Alyssa stepped through the front door and made her way into the living room. "Hey, Zay."
He smiled and set his notebook aside. "Hey, where's Josh and West?"
"Coach is in a mood and it looks like practice is going to be a little longer today. Not sure why he's pissy but he was taking it out on the guys. Josh gave me his keys and I took his truck home. West will drive them home later."
"Are we waiting on them for dinner or do you want to order a pizza?"
"I vote pizza," she said with a grin.
"Awesome."
"Let them fend for themselves," she said with a chuckle and pulled out her phone to call the pizza place. She frowned when someone pounded on the door. "Who could that be?"
Zay shrugged. "I'll get it, you order the pizza." He left the living room and went to the front door and pulled it open "If you forgot the keys to your own house, Josh, you're an idiot."
Detective Ferrel grabbed him by the front of his shirt, yanked him out of the house, and slammed him against the wall. "You're under arrest, Mr. Walker."
"Whoa, hey what the hell is going on?"
Ferrel ignored him and slapped handcuffs on his wrists.
"I have the right to know what the hell you're arresting me for!"
"I suggest you exercise your right to shut the fuck up," Ferrel snarled.
"Alyssa, call Angelo!" he shouted. "Alyssa!"
She came running from the house as Ferrel shoved him into the back of the police car. "Why are you taking him away? What's going on?" She grabbed Detective Blaine by the arm. "You can't take him, he hasn't done anything wrong!"
Blaine looked back at the car, shook his head, and looked at her. "Call his lawyer and pray like hell because he's in deeper shit than you realize." He shook off her grasp and left her standing there.
"Don't say a fucking word to them, Zay!" she screamed as they pulled away. She sucked in a breath, ran inside, and found Mr. Salazar's card on the fridge. "Come on, answer! Mr. Salazar, those two cops showed up at Josh's house and they snatched Zay! No, they wouldn't tell me why. He looked so scared. He hasn't done anything! He goes to school and work, or he stays at Josh's house! He's been sticking to what the judge told him to do!" She listened as Mr. Salazar spoke. "All right, thank you."
Once they disconnected, she grabbed her purse and ran out to her car. She drove as quickly as she could to the school, screeched into the lot, parked, and ran to the baseball field. "Josh!" she yelled while waving her arms like a maniac.
The coach sent her a glare but he allowed Josh to leave the field.
"Lyssa, what the hell? The coach is in a shit mood, I can't do this right now."
"Yes, you can! Those two cops showed up at the house and snatched Zay. They wouldn't tell me anything. They cuffed him and shoved him into the back of the car."
"Shit, we need to call Mr. Salazar and get him to the station."
"I did, he's already on his way but we need to be there. He needs us, Josh, he looked so scared!"
"Okay, give me a minute." He turned and trotted back to where the coach waited and they held a quick conversation.
Alyssa bit her lip as she watched him argue with the coach. West wandered over to her. "What's going on?"
"They came to the house and grabbed Zay."
"They? They who?"
"Those two detectives. They cuffed him and shoved him in the car but they wouldn't tell me why they were arresting him. West, that Detective Blaine told me to call his lawyer and that I better pray because Zay was in deeper shit than we realized."
"Crap, we should have realized that Seth had another plan in play."
"Yeah."
Josh returned. "Okay, let's move it."
"I'm coming too," West told them.
"Coach isn't happy I'm leaving, if you go too he'll probably suspend us both."
West shrugged. "Zay is more important than baseball."
Josh grinned. "Yes, he is."
They ran to Alyssa's car and drove to the police station. When they entered, Mr. Salazar was at the reception desk arguing with the officer manning the desk.
"I want to see my client, if you continue to prevent me from speaking to him when he requested my presence then I'm going to make a few phone calls that your chief is not going to like," Salazar told the woman.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Salazar but I don't have anyone here by that name. Are you sure he was brought to this station?"
"Ferrel and Blaine brought him in, so yes I am quite sure! Find those two and you'll find my client!" he shouted.
