Last time the pigs dropped Judd off, his pop beat him with a belt. Not for being out late, but for getting caught.
So now Judd was more careful. Way more careful.
As he turned the corner, he froze.
Their whole street was full of pigs. Not just local 5-0, but ones who were heavily armed, wearing all kinds of protective gear and hunkered down behind their vehicles and facing the old, run-down duplex they lived in. They looked like they were headed to war.
What the fuck was going on?
Did the neighbor in the other half of the house beat the shit out of his wife again? Even in all the times they’d shown up next door, he’d never seen a response like this before. Maybe this time he’d killed her instead of just giving her a black eye or a broken arm.
Judd ducked behind an overgrown bush and peeked through it.
What the fuck? The pigs were all focused on their front door, not the neighbor’s, who shared the same porch.
Judd’s heart began to thump. The pigs had their lights off, no sirens, no radios, and weren’t saying a word.
Holy shit. Maybe they were arresting his pop for killing Razor and Tin Man.
His mom told him that Ox had shot Razor between the eyes in retaliation for killing the club prez, Buck. And then Tin Man tried to take Ox out for killing the man’s brother. Judd’s pop blasted Tinny right in the chest, dropping him right where he stood.
So, yeah, maybe all the 5-0 out front had something to do with that since it only happened a few days ago.
Maybe somebody snitched.
And if somebody snitched...
He needed to sneak around back, get into the house and warn his pop.
But as he made his way through the dark, sticking behind the shrubbery, he came out behind the house, only to see the same shit as out front. Too many pigs, wearing vests and carrying high-powered weapons. Plus, a couple more local cops.
There was no way to get to the back door. They’d stop him first.
Something huge was going down.
Glass breaking at the back of the house, and a flash bang that scared the shit out of him, had him hitting the ground hard. A whole bunch of shouting quickly followed, the sound of doors being busted in at the front and back, shouts that included the words “arrest warrant,” and pigs moving everywhere.
Holy fuck!
Judd was afraid to move, and he couldn’t follow them in, anyway, because some of the pigs remained standing guard outside. Probably to make sure his pop didn’t escape out the back. He watched the pigs, who had their guns drawn, enter the house, shouting to one another as they cleared each room.
Almost all the windows were propped open since it was ball-sweating hot out and the fucking piece of shit house they lived in didn’t have air conditioning. Because of that, he heard everything like he was right inside along with them.
He crawled forward, the dead shrub scratching his arms, his fingers digging into the dirt, so he could get a better view of the back of the house. But he wanted to stay where the local oinkers wouldn’t see him. Because if they saw him, they’d probably nab him.
Where the fuck were his parents?
Where the fuck was Jemma?
Had they left town and not told him?
Had they left town and left him behind because he was in some damn minivan trying to get his cherry popped and they couldn’t find him?
Maybe they left town and just didn’t want him anymore.
Through the open windows, he heard a scramble of feet, more shouts, then boots rushing up the steps.
“Gun! Gun! Gun!”
“Put the gun down!”
“Put it down.”
Holy fuck!
Judd couldn’t breathe and was frozen to the ground.
“PUT THE FUCKING GUN DOWN!”
“Fuck you!”
“Let her go, Scott. You don’t want to do that.”
“Fuck you, pigs!”
“Let her go.”
“Put the fucking gun down and let her go.”
Who? Who was her? His mother?
“She’s just a baby, you won’t be able to live with yourself if something happens to her.”
Jemma.
His fucking pop had Jemma.
Judd forced himself to keep his mouth shut and keep from shouting out to his pop.
“Let her go, Scott. We can do this without any of you getting hurt.”
What was Ox doing?
“Will let ‘er go when you get the fuck outta my house.”
“Let her mom take her. We’ll get them both out of here safely.”
That motherfucker was using Jemma!
“This isn’t going to end well if you don’t let her go.”
Judd needed to get upstairs. He needed to get Jemma.
“You really want us to shoot you in front of your kid? Is that what you want? To show them how much of a hero you are? Scar her for life?”
“Fuck you! Ain’t takin’ any of us.”
“We don’t want anyone but you, Scott. Wife and kid can stay here. But we have a warrant for your arrest and we’re not just going away. Let’s do this without getting anyone hurt. Including your little girl.”