Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 55| Snitches Get Stitches

Bryce's P.O.V.

I took pride in the golden rule: Don't be a snitch. If you opened your mouth and started yapping away to the cops, you'd regret it.

Conner's father was a perfect example as to what happened to snitches. After making a testimony against Sophia's family, he was acquitted of all of his crimes. Before he could really start over his life with his family, Conner found his father dead with his tongue cut out.

That could be me if I decided to turn against Sophia's father and got him arrested. What was the point of freedom if you could easily get your life stolen from you quickly after?

"Look Bryce, you're not thinking this all the way through." My lawyer Mr. Gordon, squeezed into a seersucker suit and brown loafers, was going on a rant about how I could be exonerated from my involvement with George de la Torres and other crimes if I took the stand. "Once you give them a deposition, they'll go over what they need from you to say in the courthouse. The court date wouldn't be until next year, if we're lucky."

"Lucky," I coughed, massaging the spot on my wrists that once had handcuffs. The cold contact of the metal on my skin remained there, as though I was still shackled to the table. "There's nothing remotely lucky about this."

"Many don't get this opportunity. You're being given the chance of freedom."

"In exchange for being a snitch."

"Now Bryce. Let's be adults about this and stop with the childish terms." Mr. Gordon ruffled his papers around the wooden desk, reorganizing them. I didn't know what on Earth he could possibly have papers for. We've only been here talking for forty minutes. I was really starting to regret using my uncle's good friend Mr. Gordon as my lawyer. He was the first person that came to mind.

"You don't have much of a choice." Mr. Gordon peeled back the pages in his yellow notepad and wrote something down on a freshly new page. "If getting hurt is your main concern, you shouldn't worry. You'll be placed under the witness protection program after you've given your testimony to the court."

"That doesn't guarantee my safety."

"No, but it makes it a lot harder for you to get hurt. You'll be protected and you'll completely start over. New name, new life, new car, new town. New everything."

"So, I have to choose between going to jail or being hidden for the rest of my life in fear of being killed?" I snorted. "I'll pass."

He lowered his notepad down. "They're giving you a hell of a bargain. Do you want to rot in jail, wasting your youth for some criminal? Be wise, Bryce. These criminals people don't care about you."

"You're not giving me many options here, Gordon," I said in a bitter tone. "I can't just be uprooted from here and forced into solitude. I have friends; I have a girlfriend."

"Speaking of that. I'm glad you brought her up." Mr. Gordon slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The Agents have a file on Sophia de la Torres as well."

"What?"

"She's aware of what you do. Which means she can be charged for being an accessory. They have files on her proving that she knew but did not going to the police."

"You're kidding me."

"I wish it wasn't true, but the Bureau is willing to go to any length to get a hold of the leading boss in the de la Torres clan. And that's her father." Mr. Gordon put his pen cap on his pen and set it on the table. "They have agreed to remove her off of the trial if you can testify and comply to their requests. She won't be interrogated if you take the stand."