“Forget the girls,” Langstrom wheezed, his hand resting on his chest. “You need to carry me up the stairs and find a way out.”
The bodyguards ignored his order.
“We’re out of here.” They turned quickly and rushed toward the stairwell, shoving smaller bodies out of their way so they could climb the stairs faster.
I widened my eyes when I realized Langstrom was now on his own, his health flagging rapidly, and we were about to be in a world of hurt with the police. “What do we do?”
Grinder slid me a sidelong look. “Just go along with it, kid,” he ordered. “They’re going to take everyone in. Fighting or trying to run will make things worse. Trust me on this. Let them take you in.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Aisling argued, shaking her head. “Dad will be really mad if we all get arrested and he has to bail us out.”
“Forget your dad,” Jerry snapped. “What do you think my mother will do?”
Aisling wrinkled her forehead. “Your mother will punish you with cookies and milk, and blame us for this.”
“And rightly so.” Jerry turned prim. “You dragged me into this. I didn’t even want to come.”
“Oh, what a load of crap!” Aisling rolled her eyes. “You said it sounded like fun when Redmond first brought it up. I suggested that we stay home while Redmond ran his little errand. Did anyone listen to me? Of course not.”
“Oh, knock it off.” I was at my limit as I viciously flicked Aisling’s ear. “If anyone should be upset about no one listening, it’s me. If you guys had listened to me even once tonight none of this would’ve happened and we would already be home watching television.”
“Like we could all agree on the same television show,” Aisling muttered.
“Just … shut it.” I held up a finger to quiet her. “I’m so over you and your crap I can’t even tell you.”
Aisling couldn’t let anyone have the last word, so she shot me the finger. “Whatever.”
“Knock it off, guys,” Grinder ordered, shaking his head as his gaze bounced between faces. “This won’t get you anywhere. You need to calm down and accept that you’re about to be taken into custody.”
The idea didn’t sit well with me. “We could try to run.”
“That’s a stupid idea,” Doc warned. “The cops aren’t morons. They have the parking lot closed off. Even if you got past them, how would you get home without a vehicle?”
That was a good question. “I … .” I lost my train of thought when Langstrom collapsed to the floor, his eyes going wide as he stared at the ceiling and struggled for breath.
“Son of a … !” Doc moved closer to the prone man as I shifted to look Cillian in the eye. This wasn’t what I expected when it came time to absorb Langstrom’s soul, but I didn’t have many options.
“I think he’s dying,” Grinder said, moving closer. His back was to us as he focused on Langstrom. “He’s probably overdosing or something.”
“That would be my bet,” Doc agreed, completely oblivious to the way we looked at one another behind the two men’s backs. “I think he’s been circling for a bit. I’m not sure he can come out of this.”
“Do you even want him to come out of it?” Grinder asked. “I mean … he wanted to take that kid and turn her into a prostitute.”
“That’s not really my decision,” Doc argued.
“Yeah, well, I’m not going to break my back to try to save him.” Grinder was matter of fact. “I think karma is about to get him.”
“I don’t doubt you’re wrong there.”
I dug in my pocket to retrieve the scepter, giving Aisling an encouraging smile when she stepped in front of me to hide what I was doing. Langstrom’s soul appeared quickly, his eyes going wide as he stared at the body on the floor and realized he was looking at himself.
“Oh, no, this is not the way this is supposed to go,” he whined, turning a pleading expression to me. “Do something.”
“Yeah, do something,” Braden instructed under his breath. “Do it right now while no one is looking.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. I pressed the button on the scepter and watched as it slowly tugged Langstrom’s protesting soul inside.
“You’re a putz,” Aisling whispered as he moved past her. “I hope you’re someone’s girlfriend on the other side.”
“We all hope that.” Cillian slung an arm around her shoulders and smiled at our sister. “Well, at least that’s one less thing to worry about.”
“Right.” I shoved the scepter back in my pocket and cringed as the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs made my blood run cold. I saw bouncing flashlight beams and knew it was the police coming to collect bodies from every corner of the building. “This won’t be easy to explain.”
“It could be worse,” Aisling said philosophically. “At least it’s not really like Beverly Hills, 90210. No one here will be thrown off the homecoming committee due to getting arrested. That’s something to be thankful for.”
I glared at her. “I can’t even look at you right now.”
“Then who are you looking at?”
“Stop talking.”
“You stop talking.”
“Both of you stop talking,” Grinder ordered, his expression serious. “You all need to be calm for what’s about to happen. Don’t make a scene.”
That sounded easy in theory. Obviously this guy hadn’t spent enough time with us to realize it couldn’t possibly be that simple. “Yeah, well, thanks for not letting those guys kill us.”
Grinder offered a half smile. “Don’t mention it.”
WE WERE TAKEN INTO custody without incident and transported to one of the precinct houses downtown. I wasn’t overly worried during the ride because I figured I could explain away most of our issues. That changed when a female police officer dragged us into an interrogation room and started questioning everyone at once.
“Did anyone ingest anything while at the party?”
