“Turn around,” he says, reaching for the handcuffs on his belt.
My breath catches. “You’re actually arresting me?”
He hits a switch on a device on his Kevlar vest—I’m assuming it’s his body cam.
“We’re muted, just for a minute. Can you keep your face neutral and calm while I explain?”
I nod wordlessly, my mind still spinning in shock.
“There’s a bench warrant out for your arrest. You didn’t show up for jury duty, and now I have no choice. I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”
Fucking jury duty?!
“Do what you have to do,” I force out through clenched teeth, knowing there’s no point trying to argue with him. It’s been years, but I think I still know him well enough to know he wouldn’t be doing this unless he absolutely had to.
At least I hope.
His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Given our history, I can’t show you any favoritism.”
History. Such a simple word. It doesn’t feel complex enough to explainus. I don’t think a word exists to describe all the intricacies of who we’ve been to each other. Best friends—until it wasn’t enough. Even before we crossed the line, our relationship was always more. Deeper. Undefinable. Dominic has been everything to me. And now…he’s nothing.
The harshness in his jaw eases, and his mouth softens.“This isn’t personal, querida mía.”
My eyes fall shut, both hating and loving the old term of endearment. I was alwaysEllie girl, butquerida míacame later. It came with themore.
He hesitates, only for a fraction of a second, but it’senough for me to see the flare of guilt in his eyes before he switches off the mute on his body cam and moves behind me.
Fighting the shiver rolling over my body at his proximity, my gaze dips, unsure of where else to look except down at the cracked asphaltas the cold metal snaps around my wrists.
His thumb brushes lightly over the inside of my left wrist, so soft I almost question if I imagined it, but I’m certain of what I felt.
“Elyse Ledger, you’re under arrest for failure to appear. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I’ve explained them?” His voice is monotone and distant. Robotic.
A surge of hot anger crashes through me.How dare he not only move back here, but then be the one to arrest me? Publicly. Humiliatingly.
None of this would be happening if he’d just stayed wherever the hell he’s been all these years.The truth is, he’s the last thing I need right now.
I whirl my head back to meet his gaze, my side-eye sharpening into a glare. His brows are tilted in, skin flushed like he’s embarrassed.
The audacity.
If anyone has the right to be embarrassed in this situation, it’s me.
“Just so you know, I’m never going to forgive you for this,” I grind the words out embarrassingly shaky.
“Careful, Ellie girl. It’s a crime to lie to a member of law enforcement.”
CHAPTER 2
Elyse
REALLY HATE THE PEE
PRESENT
The Clore County Detention Center reeks of things I’d rather not identify—one smell, in particular, overpowering the rest. Why do the worst situations always smell like pee? A fuckboy’s headboard-less bedroom, the backseat of a minivan, cheap motels, hospitals, and now jail—it’s like life’s most cringe-worthy moments come with their own urine-scented air freshener.
“You got a smoke on ya, sweetie?”
