The Dark Prince's Prize

Chapter 3-1

CHAPTER THREE

Twenty minutes later, Samara pulled into a parking space next to the Hall of Justice. She breathed a sigh of relief and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the cloudless sky when she spotted Annalisa Hollins walking along the sidewalk. She had fixed Annalisa’s brakes last week, and the woman told her if she ever needed anything, to let her know.

“Hey, Annalisa,” Samara called.

Annalisa turned, smiled, and shook her head in sympathy. Samara’s shoulders drooped at the other woman’s expression, and she grimaced. She hated having to ask for favors or owing anyone anything.

“I noticed that your brothers were spending the night again,” Annalisa stated.

“Yeah. Rob just told me. Is there any way you can help me get them out? They’ve got to be at work in an hour, and I’m already late,” she asked with a hopeful expression.

Annalisa nodded. “Yes, but they’ll still need to post bail,” she said.

Samara held up the box she was carrying. “I figured that,” she said with a sigh.

“I just saw Carl Biggie go in. He might give you a discount since he is already here and he’ll get two for the price of one,” Annalisa said.

Hope blossomed again. “Carl? Cool! I rebuilt the universal joints on his daughter’s car a couple of weeks ago. He did say he’d give me a discount the next time one of my brothers was arrested,” she replied with a grin.

“Well, today might be your lucky day,” Annalisa laughed.

Samara couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “That’s about as likely as me meeting an alien or discovering that Bigfoot lives outside of town. At this point, I’d almost welcome something like that if it meant getting away from my dumbass brothers,” she grudgingly confessed.

Annalisa laughed again. “You know what they say about not being able to pick your family,” she said.

“Yeah, but you’d think hoarding all the bad ones in one family should be against the natural order of evolution. I’m totally into spreading the love,” Samara dryly retorted.

“Well, let’s see if we can get you in and out, so at least you can get them to work,” Annalisa replied, opening the door for her.

Forty minutes later, she was back on the road. This time she had Jerry and Brit with her. Jerry was dozing with his mouth open and his head against the door while Brit sat in the middle. Brit, at twenty-one, was two years older than she was.

“Thank you for bailing us out, Samara,” Brit mumbled.

“Don’t get used to it. I’m not always going to be here to save your a*s,” she snapped.

“I’ll see if I can pull a double to pay you back,” he replied.

She turned into the parking lot of the garage, making sure that she hit the pothole near the edge of the road. Jerry was wrenched awake, and he cursed when his head hit the passenger side window with a resounding thud. She hit the brakes a little harder than she should have, sending both men forward into the dash with a satisfying thump.

“You’re a real b***h sometimes, Samara,” Jerry grumbled.

“Thank you. Now get the hell out of my truck,” she retorted with a saccharin smile.

“Thanks again,” Brit mumbled as he slid out of the passenger door.

She didn’t bother answering. The moment they were clear, she pressed the accelerator. Looking both ways, she turned left onto the highway.

“I am so going to ask Mason about that apartment today,” she vowed.