Free Keeping Allie (Breaking Away #3) by Meli Raine Page B

interrogation room, on a soft sofa with a hot cup of chamomile tea and a chattering mouth. I’m cold. So cold.
    Mark is in the other room, arguing vigorously with Detective Knowles about transporting me to a local hospital. The tiny window in my room has mesh criss-crosses in it. I see heads go by. Mostly, I see two people at a time walk past, one wearing a police officer’s hat, one without. Cops escorting suspects to the jail, I suppose.
    Chase. Mom. Are they okay? Safe? Did Loogie kill Chase? Did Mom get delivered to El Brujo and—
    So many questions.
    Mark is shouting now. I hear him say “DEA” and “federal jurisdiction.” Detective Knowles shouts something back, and then his voice goes down to a quiet murmur.
    A female officer walks in my room and kneels down in front of me. Her skin is dark and she has almond eyes atop high cheekbones. Her hair is the color of mine. She smiles. She’s kind.
    “Are you hungry?”
    My stomach answers for me with a growl.
    She laughs lightly. “I’ll take that as a yes. Let me get you some crackers.”
    “N-n-no donuts?” I joke, teeth making an awful clicking sound when I try to talk. I can’t stop shaking. 
    She shakes her head. “No. The fat cops already ate them up this morning.” She gives me a wink and leaves. This is such a small town. I’ve never seen her before.
    Then again, most of the people I know in town are my age or bar regulars at Jeff’s place.
    There’s so much of the world I haven’t experienced.
    Carrying a small bag, the officer comes back and hands it to me. I open it. Crackers, cookies, a bag of peanuts and some little kid boxes of raisins.
    “That should get you started.” She hands me a bottled water. “That, too. You look really pale. Drink up.” She motions to my tea just as Mark walks in, looking frustrated.
    Her body goes into protective mode. “Who are you?”
    He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small wallet. Flips it open. I see something gold and shiny. “DEA,” he says.
    Her eyes go super wide and she looks between me and Mark. Detective Knowles appears behind Mark and nods once.
    “Got it,” she says, slipping out without looking back at me.
    “DEA?” I squeak. “Drug Enforcement Agency? You’re a—”
    “Yes,” Mark says, his face closed off and hard.
    I start to make a comment about his dad being Galt Halloway, but when I look at Detective Knowles I think maybe that’s not such a good idea.
    “Oh,” is all I say.
    “We’re waiting for an ambulance to transport you to a hospital, Allie. Maybe a helicopter,” Mark says. “But first, Detective Knowles needs to ask a few questions.”
    “I don’t need a helicopter,” I say in a tiny voice. “I’m fine.”
    “You’re about as far from fine as can be,” Mark says gently.
    “But why a helicopter?” I ask. “I’m not bleeding to death or having a heart attack.” 
    The two men exchange a look. “An ambulance right now might not be a good idea,” Detective Knowles explains.
    “Why not?” I ask.
    “It could get ambushed,” Mark says gently.
    I stop chattering. Instantly. The shock of that image makes something in me click.
    “How is Chase?” I ask, desperate to know. “And my—” I stop myself from saying Mom because, like Mark being Galt’s son, I’m not sure my mom wants people to know she’s alive.
    I’m wondering what is safe to say.
    “We don’t know,” Mark says. His eyes shift away from mine.
    Oh, no.
    “He’s not...but Loogie was beating him up when we—” I choke out. 
    Detective Knowles interrupts me. “Loogie? Loogie Hausen? The head of the Mephists? He was there ?”
    Mark gives me a look that says, Don’t give more information than you have to .
    “Yes.”
    “Beating up Chase Halloway?” the detective clarifies. 
    “Yes.”
    He snorts. “Good. Let them take out each other. When the lowest dregs of society kill each other off, it makes my job easier.”
    I open my mouth to tell him what a sick piece of shit