Page 99 of Break Me Not

The fact that she was here was a good sign. It meant that things on the outside were progressing. But it didn't make me feel any better about leaving Liz and Claire.

“I'll be honest with you—it's not looking good. Who is this guy you pissed off? Is he well connected or something?”

She flicked her long, brown hair over her shoulder and gave me a pointed look. Her words made me feel like she was blaming me for all of this.

“He's just a stupid jealous ex-husband,” I said with a huff as I pulled at the scratchy uniform they provided for me. “I tried to dig up dirt on him, but he's just… sad and angry. His connection to the police force are his buddies from high school. He does nothing but drink and gamble and use the dark web to make AI-generated videos that he uses to try and get me in jail.”

She let out a small, annoyed tsk.

“You club people always give me the worst jobs.”

I gave her a bitter smile. “Take it up with Sloan. Or, better yet, maybe while you're here you can let me know how you know Parker?”

She held a single manicured hand to me.

“Not the time.”

I sat back in my chair, somewhat defeated. I hated that I had no power here. On the outside, I had my business. I had my team. And if I needed to get information, I could do that with a snap of my fingers.

But here I was a sitting duck. And the more I sat here without any information, the longer my imagination ran.

“Liz? Claire? Are they okay?”

Even though I had seen she was unharmed, I was still plagued by images of Liz, trapped inside the gallery, fire all around her.

She nodded. “As far as I know, they're fine and in hiding. I know you’re worried about them, but, more importantly, I need you to come to terms with something.”

I nodded and leaned forward as she looked around the room, specifically at the camera in the corner.

“They're full-on gunning for you. I'm going to do my best, but like I said, it doesn't look good. So I need you to prepare yourself to go to jail.”

My stomach turned into a hard rock. Jail. I couldn’t go to jail. I hadn't even done a quarter of the shit Sloan and Ax had, and this asshole was going to be the thing that put me there?

Then again, Sloan did do her time in jail.

“But I didn't do any⁠—”

“I never said you did. We will try and stop it before it even gets to trial. In the state of New York, arson of this magnitude, especially with the possibility of someone being inside, means they can keep you here. I don't know what other tricks they’ll try to pull, but as of right now,” She tapped her nails on the middle of the table as my eyes started to wander. “You're only being charged with arson. Your arraignment is tomorrow, so unfortunately, you're staying here for the night. And Jax…” She stood up. I jerked and tried to grab her wrist, but she was quick to pull it out of my hand. “Prepare yourself.”

She gave me a look, her eyes taking me in from head to toe.

“I promise you I'll try to get you out on bail.”

Then she was gone, and I was hauled back to the cell that was too cold with too many people.

Everyone had their specific corner, which meant I was stuck in the middle of a stone bench. At least there was a wall at my back so I could get some type of rest, and none of the others seemed like the talking type.

I held on and tried to think about Liz and Claire. I knew Claire had been mad, but she had accepted us just before they took me away. I think. I couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of here to make it all better. This whole situation was just so fucked.

The longer I sat there with my thoughts, the worse they became. I felt defeated, but that didn't squash any of the anger. If anything, it only got more intense.

I regretted not punching him in the fucking face—or worse—when I had the chance.

As if showing me things could, in fact, get worse, the info broker I’d used was being shown into my jail cell. She clocked me right away and decided that the best place to sit was right next to me.

“I do not have the energy⁠—”

“Oh, I'm not here for you,” she said, looking up at me.