UNDER ARREST

GABRIEL'S POV 

"We only had one job Jacob. To scare him! Why do you keep taking things too far?"

"He pulled out a gun on us, Gabriel. And in case you aren't aware, we need to get the hell out of here before things get uglier."

We got into our vehicle, another dirty job ruined just because of these lunatics he wouldn’t stop forcing on me every time. I just hoped that kid was okay.

"You drive too slow, Gabriel. What kind of ridiculous driving is this?"

"Well, take the wheel if you’re so dissatisfied, Jacob," I shot back, my patience fraying. "I wasn’t the one who told you to bash that guy’s head into the counter, you fucking lunatic."

"Too bad I don’t take orders from you, smart-ass. So drive. That’s your job."

"He’s telling the truth, Jacob. That was messed up," Logan added, his tone surprisingly calm.

"That’s rich coming from you, Logan," Jacob responded, glancing at him. "I thought your loyalty was tied to money."

"Guys? Guys!" Theodore, at the backseat, interrupted, his finger jabbing toward the rearview mirror.

"What is it, Theo?" I barked, following his gesture. Someone was staring at us from the car behind, but the sunlight gleaming off their windshield obscured their face. I couldn’t risk it. It had to be a cop again. Probably one of the secret ones. I didn’t understand why these humans never gave up. Very weak, but persistent like cockroaches.

I slammed on the gas, moving so fast that I clipped a nearby car’s side mirror, the woman behind the wheel shouting curses as we sped off. I couldn't wait for this to be over. But the tailing car didn’t back down, accelerating to keep up.

"Fuck this!" Jacob roared. "Find an alley, Gab. I’ll take care of that cop myself."

"No thanks," I replied. "I’ve got this."

"Well, if you say so. Lose that motherfucker!"

We careened through the streets, trying to shake the cop off. I took sharp turns, cut through corners, but he kept following. Like he could harm us if we decided to halt our vehicle.

At one point, Jacob pulled out his gun, aiming at the car behind us.

"Don’t!" I snapped, trying to stop him. His shot went wide, blasting a hole in the car’s interior roof as our vehicle crashed into a nearby car since no one had the wheel.

"Jesus!" Theodore yelped from the backseat, snatching the gun from Jacob's hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" he yelled, obviously scared for his life.

"I can handle this, Jacob!" I growled, even as the cop’s car kept closing in.

"Yeah, you’re doing a great job," Jacob sneered. "That’s why we’re hearing police sirens now."

"And whose fault is that?" I cursed under my breath.

"He’s closing in, guys," Logan cut in, interrupting us. What the hell was wrong with this one secret cop?

Jacob jerked the wheel hard suddenly before I could even react, sending us crashing through a wooden fence into a narrow alley.

"Jesus! Jesus!" Theodore and Logan shouted as we almost crashed into a building wall.

The car tailing us tried to do the same, crashing into some wooden fence and probably the building wall. I mean, now they'd give up.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Gabriel?" Jacob shouted like this was my fault or something, as our vehicle seemed like it didn’t want to move anymore. He'd probably damaged the engine.

"Great. You’ve done it—what you’ve always wanted to do," I shot back. "It’s lunatics like you who got some of the casinos shut down!"

"This isn’t about casinos," Jacob snarled. "We’re running from a few weak human cops, and I might as well wolf out and show them a lesson—if that’s what it takes to keep Marcus off our backs." He glared at me. 

"You’re not our leader, Gabriel. Remember that."

He stepped out of the car along with Theo, his expression dark. "Destroy the vehicle, smart-ass. Let’s go, guys."

"Well, I guess this is it, Gab," Logan added from the backseat, stepping out. He was my good friend, except when there was trouble.

They walked off, leaving me standing there, looking back at the wreckage of our car. A small part of me wanted to check on the person in the other vehicle, but I could hear police sirens far away and growing louder.

I understood Jacob’s frustration. Humans could be infuriatingly persistent, but this time… they were right, trying to protect one of their own. That was more admirable than anything we were doing.

I slid behind the wheel, trying the ignition, but the vehicle wouldn’t start.

"Come on," I whispered, before I started hearing the sound of a vehicle engine starting. It wasn't mine, but the one behind me. What the fuck? They should’ve been hurt badly from a crash like that. "Come on," I kept trying until my vehicle finally started.

Earlier today, on our way to the Jizzy Casino to take care of some guy who wouldn’t pay back his loans, we ran out of gas and had to buy some from a nearby station. There was this lady ahead of us at the pump who we had to wait for her since the other pumps were full. She was beautiful, my type 100% and I couldn’t help but try to strike up a conversation because she didn’t look too happy. She mentioned she was going to visit her family or something, but the way she said it made it sound like she really didn’t want to. I never got her name or number since she wasn’t exactly the chatty type.

So why am I even bringing this up? What does it have to do with escaping from a suicidal cop vehicle?

Well, as my vehicle finally kicked in, the vehicle tailing us caught up, and to my surprise, that lady was behind the wheel. I couldn’t believe it. She looked so normal at the gas station and I never could've guessed she was a cop. I stared at her, dumbfounded, as she leaned out her window, yelling at me to pull over. Very authoritative. 

I crashed into a wooden pole ahead of me because, surprise surprise, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Smoke started to curl up from my hood instantly as she inched her car forward, stepping out, and approaching me, with some sort of ID card.

“Rachel Hale!” she called out, walking towards my car. “I’m a cop!”

I didn’t see a weapon, maybe she was hiding it. Or maybe she was just fearless like who walks up to a suspect alone? Either way, I was impressed.

“Get out! Now!” she shouted, snapping me out of my daze. 

“What if I don’t want to?” I said. I don’t know why I did though, maybe I was trying to lighten the mood since she stared at me like she’d just seen her worst enemy.

“I won’t say it again,” she warned, her voice sharper but almost… softer? “Your vehicle’s about to blow up!”

“And you’re a mechanic or something?” I shot back, trying to make her crack a smile.

“Your radiator’s punctured, idiot! It’s already smoking!” she snapped, more frustrated than before.

I opened my mouth to reply, but the car didn’t give me a chance. Smoke poured from the hood with a screeching sound and before I could react, the front of the car burst into flames. 

The explosion wasn’t massive, but it was enough to knock both of us to the ground since I was already out, landing us close together, panting. The blast was sharp and loud, even though it only wrecked the front of the car. 

“You’re... under arrest,” she whispered, her hand pressing against my chest, breathing shallow and fast.