Page 188 of Broken Pieces
She nods, barely. Her eyes shine, and when they meet mine, something inside me snaps clean. Just a hollow crack down the middle of my chest.
Rainer steps forward.
“I’ll handle what I can,” he says, eyes flicking to the flashing lights outside. “But you need to know, kid…” He pauses, jaw tight. “You went after the wrong man’s son.”
I don’t care.
Not one fucking bit.
I’d do it again. Every swing. Because no one fucking touches Skyler and walks away breathing.
Rainer’s already moving. He throws a look over his shoulder at me, sharp and full of warning.
“Not a word, Zane. You let me handle it, you hear me?”
I nod.
He reaches the door, pauses just long enough to square his shoulders, then pulls it open in one smooth motion.
“Evening, officers,” he says, calm as ever. Polite. That easy going tone he uses when he’s chatting shit with the parts supplier or playing nice with customers who don’t know better.
Two cops stand just outside.
Badges gleaming. Their expressions are tight, unreadable, but there’s judgment in the set of their jaws.
One of them flips open a notepad. Scans something scribbled across the page.
“Zane Rivera?”
I lift my chin. “Yeah.”
The other one steps forward, voice flat. “You’re under arrest for assault.”
Skylar gasps beside me.
Cassie swears under her breath.
And I stand there and let it hit, let it settle.
Because deep down, I knew this was years in the making.
Every fight I picked.
Every time I let my fists speak louder than my mouth.
All the warnings Rainer gave me, I shrugged off. It was always leading here to this moment.
So I don’t argue. Don’t resist.
I just let them cuff me. Let them forcefully load me into the back seat, the door slamming shut behind me.
Skylar’s face flashes in my mind.
I press my head back against the seat, heart thudding.
Fuck.
I should have kissed her one last time.
