the blackness of the night, I didn't need this idiot's light in my eyes too. "No,Officer," I hissed through clenched teeth.
Finally, Gregory switched off his flashlight and slipped it into its place on his belt. He then proceeded to put me through a number of sobriety tests even though the breathalyzer showed I had no alcohol in my system.
He did all of this in front of the car, I had no doubt he was trying to humiliate me in front of Kenzie. But it didn't bug me in the slightest. The only thing that got to me was the terrified look I saw in my girl's eyes the few times I stole a glance at her.
