Surprise!! I couldn't leave you hanging so early update it is!!

Song of the chapter - Breaking the Law by Judas Priest

"That is a shit-load of money we just got!" Nico said.

"Yeah, the biggest profit so far, that's for sure." I replied.

"Well, it's also the best job we've ever done. All the gears were running smooth on this one, and that design you pulled off..." Nico blew out a breath of air and shook his head, "that was a masterpiece."

He said that every time. Usually I blew him off, but this time I had felt it. The design had just come together, and it was almost effortless. Finishing it had been almost like a high, like a buzz that left you feeling amazing.

"Thanks" I said simply.

"Finally! I thought you'd just tell me to shut the fuck up. Looks like you can take a compliment now." He reached over and smacked my cheek. I flinched away and scoffed.

"Lay off! Jeez!"

We pulled into the lot of a convenience store and parked. It was tradition to puff on a cigar after selling one of our classics, but we weren't too picky about which kind. We didn't really smoke them, we just liked the celebration factor.

"Come on, let's go celebrate our latest baby." Nico said as he got out of the car.

The guy he had contacted about the Camero lived a few towns over from us and we had driven the car to him for the sale. John, the man who ended up buying it, took one look at it and started drooling. That's when I knew it was a done deal. He spent the next hour looking the car over thoroughly, putting on a good show to try covering the fact that he would have offered us his first born child for it. Nico gave me the look he gives when the sale is a sure thing, which also means that I need to pipe down and not ruin it.

That only happened once. And in my defense the guy was a total prick, talking down to us like we had no idea what we were doing. Like just anyone could fix up a car the way we had.

He hadn't deserved the car, anyway.

"So, we going with the usual?" Nico asked, "or should we upgrade?"

"Usual. It's not like we actually smoke 'um so why spend the money."

"Noted" Nico agreed. He walked over to the Swissers and grabbed a pack.

After paying, we headed back to the car, but Nico stopped suddenly just as we exited the store.

"Holy fuck!" He muttered, almost under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear him.

"What?" I wondered aloud.

"Shit, Garrett, go back inside the store." He said as he turned to push me back through the door

"The fuck? What is going on, Nico?" I demanded while pushing back a little. I wasn't going back in without some kind of explanation.

Nico huffed in frustration, "G, just trust me, man. Go.back.inside." He added firmly at the end.

As I started to let what he was saying sink in and just go back to the store, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye approaching. Something in my gut kicked in and every nerve in my body seemed to light on fire. It was a furious shock of electricity causing time to slow down. Instant recognition flooded my mind and intense anger exploded along with it.

Brett.

Fucking Brett.

***

They say anger can cause a person to see red, to flip a mental switch and lose all sense of reason and logic.

But I saw white. It was blinding, the anger that took over. Tunnel vision led me right over to where Brett was standing, his eyes wide as he saw me heading towards him. The white tunnel focused on his face, his eyes, and pulled me right to my target. I wasn't even sure how I had worked out of Nico's grip on me, the rage taking over.

Brett's mouth opened in protest, "Garrett, listen, I..."

That's all I could comprehend. I don't even know if he got another word out, because that was the moment my fist made contact with his jaw. The rest became a white streak of motion, arms swinging, movements being made by my body without conscious will. I felt it happening, some part of me knew what I was doing but it was completely preprogrammed.

It had been, since I was ten and the fucker took a broken beer bottle to my face, my neck, my body.

It had been programmed the day he convinced my sister to run away with him.

It had been building since the day she came back, two years later, broken. Broken soul, broken heart, broken body.

It had burrowed deeper since the day he came back, two years after she did, stalking her, threatening her. Since the day he showed up at our house when my mom and I were gone. That day, that fucking day that he had killed her in the damn driveway.

It had grown without me even realizing it the day he sat in court for his arraignment when I sat on the witness stand telling my story.

And it was cemented in my soul the day he jumped bail, knowing he was guilty and would serve time. The fucking coward ran, and so did mom and I.

My mind was numb after unleashing every pent up feeling on the object of my nightmares. I had no words, no emotions left to form any thoughts. People moved around me in a blur of activity, but nothing made sense. I looked but couldn't see, I listened but couldn't hear.

It was done. It was over.

Some time later, an officer was speaking to me and suddenly I was able to process the words.

"Your friend explained the circumstances surrounding the altercation. We looked into Mr. Fletcher's record and discovered his outstanding felony warrant. He is currently in custody."

I looked up at the officer as he spoke, some of the numbness wearing off. But I still couldn't form words. My mind started to wonder where Nico had gone.

"All charges against you have been dropped, you'll be free to go after signing some paperwork." The officer stated. I never bothered to check for his name.

When I looked up at him in surprise and confusion, he must have thought I wanted to know why the charges had been dropped.

"Mr. Fletcher was a fugitive with an outstanding warrant and a bounty. You did everyone a favor by detaining him, and placed him under citizens arrest, which he resisted so use of force was required."

His explanation cleared that right up. However, I hadn't even realize I had been arrested, so that was where my confusion lay. It was only when he mentioned the charges being dropped that I noticed my wrists were in cuffs.

