Page 25 of Give Me You
"I just didn't want to be in the crowd after yesterday," I protest, but it's a weak reasoning and we both know it.
Otto chuckles. "Lying to yourself won't make it go away. You could have asked me to make a few calls to check up on the Starks and make sure they made bail if that was necessary, but you demanded we go see them."
He's right. I could have handled this from the club, could have sent someone else to deal with it. But the moment those officers led Liam and Akira away, all I could think about was getting to them. Making sure they're okay. Seeing them with my own eyes.
Burying my face in my hands, I let out a shaky breath. "I don't know, okay? I don't know." The admission feels like defeat, likeacknowledging something I've been desperately trying to ignore. "I just need to see that they're okay and then I can deal with everything else."
Liam
At the station, the handcuffs come off as we're thrown into a smaller room. The metal scrapes against my wrists when the officer unlocks them, leaving red marks on my skin. The interrogation room is exactly what one would expect from a small city police station. Gray walls, fluorescent lighting that buzzes overhead, and a table bolted to the floor with chairs on either side. There's a mirror on one wall, obviously two-way glass, and a camera mounted in the corner. Standard setup for making people uncomfortable enough to confess.
In such a small city, we know most of the officers and have a generally good rapport with them, actually. The drugs we sell aren't illegal per se, existing in that gray area where they're technically regulated substances but not criminalized. Many officers look the other way because we aren't selling on the streets, aren't contributing to the kind of crime that actually matters to them. We keep things clean, professional, and contained to clubs and private clients. Except when assholes like River and Jax start playing around and fuck everything up.
About to ask about the nature of the murder charge, I open my mouth when the door opens again. Zaden walks in, that same smug expression from earlier plastered on his face, my entire body tensing.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" The words come out harsher than I intend, but I don't care. "He's not an officer, so he shouldn't be in the interrogation room."
One of the officers, a guy named Martinez whom I've dealt with before, shifts uncomfortably. "We know it's highly controversial, but he's been working with us for a few weeks and brought in this tip. We thought you might find it easier to explain what the fuck happened in front of someone you trust rather than just us."
Akira laughs, the sound full of bitterness. "I don't trust that piece of shit as far as I can throw him. Maybe you guys got something twisted, but Zaden has made it painfully obvious how little he likes us. Not to mention that he despises his brother and wants his club."
Zaden's expression darkens, the muscles in his jaw tightening. "That's not his club. It was our parents', and it should have gone to me, the Alpha."
The entitlement in his voice makes my skin crawl. Like being an Alpha automatically makes him more deserving, more capable. Never mind that Emilio has been running that clubsuccessfully for years, that he's built it into something even better than what his parents created.
Akira just shrugs, unbothered by Zaden's posturing. But I need to understand what we're dealing with here. "Let's back up a little bit. River is dead?"
Martinez nods, pulling out a folder and opening it on the table. Crime scene photos spill out, and even from my angle, I can see River's body. He looks worse than how Akira described leaving him, beaten beyond recognition. "I love that you're playing stupid, but that won't make it easier on you. He was found dead in his home this evening, and the only reports of anyone around that area were you two and possibly someone else who works with you."
A frown pulls at my face. I wasn't anywhere near River's house. Akira gave me a rundown this afternoon on what happened, told me that River handed drugs over to someone named Chad, supposedly. But River was very much alive when Akira left. Barely, but still alive. Beat to shit and probably needing medical attention, but breathing.
The other officer, a woman named Lania, leans forward. "We don't have much to go on, but what did you do? Rough him up a little bit and then go back over there when you thought no one was watching?"
"I've been at the club for most of the day, you assholes," I say, my voice tight with frustration. "And Akira…"
The sentence trails off as Zaden bursts out laughing, a cruel, mocking sound that sets my teeth on edge. "There are eyewitness reports."
"How the fuck would you even know?" I challenge, leaning forward in my chair. "You barely leave your posh little apartment unless it's to fuck with Emilio and as far as I know, you were at the fucking club this evening too."
Zaden's smile widens, and just like that, I know we're being set up. This whole thing reeks of his manipulation. The timing is too convenient, the accusation too perfect. He gets us out of the way right when Emilio needs support the most, right when the club is most vulnerable.
There's some commotion outside the interrogation room, raised voices, and the sound of footsteps. Then the door flies open so hard it bounces off the wall. A very flustered but sexy looking Emilio stands there, red-faced and breathing hard. His bright pink suit is slightly rumpled, and there's something wild in his eyes that I've never seen before.
"I need to hear the charges," he demands, his voice carrying the kind of authority that makes everyone in the room pause.
Zaden recovers first, his laugh resuming. "Oh, this is rich! My pregnant little brother, who likes to get shitfaced on the Stark's drugs, to the rescue!"
Otto stands behind Emilio, his expression twisted up in anger. The officer who tried to stop them from barging in hovers just behind, sighing like he knows there's no point in trying to remove them now.
Emilio growls at Zaden. Actually growls, the sound rumbling from deep in his chest. Everyone in the room looks surprised, including me. Omegas don't usually growl unless they're protecting something, unless their instincts have completely taken over.
"I was drugged, you asshole," Emilio snarls, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Which I'm sure you would know more about, but I can't prove it yet. What I do know is it feels very odd that all of a sudden you have these Alphas on a murder charge."
Martinez reaches out, probably trying to calm Emilio down or escort him out. But before his hand can make contact, Akira lets out a growl that makes the entire room go still. The soundrumbles through the space, a clear warning not to touch what's his. My brother's eyes have gone dark, his Alpha instincts flaring to life.
Lania steps between Martinez and Emilio, her hand up in a placating gesture. "They've been arrested for murder, Emilio. River was found dead an hour ago and…"
"They were with me," Emilio interrupts, his lips curling up into an adorable snarl. "And if all you have is a few tips and nothing else, you can't just arrest them."
