Chapter Twenty-one

Kane

Rawlings had dropped me on the corner at the liquor store twenty minutes before they closed and people were still going in and out. The original plan to leave the front unlocked wouldn"t work as it was too likely customers might come in. He was to lock the door, flip the sign to closed, but then unlock the delivery entrance at the back to leave, then forget he'd promised his wife he'd bring home a bottle of the wine she liked, and come back inside. I, of course, would follow him.

Waiting in the alley for nine o'clock, my thoughts drifted back to the weekend. Buck and Elizabeth, or Liz as she asked me to call her, had been disappointed we had to leave early but still so happy with what had gone down. We were invited back as soon as we could make it, and a very stern Buck told us to consider all holidays now officially taken as we were expected back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And the way they included me in everything, and the way Danny held my hand, made me feel all sorts of things I didn't have time to pick apart that minute.

I glanced at the cheap phone Rawlings had given me, and sure enough, exactly on time the front lights of the store went out, and two minutes later the back door was unlocked.

I was quite calm when I followed the guy back in, then aimed the gun and gruffly ordered him to hand over the cash. The guy glanced up and jerked in shock, then immediately raised his hands.

"Don't shoot."

I all but rolled my eyes, hoping his customer service skills were a little better than his acting ones. One of the things I'd been permitted to watch on TV were Archie's beloved westerns. I felt like I was robbing a stagecoach, or maybe a saloon would be more appropriate. "Just shut it and open the fucking safe," I snapped, and the guy stared at my gun, glanced at the cameras, then took a step to the side as if he was moving reluctantly. I'd memorized where they were and instantly knew that small movement meant my body was blocking the cameras from seeing him. He mouthed a word at me, then bent, surreptitiously pressed the panic button as arranged and hurriedly started trying to press the safe buttons, giving a better impression of fearing for his life.

I glanced at the gun in my hand, then mentally swore as I took the safety off. Not that I thought it would make a difference to the cops, but it had to look realistic. And I couldn't believe the guy had needed to point it out.

I got visibly angry, shouted, and waved the gun, making sure it was aimed at the ceiling.

The guy practically hyperventilated when he couldn't get the safe open, after delaying long enough to get the cops here. When I decided he was now worthy of an Oscar, I left with the cash he had in his pocket and a bottle of whisky just for show.

The cops were ready for me as soon as I burst out of the back door into the alleyway. And that's where the cops pounced. These fuckers weren't messing around, and I was face down in the dirt with a barrel pressed into my neck before I could take a breath.

It wasn't that funny anymore, not that it had ever been really, but anything to take my mind off what I was doing. I was cuffed, then dragged up and my face mask pulled off, and that's when everything really went to hell as my knees were kicked out from behind me and the gun pressed back against my temple while the cuffs were quickly replaced by zip-ties. I even pressed my eyes tight shut, but then the sound of the zip-ties' teeth as they were pulled threatened to drop me in a dark hole I'd promised myself I would never go to again. I tried to tell myself I knew all cops carried them because some enhanced could manipulate locks and metal, but then they were tightened too far, and the bite of skin just pushed me over the edge.

In between one second and the next my back was screaming from Dad's crop, and the cops were dragging me away from the house. All I could hear was Dad crying and saying I'd attacked him when he'd tried to stop me from beating the dog. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't breathe. My lungs sawed in and out, and I wasn't gonna let them force me back. I started struggling, ignoring their shouts, ignoring their guns, until something like lightning struck me. Whatever it was made every muscle lock in agony, and I seized, helpless, as a million knives sliced me open.

By the time I'd worked out that I wasn't dead, I was in the back of the patrol car and wondering what the fuck had happened. One cop joked about lighting me up like a Christmas tree and the other laughed like it was all some joke. I concentrated on breathing and tried to think past the fact that all any of us had ever done was wake up one morning with a scar on our faces. I squeezed my eyes shut against the memories, but it didn"t drown out the voices. I'd heard too many times when a prisoner offed themselves. I remembered hearing one talking about a buddy and using the phrase suicide by cop. Right at that moment I knew it was only Shae being on his own that stopped me being sorely tempted, along with the memory of a pair of stunning blue eyes that I desperately wanted to see at least one more time.

Danny

It took me way too long to get into the liquor store camera feeds, just in time to hear Diesel confirming Kane had just entered.

I watched as a typical store came on the screen. I could see Kane's back—they only had one camera, unfortunately, and we hadn't dared fit him with a body cam in case it was discovered by the cops—and the cashier who was making a good impression of being scared. He had his hands in the air, but he took a step to the side so he went out of view. The cameras didn't have audio so I couldn't hear anything, just made sure Diesel was seeing everything I was.

