Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail
Tijan
CHAPTER ONE
When my phone rang at three in the morning, I wasn't surprised. It was a Friday night, now Saturday morning and I knew that my best friend had gone to a party. He always chose the party. I always chose to stay home for some good sense and a good book. Then the phone rang again and I picked it up before it woke my grandma. Viola wouldn't have been surprised by who was on the other end, but she would've stomped around harder than necessary in her clogs for the rest of the weekend. No one wanted that.
"Brady, I'm sleeping."
"You're a liar, Rayna Cassidy," he tsked me.
I rubbed the grit out of my eyes and scooted up against my headboard. Years had prepared me for what this phone call was going to be. "What'd you do?"
He chuckled. "Let's just say I'm not the one in the hospital, but I am calling from jail. Can you come get me?"
I groaned, even my bones were exhausted. "Who was it this time?"
"Why do you care?"
"Brady."
"Sorry. He's a loser and if I see him again, I'm going to pound him into dust."
"I hope there aren't any police men near you." I thought of another time when a cop had overheard and not taken his threats lightly. Brady had stayed an extra five days with a doubled bail. I had not thought it was cute. He had.
"We get some privacy for these calls now. So are you coming or what? I'm itching for tacos."
"Tacos? Why do we always have to go there?"
"Rayna."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it." I grumbled and grinned at the same time. Then I threw back the sheets and my grin vanished. The cold air blasted me, but I threw some clothes on and ignored my sudden chills. With some money stuffed in my back pocket I headed out the window and swung free from the last rung in the ladder to the ground. It was either too late or too early because the dew hadn't come out yet. However, the full moon was out and it highlighted the clothesline while I ducked underneath.
It was a short ten minute drive into Northshire Folk and after I swung through the two streetlights in town, past the closed bar, past Nellie's, I turned into the police station. Two squad cars were positioned at the front, but I knew they parked in the rear too. The main door, which was a glass door with 'The Northshire Folk Police Headquarters' emblazoned on it, jingled my arrival and I looked up to see Deputy Doug come out from the back room. His beige uniform had been pulled out of his pants with the tails in desperate need of an iron. The blonde comb-over had been neglected at some point that evening with thin wisps pointed in every direction except the way they were supposed to go, to the left. Needless to say, they didn't cover the wrinkles that seemed etched into his forehead either.
Deputy Doug had looked better, but I refused to believe it had anything to do with Brady. I told myself I didn't need to start being concerned now. It was hardly a worthwhile weekend for Brady without a trip to jail.
"Hey, Deputy Doug."
He squinted at me. "Rayna, is that you?"
"Can I post bail for him?"
Deputy Doug frowned and the old droop came over his sixty-something shoulders.
My stomach dropped. "What'd he do?"
"It's not what he did, but who." Deputy Doug shook his head and reached for a file. "You want to know who?"
Did I really?
Deputy Doug didn't wait for my response. "Kidrick Stephens."
"What?" I blinked. Kid used to be best friends with Brady, but he moved away two summers ago. He was the male me for Brady. My life became a lot easier when Kidrick left, but… "Wait—Kid's back?"
…and Brady put him in the hospital?
"Yeah, he's back," Deputy Doug huffed as he stamped something official on some papers. "He's back and his daddy is furious and now I have a monster headache. Do you know what's going to happen? Mr. Stephens is going to press charges against Brady and do you know what that means?"
Frank Stephens had been the town's golden boy. He bought most of the town, sold almost all of the businesses, and made millions off the entire exchange. To say that he was pompous and an ass was an understatement.
"He's going to press charges against Brady?" My stomach fell to the floor. Although we all knew this day would come…
Doug banged the papers on the table and aligned them a little too roughly. "And they're going to stick this time. Brady—he ain't…anyways—" He glanced over his shoulders and stopped. "Your boy's coming out now. Don't take him for breakfast this time, Rayna. Take him to get a lawyer because he's going to need it."
When I heard a back door click open, I glanced up and out came Brady with a stupid grin on his face. His blonde hair was flatter than normal and his tee shirt had been ripped across the chest. When he turned and I caught sight of the tattoo on his back, I saw that the entire back section of his shirt was gone too. The fight had gone bad, too bad.
"Deputy Dog!" Brady heralded. "Who do I have to thank for this hospitable visit?"
Deputy Doug stamped harder on a different pile of papers. "You don't have to thank no one, Brady."
Brady lifted his arms, turned back around, and another officer took off the handcuffs. When my best friend caught sight of me, the sparkling blue eyes sobered. "Heya, Rayna."