Chapter 20
REBEKAH
I was not sure how Daddy managed it, but we never went to the police station like Josh had said we needed to. I knew that I needed to give a statement, but I didn’t want to. This had brought up memories that I thought I had long buried.
“Good morning, Sweets.”
I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Daddy’s chest. Leaving our little nest last night sounded like the worst thing in the whole world. The last thing I wanted to do was face the world.
Sadly, adult responsibilities still existed. The police station was important, but I wanted to see the guys again. The group chat I had with Josh and Seth was already going crazy this morning, but I’d been ignoring it because I wanted to just bask in the time with Daddy.
“How are you holding up, Little one?”
That was a hard question to answer. Taking a moment, I tried to assess my mental and physical state. Physically, I was okay. Not a scratch to be found, which I was grateful for. The bullet wound from years ago burned a little as I was assaulted with more memories I didn’t want to deal with.
Mentally, well, I was surprised I was still functioning at this point. My old therapist would tell me I was still in shock. She would probably be right, too. I knew that if I continued to lie here, my mind would continue to spiral, and that wouldn’t be helpful for anyone.
“I’m going to be okay, Daddy. Maybe not right this second. Maybe not even a few days from now, but one day I will be. Want to know why?”
“Of course I do, Sweets.”
“I’ll be okay this time because I have you.
Last time, I was alone after my world exploded.
No family and very few friends. The one person I cherished the most was gone.
I had nothing and no reason to keep pushing.
This time, though, I have you and all the guys.
I have Vic. I have a purpose. That’s what makes this time different. ”
“You’re absolutely right, my darling. You have all of that and so much more.”
“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Daddy.”
“There will never be a time I won’t come to your rescue, Rebekah. There will never be anything in the world that will keep me from finding you each and every time.”
It was on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to say those three little words so bad, but there was a small part of me that was worried it was still too soon. We had barely begun, but the feelings that I felt for this man exceeded anything that I’d ever felt before.
Telling the voices in my head to shut the fuck up for once, I said what was exactly on my mind. “I love you, Daddy.”
I heard him suck in a small breath and pull me in tighter. “I love you too, Sweets. You never get to leave.”
“Good, because there’s nowhere else I would want to go.”
When we pulled into the police station, my hands began to sweat and shake as Daddy made his way around to help me out. He had made a call this morning and told the officers that we would be there in a few hours to give a statement.
So here I was, with a serious case of déjà vu, wrapped up in Daddy’s stolen hoodie and Ophelia tucked inside the pocket. I walked inside the station with my head held high. My world shattered when I realized what waited for me.
Standing in front of me were Seth, Josh, Matt, Patrick, Zach, Eric, and Chase. Each one a wall of strength that I didn’t know I needed. I refused to cry again this morning. Daddy had already held me once in the shower when reality hit me once more.
“Hey, Pipsqueak.”
I gave Josh a small wave. One after another, they greeted me, wrapping me up in a hug that I didn’t know I needed. This was what romance books talked about when they said someone had finally found their family.
I had a family again, standing before me in worn combat boots, ready to take on the world for me.
A family who would ride into battle without a second question.
A family who had accepted me, welcomed me, and loved me just as I am.
A family I wouldn’t trade for anything. A family that I know Alicia would have loved. A family I loved.
“Beau, thanks for coming in.”
I turned toward a man in uniform sat. I remembered seeing him last night, but I had no clue who he is.
“Of course. This is my girlfriend, Rebekah. Sweets, this is Officer John. He’s the one who caught the bad guy last night and took him away.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rebekah. I wish we were meeting on better terms though.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, and please, call my Bekah.”
“All right, Bekah. If you would like to follow me, I’ve set up a room for us to speak freely.” Officer John led us down a hallway and into a very small room.
“Uh, guys, I don’t think all of us need to be in here. And I only really need to speak to Bekah. The rest of you can hang out in the bullpen until we get done.”
I turned around and let out a giggle. Every single one of the guys had followed us and were trying to cram into this tiny room. My heart warmed at the sight of them each standing at my back.
“Boss, we will go if you say the word. Right now, none of use wants to let her out of our sight. That’s our little sister and we want to support her,” Matt said, shocking me.
A single tear slipped out, and I turned my head before anyone could see it fall.
“John, they will stay in the back. You won’t know they are here. If I send them out, they will drive the rest of your officers crazy, pacing and climbing the walls waiting for us to rejoin them.”
“I understand. As long as they can sit quietly, I don’t care.”
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. It dawned on me right then that I didn’t want to let them out of my sight either. Matt was right, they were all brothers to me, and I needed all the support I could get from my family right now.
