Page 18 of Broken By A King

Nine

STONE

"You think I'm going to let you break the law two seconds fresh out of prison?"

"I have a driver's license on me, Nate."

"An expired one."

"Not going to argue about this."

"Even if I order you not do it?"

"Don't take orders anymore. Even from you. I'm fine and you're getting sicker by the minute. I'm pulling over and driving us the rest of the way."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we get stopped, son."

"Did Ariana sound okay to you?"

His head eyes drop.

"She was trying to be strong, but no. I know my daughter. She's never been in trouble a day in her life. She's scared."

"Then I think it's safe to say that we have extenuating circumstances. She's not okay. You're not okay. And I'm fine to drive."

"Nobody's going to care that my daughter was just released from prison and that I've got the flu if we get stopped."

"I didn't know you were such a law abiding citizen."

"You become a lot of things when you get old, son. I used to take a lot of risks. Now I play by the rules. It's just easier that way."

Interesting choice of words. Too bad they're all starting to sound like he has a mouth of marbles.

"Well, I'll risk it. Pull over. Your throat sounds like it's closing up on you."

"Fine," he huffs. "You can drive, but first thing tomorrow you're going to see about applying for a new driver's license."

"Uh-huh."

"First thing, Stone."

"Understood."

The last thing I feel like doing after getting out of my five year cage is running right back into another one, but Ariana is going to be released soon and Nate is sick as a dog. Me doing this will probably go a long way in gaining Nate's trust. Slow and steady wins the race.

"I'm going to pull an up-to-date picture of her on my phone. Just so you know who to look for when you get inside the building."

"I'm going to have to wait for her outside."

"Why?"

"You need a valid state ID to enter a police building like central booking."

"Oh, yeah right. I didn't think of that. Let's agree that you can drive to the house and drop yourself off, but I'm going to need to go get her myself. Just in case she's going to be longer than we think. I can go inside."

"Fine."

We pull over on the shoulder of the turnpike. After we switch sides, Nate hands me his phone with his photo app open.