Out of Left Field

Chapter 17 - Dodger (Sloane)

"Hey, baby."

I immediately burst into tears, my knees buckling as I sank to the floor, "God, Chris. I'm so fucking sorry. I– If I would've known, I wouldn't have provoked him like that! I would've–"

"Pip, please, baby. I only have a few minutes and we both know you have nothing to apologize for," He spoke softly, but his voice was strained.

"You okay? You sound off."

Chris stayed silent on the other end for a second too long.

"Chris? What happened?"

He sniffed, "Nothing, it's nothing. I just– I wanted to check on you."

"You wanted to check on me?" I asked quietly.

"Are you okay?"

"Chris, I'm fine. I'm– I stayed with Dom and Cami, they–" I paused, not sure what all he knew. "What's happening there? Have they told you anything?"

He let out an unamused laugh, "Yeah. And, Sloane, I'm so sorry about the apartment. They... Stu came in and showed me pictures. It's destroyed."

My eyes burned again, but I held back my tears, swallowing the emotion building in my throat. "It's okay."

"And tell Cam I'm sorry Dodger had to stay with you."

Fuck.

My heart shattered all over again. I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. "Baby, they took him."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm getting ready to go to the pound to get him back, I'm so sorry, Chris. I tried, but they wouldn't let me keep him."

He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "It's okay, you have nothing to apologize for."

"Did they tell you anything else?" I asked, my voice still shaky.

"Yeah, Pip. They uh– they planted a lot. Almost 3 grams on me. 5 thousand grams were found stashed under the bed in the guest bedroom, and a bunch of weed, too. I'm screwed," he laughed again, this one much more defeated than the last.

My mouth hung open for a second, my mind trying to process everything he just said but also how the fuck they were able to plant everything and where the fuck a bunch of cops were able to acquire that many drugs.

Cami's words echoed through my mind. I could brainstorm and ponder later. But right now, Chris needs me.

"Chris, listen to me. You are not screwed. I have Cami calling the best defense attorney on the east coast, I'm on my way to get Dodger back, I am going to do exactly as he did. Stoop low and play dirty. I will have you home so fast that this will all just seem like a bad dream, okay?"

His staticky sigh came through the phone. "I love you, you know that?"

"I love you, you know that?" I responded, tears spilling over and streaming down my face. "He won't get away with this. I promise."

"I know he won't." He sighed again, "I have to go."

My eyes shut as I nodded to myself. "Okay. I love you so much."

"I know. Bye, baby."

I waited until I heard the sound of the phone clanking against the hook switch to pull my cell phone away from my ear. "Fuck!" I cried, pulling my knees to my chest and letting out a sob.

He sounded so defeated. And so fucking tired.

Cami sat down behind me pulling me against her chest, letting me cry out all of my pent up frustrations.