Page 19 of Dirty Little Convict
I close my eyes and exhale slowly before finally looking at my boys again. “Get her some clothes, we’re taking her to the hospital.” The shock on their faces is granted, for two days they have been begging me to take her to a doctor and I refused. I didn’t want to admit it to myself but I was terrified of losing her. Once she woke up and was fine, I wouldn’t be able to get to her again. The fear of never being able to touch her, hold her or kiss her has been what’s holding me back, but that was selfish.
I’m done lying to myself.
Yes, I blamed her for robbing me of time with my son and ruining my life, but the real reason I was so angry with her wasbecause she broke my heart and I didn’t even see her betrayal coming.
Stone sat in the back seat with her while Hux rode shotgun beside me. The snow covering the roads made the drive slow but as we pulled up in front of the entrance of the hospital my real fear kicked in.
I know Lennon’s friends would have reported her missing and the second we walk in there with her and they recognize who she is, cops will be swarming this place in minutes. Resigned to my fate, I put the car in park, then turn to look at both Hux and Stone.
“You two aren’t coming in.”
Both of their faces morph into anger. “Fuck you,” Stone bites out.
“You can’t stop us,” Hux adds.
I reach over and grip the back of Huxley’s neck and pull him in until our foreheads touch. “You’re a good fucking man, Huxley Verlies, and I know you love my son, which is why I’m asking you to do the right thing here.”
“What are you asking me, Kin?” he asks hesitantly.
I try to smile reassuringly but fail. “I’m going to take her in there and you are going to take Stone back?—”
“I’m not fucking leaving you or her.”
I ignore Stone’s protest as I push on. “—to the cabin. When I take her in there and give her name, they will have cops here in minutes and I won’t have either of you two going down for kidnapping a college girl when it was my idea.”
Huxley’s eyes widen in fear as he reels back and shakes his head. “Kin, I can’t?—”
“I’ve survived prison once, I will do it again, but I won’t be able to live inside a cage again if I know the both of you are in there with me. I need you to do this for me.” His mouth opens but no words come out. I turn to my son and smile. His eyes are filled with unshed tears and that shit fucking breaks me inside.
“Dad, I can’t let you do this,” he whispers.
“You can and you will. I got this, Son, but I need you to let her go when I step out of this car.” He shakes his head, trying to deny what I’m saying so I push on. “Live your life, Stone. You and Hux deserve that. You have enough money to never work a day in your life and travel the world. Don’t throw your life away like I did. Your grandfather's investments are still generating millions each year. You will be fine, Son.”
I step out of the car without waiting for his response and move to the back to pull the door open. I lean in to gather Lennon in my arms but Stone won’t let go. I shoot Hux a look, begging him for his help. With a defeated nod he reaches back and grips Stone’s shoulder, drawing his focus to him.
“You have to let go. We will fight this and help him however we can but we can’t do that if we are all arrested.”
“He’s my dad.” Stone fights back.
“And I always will be, Son. It's my job to look out for you so let me do that.” I manage to pull her free of his hold and gather her in my arms. I look back at both of them and nod. “Get out of here and don’t come back. I love you both.” Hearing my son scream for me and begging me to not go will haunt me for the rest of my days, but I don’t look back as I keep heading for the entrance. Once I enter I call for help. Nurses begin rushing toward me. Before they take her from me, I place a soft kiss on her lips. “I will search a hundred worlds for you and live ahundred lives just so I can find you in every life and love you, my little convict.”
EIGHTEEN
LENNON
The past six weeks have been a whirlwind.
When I woke up in the hospital I was fucking terrified. I had no idea what had happened or how I had ended up there. I asked the nurses and doctors where Kincaid, Stone and Huxley were, but none of them would give me an answer. Police officers came in and questioned me, asking about my abduction. That shit threw me for a loop.
Turns out, Molly had reported me missing the next day after I didn’t show up at the club and I love her for doing that but I can’t help but be slightly bitter toward her for it as well. The second I was released, I went straight to the police station to set the story straight. I told them I wasn’t kidnapped and that I just… took off for a while to clear my head and happened to bump into Kincaid who was caring for me and then took me to the hospital.
I know they don’t believe me and I don’t care, I won’t allow that man to be sent away again because of me. I wasn’t strong enough to speak my truth before, but I am not that same girl anymore. I will fight for him and make sure the fucking world knows he never hurt me. I spoke to detectives about what my mother had forced me to do and how she manipulated me to lie.I don’t know if me telling the truth now will help and I know it won’t erase what I put him through but the least I can do is clear his fucking name.
“Len?” I turn away from my laptop screen and look at Molly. She’s sitting on my bed with a worried look on her face. Our relationship has been strained since I came back to school. I know she is giving up time with her guys to spend it with me and I appreciate her for worrying about me, but she doesn’t need to.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t bite my head off, okay?”
