Page 165 of Pink

THIRTY-THREE

TWO.

Two months in lockup while the officials played keep-away with Lev’s freedom. He had started to believe that the games of the police would never end despite the hard fight his lawyers put up every step of the way.

But then it did.

The case they attempted to build against Lev started to fall apart one single charge at a time—starting with the catalyst charges from the night he punched a security guard who, for some reason, decided to drop all charges. That might have had something to do with the bribe Andino paid out to the guard, but Lev couldn’t say.

Either way, everything else quickly went to shit for the officials after that. If they had no charges stemming from the show, then they couldn’t hold him for illegally leaving the country when he wasn’t supposed to so, either.

As far as anything related to Gigi? They had a victim who said there wasn’t a crime. The mess in Mexico? The officials from down there weren’t going forward with charges for something they couldn’t physically tie him to.

What was left? That’s what his lawyers asked when they were given a seat in front of a judge to demand someone look at what was happening to him. What were they doing? That’s what the judge demanded after the hearing.

Lev was released within forty-eight hours of that meeting between the DA, his lawyers, and the judge. The judge who was a good man, Andino had said a couple of weeks earlier, that would be willing to help them on this little issue.

For a price.

Everything came with a price. That had never been more obvious to Lev until now.

The waiting game had come to an end and as he stood on the steps of a jail that had housed him for months with no reprieve, it all felt a little … surreal. In a suit that had been brought in by his lawyers for him to wear, he shoved his hands in the pockets of the slacks and stared up at the bright blue, winter sky overhead.

He didn’t have a coat.

It should have been cold.

Lev felt none of it.

“Enjoy it,” came a familiar voice from down the steps of the jail, “because if we all get our way, you’ll never feel like this again.”

Lev smiled, his gaze coming to settle on the man who leaned against an idling, black BMW. Andino, that was. “And what is this feeling?”

His boss smiled.

“Relief isn’t a good enough word, is it?” Andino asked.

Lev shook his head. “Not even close.”

“I don’t have a better one.”

And yet, Lev also understood what the man had meant by never wanting to feel this way again. Because if he was capable, then he was never going to sit inside a jail cell again with his future on the line.

That was a promise.

“Who do I thank,” Lev asked, coming down the steps slowly, “for keeping the media away today?”

“The jail likely. Even I didn’t get a call about your time of release until the last minute. I think they want to … like the rest of the fucks in this city … sweep all of this under the rug. Pretend like it didn’t happen.”

Lick their wounds, Lev bet.

As they should.

This had been a travesty. It could have been worse.

By the time Lev reached the end of the cement steps, Andino had thrust his hand forward to catch his in a tight grasp. Then, he used that same hold to yank Lev close enough that he could give him a one-armed hug with a hard smack to the shoulder.

“That was too close,” Andino muttered, letting him go.