Seth barreled out of The Palace. His eyes immediately fell on Ryan being loaded into a cop car, hands cuffed behind his back. Seth paled at the sight of him. His face was bruised; there was dried blood under his nose and a gash on his cheek.

Ryan didn't notice Seth as the cop car pulled away, but Seth couldn't take his eyes off Ryan. He looked so defeated. That was when Seth looked into the alley. There were cops swarming and he saw a body with the sheet pulled completely over the person's head. He looked back at the police car driving away with Ryan in handcuffs. What the hell happened?

He pulled out his cell phone to call his dad.

Sandy and Kirsten were enjoying a night with the house to themselves - the jets were on in the hot tub, Solomon Burke was on the stereo, and Sandy was just topping up their glasses with wine when the phone started to ring. He went to put his glass down but Kirsten put her arms around him, snuggling closer. "No, Sandy, we agreed. No work tonight, so no answering the phone. The boys are out; there's no need to answer it."

Sandy wasn't convinced. "But what if it's important?"

She leaned over and started nibbling his ear. "More important than this?"

"Mmm." Sandy chuckled. "There's nothing more important than that."

The phone kept ringing and they kept ignoring it.

Seth slammed his phone shut, frustrated. His parents' cell phones were off, and they weren't answering the home phone. He tried to think about what to do but he didn't even know where they were taking Ryan. Well, he assumed the police station, but he didn't know where that was. And even if he found the Long Beach police station, he didn't know what he'd do when he got there. He wouldn't be allowed to see Ryan. Certainly wouldn't be allowed to talk to him. Where the hell was his dad?
The cop led Ryan into the station. He removed Ryan's handcuffs and put him in the holding cell until he could be processed. Ryan looked at the small room. It had a bench along the back wall, which was already occupied. An older man who reeked so much it was all Ryan could do not to cover his nose was sprawled on the right side, obviously drying out. On the left was a younger guy, though older than Ryan. He looked mean. So Ryan's choices were to sit on the bench between these guys, sit on the floor by Tough Guy, or sit on the floor by Smelly Guy. He didn't like any of his options.

His whole body ached. He eased himself down on the floor by Smelly Guy, as far away as he could possibly get. He tried to avoid eye contact – it was one of the first things he learned in juvie. He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, trying to process how he ended up here again. He and Seth were supposed to have had a fun night out, listening to some good music. Why did trouble always seem to find him?

"What are you here for?"

Ryan jerked his head up. Just his luck. Tough Guy was a conversationalist. He licked his lips. "Fighting." No. It was more than that. He stared Tough Guy in the eye. "A guy died."

"You killed him?"

Ryan shrugged noncommittally. He had no idea what happened, or how Jake died. The cops seemed to think it was his fault. And it wouldn't hurt if Tough Guy thought so too. As scared as he was of what was going to happen to him, he knew better than to let his fear show. The first sign of weakness and the sharks moved in for the kill.

"Atwood?"

Ryan looked up at the cop.

"You're coming with me."

Ryan stood up and waited for the cop to unlock the door. When he stepped outside the cell, the cop told him to turn around, and then handcuffed him again. The cop pulled his arms more than necessary, but Ryan knew better than to react – he had to stay even and pretend nothing was wrong. The cop grabbed his arm and pulled him along the corridor.

"How'd you like it in there?" The cop was leaning right in his face. "Those guys are nothing compared to what you're going to be facing." The cop sounded amused, like he was enjoying Ryan's fear. "Are you scared?" Ryan glanced over out the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything. The cop's voice turned cold. "Well, you should be."

The cop took Ryan into fingerprinting. Through the whole process, the cop wouldn't shut up. He was worse than Seth. At least with Seth though, the constant stream of words meant nothing. This guy was trying to get under Ryan's skin.

Thumb of the right hand. "You know, your daddy's money isn't going to save you." Ring finger of the right hand. "You have no idea how easy you've had it." Thumb of the left hand. "Kids like you aren't cut out for prison." Middle finger of left hand. "You'll never last in there." Pinky of left hand. "They'll eat you alive."

Ryan just ignored the onslaught of words. He knew more about prison than he cared to. His dad. His brother. The rules in prison wouldn't be much different than they were in juvie. It was the same people; they were all just older. Ryan hated juvie. He had no doubt that prison would be no better.

After taking his mug shot, the cop brought him to an interrogation room. He took Ryan's cuffs off and left him alone. Ryan paced the room. A few minutes later, a detective came in and after introducing himself, pointed to a chair, indicating that Ryan should sit. "Do you want to tell me what happened tonight?"

Ryan's mind had become focused on one thing. "I need to call Sandy."

"Who's Sandy?"

"My guardian."

"You're over eighteen. You don't get to have a parent with you."

"I know. But I do get a phone call, don't I?"

The detective nodded. He got a phone for Ryan, who dialed the Cohen's number, but he had no idea what he was going to say. It didn't matter. There was no answer. Ryan left a message and hung up.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not until I talk to Sandy."

Sandy and Kirsten were curled up together on the couch in their robes, watching a movie. When he heard the front door open, Sandy glanced at his watch. It was only 11 o'clock. It couldn't be the boys yet.

"Hello?" The voice carried down the hallway.

Kirsten disentangled herself from Sandy and sat up. "Dad?" She saw him walking down the corridor towards them. "What are you doing here?"

"Seth called me in a panic. Said he was trying to get a hold of you but you weren't answering the phone. So I came over to see if I could find you."

"Seth? Is everything OK?"

"He wouldn't tell me what he wanted. Just that he needed to talk to Sandy."

Sandy got up and walked over to the answering machine in the kitchen. He saw that there were four messages waiting. He turned up the volume and pressed play.

+beep+ Dad? It's Seth. Where are you? I think Ryan's in trouble. I'm going to try your cell.

+beep+ Dad? Your cell is off. Why aren't you picking up? I don't know what to do. Pick up, Dad. Ryan needs you.

+beep+ Pick up, Dad. Please. Where the hell is the police station? Dad, I don't know where you are, but you have to pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up. Ryan needs you.

+beep+ Sandy? I'm in trouble and I need your help. Um, I'm at the Long Beach police station. They heard Ryan take a haltering breath. It's, uh, it's pretty serious.

All three stood just stood there, trying to absorb what they had just heard. Sandy recovered first. He grabbed his car keys from the counter and headed for the door.

"Uh, Sanford?" Sandy turned back to Caleb. "The police might take you more seriously if you put on pants."

Sandy looked down; he almost walked out of the house wearing his robe. He realized he needed to stop and think for a minute before they did anything.

"Okay, Kirsten, you should probably come with me to deal with Seth. I don't know how long I'll be at the police station and that way you two can head home and I'll still have a car."

Kirsten nodded. "And we both need to get dressed."

"Dressed." Sandy took a deep breath. "Right. We should both get dressed before we drive to Long Beach."

They hurriedly threw on some clothes and a few minutes later, they were heading out the door.

"I'll call Seth and let him know you're on your way," Caleb said.

Kirsten kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Dad. And can you stay here, in case Ryan calls again? Let him know we're coming to get him?"

"Sure thing, Kiki."

Kirsten hurried outside, where Sandy already had the car started. The car was quiet as they drove, both unsure of what they would find waiting in Long Beach.

TBC