"Ferrel and Blaine came in a little bit ago and dragged some kid into interrogation three," another officer told them when he heard Salazar shouting.
The officer at the desk scowled. "Really, Thompson, you're telling me this now? They didn't check him in, I didn't get any paperwork, what are those two idiots doing?"
"Tale me back there now!" Salazar demanded.
"Yes, sir, of course." Thompson led Salazar back to the room where they were holding Zay. "Sorry, I don't know why they didn't log him in properly." He opened the door and Angelo swept into the room.
"I want to know why you've brought my client in and why I was prevented from being allowed to see him immediately upon my arrival."
"We are questioning Mr. Walker and you weren't invited," Ferrel told him. "He didn't ask for you."
"That is a lie, Detective. He told his friend Alyssa Roman to call me as you dragged him off. You refused to tell either of them what the charges were."
"The same charges, Mr. Salazar. Only now, we have more evidence."
Salazar held a hand out. "Show me."
"We don't have to show you, Salazar. Now, your client was just about to sign this confession."
"Like hell, I was," Zay told him. He looked at Mr. Salazar. "I didn't say a damn thing and I certainly was not going to sign whatever is on that paper he has."
"The kid is full of shit, he was getting ready to sign it when you barged in."
"Come on, Zayden, we're leaving."
"You can't take him, he's under arrest!"
Salazar spun around, slapped his hands on the table, and leaned across to get in Ferrel's face. "It seems my client was never properly checked in. According to the clerk at reception, Zayden Walker isn't here. Did you even read him his Miranda rights before you brought him in?" The fact that Ferrel didn't answer told Angelo that he hadn't. "You fucked up, Detective. Zayden is coming with me and I will be making several very angry phone calls the moment I'm out of this station. Your ass is mine, Detective." He stood back, straightened his tie, and turned toward the door. "Uncuff him, now." He heard the clank of the handcuffs as they hit the table. "Come along, Zayden." He strode from the room with Zay trailing him and went straight outside to his car.
"What now?" Zay asked.
"We go back to Josh's house." He looked past Zayden as the others hurried out of the station.
"Zay, what happened?" Alyssa asked.
"I'll tell you guys when we get back to the house."
"Okay, come on."
Angelo sighed. "I'll follow you. We need to talk about this and I have a few phone calls to make." He turned away and got into his car.
"Come on, Zay, let's go."
He nodded and allowed Alyssa to herd him to her car. When he looked back Angelo had his phone pressed to his ear and he was shouting at whoever was on the other end of the line.
"Are you okay?" Alyssa asked once they were on their way.
"No. Seth is trying very hard to screw me over and I want to know why."
She sighed. "I doubt he'd tell you."
"He won't," West answered. "Trust me, I asked after he sent me that picture. He smiled and walked away."
"Perfect. I thought we had a chance when I got bail, I thought it would all ..." he broke off and shook his head.
"I'm sure Seth was pissed off when he found out he was going to lose his patsy. Whatever he's done, it's something big to assure you'll have no way out of it."
Zay sank in his seat. "Yes, he did exactly that."
Alyssa pulled into the driveway and they piled out of the car, they were almost to the door when Angelo pulled into the driveway and parked behind her car. They waited for him before they all went inside.
"I'll order some pizza," Alyssa told them before she stepped out of the room.
"All right, Zayden, what did those two assholes say to you before I arrived?" Angelo asked.
"They claim they got an anonymous tip that told them to search my locker at school. They said they found one of the tablets from the tow company in it."
"I'm sure they did."
"They also told me that my fingerprints are the only ones on it." He sighed. "And I'm certain they're right. If it's the tablet that was in Seth's truck then I'm the last one to have touched it. I'm sure Seth saved it and switched his for another so he'd have another weapon to use against me. God, he planned all of this out while he smiled at me and told me he loved me. He bought a fucking Christmas tree! All the while he was planning on burying me."
