Alex heard Jay call out for her to stop once more - only this time the voice didn't sound so distant. After a quick glance behind her, she realized he was gaining ground and there was no way she'd make it to the train station. Quite literally running out of options and having no actual plan, she decided to take a sharp left and duck into a narrow alley between two buildings.
Just as she was feet away from exiting the dimly lit area onto the other street, strong arms wrapped themselves around her torso, and she and Jay went crashing to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs. Alex let out a sharp groan when her body struck the hard cement, without realizing that Jay took a much harder hit on the ground. He was a pro at tackling people and knew just how to turn his body so he'd take more of the blow than the other person.
When the teen caught her breath again, her head snapped toward her brother who was pinning her to the ground with his hands pressed against her shoulders and a knee hovering just above her chest, preventing her from getting up.
Jay was seething, his anger barely contained as his eyes burned with fury. He couldn't believe it - of all the places in Chicago, his sister was here. Rage simmered beneath the surface, not just because she'd snuck out without a word, but because she had the nerve to run from him. However, beneath the anger was something else: disbelief. He was stunned to find her in this part of the city, stunned that she'd slipped away after their seemingly normal morning, and even more stunned that she was now fleeing from him like a criminal.
He remained silent as his mind couldn't untangle the complex web of emotions quick enough. Luckily for him, his sister never had a shortage of words.
"Get the fuck off me!" she yelled, attempting to push his arms away to no avail.
"What are you doing here, Alex?" Jay demanded without moving an inch.
His head was spinning right now, completely off its axis and into another space of orbit. Deep down he knew that there would only be one reason that his sister would be this far from home, in this neighborhood. But why this neighborhood? Why today? Why now? His heart still refused to believe it. Yes, she pulled one over on him before when he'd refused to believe that she'd skip school and lie to him about the debate team. His sister was a pain in the ass and an occasional liar, but there was no way…no way she was out here…buying drugs.
Not after all the progress they'd made.
"I said get off me!" Her arms flailed all over in an attempt to get him to comply.
"What the hell were you doing on that street?" His voice cracked momentarily, revealing the underlying panic, before he was able to get it under control again.
Alex's mind raced, spinning out of control as she lay pinned to the ground by her brother. How had it come to this? Caught buying drugs, with Jay towering over her, fury and disbelief etched on his face. But surrendering wasn't an option - not for her. She couldn't just give in, not when every instinct screamed to fight back.
Because deep down, she knew she was wrong. And that terrified her even more.
So, her usual defense mechanisms came into play. The wall went up around her, and anger and dark sarcasm came to her rescue. She couldn't admit she was wrong, that she was vulnerable.
"It's a free country. I can go where I want."
Jay increased the pressure on his hands ever so slightly. "Answer the question. What were you doing?!" There was an underlying tone of desperation that he quickly tried to hide.
"You're hurting me!" she yelled loudly, for no reason other than to draw in some attention. However, after the chaos a few blocks over, there wasn't anyone around.
Jay instantly let up on his grip at those words, fear that he was actually hurting her. Seeing how this wasn't working anyway, he switched gears. He quickly stood up, gripping her jacket to pull her up with him. In one swift movement, he shoved her back against the brick alley wall. Instead of pressing his hands on her, he leaned in close - almost too close for comfort - and rested his palm on the wall beside her head.
With his intimidating stance, Jay's eyes blazed with anger and frustration. "Where is it?" he growled, the fury in his eyes intensified by her lack of compliance so far.
Alex averted her gaze. "Where's what?" she spat.
Jay leaned in even closer. His voice was cold, demanding, as he glared down at her, every muscle tense as he said, "The drugs."
Her eyes flicked to his, locking for just a second - long enough for Jay to see the guilt written all over her face. In that moment, his anger surged, but beneath it, his heart shattered. Alex had already endured so much - things she could barely speak about. Yet somehow, he'd foolishly believed she was still untouched by this darker side of the world. The realization that even more of her innocence had been stripped away hit him like a punch to the gut, his heart aching with a pain he couldn't fix.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex replied as her guard went back up and she tried to look away, which was becoming difficult with Jay invading her personal space.
"Hand them over."
"I can't give you what I don't have."
