This chapter is dedicated to fireflies_1712. Thank you for reading my stories and your support XD.

This chapter has been republished from draft I with very minor edits. 

23 - Hostile Encounters

Rena's POV 

"Hey, bitch, you're in my spot."

The hissing voice startles me and I almost fall out of the cot I have been dozing on. The girl in front of me is at least a head taller than me with long legs and a sturdy built. She doesn't seem like anyone to mess with.

"Sorry," I mumble and get on my feet, trying to move past her.

She blocks my way. "That will cost you."

I sigh. "What do you want?"

She pushes her hands to her hips and eyes me from top to bottom with pursed lips. "What 'bout your underwear?"

I narrow my eyes – there is no way I will strip in front of all the other girls. "Go to hell."

Her fist comes flying and my arms rise too slowly to block her punch. My head is knocked back, an explosion in my brain temporarily blurring my vision. Blood floods my mouth.

The next blow is directed at my stomach and I double over, gasping for air. Bile rises in my throat as I cower down, burring my face into the crocks of my elbow.

Her laugh is shrill. "Get up, bitch."

I lunge forward instead, ramming my shoulders into her knee caps. She sways but gets a hold of the bed post and doesn't lose her balance.

Her eyes glow maliciously. "Nice try, Barbie."

Her kick knocks the last wind out of me and I can't even keep on my knees. When she strikes again, her boot hits me right in my kidneys and I cry out in pain. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I desperately try not to throw up on the floor and make a total fool out of myself. My mind is in desperate overdrive, attempting to figure out how to protect my most vital body parts. When I roll into a ball, my arms muffle the blow to my head.

"That's enough, ladies."

The sharp voice stops my tormentor but also manages to freeze every bone in my body. When I raise my head, Marcus stands casually in the doorway next to Detective Briar, the biggest grin on his face.

Just as usual, he wears one of his tailored suits, the subtle scent of his aftershave hanging in the air which gives me the chills. "Hello, Ms. Cooper. Causing trouble again?"

I shake the fuzziness from my brain, pointing my finger at the girl who attacked me. "She started it."

"Oh, yeah." He glances around the cell. "Okay, ladies, who threw the first punch?"

"The white girl," peep several voices without hesitation.

Marcus's smirk is unbearable. "I guess you just caught yourself an assault case, Ms. Cooper. This will be cause for a probation violation as well."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath - this is so unfair. Wondering what he or Ryan offered them in return, I lift my palms, not ready to surrender. "Look, they're lying." My fingers run over my busted lip. "I'm the only one bleeding here, so how can I be the one who attacked her." I point again at the girl who hit me. "She doesn't even have a scratch on her."

"Well, there are..." Marcus counts the women in the cell "...five witnesses against you, Cooper, so I guess your bullshit story won't stick." He turns to Briar. "Take her down to interrogation and call her probation officer. I'll have my office start on the paperwork."

I fold my arms in front of my chest. "Don't bother. I won't say anything without my lawyer."

Marcus snorts. "Life can be a bitch sometimes, Cooper. On a probation violation, you don't have an automatic right to legal counsel. You can make your pitch to the judge tomorrow during your arraignment or tell your daddy to call Pam when he comes to visit." His middle finger comes to rest on his lips and I am sure he means it as hidden gesture to flip me off. "Oh, I forgot. Your father is on the run, committing the crime of child abduction." He winks at me. "Too bad, I guess you're on your own this time."

With a small laugh, he turns on his heels and strolls out.

Briar grabs my arm. "Let's go."

I tear myself free. "Don't touch me."

"You don't get it, do you?" A smile plays on his lips. "This is the end of the line, honey. If you play ball, Mr. Forrester might put in a good word with the judge and you are out in a couple of years. Otherwise, you will do your full ten plus some, and no one, not even Pam Fallon, can help you. Just think about that in the next few hours."

And with that, his fingers enclose my upper arm with an iron grip. I am dragged down the corridor. The waving hand of the girl who attacked me is the last thing I see before the cell door is slammed closed behind me.

xxxx

A few hours later, I am ready to crack. The interrogation room is small and stuffy and my throat is raw from thirst. The slightest movement sends pain waves through my body when the soreness of the beating settles in. My head it about to explode and I can barely keep my eyes open.

"So let's take this from the top." Briar repeats for the dozen's time.

I moan - not again. There are only a handful of questions he has asked me over and over again, all of them relating my son's whereabouts.

He snaps his fingers in front of my face to get my attention when I lower my head.

"Rena, focus. We're not going anywhere until you've answered my questions."

I ignore him.

"Okay, tell us where Noah is."

With a deep sigh, I look at him. "I honestly don't know."

"Is he with your dad?"

My eyes find the water bottle on the table and I instinctively lick my lips. The blood has dried up, but there is still an iron taste in my mouth whenever I touch the cut with my tongue.

"Can I please have some water?"

In response, he opens the bottle and takes a good swallow. "Ahh, this is really good." He nudges Mr. Rose, my probation officer, with his foot, who seems to have dozed off. "Want something to drink, Jon."

Rose pinches the bridge of his nose, glaring at me with visible frustration. "I could use a coffee."

Briar waives towards the mirror on the wall to get somebody's attention. I am sure that Ryan and probably Marcus and Sam are watching me, having a blast with Briar's torture.

He turns back to me. "So, Rena, you didn't answer my question. Is Noah with your dad?"

I rest my burning cheek on the cool metal table. "Screw you."

His flat hand hits the surface. My head shoots up in response, a small yelp rising from the bottom of my throat.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Briar mocks. "Did that scare you?"

I bury my face in my hands. "Can I at least use the bathroom?"

