Adelyn painfully walked up the flights of stairs, holding onto her wrist. Who knew the streets would be so slippery? After she and Pertel had gotten the call about the break in and they'd gotten out of the squad car, she slipped on the curb and fell right on her rear end. Luckily, she had broken the hardest part of the fall... with her hand, which now hurt so bad she had tears in her eyes. Just her luck... right when they were about to catch their number one criminal, this had to happen.
Finally, she reached the fourteenth floor and opened the door to the hallway. She saw the flashlights that belonged Pertel and three other officers near the end, and walked toward them.
Orson turned to her. "How's the wrist?" he asked, gazing down at Adelyn's hand.
"Nevermind," she told him. "All I want to know is if you guys got him." She paused. "Did you?"
The other officer grinned widely. "Did we ever! Caught him right in the act. Aren't you proud?"
Adelyn nodded as she pushed past two more officers and entered the room. She also wanted to know if this was the right guy. For all she knew he could be some kid wandering buildings and looking for trouble.
The second she laid eyes on his black attire, right down the the black mask that covered his feartures, she knew that it wasn't just some kid. This had to be him.
Then she caught a look into his deep blue eyes, and gasped, her uninjured hand flying to her heart. Without thinking another second, she slowly made her way toward the criminal and reached up for his mask.
"Brady!" Pertel yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"
The man grabbed Adelyn's arm, but let go when he heard the clicks of four guns, pointed right at him.
Adelyn couldn't answer her partner. She just grabbed the top of the black mask and pulled it up over the man's head. "Justin!" she gasped when she saw his face, her tears finally falling down her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"
He looked at her for a moment, but then moved his eyes away from her gaze, refusing to say anything.
She could see the tears in his eyes, threatening to fall, but he blinked, holding them back as he struggled to keep his composure.
"Justin!" she said his name again as she wiped away her own tears with the back of her hand. Gently, she shook his arm. "Just look at me and tell me why you're here!"
One of the guns lowered, and a stunned Pertel blinked at Adelyn. "Brady... this... this is your Justin?" Again, he raised his gun to Justin.
Adelyn didn't hear him. Instead, she turned to look at the four officers. "Put down your guns!" she ordered. "Can't you see that he's not dangerous?"
"Brady," Pertel continued. "I saw him put the evidence in his jacket. This is our guy." He paused. "Trust me."
The other three officers hesitated before keeping their guns in place.
"Put down your guns!" she yelled for the second time, but just like the first, not one of them obeyed her command. Alarmed, she turned back to Justin, who still wouldn't meet her gaze. "Look at me!" she pleaded. "Justin, tell me that everything they're saying is a lie. Tell me that this isn't what it looks like. Please, Justin, tell me!"
He turned his head away from her, but not before she caught a glimpse of a single tear streaming down the side of his face. Not even caring that her wrist was throbbing, she threw her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest. "I'm not kidding, Justin..." she sobbed. "Please, tell me!"
Still, he remained silent. All she could hear was the rapid pounding of his heart.
"Adelyn," Pertel said, in a softer voice, calling her by her first name for the first time in his life. "Please, step away from him." He lowered his gun and put it back on his waistband before walking toward the couple and putting his hands on the backs of her arms. "Come on."
She swung an arm back in his direction, but he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from Justin.
"Don't touch me!" she cried, trying to get away, but was so worn out and weak, that she gave in and let him bring her into the hallway.
He shut the door to the room and lowered her to the floor. "It's going to be okay," he told her as he took a seat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "He couldn't possibly have loved you if he was doing this behind your back."
Adelyn put her face in her hands and cried.
Justin quickly wiped his tears as he watched Pertel take Adelyn out of the room, and then returned his gaze to the three officers and their guns. One lowered his weapon when the door shut, and made his way toward Justin.
"Move to the wall," he demanded, following Justin the whole way and then making him put his hands on the wall so he could search for weapons. When he found a gun, he held it out to another officer and dropped it into the bag that he was holding up.
That officer sealed the bag and then examined the gun. "The registration number is scratched off," he announced."
"Figures," the other one answered, his gun still pointed at Justin.
The officer searching Justin too the broken disk out of his jacket and handed it off to another bag. "Have these marked as evidence and make sure they get to the lab as soon as possible."
Justin felt the officer's hands on his wrists, and just as the cold metal of the handcuffs hit his skin, he heard his rights being read.
He couldn't listen. All that ran through his mind was that look on Adelyn's face... and the feeling he got when he saw all her trust for him drain from her eyes. His heart shattered as he remembered what she felt like when she threw herself against his body and demanded that he tell her the truth. He couldn't help think that that was probably the last time she'd ever touch him.
As they walked out of the room, Justin hung his head sadly, more tears falling from his eyes and slipping to his hot cheeks. He didn't even see Adelyn and Pertel on the floor. He just stared at his feet as the other officers led him down the stairs and out to the squad car.
Adelyn looked up and watched as Justin walked out of her sight. "This wasn't the way it was supposed to be," she told Pertel. "It wasn't supposed to be him. I was supposed to be happy when we caught this guy!"
Pertel pulled her closer and sighed. "I can't believe he led you on that whole time! If it were up to me, this guy would get the death sentence!"
"You're not helping!" Adelyn frowned, lifting his arm and removing it from her shoulders. "Ouch!" she said when her wrist bent in the wrong direction. "I think you should take me to the hospital. This feels broken."
He helped her up and they made their way back to the car. Outside, the other squad cars were gone and Adelyn breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Justin now was not something she'd be able to handle.
Pertel got behind the wheel and started the engine. He looked over at Adelyn. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, Pertel... I don't know. I just want my wrist fixed. It hurts like hell." With one hand, she buckled herself in and Pertel stepped on the gas.
Chapter 17
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
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I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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