I narrowed my eyes as I looked the woman up and down. She wore simple jeans and a T-shirt, her face scrubbed bare of makeup, but she looked oddly familiar. “Serena?”
“That’s Officer Sarah Dawson to you,” she fired back, although her expression softened at my confusion. “I was undercover at the party. You’re not imagining that.”
“He’s not imagining anything,” Aisling fired back. “He’s not on drugs or nothing. You have no right to hold us.”
“Anything,” Cillian automatically corrected. “He’s not on drugs or anything.”
“Don’t make me pinch you,” Aisling warned.
I couldn’t be sure, but I was almost convinced Sarah’s lips briefly curved into a smile before she recovered and motioned for us to sit in the chairs spread about the room.
“We need to talk, guys.” Sarah was all business as she juggled a variety of folders. “You’re in some serious trouble here.”
“Why?” Braden asked, taking a seat between Cillian and Aidan. “We didn’t do anything.”
“You were at a drug warehouse.”
“We didn’t do any drugs,” Jerry said seriously. “That’s not how we roll. We’re clean teens.”
“Not by choice,” Aisling argued. “We would totally smoke pot if we could get away with it. My father would kill us, though.”
“Definitely,” Aidan agreed. “He still might kill us before the night is out. You don’t have to worry about punishing us. He’ll do a fine job of that himself.”
“Oh, that’s true.” Aisling visibly brightened. “Our father will be ten times more creative than you could ever be. You should just let us go because he’ll handle making us cry. You don’t need to worry yourself about it.”
“Uh-huh.” Sarah turned her full attention to me as I vigorously rubbed at the headache brewing. “How do you think I should handle this, Redmond?”
I shrugged, noncommittal. “It really doesn’t matter at this point. No matter what you do to us, my sister is right, it’s nothing c
ompared to what our father will do.”
Sarah leaned back in her chair. “Is your father abusive?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “He’s simply terrifying … and creative when it comes to thinking up punishments.”
“He yells a lot,” Aisling offered. “He threatens to lock us in the basement, too.”
Sarah’s expression shifted. “Does he lock you in the basement?”
“No.” Aisling shook her head. “He just threatens it.”
“He threatens a lot of stuff,” Cillian interjected. “Once he told us he was going to fire the cleaning staff and make us serve as maids and cooks for the entire summer if we didn’t stop fighting.”
“Ah.” Despite the serious nature of the situation, Sarah smiled. “It sounds to me like he’s a normal father.”
“Then we’re telling the story wrong,” Aisling said, annoyance flashing. “He’s going to be mean.”
“He won’t be mean to you,” I argued. “I’m the one he’ll be mean to. I was supposed to be watching you. I fell down on the job.”
“Good point.” Aisling brightened considerably. “Can you call him now? I’m tired and ready to go home.”
“Me, too,” Jerry added. “My mother will have some stern things to say when she finds out about this, but I would rather deal with her than share a cell with someone else. Wait … are you going to put us in cells? Are we going to prison? I don’t think I’m built for prison.”
“I think you’ll survive,” Sarah said dryly, shaking her head. “In fact, I think most of you will get away with stern warnings. You’re underage. That means you won’t be charged … at least this time. If you get caught a second time, we’ll throw the book at you.”
“How heavy is the book?” Aisling asked. “I’ve taken harder blows than a thrown book.”
“From your father?” Sarah was back to looking concerned.
“No.” Aisling’s expression turned dark. “Braden is another story.”
“Oh, geez.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t make matters worse, Aisling. She’s not saying that Braden beats her or anything. It’s just … .”
“They’re brother and sister,” Sarah finished, her eyes twinkling with genuine mirth. “I get it. I have three brothers of my own.”
“You have my sympathies,” Aisling offered.
“Thank you so much for that.” Sarah shuffled the files. “While none of the younger crowd will face charges, I can’t say the same for you, Redmond. I’m not sure what charges you’ll be up against, but you should brace yourself for the possibility that you’ll be going to court and facing community service at the very least.”
I swallowed hard as a lump formed in my throat. “Right.”
“Wait a second.” Aisling hopped to her feet. “Why can’t he be let off with a warning, too?”
“Because he’s an adult.”
“But … he didn’t do anything.” Aisling was furious. “He was just there to do a job.”
“Yes. Good point. I have yet to get a serious answer to this question,” Sarah noted. “What job were you doing at the rave? We patted you down, searched all your belongings, and came up with nothing but a weird silver stick. I’m trying to figure out what job you were supposedly there to conduct.”
Uh-oh. This was officially a sticky situation. “I was there to do something for my father,” I offered lamely. “It’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, you should tell me.”
“I … .” I knew better than to go into this. It would come back to bite me if I tried. If she believed me, she would forever watch our house trying to catch us doing something weird. If she didn’t, I might end up in a straitjacket. “I think I should let my attorney handle the rest of my questioning,” I said finally. “I need to place a call.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Sarah looked disappointed as she stacked the files. “Don’t worry about that.”
“We’re entitled to phone calls,” Cillian argued. “You have to let us call our parents.”