Angelo sighed. "Okay, if they do have this tablet why didn't they show it to you?"
"I don't know. I asked several times all they kept saying was I needed to sign the confession or they'd make certain I ended up in a prison where I'd never see the light of day again. Ferrel also told me he'd beat the confession out of me if he had to and then he'd press charges against me for attempting to fight my way out of the interrogation room. They weren't playing, Ferrel is an angry son of a bitch."
"What about Blaine?"
"He stood back and let Ferrel do all the talking. I don't think he exactly agreed with Ferral's tactics."
"I think Blaine is our weak link. He told Alyssa to call your lawyer and pray. He knows what's going down and I don't think he's onboard anymore," Angelo told Zayden. "If we can turn him we might have a chance."
"He won't turn and if he does then Seth will make certain he has some sort of an accident," West replied.
"Right, like my missing brake fluid," Alyssa muttered.
"So we can't flip him?" Angelo asked.
"We could try but I'm telling you that Seth covers his ass. The guy is smart, damn smart. He has backups for his backups. He doesn't leave anything to chance. When I tell you he is smart, I don't mean he's kinda bright. He has an IQ of 168."
"You're kidding?" Josh stared at him.
"No, I'm not. Seth is not an idiot, he can cover his ass and then some. Trust me if we attempt to out think him it will probably end badly."
Angelo nodded. "All right, so we play this out and look for a way to take him down."
"You won't find one." West shrugged.
"I made a couple phone calls on my way over here and until further notice, Ferrel and Blaine are on suspension so at least we have some breathing room," Angelo said.
"Whoa, how did you manage that?" Josh asked.
Angelo grinned. "Your father isn't my only client, Joshua."
"I realize that but who in the hell could you call that would work that fast?"
"The police commissioner is a very good friend," Angelo told him with a fat smile. "I got his kid out of some trouble a bit back, he was very grateful. He was extremely disappointed in how the detectives handled things and very apologetic for what you were put through. He assured me he'd handle it himself."
Josh burst out laughing. "Oh lord, I would love to be there when they inform Seth they're suspended!"
West sat forward and clasped his hands between his knees. "Are you sure that was a good idea? We have no idea how Seth will react if we take his pet cops off the playing board."
"I'm sure it isn't something he planned for, it has to throw him," Angelo replied. "Maybe he'll make a mistake.
"Anything is possible, but like I said Seth plans for every possibility."
"No one can plan for everything, Weston. Trust me, I know, I've seen guys who back up their plans in every possible way they can think of. There is always something they overlook. Always." He looked at Zay. "I would suggest that from here on out until this is over that you stick to the buddy system. Don't ever go anywhere alone. If Bradford gets desperate he might try and make you vanish. If the cops think you ran rather than face the charges, then they won't be looking at anyone else."
"I don't want to think he'd sink that low."
"You mean you don't want to believe he'd murder you and leave you in a shallow grave somewhere. Don't make him out to be more than he is, Zay, he's an asshole and all he cares about is himself. If killing you will save him then he'll do it," West told him.
Zayden nodded but he didn't want to believe that everything between them had been a lie. That Seth didn't care for him at least a little.
"All right, I'm going to keep on the commissioner and find out everything I can about the situation with Ferrel and Blaine. You guys stay out of trouble." He stood. "And Zay, stay the hell away from Bradford."
"I will, sir."
"Good. I'll talk to you sometime tomorrow." Salazar left.
"Well, this was a fun evening," Alyssa said.
"Oh, yes spectacular." Zay grabbed one of the decorative pillows from the couch, put it over his face, and screamed. He dropped the pillow. "Sorry, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do."
Alyssa giggled. "It definitely was."
Josh jumped up and went to answer the door when the bell rang, he returned carrying the pizzas. "Food!"
"Great, let's eat and then I vote we call it a night. I think we deserve to sleep in tomorrow." West sighed. "I hate Seth."
"I think we all do." Alyssa patted his arm.