"What do you want?" It wasn't my first time being arrested and I wasn't so naive as to think it would be my last. The sheriff sat down in front of me with a folder and pretended to be surprised at what he saw.
"You have an interesting background, Ms. Conner. You were pretty off the grid until you were eighteen. Most people have school records, hospital records, bank accounts, stuff like that." He said, shaking his head. I nodded slowly, not very interested yet.
"So you know I didn't grow up behind a white picket fence, so what?" I said, ready for him to get to the point. He chuckled and shook his head as wiry looking man walked in with another folder. "Is this turning into good cop, bad cop?"
"Ms. Jaden Conner, I am Lincoln Potter, Assistant U.S Attorney." He offered me his hand and I lifted both mine, showing off the still attached hand cuffs. "Really, Ely? I think we can do away with the hardware."
"Leave them on or take them off, I don't care. Someone needs to get to the point of why I'm here. I know I'm not under arrest unless you all are really dumb enough to get everything thrown out by not reading me my rights." I said, shooting holes in their bluff. I knew Barbie had called Happy so it was probably only a matter of time until a lawyer got there, I knew enough about clubs to know they sent lawyers for anyone connected with them.
"Your parents, Jacob and Stella Conner, when was the last time you saw or spoke to them?" Potter asked, ignoring my comments. I rolled my eyes and leaned back in the chair.
"When I was fifteen. What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, annoyed that they'd been brought up. I knew that's what the attorney wanted, to rile me up, and I wasn't going to let him use it to his advantage.
"That's a shame. Your father, he actually passed some five years ago in an apparent burglary gone wrong." He slid over some crime scene photos of a man that resembled my father with bullet holes in his chest. I felt a small pull at my heart but shook my head, not letting my guard down. "Your mother, now she wasn't the smarter of the two, was she? She's currently serving out the rest of a thirty-year sentence in Kansas for prostitution and distribution of narcotics."
"Wait," I acted like I was starting to care before laughing and shaking my head. "No, sorry. I thought I cared there for a minute. It was a false alarm."
"Visitation can be arranged for you to see your mother, Ms. Conner. I only ask you share what you know about your boyfriend's club." Roosevelt said, earning him a pointed look from Potter. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward.
"I don't know shit about the club. Even if I did, I'm not a rat. I'll visit her when she's dead, less risk of my killing her then." I spat, kicking the desk between us.
"Ms. Conner, you yourself have already had some pretty heavy charges against you. Grand Theft Auto, Assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, assault. Those charges could put you away well into your forties." Potter said, spinning his folder around for me to see a familiar list of charges. I nodded.
"They could have but I can't be tried twice for the same crime and I was never found guilty for anything but simple assault." I said with a yawn. Potter nodded and the Sheriff, Roosevelt flipped through a couple pages in his folder.
"You were associated with the Aztecs in Oakland, right? Surely you remember Alonzo, Martinez and Eddie?" I felt a lump start forming in my throat and brought my eyes up to Roosevelt's.
"I'm not under arrest. Unless you're charging me with something, right now, you need to let me go." I hissed, sick of the pointless mind games they were trying to play. Potter motioned towards door and I stood up, shoving my wrists in front of Roosevelt. "Don't want anyone to call me a thief, do we?"
I walked into the ladies room and put my back to the tiled wall, sliding down until I was seated on the floor with my head on my knees and my arms folded across my shins. Whatever they were hoping to get from me, they had leverage. If the Aztecs found out where I was, I'd be done for. If that type of information got out, I wouldn't last a day without protection.
I heard a commotion out in the station and took a deep breath in attempts to regain my composure. I looked in the mirror at my paled face and narrowed my eyes, leaning forward and pressing my hands into the counter. Eventually, I talked myself in to calming down and made my way out of the bathroom, only to find Happy toe to toe with Roosevelt.
"You don't scare me, Mr. Lowman." Roosevelt said. I couldn't help but wonder if he really believed that. He was either a bad cop or really stupid, that was the only explanation I could see for not being afraid of Happy in his position.
"Hap, let's go." I said, walking up to his elbow. He looked down and studied my face for a second before nodding in agreement. Roosevelt crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'll be in touch, Jaden." Roosevelt called after us, no doubt looking to cause a rift between us. I balled my fists and quickened my pace, ready to get out of the station before I said or did something I regretted.
"J, stop." Happy said, touching my elbow. He must have known I was pissed because normally, he would have grabbed my arm. I spun around and waved my hand angrily at the station we'd just walked out of.
"I didn't do anything! I was sitting on a fucking picnic table and Barney Fife hauls me in for some bullshit!" I was ready to march back in there and actually earn myself some charges for smacking him across the face. I scoffed and shook my head.
