Page 58 of Don't Hurt Us
Love didn’t fail me, Rob did.
“Why am I being arrested?”Rob roars as Colt practically lifts him off of the floor like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.
“For breaking and entering.For attacking your ex-wife.For being an all-around piece of crap?I’m sure I could find some more excuses, but I don’t really need them.”Colt lifts his shoulder in a half shrug and pushes Rob towards the door.
“This isn’t over, Sydney!I will ruin your life, just like you ruined mine!”
“Aw, see, now I can add threatening someone to the list of things you’ve done.Would you like to do anything else?I'm sure Judge Jefferson will love to hear all of this!He already told me to keep an eye on you because he didn’t trust you one bit.”
“I’ll make you regret this!”
“Dude, I'm already regretting getting close to you.When was the last time you brushed your teeth?”Colt fake gags.“I swear I’ve never smelled anything worse in my life.I’ve had rotting roadkill explode from the sun baking it all day long and it smelled better than your breath.”
Rob’s face morphs into rage and he thrashes against Colt’s hold, but Colt doesn’t care one bit.
“Are you ok if I help Colt?”Peck squats down until we’re eye level.
“Yes.Thank you.”
“Any time, Syd.”He presses a soft kiss to my forehead before jogging to catch up with Colt.
“Are you ok?”Maverick swoops in and takes my face in his hands.He’s searching my eyes, trying to figure out what I need and where my head is at.
I'm sure he’s terrified I'm going to pull away even more now, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
“I love you,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
“I love you too,” he whispers, his brows drawing together.I think he’s waiting for me to break up with him or tell him I can’t do this anymore, but I won't.I'm done punishing Maverick.
“I want to marry you as soon as possible.”I barely get the words out before a sob shakes my body.
Maverick tugs me into his arms and buries his face in the crook of my neck.He holds me for what feels like hours before he pulls back and meets my gaze.
“We can get married whenever you want.”
Chapter 27
Maverick
IglanceoveratSydney and Bree for the tenth time in as many minutes.I wanted to cancel the baseball practice after everything happened with Rob, but Sydney wouldn’t let me.
She’s finished with letting Rob affect her life or the kids.She said canceling the practice would upset Danny and she wasn’t allowing Rob that type of power in their lives ever again.
At first when she said she wanted to get married as soon as possible, I was hesitant.I didn’t want her jumping into our relationship as some sort of retaliation towards Rob.But when she explained how she didn’t need to be scared of us failing because we love each other and she never had that with Rob, I couldn’t help but understand where she was coming from.
“That’s a great pitch, Danny!Make sure you follow through all the way!”I call as I head towards Sydney.
I was outside when I saw Rob pull up to the house and as much as I wanted to stop him from entering, I knew if I waited to see what he’d do, there was a good chance he’d screw up.I feel guilty for leaving Sydney alone with Rob, but I was standing right outside the door.She was in no real danger, but I still feel terrible about it.
As soon as we had a second to breathe, I told her how I was listening the entire time and I didn’t leave her alone to deal with Rob.I want her to know she’s never alone in anything, I’ll always be there for her.
She thanked me and told me she’s happy I didn’t come in or make my presence known.Rob’s hurtful words somehow healed her heart and mind.They gave her this sense of peace over their marriage ending and gave her more confidence in our relationship.
Even though I wasn’t in the room with her, I called Colt and told him what was going on.He called Peck and said they’d both be on their way.
As soon as I heard the lamp crash to the ground, I moved close enough that I could see them.I was happy to stay hidden, until he lifted his hand to her.
Colt said we’ll have to come down to the station to give statements, but he said to take our time.No matter what, Judge Jefferson wouldn’t touch this until Monday morning.