I looked around to see I was in the police station, sitting next to a desk with nothing but a pen and notepad on it. There were a few other desks nearby, all with stacks of papers and files, but no officers. The room was relatively empty, except for myself, the cop who had been speaking to me, and one other guy in a suit talking on the phone. I had no idea how long I had been sitting there.

I attempted to clear my throat and was surprised to find that it was sore. Nothing came to mind as to why that would be the case. I swallowed and formed the first words I had said consciously in a while.

"Where's Nico?" It came out in a hoarse whisper.

The officer looked back over to me, "Your friends are out in reception, waiting for you to be released. It will just be a few more minutes. I know this has taken a while and your friends have been waiting. We can hurry things along."

Friends? Plural? Who could he be talking about? I started to ask but he got up and went to talk with the suit guy before I had the chance.

He came back over with a key of some sort and unlocked the cuffs. I pulled a friken cliche ass move and rubbed my wrists, now free of confinement. He motioned for me to stand and follow him, so that's what I did. Leading me through the room, the guy in the suit followed us as well. I wondered who the hell he was but didn't have the energy to ask.

We turned a corner and the cop opened a door, leading me out into what must have been reception. There, sitting together on a bench, were April and Amber. Both of them had stressed out expressions and were actually holding hands. Nico was standing next to the bench, leaning against a wall and rubbing his neck.

"Mr. Hall is free to go." The cop announced. Everyone's head shot up and focused on me. April got up and rushed to me, giving me a hug.

"You scared the shit out of me!" She announced.

I looked over to Nico for help, but he was talking to suit guy. April thankfully pulled away after just a few seconds, giving me room to breathe. She stepped back and I was able to see Amber, now standing next to the bench. I walked over to it and sat down, Amber then sitting next to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I guess. Still in kind of a fog." I said, my voice still a little hoarse.

"Nico told us what...happened." She stated.

"Yeah." I said. Amber must have been at least a little confused. I hadn't told her everything that night at the warehouse.

"Listen, there was more to what happened with him than I told you. I just...I couldn't say it that night." I shook my head, looking at my feet rather than at Amber.

She took in a deep breath, "I totally understand. You didn't have to tell me any of it, but I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me what you did." She hesitated for a second before continuing, "April told me what she knew on our way here. I got the basics so...you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to."

I really didn't want to talk about it, yet. "Thanks. It's...difficult."

"I can't possibly imagine, but I can understand." She reached over and took my hand in hers. I was surprised at how comforting it was, rather than uncomfortable as I had felt around her lately. Well, more like always.

Maybe I was just too wiped out to feel anything. I wasn't sure, so I kept my hand in hers, not tightening my grip, but just letting them connect. I sat back and leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes.

"Do you need anything?" She asked, "water or something? You sound a little hoarse."

"Yeah, water would be good. My throat hurts but I have no idea why."

I heard Amber suck in a breath so I opened my eyes and turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide in shock. "What? What is it?"

"Um...Nico said you were...yelling, when it happened. That must be why."

Yelling? That was another thing I couldn't remember.

"What was I yelling? Did he say?" I asked. Amber looked away from me.

"Yes" she barely whispered.

"What?" I demanded.

She took another deep breath. "You were yelling over and over, 'You killed her.' Nico said you didn't stop until he pulled you off when the cops pulled up."

Shit. Seeing him had completely fucked my mind up.

"I guess that makes sense then." I resumed my position with eyes closed, head back. I felt Amber get up and walk away, returning a minute later with some water. I drank it but kept silent.

Nico came over with April a few minutes after that. He had finished talking to suit guy and had some information to share.

"Looks like Brett will be held without bail, considering he's a flight risk and his felony charges. Greg will contact us with trial dates and let us know if he needs you on the stand."

Damn. This just kept getting better. I was going to have to go through it all over again. It made me wonder about something the cop had said.

"Nico, what did you tell the police about the situation? The cop told me that I had detained him and needed to use force or something... What the fuck was that?"

"I called some of the guys on my dads squad. They did you a favor because they knew what went down back then." He shrugged.

Ah. A favor. So I hadn't gone the citizens arrest route. I had just beat the shit out of him most likely. I honestly didn't even want to know.

"Come on." Nico said, "Lets get out of here."

The four of us headed out to the cars, Amber walking with me. I realized I had probably effed up her night.

"Sorry that you had to dump whatever plans you had to come out here." I apologized.

She scoffed, "Actually, I'm pretty sure you did me a huge favor."

"What do you mean?" I asked her as we made it to April's car.

"Not important. It just wasn't a big deal for me to be there for you. I'd do it again without hesitation."

Amber reached up and gave me a hug, lingering with her arms around my shoulders for a few seconds longer than just a friendly hug would be. I put my arms around her back and felt my head leaning down to her shoulder. Then her arms tightened, and her body pressed closer to mine.

And I didn't want to let go.

^^^^^

I have to say that to write this was incredibly intense. So I'm curious if that came off the page, did you feel it?

I love you guys so much and I love these characters so much that I couldn't wait until Friday to tell this part of the story. I'm still planning on a Friday update for Matt's version of the night's events.

Breaking the Law came to me right before I thought of this part. The song actually did inspire the events because I didn't originally plan to have a Garrett-Brett confrontation. This song gave me the vision, and then I realized that G needed to face his past.

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