Kingpin (Court University 2)

People in coveralls pulled out guns, nearly all of them flashing badges around us. They honed in on us, honed in on Alexi, and there were just as many as the suits suddenly surrounding us. The suits were Alexi’s guys, and in seconds, the silencers went in the direction of the guys with badges. Those first shots fired, and I jumped, suddenly jerked to the ground. I hit with a slam, gunshots ringing around me.

“Stay down, kid!” came from my side, the new goon in a suit who, just seconds ago, I’d thought had been Alexi’s.

He covered my whole body, clearly not Alexi’s. The guy had his hand on my head, his own gun out, but he wasn’t able to use it. Those shots popped off like fire crackers above us, bags of crack exploding like fucking sugar.

I covered my own head, the pair of us just waiting this shit out while gun casings hit the floor around us. I closed my eyes, thinking about faces, and five hit my mind’s eye like nothing else. They’d been my mom and sisters, of course, but there’d also been Billie.

Billie Coventry.

I prayed I’d get out of this. I prayed I’d get to see my family again. I’d done some stupid things, but this, by far, had been the worst. Eventually, those gunshots silenced around us. Eventually, I could lower my arms and lift my head. I did, and I found a set of eyes. Alexi Marvelli was on the floor too.

But he was pinned to the ground by a man in coveralls.

One of the cops had gotten him down, and after he yelled, “He’s down!” the man on top of me slid off. Before I knew it, he jerked me to my feet, rushing me away and out of the fray. Those gunshots started again, and I covered my head, obviously all this shit not over yet.

Outside, flashing lights took my vision, blinding me, and I was dragged through it all. I was rushed right past the cops holding like a million guns on the place and taken to a black sedan.

The guy with me opened the door for me, sliding me inside.

I noticed right away I wasn’t cuffed.

This didn’t seem to be a priority, a cop behind the wheel and some guy in a suit next to them. Since they faced forward, I couldn’t see either of their faces.

“This is him,” said the guy who put me in the car. He slammed the door shut, and before I knew it, he was running back inside the building with his gun drawn. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but suddenly, the officer behind the wheel was peeling out of the lot.

I belted in, bumping around and it took me a second to realize someone was yelling at me.

“You Lance Johnson?” The guy in the passenger seat yelled at me, the one in a suit. He had red hair and wild eyes. “Lance Johnson, yes or no—”

“Yes.” I sat back, confused as fuck as the gunfire continued on behind us. It started to fade as we pulled away, but still, sounds of the shooting ran goddamn rampant in my scull.

“Just sit tight. We’re headed to the precinct,” the guy in the suit said, and though I did what I was told, I couldn’t help the growing tension in my limbs. I heard my heart in my fucking head, and like Niko probably did that night he got shot, I considered the totality of what I may be about to lose. I wondered if I’d ever get to see my family again outside of steel bars.

I wondered if I lost my whole life as I knew it.

Chapter Twenty-Three

LJ

I studied the guy in a suit from the side-view mirror. He’d put on some dark sunglasses during our drive, completely obstructing his face despite the fact it was pitch black outside.

I sat back, my fingers laced when I dropped my hands between my legs. I felt like I was totally screwed here but didn’t know for sure. After all, they hadn’t cuffed me…

Panning to the dark streets, I thought about the events tonight and how they’d gone down. The guy who’d saved me tonight and kept me out of the crossfire of Alexi’s guns clearly had been a cop. He’d not only saved me but seemed to know something about me too. That exchange he had with the cop in the driver’s seat and that guy behind the shades was an obvious indicator. Shades definitely knew who I was, knew my name at least anyway. Since he was in a suit, he could be a detective or something, but I didn’t know.

I glanced to the mirror, and Shades appeared to be looking in my direction. Though I couldn’t gauge that by the sunglasses. Whatever the case, he and the cop driving us stayed silent, and the moment we pulled up to the downtown precinct, I took in a sharp breath. I figured a rough arrest was next for me as Shades got out. He stood idle while the cop in the uniform opened the door for me. Surprisingly, they both allowed me to get out on my own, and neither put their hands on me once I hit the pavement.

I looked around. “What’s going on?”

Maybe a stupid question since these guys were cops, but whatever. I had rights and should know what was going on. The only response to my question was from Shades when he put a hand out. He guided me to walk ahead, and he and the cop flanked me. Cop got the door for both of us, and that felt… weird. I wasn’t arguing since I still wasn’t in cuffs and appeared to still have my freewill.

Once inside, I followed behind the guys. Again, weird. They put their backs to me and let me follow.

I did, staying close as I watched other guys and women being escorted very roughly through the place. After all, this was a police station. Still, I wasn’t one of them. I stayed quiet the whole time, not trying to make waves. Eventually, the pair took me down a quiet hallway, and the regular cop stayed behind while Shades put a hand out.

“Right through there,” he said, sliding off his glasses. Light-colored eyes bored down on me, narrowed distinctly in my direction. Inside now, this guy also had hair as bright as his necktie, a darkened red but bright nonetheless. His gaze settling hard, something about this guy struck me as familiar. I might have questioned it had I not turned the corner.

I saw similar eyes.