Free Stepbrother Protects (His Twisted Game Book Six) by Chloe Hawk Page A

out where he is?”
    The cop sighed and then disappeared down
the hallway.   When he came back, he
had that same look of tiredness on his face.   “He’s being held on charges of resisting arrest and
assaulting a police officer.”   His
lips hardened into a thin line.   “There’s nothing that can be done until the morning.”
    “Fine,” I said, feeling my blood start to
boil.   “Then I’ll just sit here
until the morning.” I indicated the two plastic chairs in the lobby.  
    “Fine.”   The cop shrugged.   “Suit yourself. But he won’t be here.   He’ll be transferred to central booking and taken to the
county courthouse.”
    I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from
screaming.
    What the hell was I supposed to do now?
Cole couldn’t get in touch with me.   I had no phone since that asshole Jeffrey stole it.  
    Think, Avery, I told myself.   What should I do?   Call a lawyer?   No.   Cole probably had tons of lawyers already, much better
lawyers than the ones I could find just from looking someone up randomly in a
phone book.
    I had no one to call.
    No one to help me.
    I hardly had anywhere to go.
    Take my car and go back to my apartment.
    That’s what he’d said.
    I knew that’s what I should do, but I
hated the feeling of helplessness that flowed through me.   He’d been protecting me.   He was in jail because of me.   And there was nothing I could do to
help him.
    I stood there for a second, dejected.
    But I had no choice.
    I turned around and left the police
station.

 
    ***

 
    I wasn’t used to driving in the city, and
even though it was late, the city showed no signs of slowing down –
people crowded the sidewalks, limos went racing by, cabbies honked and stoplights
turned red at inopportune times.   I
had to circle the block three times before I was able to find the entrance to
Cole’s garage, and as I pulled in, I almost swiped Cole’s car against a cement
pillar.  
    Good job, Avery, I told myself as I guided the car into a
parking spot.   You almost wrecked Cole’s super expensive
car.   That would have been a
perfect capper to this shitty night.  
    I took a deep breath, then got out and
walked into the lobby of Cole’s building.   There was soft elevator music playing, the kind that was designed to
make you feel calm and relaxed.   But I wasn’t calm or relaxed.   My
stomach flipped as I realized I was going to have to convince the doorman,
Graham, to let me into Cole’s apartment – I didn’t have a key.
    But it turned out I didn’t have anything
to worry about -- Graham handed me a key as soon as I walked in.
    “Mr. Buchanan called and asked me to give
you this,” he said, tipping his hat at me.
    “Um, thanks.”   I took the key from his outstretched hand and then
hesitated.   I was surprised Cole
had called Graham from the police station, that he’d
had the wherewithal to make sure I had a way to get into his apartment.   I wanted to ask Graham if Cole had said
anything else – if he’d mentioned me, or what was happening to him, or given
any more information about his situation.   But I couldn’t just go around asking Cole’s doorman if he’d heard
anything about Cole being in jail.   I had to protect his privacy.
    “Is there anything else I can help you
with?” Graham asked, a touch of concern in his brown eyes.
    I swallowed.   “I just…did Cole say anything else?    Like did he leave any other
message for me?”
    Graham shook his head.   “No, miss. “   He must have noticed the look of disappointment on my face
because he added, “Is everything okay?”
    “Oh, yes,” I said, forcing a smile to my
face.   “Everything’s fine.   I’m just going to go upstairs and wait
for my stepbrother.”
    “Very good.”   Graham tipped his hat at me again with one white-gloved
hand, and I turned and headed for the elevators.
    When I opened the door to Cole’s
apartment, all the lights were off, and a shiver of trepidation