"NO!" His hand hits the table again.

The loud, shouted word continues to vibrate in my eardrums as my whole body tenses. A shudder runs through me and the hot tears are luckily caught by my fingers. In that moment, he reminds me so much of Brent when he was angry.

He squats right next to me, his mouth leveled with my face. "Start cooperating and I'll get you anything you need. If not, we'll continue until you do."

A sob shakes my body – I can't take it anymore. "If I tell you where Noah is, I want a deal. No jail time."

He chuckles softly. "You're SOL, Cooper. We are way past that. You'll be lucky if you don't pick up a federal case."

I wipe my tears on the sleeve of my orange jump suit. The one thing I learned during my few brushes with the law is that someone like Briar has no authority. "I want to talk to Marcus. I'm sure he can make a deal."

He rises on his feet and walks back around the table. "Mr. Forrester went home already. It's only you, me" - his hand comes to rest on my probation officer's shoulder – "and Jon here. And at the moment, we got you exactly where we want to, so no deals."

A knife could slice the tension between us and I lean back in the chair. "No deal, no cooperation." My hand is slightly shaking as I twirl a strand of hair around my finger and glare at him, my inner turmoil back under control. There is no way he will win this battle.

We engage in a staring contest and the time seems to crawl. Finally, a small pop by the door tears my attention away from Briar's eyes. Sam stands on the threshold, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

The aroma of the hot brew waters my mouth and I realize I am famished. The food at the jail is worse than I remembered and I barely had anything to eat since they locked me up. On top of that, the fear and worry about Noah has been clamping down on every part of my insides, twisting my stomach into a constant knot.

Sam passes the coffee to my probation officer and signals with his chin for the two men to leave. Before he lowers himself into Briar's old seat, he spins the chair around, resting his elbows on the backrest.

"We found your dad."

My eyebrows rise in surprise. "Really? Where?"

"Well, we haven't actually found him," he admits. "But he took money out of an ATM with his card down in Indiana. An FBI team has been dispatched and are searching all the surrounding hotels as we speak. We will also get some roadblocks in place. Taking a child without his guardian's consent across state lines is a federal offense, Rena. Your father will not only lose his job but face charges of his own. This is really serious."

I cup my hands behind my head. "If you're so sure you got him, why are you still talking to me?"

He sighs. "Look Rena, standoffs with the police can always escalate. If your dad refuses to turn Noah over, they both could get hurt. I'm sure you don't want that." He places his phone on the table. "Just please, call him and tell him to turn himself in. It'll be best for everyone involved."

His words are just like a big cold claw, squeezing the bit of remaining life out of me. Ever since my father and Kade came up with this ridiculous plan, I have been worried out of my mind that someone could get in harm's way. The cut on my lip opens back up when I begin to chew with vigor, only the burning pain mixed with the metallic taste gets me to stop.

Tears pool my eyes. "Do you have any children, Agent Cho?" I am sure he doesn't have a clue what I am going through or what is at stake.

His glare burns a hole into my skull. "Not sure what this has anything to do with it."

A few tears spring loose. "Ryan Parks is a monster. He'll hurt Noah in ways you can't even imagine."

He sighs, his fingers massaging his forehead. "Look, custody battles are always hard and I know you think you're doing the right thing, but you have to have some faith in our court system."

He passes me a tissue and I graciously take it, dabbing the blood from my mouth before blowing my nose.

"If you continue on this path," he says "you'll not only permanently lose your son, but your freedom, and take your dad and everyone else involved with you. I'm sure you don't want to destroy all these lives, do you?"

I realize that I have started to cry again when tears splash on the metal table. "No." The word is barely a whisper.

"Then let me help you." His eyes are intense and pierce the inside of my heart. He seems so sincere and genuine.

I open my mouth, just about ready to tell him what he wants to know, when I remember his own words. 'Whatever you do, don't trust anyone.' I stare at his hands – those weapons – which have probably lashed out at someone throughout his life. Boys always fight, be it in the playground or some other place. It's in their nature.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." In that moment, it doesn't matter what will happen as total exhaustion washes over me. I'm ready to collapse but won't give him or anyone else the satisfaction of wearing me down. Kade and my father would be so disappointed if I allowed them to break me – I have to stay strong.

The door opens again and Ryan appears, his face twisted in utmost frustration. "We analysed the footage from the banking video and Patrice Forrester took out the money. There was no sign of her father or Noah anywhere."

His face is slightly flushed and I am sure he is about to explode.

With a slight smirk, my eyes dart from Ryan to Sam and back. "My father must have loaned her the card. I think he still owed her money for babysitting."

A small glint is in Sam's eyes as he studies me before turning his attention to Ryan. "It's still a violation of federal banking regulations even if she had his permission. Do you want me to have an agent pick up the girl, Sir?"

Ryan shakes his head. "I told Marcus about it and he'll take care of it. I'm sure it won't happen again."

Heavy stones drop into the pit of my stomach. Marcus will probably beat the shit out of Patrice for helping me.

Ryan runs his hand through his short stubble. "Let's call it a night and throw her back in the hole. We'll try again before court tomorrow."

Sam stretches before getting on his feet. "Yes, Sir." His back is turned at Ryan as he gives me a small wink before whirling around and strolling out.

I know what his signal means – this round of the battle certainly goes to me.

OK, we were back to Rena at the jail for another round with Ryan. What do you think of his and Marcus's little stunt with the girl? Is the charge going to stick? And do you believe this was all or will they have more in store for her?

Next chapter, we will check back in with Charlotte to see how she is doing after her beating. 

Until then, I would be thrilled if you could leave a comment and please don't forget the little star if this chapter deserved it XD. Thanks for reading!