I got the notification from hacking into the alarm company that the panic button had been hit and watched as Kane dragged it out as long as possible.

"Fuck," Diesel suddenly said. "Our cops had to answer a 911 call, and I have no idea who they've sent in."

My heartbeat, already high, leapt into my throat, and I vaguely felt Sadie's head land on my knee. Then Kane ran for the back door, and I stopped being able to see anything. Police body cams weren't live, so there was nothing to access. Ringo was listening to police reports and two minutes later he confirmed they had a suspect in custody who had resisted arrest.

Shivers raced up my arms. Kane wouldn't have resisted anything. What did that mean they had done to him?

It took a couple of hours, but Diesel finally got back. We'd deliberately not used Oliver Michaels this time, as he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from getting Kane released, which was the opposite of what we needed to happen, but a newbie from his firm, an overwhelmed one.

"The cops just about ran him over," Diesel said, pouring his coffee. "I almost felt sorry for him. Oliver's gonna kick my ass."

"What aren't you telling me?" I snapped. He hadn't led with Kane being okay, just complained about the fucking lawyer, like I cared.

Diesel sighed. "They said he resisted arrest, and they tasered him."

I went really still. Like, all my body went on alert and Sadie tried to practically climb in my lap. We'd all been tasered as part of basic, and it was utter shit. Ride the lightning, it was called, and a lot of us agreed being shot was less painful. "What the hell?" He wouldn't have resisted.

Diesel paused. "The two that arrested him freaked out when they saw the scar, but the second car arrived with a friendly and he told us Kane just froze and stopped cooperating when they swapped the cuffs for zip-ties. We know he has issues to work through. This might have been a trigger none of us guessed."

"But we should have," I snapped. He'd been locked up as a scared kid for seventeen years and had been released barely two weeks ago. "We should have." What the hell did we just do?

Diesel nodded. "But he's in. The lawyer reported he's being sent to Ware Correctional. They won't keep him in the cells even overnight because it's not enhanced-proof."

I scoffed. "There's no such thing."

Diesel dipped his chin in agreement. "They just opened the new enhanced wing, but even I'm having trouble finding out what that entails. Talon told me they hadn't been asked for any consultation on the new facility and he's personally worried."

"Fuck," I spat. "What the hell have we sent him into?"

Diesel met my gaze. "He wanted this. It's up to us to try to get him backup."

"Ringo?" I answered. "Who else?"

"Ringo definitely. He's going to be a CO. New posting, but as ex-military, the warden likes that. He's ex-military himself and favors similar applicants."

"Who else?" I pressed.

Diesel huffed. "There're a lot of vacancies."

I'll just bet there were. "Like?"

"Therapists, medics, you name it."

"Medics?" I asked. "Like one for just the unit?"

Diesel narrowed his eyes. "Danny, you can't just—"

"Fuck yes, I can."

Diesel's gaze roamed over me. "You can't take Sadie."

"I know." What the hell was I saying? I was insane.

"And if you have a panic attack?"

I winced. I knew Diesel was only looking out for me. Tough love. "It's like I'm in a holding pattern," I tried to explain. "Same old, same old."

"Don't pretend like you haven't done amazingly well," Diesel said quite forcefully. I knew he had his own guilt; because of a stupid minor injury, he wasn't there. I didn't think he'd ever forgiven himself.

"I need to do this," I said. Quietly, gently. I knew he was only looking out for me.

"Okay, I'll set it up. Take Sadie to Pink."

I ruffled her fur. She would love it. Diesel's wife adored Sadie, and the feeling was mutual. Which meant at least one of us would be okay.

After I had a sleepless night, Oliver Michaels confirmed he'd demanded the body-cam footage. I watched as Kane was compliant, even when they took off the balaclava and seeing his scar. And even when they pushed him down, he didn't protest. I had to watch it a couple of times before I understood. It was the zip-ties. The cop was hardly careful, but it was like Kane lost it when they were tightened. Or, not lost it. He just froze, and my heart ached as the blank mask fell over him. Then he panicked. Nothing drastic, he just struggled like a million other people being arrested might do.

But the cops never gave him a chance. They zapped him and then stood grinning while he lay on the ground jerking, then dragged him up and threw him in the car.

If I hadn't been convinced I was doing the right thing before I saw that, I was now. There was no way Kane was doing this alone. I just had to make sure I kept it together. Because wanting to help was one thing, but becoming a liability was something else altogether.