Read Online My Number One: Kasha & Knox by Janice Ross - Free Book Online Page A

them,” one of the cops commented to his buddy as they secured me in the back seat of the cruiser. By the time they’d arrived, the only way to settle me down had been with a Taser.
    “Sir . . . sir, we’re gonna need you to cooperate with us, otherwise we’ll be forced to use even greater force,” one of the officers with a squeaky voice had warned.
    I now remembered the fight, their attacks . . . My own defense before I’d blacked out. But that much damage? My mind ran on Rory. This was the type of excitement that he thrived off, so quite like himself, he could easily have taken them on.
    “They came at us . . . Knox did what he had to do to defend me,” Erika shouted at the cops.
    “Do we need to take you in too, ma’am?” One of the officers stood directly in front of her. His elbows stuck out as his fingers slid through the belt loops.
    “I’m not causing any problems, it’s just that he didn’t start this. That one—” she paused to spread her left hand for Tony, then continued on “—knocked in the side of his car. I mean look at what he made happen to me.”
    “So what’s he to you?”
    Erika closed her eyes; squeezed them tightly before biting at the inside portion of her lips. I watched and listened with little connection. She wasn’t my concern beyond what had taken place. Can’t say that I wasn’t curious. Hell, any guy would be.
    “He’s my ex,” Erika confessed. I felt the heaviness of her stare.
    “All this is over you. So maybe I need to take you in . . .”
    “For moving on with my life?” Erika chose just then to step closer to where I had been seated on the concrete ground. She had taken off her shoes, and kept yanking at different spots of clothing to shield herself. The blood had already dried up, though the marks still stood out.
    I forced himself to tune out the useless back and forth between the two. There was no sense in arguing with law enforcement. They were gonna do whatever the hell they felt was needed to be done, whether you, as a normal citizen, agreed with their decisions or not. So I readied my mind to be taken in by these guys.
    ~

Knox
    ~
     
    Rory was waiting when I exited the station early the next morning. He was still dressed in the same clothes from the night before—khakis and a cotton button-down that had been rolled up at the sleeves. There was a hint of a smirk extending from Rory’s lips as his eyes glistened. The day was hot, as usual for midsummer. The sun was ruthless, as it should’ve been. Rory squinted at me, then extended his arms. About two seconds later, he flexed his arms back down before letting them hang at his sides.
    “Let’s go,” I slapped my palms together before addressing Rory, and without making further eye contact. After having spent more than six hours at the station, I was ready to not only get the hell away from there, I was longing for the seclusion of Delaware. I’d thought about Kasha, and whether or not she’d ever know about what had taken place. How could I justify giving her a half-assed story? To mention the fight would open the door for questions about what had led to the fight.
    I took off walking and mulling over the thoughts. Although Rory had been shooting questions nonstop, our surroundings had been too loud for any to register until he got closer. Revisiting last night was the last thing on my mind.
    “It’s like that?” Rory called out above the crowd, though he’d fallen into stride with me.
    I shrugged.
    From that we paced on in silence. Outside in the crisp summer air, one couldn’t help but contemplate those less dramatic stages of life—the ones where the bullshit faded away.
    “Seriously, Knox, what happened?” Just that quickly, Rory yanked me from a peaceful place.
    “With what?”
    “Don’t be a dick. What’s up with that? The hell you think I’m talking about, bro? They just let you go, just like that,” he continued, snapping fingers. “Hear it told, you pulverized those