“A cop and three kids? What kind of arrest is this?” José complains.
I tuck my knives into my pocket again.
“You can’t do this. I’m at a wedding. This is preposterous,” José barks, as Atreus drags him back to our car.
“You can tell that to the men at the station after we’ve explained all of your charges to you. You’re going away for a very long time.”
I turn around to find Orion casually strolling behind us, but his brother is nowhere in sight.
“Where’s Atlas?” I ask.
Orion shrugs. “Beats me, I looked away for one second, and he was gone. He kinda does that all the time, even with family, randomly disappearing on us. No one knows what he’s up to.” He winks. “Who knows … maybe he’s enjoying the wedding.”
Orion
Dayslater
I can’t believewe’re all here again, the entire extended family and friends, just to watch one of us be put in prison forever. The courthouse is bustling with people, but I barely notice them. I’m completely numb to the core.
I thought Atreus had a plan.
Why isn’t he here?
I look around at her family, who are clutching each other, worried to death, and I don’t blame them. By helping Atreus arrest José, I believed he would return the favor, but now I’m not so sure anymore.
“What’s taking Atreus so long …” Xavier mutters. “I swear to God, if he doesn’t free her, I will—”
His mother interrupts his rant with just one stern look, and it shuts him up immediately.
“I know how you feel, Xav, but more violence isn’t going to solve this,” his mom says.
“Yeah, well, you and Dad sure wrecked this town back in the day, and no one ever gave a shit!” Xavier shouts. “Why are you so complacent?”
“Because we have no other choice,” Felix, Silas’s dad, grits.
“Why not? You did it once before,” Silas says, shrugging.
“Because my grandpa stopped working there as head of the police force, didn’t he?” Melody says, looking up at her dad, Alistair, who nods.
“He was your inside guy,” Aspen mutters.
“They’ve been coming down on us hard ever since he left,” Felix mutters.
“As payback? That’s not fair,” Cecelia says.
“We gotta beat their asses in a brawl one of these days, maybe that’ll teach them not to mess with us,” Apollo says, making a fist.
“No,” the adults in the room respond, almost collectively.
“Well, for one, I agree with him.” Heath shrugs. “Beats sitting around here doing nothing.”
“No one’s beating anyone’s ass,” Caleb, Heath’s dad, says.
“Why would we let them waltz all over us?” Silas says, playing with his knife again.
Felix rubs the bridge of his nose. “I’m going for a cigarette.”
Everyone looks at him as he puts on his jacket and waltzes out of the room.
