Page 22 of Ruin

“I think we can assume that anyone wearing a Banshee cut is going to have different rules for what’s ‘illegal,’” I said wryly. “What are the charges?”

“Mostly drunk and disorderly,” he snorted. “Which is bullshit. None of us had been drinking. But I guess they needed something for the paperwork. Couple of the guys will get resisting arrest. They didn’t take kindly to the cops suddenly showing up.”

I was betting I could guess exactly who those guys were. As for the rest...

“They can’t hold them on drunk and disorderly if they don’t have blood tests. When will they be out?”

“That’s the problem. They may not have done blood tests, but the cops are swearing up and down that they did other tests. You know, walk a straight line and shit like that. Adams says they’ll keep everyone based on that for as long as they can.”

“Shit.” That was bad news. “Adams is working on it?”

“He is. But it’ll be paperwork, and no telling how long that’ll take. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the cops had it out for us from the start. They already had the charges ready to go.”

“Of course they did. They’re in Devil’s pocket. I’m sure he told them exactly what he needed and how long to keep us busy.”

Remy skipped a beat, but didn’t ask the obvious questions.

He probably knew just as well as I did what Devil would do to win this particular war. He’d been a mentor to the guy, after all. Before he went insane.

Back when we both thought he was our friend.

“So what now?” he finally asked.

“Now we gather everyone we still have and figure out what our next step is. Can we get to Gem?”

“Not unless we want to be arrested, too. The cops have all our names, and you know they know our faces. I don’t doubt they’re waiting for us to show up so they can drag the rest of us to that fucking jail of theirs.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way, but Remy was right. And that gave me my next question. “Is Gem under arrest?”

“Sure is. Handcuffed to the bed and everything. Not that it matters. That man’s not leaving the hospital for at least a week.”

A week where we wouldn’t even be able to visit him or let him know what was going on.

The idea tore a hole right through my heart, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. We couldn’t access him without putting ourselves in danger, and we’d be of no use if we were behind bars.

We had to stay on the street if we were going to figure out how to get everyone else back out.

“Sounds like you guys aren’t going to be doing anything until morning, in that case,” a voice said from over my shoulder. “Which means it’s time to rest.”

I turned and looked up to see Brock, his face carefully blank, his mouth held in a straight line. His house wouldn’t be the safest place for us to stay, but it would be a hell of a lot safer than the clubhouse, and I’d protect the guys in the clubhouse better if I stayed away from them.

I had no doubt that the cops would be after me next, which meant that anyone with me would also be in danger. For tonight, though, a bed in Brock’s house sounded like the best idea he’d ever had.

“You have room for everyone?”

“Course I do. Three rooms other than mine and plenty of couches. Help yourself. I’ll be in my room.”

I watched him walk away, wanting to reach for him and knowing that I couldn’t. The man had just found out that his older brother and best friend had died. He needed time to process that and come to terms with the loss. And if I knew Brock, he’d do that better on his own than with an audience.

He’d let me know when he was ready for company.

I felt a hand slip into mine then, and looked down to find Saraya looking up at me. “Come on,” she said quietly. “Let me take care of you for a little.”

She didn’t wait for an answer but moved forward toward the house, dragging me along behind her. We got up the steps and through the door, and then she paused and looked back.

“Which way to the guest bedroom?” she asked.

I grinned, in spite of myself. She might pretend she was in charge, but this girl still didn’t know her way around Banshee territory. Not that she’d let anyone point that out.