Bradford Bastard (Bradford Bastard 1)

The second cop reaches for his gun and my eyes widen, fear like I’ve never known pounding through my veins. “STOP, TANNER,” I scream as the man whips his gun from its holster and points it right at his chest. “Please stop.”

Tanner pauses as the other students scream and duck for cover, Miss Harper throwing herself in front of the closest student. “Back away, son,” the gun-wielding cop says as the other gets to his feet behind Tanner, caging him in.

Tanner holds his ground, remaining still with his hands held up, his eyes flicking between me and the cop. “She didn’t do it,” he spits as the cop behind him grips his arms and forces them behind his back, cuffing him too. “My name is Tanner Morgan, Addison is my sister,” he says, pleading with him to listen as the cop behind him shoves him down to his knees. “You’ve got the wrong person. Brielle didn’t do this.”

“We have an arrest warrant with Brielle Ashford’s name on it,” the cop says, slowly holstering his gun again. “We have eyewitnesses, sworn statements, and all the evidence we need. As far as we’re aware, Brielle Ashford will be spending the rest of her life behind bars.”

And with that, the cop drags me out of Miss Harper’s classroom as Tanner is shoved down to the ground, sobs tearing from the back of my throat.