Page 140 of Forgotten Prejudice

“We found it,” one of them said.

Found it? Found what?

And then I saw it.

A gun.

The officer beside the man who said “found it” carried a gun in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag. The whole world felt like it was spinning. Between the kids asking me questions, the blue and red lights blinding my sight, the sirens ringing in my ears, and Soren’s voice, I had no idea what was happening.

“Ashton Sage?” someone asked, and I turned to face them.

“Yes?” I answered the serious-looking officer.

“You are under arrest for aiding and abetting the concealment of evidence.”

“What?” I gasped, trying to understand what the fuck he’d just said as he went on to recite my Miranda rights.

“Hey! Take your hands off of him!” Andrei shouted when the officer turned me around, but I managed to tell Andrei to calm down just before they cuffed my hands behind my back.

Panicked, I looked around at the commotion until my eyes locked on Soren’s wide back.

“S-oren!” I called desperately, my voice cracking.

Soren turned around, his eyes widening the second he saw me, and he ran toward us. I think he tried arguing with the officer, but they’d already taken me to the car. The whole time, I was so fucking scared. Terrified would be a better word, when suddenly, Diesel’s arrest flooded my memory. Did he feel the same way when he was arrested? And if so, was he still this scared?

Soren

“Are you okay?” I asked as soon as I met Ashton in the hall of the police station.

Rubbing his wrists, he nodded. “Yeah, thanks for bailing me out,” he said, a small smile on his lips.

We started walking to exit the station while I filled him in on the missing information. “You’ve got nothing to worry about with those charges. They’re so ridiculous that they’ll be dropped in no time. It was a low blow made by the prosecution and Christian in an attempt to mess with us.” I knew the other team was playing dirty, but to go this low? To have Ashton arrested and spend the night in jail? That was outrageous.

“That’s good to know.” He pursed his lips before turning to me. “What about the gun?”

“I think it’s better if you get some rest first.”

Ashton grabbed my arm, forcing me to a stop.

“Answer my question.”

Looking around the stretching hall, I sighed with frustration. The last thing Ashton needed to know after he spent the night in jail was how the prosecution had managed to fuck us with this evidence a week before closing arguments. But with how he was looking at me, danger in his eyes, there was no way I could avoid answering him.

“It’s not good. They found the weapon used to kill Orson and Rosa in Camilo’s room. There might not be any fingerprints on it, but the jury is not going to like it.”

Ashton’s face paled, and he took a step back. He was quiet for a moment before turning to face me. “They must have planted it in Diesel’s room. The house was empty all day yesterday; they could have done it then. Right? I mean, they must have planted it. It wasn’t there the first two times they searched.”

Those were my thoughts exactly, but proving it wouldn’t be easy.

“That’s what I’m about to argue in court. But I won’t lie, this looks really bad.” To say the least. Unless I came up with something new, we were screwed, and Diesel’s chances of being a free man would be as good as gone.

The fear on Ashton’s face made me pull myself back together, and I placed my hands on his shoulders. “I promised you I wouldn’t lose this case, didn’t I?”

A bit of hope shone in his eyes, and he nodded.

“You did.”

“So count on me.”