“Alexis Deacon?”
“Yes.” My voice is a mere whisper.
He watches me for a beat before sighing and stepping around Kitty. “You’re under arrest on suspicion with the intent to supply. You don’t…” His voice fades away as my eyes capture Livvy’s where she’s standing at the kitchen door, watching us with tears in her eyes and her mouth drawn down. Does she believe this? Does she really think I’ve been using drugs? Furthermore, dealing them?
I can’t see what she’s thinking; she’s locked down, not letting me see past the walls she’s slammed into place.
The click of the cuffs on my wrists brings me out of my stare with her and I feel everything fade away. Everything that I’ve worked toward, everything I’ve tried to become, it was all for nothing. Because as Charlie leads me out of the house and down the path, past Geena who has a giant grin on her face, I know… I know that I’ll never be able to come back here.
I feel like a butterfly who reverted back into a caterpillar.
I’m helped into the back of a police car, my eyes not leaving the house as my gaze pings between Geena, Kay, Kitty, and Livvy.
The car pulls away from the curb, driving down the street that only minutes ago I drove up as a free woman.
How can things change so much in the stage of a few minutes?
I speed into the compound, my tires squealing to a stop before I jump out with Seb and West on my tail. My feet carry me into the warehouse, my chest heaving as I spot everyone standing around talking.
We jumped in a cab as soon as we left the gallery, changing our clothes before getting my car and coming right here.
“I can’t believe it,” I say, shaking my head and clenching my fists at my sides.
All this planning, all this time, and he knew who we were all along. I pull the folder out of Seb’s hands, catching Ty’s gaze before I throw it down on the meeting table.
“We’ll sort it, Evan, it’s not the end of the world.” His voice is calm as he steps toward me, all of their eyes on me.
“I know it’s not,” I huff. “But today of all days?”
“There’s no way we could have known,” Seb says, leaning against the meeting table and crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes full of fire. “He’s a sneaky fucker.”
“Excuse me?” Kitty barks, stepping forward. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking about?”
My head reels back at her reaction. “What the hell?”
“I don’t know who you think you are, and yeah it sucks big time, but we don’t know everything at the moment. We need to wait it out and—”
“Wait it out?” Seb throws his head back. “What is there to wait out? He knew who we were from the fucking beginning!”
The warehouse goes silent and I stare at each of them, looking into their confused eyes, my stomach bottoming out when all of their gazes are focused on me. The atmosphere changes, becoming so thick that it’s almost unbearable.
“Ty?” My voice doesn’t sound like my own. “We’re talking about Darrell…”
He flits his eyes from me to Kay and then back again. “Sit down, Evan.”
My brows rise on my forehead at his whole aura. “What do I need to sit down for?” I widen my stance.
I watch as a muscle in his jaw tics, staring at me for a beat before saying, “It’s Lexi.” Two words and my world comes crashing down.
“What happened?” I practically shout, stepping forward.
“We…” Kay clears her throat, stepping forward and taking Ty’s hand in hers. “We went shopping and then took her home, but…” Her gaze flicks up to Ty’s, looking for something, when she finds what she’s looking for, she continues, “When we pulled up, Charlie was there. Along with several other police cars.”
My heart starts to beat like an erratic drum in my chest, my hands clenching even tighter. “And?” I grit out.
“They arrested her,” she whispers.
My eyes immediately snap to Kitty’s. “Did Charlie tell you this was happening?”