Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
I watch over his shoulder as Maddox and Banks are led out in handcuffs.
It’s a sight I never want to see again.
Tears flood my face, burning my swollen cheek, and I cry into Sara’s arms.
TWENTY-SIX
Maddox
Banks’s whistle echoes through the cell.
“Can you stop it?” I ask, scratching my scalp with my fingernails just to feel something outside of my body.
“What song was it?”
“Banks.”
“Come on. Do you know?”
“Can we not do this right now? We’re sitting in jail, for fuck’s sake.”
“It was the Andy Griffith Show.” He sighs. “I’m disappointed you didn’t know that.”
I get up and pace the length of the holding cell. It smells like piss.
“Ash was okay, wasn’t she?” I ask with my heart in my throat.
The events from the moment I stepped into Mega Pint to the moment I was shoved into the back of Skylar’s car are hazy. My adrenaline is starting to wear off. I’m going stir-crazy—needing to get the hell out of here. How did I literally go from heaven yesterday to hell tonight?
What the fuck happened?
“She’s okay,” Banks says. “Swollen cheek. She’ll be all right.”
Just when I thought my anger was starting to subside.
I would’ve killed Eton tonight. If Banks hadn’t pulled me off him, I don’t know when I would’ve stopped.
I never cross a certain line. I’ll always defend the weak, but I always check myself. That’s why I sent Banks to talk to the dad at wrestling practice. But tonight, there was no line. And that scares the shit out of me.
Fuck. I run my hands down my face.
All I can think about is Ashley’s face when I walked into the bar. I’ve seen many expressions on her face over the years, but I’ve never seen abject fear. Sure, there was anger mixed in, but she was spooked.
It turned my blood cold.
The closer I got, the angrier I became. Not that two men were in a booth with my girl, but that she didn’t want them there. She didn’t feel safe. She was vulnerable. And she was alone.
I saw red.
My throat constricts. But Banks felt it too. For Ashley and for me.
“Thanks,” I say, blowing out a breath. “You probably saved me from prison.”
Banks hops off the bench. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll always have your back, Mad.”
I face him, my little pain-in-the-ass brother. The guy who annoys me daily. Who eats my food. Moves into my house when I’m gone.
Who would do anything to defend me … or my girl. He stepped up. He stepped in. He got to that fucker before I did because he touched Ashley.
Banks might be a fool, but fuck, he’s fierce. Loyal. The best friend I could ever have.
I pull Banks into a hug. He pats my back before letting me go.
“I don’t know what I’m going to say to Ashley,” I say, a ball of nerves bouncing around my stomach. “What does she think about all of this?”
Banks shrugs.
“It’s like our life went from friends to …” I look around.
“Felons?”
“Asshole,” I say, shaking my head.
Footsteps come down the corridor. Banks and I face the bars and wait to see who it is. Finally, Skylar comes into view.
“All right, you’re in luck,” he says. “Made some calls. We’re going to get you in front of a judge tonight so you can get out of here. Bail will be eight hundred dollars each if you guys want to call someone and have them be ready.”
“Thanks, Skylar,” I say. “We appreciate it.”
“Hey, no problem. Hate this happened. Ashley is pressing charges against Eldridge, so that’ll make his life fun for a while.”
I tense.
“Any way you could stick us in their holding cell for five minutes?” Banks asks. “We forgot to tell them something.”
Skylar just laughs. “Haven’t you caused enough mayhem for one night?”
“What are we getting charged with?” I ask.
“I’m waiting for the final paperwork. I doubt Gordie presses charges, but Ashley is on Eldridge. The witnesses all said that Eldridge’s sidekick threw the first punch, so it’s really a wash. I doubt much will come of it, but I can’t make promises.”
I nod.
Skylar sighs. “I’m going to check on a few things, then I’ll be back for you to make your call.”
“Thanks,” Banks says as Skylar walks away.
My brother and I sit on the bench. Slowly, we look at one another.
“So,” I say, biting my lip.
Banks shakes his head.
“What are our choices?” I ask. “Moss and Brooke are out of town. I’m not calling Mom or Dad.”
“That leaves Jess and Foxx, and to be honest, I’m really not feeling either one of them.”
“See how stupid the sticker thing is now? I’d call Jess a hundred times before Foxx, but if we call him now after he’s seen your face a thousand times, he’s gonna take us in the parking lot and try to fight us, and we’ll all end up in here again.”