"I swear to God, I'll pat you down right here, right now, and find them myself," Jay threatened, his voice low and dangerous as his eyes bore into hers, leaving no doubt that he meant every word.
Alex held onto her defiant glare, and Jay lost what little patience he had left. Jay gripped her upper arm tightly and spun her around, so her face was now pressed up against the wall. His firm arm was pressed against her upper back to prevent her from moving. With his free hand, he started his process.
First stop - he plucked her cell phone from her back pocket and shoved it in his jacket.
"Hey, give that back!" Alex protested, but was only met with an even firmer arm pressing into her as a response.
"Like hell I will," Jay spat through clenched teeth.
Alex felt like the air had been sucked out of her lungs - not from the physical pressure, but from the crushing reality of the situation. She never could have imagined this - pinned against a gritty brick wall in the roughest part of Chicago, her brother of all people about to search her like she was some kind of criminal. And maybe she was. The humiliation burned through her, making it impossible to breathe. She was trapped, backed into a corner she couldn't escape, with no way out.
Jay methodically patted down her arms and searched her pockets, turning up only stray bills and crumpled receipts. With each sweep, Alex's cheeks burned hotter, humiliation flooding her system. He wasn't going to relent until he found what he was looking for, and she was reaching her breaking point. The violation of her privacy pierced through her haze, forcing her to confront the reality of her actions - if only for a moment.
"Okay, okay, stop!" she finally shouted, desperation creeping into her voice.
Jay immediately removed his hand, but still kept the other pressed on her back. "Hand them over."
"Close your eyes," she demanded. She wasn't sure why she said it because it wasn't like Jay could see anything with her facing the wall, but it still felt like an invasion of her privacy.
"Hell no." He wasn't going to take his eyes off her for a second. Not for a very, very long time.
"Do it!" she insisted.
"For fuck's sake, Alexandra Grace, give them to me! NOW!" he snapped loudly, frustration lacing every word.
Her eyes squeezed shut at the intense yelling, a part of her brain triggered by her previous life. The harsh tone resonated in her mind like a warning bell, signaling that this was a point of no return. She knew all too well that any further defiance would only make things worse - make things more painful.
With a mortified and trembling hand, Alex reached up the front of her shirt and pulled the small bag of pills out of her bra. She'd managed to shove them in there when she'd turned into the alley, but a lot of good it did her in the end.
Once her hand came out of the bottom of her shirt, she held up the small bag. Her shoulders fell in defeat as she accepted her fate instinctively.
Jay stared at the clear bag hanging from her hand - it felt like a prank, like a joke. Like the cruel trick crafted by the universe to mock him. The sister he was caring for - the kid that was under his care - the girl that had cooked him breakfast just this morning - that sister had purchased drugs.
He was a cop and his sister was undeniably a criminal. How did they get to this point? The weight of that question settled heavily on his chest, a bitter reminder of the distance that still existed between them.
For a highly trained military man and skilled detective, he could keep his calm under the worst or most stressful of situations. But his training had never prepared him for this scenario. His mind had never even thought of this scenario - and he'd thought of just about everything at this point. So his usual calm demeanor and critical thinking skills under distress were out the window. They were nowhere in sight.
He was seeing red and acting on impulse at this point. And to his detriment, there was nobody around to stop him.
His hand formed a tight fist and released, over and over again as he stared at the pills - he had the strong urge to hit someone, something, his anger needing to find an escape. However, there was still a small sensible part of him that was able to take control, albeit momentarily, and he released his fist. He'd never lay a hand on his sister, and he was damn certain he'd keep that promise. Even if it took all his mental and physical strength to fight against it.
Without another word, he grabbed the drugs, shoving them in his own pocket. Then his hands moved quickly, not allowing him to stop and think it through his next steps. Suddenly, he snapped handcuffs onto Alex's wrists with a precision that came from years on the job. Handcuffs that had been meant for someone else entirely today, but not found their place on his sister's wrists. With a sigh that represented both anger and disbelief, he spat,
"Alexandra Halstead, you're under arrest."
A/N: Let me know what you think! Has any part of this surprised you so far? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Your support keeps me motivated to keep cranking out these chapters :)