"Jaden, let's go. We can talk about this shit back at the clubhouse." He said, trying to pull me to him. I shoved his chest and stepped back.
"The club? That's why Rocky and Bullwinkle wanted me! They want to hang my past over my head so I rat on the club. I don't even know what the club does! Dammit, Happy! Why couldn't you have just left me alone?" I shoved him again until my fear finally caught up with me and I started having an anxiety attack. Happy looked pissed but he wrapped his arms around me all the same, refusing the let me go, even when I tried to bolt.
"J, breathe. It's gonna be okay. We'll go to your place, okay?" Happy's words were muffled since he had his lips pressed to the top of my head. I finally rested my head on his chest and nodded.
"Okay." I said, feeling drained. He nodded and took my hand, leading me towards his bike. When I climbed on the bike behind him and pressed my cheek to his back, I noticed the smell of gun powder and sweat.
"What happened today?" I asked as I unlocked my door. Happy dropped his eyes down to mine and set his jaw. He waited until we were inside with the door locked to respond.
"Jaden, if I start telling you stuff, I gotta know you aren't going anywhere. That shit that happened at the station today, it can happen again. It probably will." Happy said, making his way to my side table where I kept joints. He lit one and handed it over to me, not even taking a hit of his own first. I held the smoke in my lungs and mouth for a minute before letting it out slowly.
"I know, Happy. I'm not mad about being questioned about the club. They brought up my parents and shit in Oakland. I'm not a rat, Hap. I need to know what's going on though. I don't want to be kept in the dark." I said, slightly concerned about what I was saying.
"Shit went south with a gun deal. It was a fucking ambush. We lost Kozik and barely got out of there without more injuries. Pretty sure the assholes that ambushed us were the ones that went after Tara." Happy said before taking the joint. I immediately felt guilty for dragging him into my own shit when they'd lost a brother. Happy had told me stories about Kozik from his time in Tacoma.
"I'm sorry, Hap. We can go back to the clubhouse if you want." I said, moving towards the door. He caught my hand and shook his head.
"Don't want to be there right now, J. What happened in Oakland?" He asked, pulling me over to the couch with him. I knew it was bound to come up eventually.
"I lifted cars for a few years. Ended up working with the Aztecs from 8th Avenue. I wasn't one of them, just to be clear. I just lifted cars for them." I said, hoping he wouldn't over react.
"Why'd you quit?" He asked flatly. I twisted my mouth, ditching Eddie wasn't my finest hour and I knew it wasn't going to shine a great light on me.
"I was out with Alonzo's kid, Eddie. We were looking for a Cadillac to lift. Anyways, he didn't listen to me and set an alarm off, five damn blocks from the police station. Instead of getting picked up again, I bolted. Eddie wasn't fast enough and got caught. He ratted on his pops for a reduced sentence and I got the hell out of Dodge." I considered lying about it or trying to make excuses, but I liked Happy. I didn't want to mess up what we had.
"J, we've got ties with the Mayans. You know that?" He asked, passing the joint to me and standing up. I shook my head. "They find out you've got ties with the Aztecs and things could go south quick."
"I don't have ties with them, Happy! I've been avoiding them ever since I left Oakland." I snuffed the joint out and stood up, pacing the apartment. Happy was rubbing his brow and I heard his neck crack.
"You should have told me, Jaden." He looked pissed and it only made me angrier. "We got enough shit without a stripper pissing off the Mayans."
"Get out. Get out right fucking now!" I snapped, pointing at the door. He stood up and walked over to me, seeming even larger than normal.
"Tell me to leave again and I am." He threatened. I opened the front door and fixed him with a glare.
"Get out." I said, using my last bit of strength. He grabbed my chin, kissing me roughly before shoving me away and storming out of the door. I slammed it shut behind him before heading directly to the shower to try and wash the day away.
I let my tears mix with the water and braced myself with my forearms on the tiled wall. He hadn't come into my life that long ago, but he made a hell of an impression and got behind the walls I normally kept up to keep people out. I knew if I didn't push him away now, I'd never be able to.
"I thought I told you to get out." I said, not completely surprised to find him sitting on my bed. He nodded and stood up. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me softly. I resisted for a moment before my walls crumbled. I let go of my towel and wrapped my arms around the back of his neck.
"I told you, J. I'm not going to hurt you." He said, smoothing my hair as we lay in bed together after make-up sex. I nodded and kissed his chest. "Their for kills for the club."
"Oh." I said, stopping my fingers from tracing his happy face tattoos. I looked up at him and nodded. "I'm not going to push you away anymore, Happy. I can't."
"I know, J. You're alright." He gave me a wink and I playfully punched his side. He laughed and tickled me, earning himself a dark glare.