Ravaged by Them (Descent Into Darkness 2)

“No, I’d prefer to keep a clear head.” I sighed and sat down in front of the television.

Just in case.

I watched the scene at O’Malley’s unfold on the news. I had never seen anyone give two shits about an arrest in the South Side, much less actually send news cameras. My blood had a bit of a chill when I saw a black car nearby and realized Adrian Prescott was watching from the backseat. They only showed his face for a second before the camera cut away. The cops didn’t have an easy time in O’Malley’s from the looks of it, but there was no gunfire—at least that I could hear on television. I saw a few familiar faces get led out in handcuffs. They were South Side guys, probably wanted for other crimes—but they weren’t who the cops were after.

If someone called in a tip, and said we were at O’Malley’s… It had to be Anabelle. Maybe she was just trying to send us a message—to let us know that she’s still trying to help, even though we haven’t heard anything.

I tried to take what I saw as a positive sign, but I didn’t like seeing so many guys I knew get arrested because of us. It wasn’t something within my power, so I just had to swallow my guilt. Brody kept drinking for the rest of the evening, and when I was finally ready for bed, he was still going. The waiting was definitely getting to him. It was getting to me too, but I was finding solace in the purity of everything around me. I didn’t get to see much nature or think about all the things I was doing to myself when I was just a guy growing up in the turmoil of the South Side.

I’ll be able to enjoy it a lot more once this is all over. Maybe I’ll get a cabin like this somewhere—if Brody and Anabelle are willing to live there with me.

I walked to the bed where Anabelle slept and dropped down against the mattress. The per

fume had finally begun to fade, and her scent was gone entirely. It felt like an eternity since I had held her in my arms. I missed her. I couldn’t wait to see the transformation in her eyes when I got to see the woman that had replaced the Louboutin princess. She would probably be similar, but so much stronger. Our love would be consumed by passion and new understanding. That was what I truly needed—and I was sure that a woman like that would be good for Brody too. We just had to get through what was in front of us first.

At least we’re not in handcuffs. This place is a lot better than a fucking jail cell.

The next day

I woke up feeling relaxed, despite everything that was going on. Brody was passed out on the couch in the living room, so I grabbed a bottle of water and decided to go for a walk. I was starting to enjoy the serenity of fresh air in the morning. It was definitely better than the smog I was used to in the South Side. I walked the perimeter of the property, took some time to sit beside the stream that ran along the woods in the back, and just enjoyed the sun on my neck as it rose in the sky. It was so peaceful. I could have stayed in that moment forever—if Anabelle was by my side.

Oh well. I guess I should get back. Maybe I can convince Brody to start his day with a cup of coffee instead of a shot of whiskey.

I walked back towards the cabin and as I approached, I saw movement inside. Brody was awake and moving a lot faster than I would have expected considering the hangover he was nursing. I heard a noise—some sort of crash. That made my hair stand up on my neck and I started moving a little faster as I walked around the front of the cabin. As soon as I turned the corner, my heart dropped straight into my stomach. There was a car in front of the cabin—a sheriff’s car. A second later, the front door flew open and two deputies pushed Brody outside in handcuffs. I started to run, but it was too late. One of them let go of Brody and pulled his weapon.

“Stay right there—don’t move, boy. I won’t hesitate to put a fucking bullet in you.” He pulled back the hammer on his revolver for good measure.

“Fuck…” I raised my arms and dropped my head.

There was no way to fight—no way to run. I couldn’t take down two armed deputies on my own, especially with Brody in handcuffs. Brody gave me a stare that might as well have been a look of death as he was pushed into the back of the patrol car. The deputy kept his gun on me while the other approached me with a pair of handcuffs. I didn’t put up a fight. I knew that would just get me killed. The deputy with the gun looked like he was begging me for a reason to give him just cause. The handcuffs were put on my wrists and then I was shoved into the back of the patrol car alongside Brody.

“Still trust her?” Brody looked over at me and growled under his breath.

“Yes…” I nodded. “We got arrested by two local sheriff’s deputies. If she turned us in, we’d be corpses because it would have been Adrian Prescott who came for us.”

“Yeah, well…” Brody exhaled sharply. “The day is just getting started—and we probably won’t live to see another sunrise.”

He’s probably right.

We were taken to a small sheriff’s station outside of Chicago and put in a tiny jail cell next to each other. The two deputies that arrested us and the sheriff seemed to be the only ones on duty. I was pretty sure our arrest was the only interesting thing that had happened to them in years. There was dust on the bench where we were sitting, which suggested that it wasn’t occupied very often. I heard them making calls, celebrating—hell, one of the deputies even called his wife to ask her to make him his favorite meal. They were two steps away from breaking out a bottle of champagne and some victory cigars.

“You would think they just locked up Al Capone and the Zodiac Killer.” Brody exhaled sharply and growled under his breath.

“Yeah…” I shook my head in disbelief. “I guess we’re just a couple of fucking celebrities now.”

“Not after Adrian Prescott gets here—then we’ll be in a ditch somewhere if he doesn’t tie our bodies to the top of his car and parade them around town,” Brody growled again.

If you’re going to make your move, Anabelle—now is the time. Otherwise, you may never see us again.

It seemed that our captors were so happy about apprehending us that it took them an hour to even make the call to the police in Chicago. Not long after that, they all gathered around the television on the wall and turned the volume up loud, so they could watch the news break the story of capture. They were disappointed when they didn’t get a personal mention but didn’t let that take away from the celebration. I was starting to get a sick feeling in my stomach. We were not going to survive if something didn’t happen soon. They weren’t going to take us to jail—we would go straight to prison—maximum security. That would put us in a den of people that would be eager to do Adrian Prescott’s bidding.

It won’t be like jail where we were the two meanest looking fuckers in there—so much so that those rich assholes came to us when they wanted a hit on Josef Weber.

I waited, each second making the worry inside me grow. When the front door opened, and a police officer walked in with two men in riot gear, I also let out a breath of relief. That was better than Adrian Prescott. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him walk through the door himself and carry out the execution. Regardless of who took us out of the station, we were definitely headed to our execution. There was no other alternative. Even if we did survive long enough to see the inside of a cell somewhere, we wouldn’t stay there long. There was no way Anabelle would testify against us, and once her father realized that—he wasn’t going to take a chance with a jury, even if he could testify himself.

“You two. It’s time to go.” The officer had the name Alvarez on the front of his uniform.

“I guess we don’t have a choice.” I looked over at Brody.