“That call has already been made.” Sarah looked almost amused when I sank lower in my chair. “We called your home, spoke to a cook I believe, and she contacted your parents. They’re on their way.”
“They are?” Aisling cast me a sidelong look, worry evident. “Okay. That’s good. I would like to be the first to talk to them.”
Ugh. My life started flashing when I pictured my father’s face after getting an earful from Aisling. “I think I should be the first to talk to him.”
“Actually, I think I’m going to be the first to talk to him.” Sarah slowly stood. “Now, I’ve arranged for you guys to be kept in here and away from the holding cells.”
“You did?” I was profoundly grateful. “I … thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Sarah shot back. “I think some time in a holding cell would do you good, maybe allow you time to consider what you’ve done.”
“Yes, well … .”
“I did it for these three.” Sarah gestured at Aisling, Aidan and Jerry. “They’re too young to be in a holding cell and I don’t think things would go smoothly for them. At least the boys would have you other three to watch over them. Aisling would be on her own, and given her mouth I’m not sure she would survive a long stretch with criminals.”
“You make a very good point.”
Sarah forced a sympathetic smile for my benefit. “I do. You guys stay put. Your parents should be here within a half hour. Then I’ll talk to them and we’ll go from there.”
“I’m really looking forward to that,” I lied.
“Yeah. I don’t blame you on that one. This is clearly not your night.”
10
Ten
The room was oddly silent when we were left to our thoughts. Aisling returned to her chair, stared at the wall and ultimately rested her head against my shoulder. Strangely enough, I found the gesture touching. It didn’t soothe my frazzled nerves, but I felt better all the same.
The feeling lasted only until Braden spoke.
“They’re here.”
I jerked my head so I could gaze through the interrogation room window and found Sarah showing Mom and Dad to her desk, which just happened to be in direct view of the room. The look on Dad’s face when he met my gaze through the window was chilling.
“They’re going to kick me out of the house.” I had no idea why the notion occurred to me, but it felt right. “I’m going to get fired and find myself homeless on the same night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aisling scoffed, raising her hand to wave at Dad. “You’ll be fine.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“I won’t.”
“You will. Don’t argue with me!” Aisling extended a finger. “Trust me. I’ve got a way for all of us to get out of this.”
I had trouble believing that. “Oh, yeah? How?”
“Just … trust me.” Aisling swiveled to face the door when it opened, her expression going lax when she recognized the man standing in the doorway. “You’re one of the biker dudes.”
She was right. It was Grinder, although he looked different thanks to a change of clothes, a shave and better lighting.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused.
“Saving your butt,” Grinder replied, gesturing toward the door. “Redmond, you need to come out here so we can have a discussion with your parents.”
That sounded like a terrible idea. “I think I’d rather hide in here.”
Grinder chuckled. “And I think you don’t have a say in the matter,” he replied. “Your father wants to see you. I don’t think he’s very happy at the turn of events.”
I was convinced he was selling the situation short. “Is he going to kill me?”
“Probably not in front of witnesses.” Grinder snapped his fingers to get me moving. “Come on. Little girl with the forked tongue, he wants to see you, too.”
I bit off a groan, but j
ust barely. If Dad wanted to see Aisling it was because he wanted her to squeal on me. He knew she was his best shot for getting the whole truth.
“Cool.” Aisling grabbed my arm as she stood. “Come on. The faster we get this over with, the faster we’ll be able to go home. I want ice cream.”
I was dumbfounded as I followed her. “I don’t care how cute you think you are. He’s not going to get you ice cream.”
“He’s going to get all of us ice cream,” Aisling argued. “Trust me.”
Grinder grinned at my baby sister. “I like how you’re so upbeat, kid. Your father is probably going to grind you into dust over this, but I like that this hasn’t broken your spirit.”
“Whatever.” Aisling rolled her eyes as she looked him up and down. “You were undercover too?”
“Yeah.” Grinder nodded. “It’s lucky for you that we were. I would hate to think the trouble you would’ve found yourself in if we hadn’t been there to hold off Langstrom’s men.”
“What about Langstrom?” I was legitimately curious. “Are we in trouble for his death?”
“Should you be? From what I can tell, you never touched him. I’m sure he got his hands on some bad meth or something. That’s not your fault unless … wait … that wasn’t your business with him, was it?”
“Absolutely not.” I was affronted. “Trust me. I didn’t have anything to do with his death.” That was true. I only played a part in the removal of his soul.
“Well, then don’t worry about that.” Grinder kept a hand on Aisling’s back as he led us to the spot where our parents conversed with Sarah. The female police officer was somber as she explained something, although my mother stopped listening the moment she saw us.
“Are you okay?” Mom pulled Aisling in for a tight hug as she smoothed her hair. “You didn’t ingest drugs or anything, did you?”
“No.” Aisling offered a pretty smile to Mom before flipping it to Dad. “We’re not idiots.”
“That’s not how it appears to me,” Dad grumbled, shifting in his chair. “You guys look like absolute morons.”
Grim & Bear It: A Grimlock Family Short Page 9
