Read Against Me (Cedar Tree Book 3) for Free Online Page B

in my chair. Lovely. I'm going to have a crick in my neck today, although I have a feeling that might be the least of my problems. My fucking head is about to explode. Another sharp knock reminds me there is someone waiting.
    "Hold on!" I try to yell, but it comes out no more than a croak. What the hell did I do to myself last night? But the struggle to remember has me lightheaded and nauseous.
    Flicking the lock on the door – I seem to have had the presence of mind to throw that on last night at least – I pull it open to find a uniformed police officer and plain-clothed cop with the facility's director Holman, all with serious looks on their faces. Shit.

CHAPTER FIVE
    "S he's what!"
    My raised voice must have woken up my pops, because he appears in the doorway to the kitchen with a confused look on his face. I turn my back on him and my attention back on Gus, who’s on the line.
    "Taken in for questioning this morning. At least that’s the official word out there. She had the presence of mind to contact the office before they took her. Dana answered, got Neil on the other line, and he got through to me. He's been digging away ever since, trying to get hold of a contact of ours with the GJPD, but so far, no luck. Sit tight, I'm on the road now and I'll let you know what the scoop is."
    "Sit tight, my ass! I'm on my way." I bite out, not doing well being told to stay back when he’s talking about my girl.
    "Caleb, you have a job to do. You just got there, and leaving now could seriously fuck that up," Gus tried to convince me.
    I actually laughed at that.
    "You for real? This was Emma in trouble, would you sit back and wait for someone else to fix it? You'd keep doing your job and wait for me to tell you which way is up? Fuck that, Gus. I'm on the road in five." I hit end, tuck the phone in my pocket and I’m about to head out when I see my dad standing by the door. His unusual hazel eyes focused this time, straight on me.
    "Leaving so soon?"
    "A friend ran into some trouble, so I have to head back to Grand Junction."
    "More important than your áłchíní, your family?" He mocks me as I pass by him. It’s something I would otherwise ignore, but I’m wound up and anxious to get to the hotel, grab my stuff and get moving, so I stop and turn to face him, bring my face close and bite out, "She is my family."
    I can hear his deriding chuckle behind me as I climb in the SUV, but I've said as much as I'm gonna say. There isn't anything positive to be pulled out of this situation and there’s no reasoning with a man who lost his soul decades ago. I know, I've tried enough, and since then, I've tried to make sure that the only thing I’ve inherited from him is the unusual hazel color of my eyes, and nothing else.
    My brother isn't anywhere in sight when I leave the house, but I'm sure one glimpse at the call display on my phone killed any tentative inroads I might have had with him over the few hours we'd spent 'bonding' over our parents' mess. He can figure out what the tag ' Boss ' on the screen stands for, I've never kept my business a secret – unlike Malachi – but I'm sure the reminder we are on opposite sides of the law was like a cold shower. Regardless, by the time I get outside, his truck is already gone. 
    It doesn't take me long to pick up my stuff from the Travelodge and get back on the road. This time I'm avoiding the mountains. I’m not taking any chances being waylaid by slides and road closures. I gotta get to Katie. Don't have a good feeling about this.

    I've been stuck in this room for going on three hours now and I still can't get a grasp on what they want from me. The fucking hangover doesn't help much, either. I can remember being scared when I caught that creep watching me in the dining room, and being pissed off I actually felt vulnerable enough to get scared. I also remember clearly getting to my room, locking the door and hauling out Caleb's prized bottle of Scotch, thinking I'd calm myself