Page 1 of The Retaliation You Deliver

1

Leon

Aloud bang jolts my body awake but I don’t respond. I just lie there unmoving, my eyes tightly closed.

“Come on, let’s go,” a deep unfamiliar voice booms, echoing off the bare walls around me.

Blowing out a long breath, I remain immobile.

“Dunn,” he barks. “Let’s fucking go. You’ve got people waiting on you.”

It’s those words which force me to react.

My pulse increases, my heart slamming against my ribs as I crack an eye open.

The pain in my head makes me wince as the bright light assaults me.

The officer standing in the opening of the cell stares at me in impatience.

“I don’t need anyone,” I complain, my voice rough, my throat burning with each word.

“Well, unlucky for you, they’re here.”

“Fucking hell,” I mutter, pushing myself up until I’m sitting on the rock hard bed in the cell I was thrown into last night.

Probably not the finest night of my life but the less I think about the events of yesterday, it’s probably for the better.

“I’m free to go?” I ask, shoving my feet into my sneakers and refusing to look up at him again.

“Yeah. So long as we don’t find you drunk on one of our beaches again.”

“Trust me, I’ve got no intention of coming back to Miami ever again. Only bad shit happens here.”

He’s silent as I push to stand. My head spins, the pounding at my temples almost unbearable as my stomach turns over. Sucking in a deep breath, I will the need to puke away, not really wanting to piss this guy off more by leaving the cell with the contents of my stomach on the floor.

I lift my arm for the frame of the opening the second it’s in reaching distance to steady myself.

“Nothing less than you deserve,” the officer mutters.

“Don’t judge me,” I snap, pissed off with his attitude. “If you’d been through what I have then you’d have reached for the bottle too.” He looks back at me, a little pity edging it’s way into his expression and making me instantly regret saying anything.

I sign some paperwork when we get to the desk and after a few words of warning about my behaviour he allows me to leave out of the double doors.

My steps immediately falter when my eyes land on the two people who instantly stand from the chairs, the words of the officer about people being here to collect me come to the forefront of my mind.

Peyton’s face is twisted in concern, whereas my brother looks murderous.

His teeth grind and his jaw pops as he stares at me. His entire body is locked up with tension that’s radiating off him in waves, and if it weren’t for the fact we were standing in a police station, I’m sure he’d be on me, taking his frustration out on me through his fists.

The air is heavy and thick between us like you can cut it with a knife. Even when Peyton places her hand on Luca’s chest and whispers something in his ear, he still doesn’t relax.

“Let’s go,” he spits, turning his back on me and storming through the double doors.

We both watch him go as my legs finally start to work again, taking me to Peyton.

“I haven’t seen him this angry in a while,” she mutters sadly, staring at the door he just stormed through.

My lips part to respond but I quickly find that I have no words.