After dinner, the kids went back to their rooms, and Devin and I settled back on the sofa. We’d finished another movie when the news came on. I wasn’t really paying attention. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and was doing my best to just keep my eyes open until I heard Devin gasp, “Jameson. Look!”
I looked up at the TV, and my jaw tightened when I saw the reporter who’d done the bullshit story on the investigation at the Vault. She was standing outside the courthouse wearing a white business suit and a fake smile. “Breaking news tonight as former Little Rock Police Detective Brian Maddox has been arrested for suspicion of domestic assault, obstruction of justice, and potential connections to a local human trafficking ring.”
Devin’s face grew pale as she muttered, “Oh, God. It’s really happening.”
I sat up straighter, and my pulse quickened as I listened to her detailing how Maddox had been taken in late last night and how the investigation had been ongoing for months. But evidence presented by an anonymous source had given officers enough to warrant his arrest.
Devin’s eyes shifted to me, and I reached over, taking her hand in mine. “It’s over.”
She nodded, but we both knew it was far from over. There would be an epic fallout that would touch us all, especially the kids. But he wasn’t untouchable anymore. He would pay for helping those assholes take those girls, and he would pay for hurting Devin. The rest would work itself out, and I would be there to make sure it did.
The screen cut to a mugshot of Maddox, and I couldn’t help the cold satisfaction that pulsed through me when I saw hisbusted lip, his black eyes, and the bruise forming along his jaw. Devin noticed them, too.
When she looked over at me and saw my expression, her mouth dropped. “He looks pretty roughed up.”
“He does.”
“Did you have something to do with that?”
“Maybe.”
“You didn’t tell me about that.” She cocked her brow. “Come to think of it, you didn’t tell me anything about all that.”
“Nothing to tell.”
“His face says otherwise.”
“He ran over you with his truck. He took Chrissy and was trying to take Austin. He’s lucky I didn’t put a fucking bullet in his head.”
“He’s going to have a rough go of it in jail. They don’t care for cops, especially dirty ones.”
“You’re right about that, but something tells me he’ll be fine.”
“The kids are going to have a hard time with this. They love him and for a long time idolized him. I don’t know how they will handle him being in jail.”
“I know I’m supposed to say something supportive here, like they’ll get through it and all that, but life is full of lessons and some of them are really hard. Important thing is to have someone behind you to help you get through it. They have that. They’ll get through this and anything else that comes their way.”
“You’re pretty great. You know that?”
“I try.”
“Can I keep you?”
“Baby, you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
24
DEVIN
It had been days since that night with Brian, and things were just starting to settle down. Formal charges were made against Brian, and soon after, the investigation against Fury was dropped. No apologies were made. No news reports or retractions. They just left Jameson and his brothers to deal with the fallout, but they were on top of it. A lady’s night celebration was all it took to bring the crowds rolling back in.
The kids and I met with our family counselor. It was just a zoom call, but it had done us all good. He’d been a huge help during the divorce, and with all that was going on with their father, we all agreed that they would increase their visits to twice a month. More if they decided they needed it.
I would always be there for them. They knew that, but it helped them to have someone to talk to and help them process things. I wanted them to have that. I wanted me to have that, too.
I spent several days recuperating and even took a few days off work. I tried to keep up on class assignments and whatnot, but I mainly rested and watched movies. It was nice for the first day orso, but I was starting to get a little stir crazy. Jameson thought it would be good to get out for a while. And he was right.
Even though he’d been wonderful and attentive, I was beyond tired of being stuck in the house. When he suggested going out to Preacher’s place and seeing the horses, I was all in. The kids were, too. We loaded up and half an hour later, we were pulling into the drive.