“Okay, Bekah, let’s start at the beginning. Let’s go back two weeks ago. Don’t be afraid to say whatever comes to mind. No detail is too small.”
After taking a deep breath and leaning against Daddy for support, I started to retell everything that had happened over the last two weeks.
“I guess the uneasiness started before the guys went on this last case. Beau and I went back to my hometown for my sister’s birthday.
She would have been eighteen, so we went to celebrate at her graveside.
When we were leaving, I saw someone in the shadows, watching and waiting.
I thought it was nothing, and I was being paranoid in my heightened emotional state. ”
Daddy shifted beneath me, but didn’t speak. I knew I was going to be in trouble for not mentioning this to him before now, but honestly, I didn’t think it was anything until the van showed up.
“I never saw the person again, so I just chalked it up to emotions and moved on with my day. Beau and the team left on the case, leaving me behind.”
“Which will never happen again. Someone will always stay behind on cases, and if they can’t, we will be making other arrangements to help keep you safe.”
I gave Daddy a grateful smile. I didn’t want to tell him, but I was terrified at the idea of being alone again while the team was on a case. I should have known that Daddy knew everything, though, even without me having to say something.
“Okay, what else happened, Bekah?”
“Well, it started with me feeling like I was being watched anytime I was out of the house. It didn’t matter if I was at home, working in my garden, or at the coffee shop surrounded by people. I constantly felt like I had eyes watching my every move.”
Officer John jotted down notes, keeping a timeline of everything.
“Then one evening, I needed some air, so I decided to go on a walk in the neighborhood. It had never been a problem before, so I thought it would be safe. That’s when I spotted the van.”
“Can you describe what this van looked like?”
“It was tan, and it had super dark windows. There weren’t any words on the sides, and it was kind of beat-up looking, kind of old-looking as well.”
“That’s good.”
“I was driving home from Ridge Valley. I had decided to go to the mall and pick up a few items I needed for my garden. It’s getting too cold in the evenings, and I wanted to start to work on winterizing the flower beds.
I should have waited for Beau to get home to go, but I needed something to do.
I was going crazy, just sitting around and waiting. ”
The tension rose in the room as I began to tell the next part of the story. The part of the story that everyone in this room, besides Officer John, that is, knew and hated.
“I didn’t notice the van at first. I should have been paying better attention to my surroundings. I was not sure how long it had been following me before I finally spotted it in my mirror. Once I did, I made a few turns to see if it was following me before I called Beau, panicking.”
“You didn’t notice the van until they were ready for you to notice them, Shortstack,” Matt said from behind me.
“He’s right. These kinds of people work in the shadows until they are ready for their victims to see them,” Officer John replied.
“Well, anyway, I called Beau and told him that I was being followed. The van tried to run me off the road a few times, but I kept going. I knew that if I stopped, there was no way I was going to make it out of there unharmed.”
Daddy pressed a kiss against the side of my face and pulled me into his lap. I hadn’t noticed, but I was shaking uncontrollably. Daddy knew, though, and he gave me exactly what I needed.
“Beau helped me drive to the office and gave me directions to find his safe room. Seth unlocked the door for me, and I ran like hell. Once inside the safe room, I don’t know what else happened. Next thing I knew, Beau was opening the door.”
“You did so well, Sweets. I’m so proud of you.”
“Seth contacted my team here when they realized what was going on, and we were there moments after you. We caught the perps just as they were entering the office building. They were never going to get to you.”
I nodded, not offering up any more words. Not that I had many left to give. I was quickly losing my battle to stay present here.
“They are in custody now?”
“Yeah, we booked them last night.”
“Can I see them?”
Everyone turned toward me, shocked. Hell, I was a little shocked myself, but I needed to know what they looked like.
“I don’t know if that’s the smartest idea, Bekah. You don’t want to have a face to haunt your dreams.”
“I already have enough bad guys who visit me in my nightmares, one more isn’t going to change anything. Please, I need to know.”
Officer John had a silent conversation with Daddy before nodding and leaving the room.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Bex?”
“I don’t know what I’m sure of right now, Patrick, but I know that if I don’t, I will forever wonder.”
Each guy must have known the feeling I was trying to describe because no one fought me further on the topic.
“Bekah, if you could come with me,” Officer John said from the edge of the room.
I stood up and followed him out of the room and down another hallway. This time, only Daddy came with me; the rest of the guys headed out front to wait for us. In front of me was a face I would never forget. The world began to spin as black spots clouded my vision.
“Rebekah!” was the last thing I heard as my world faded to black.