Chapter Five
Jordy
Two Months Later…
I stare at the only letter I ever received from Roux. Guilt claws up inside of me. She was so pissed when she finally wrote me. My thumb rubs the tear smudge. I hate that I can’t be there right now with Roan and her. It doesn’t feel right. Never has. I did all this to keep them together, but who’s there to protect them now? Hollis the rat sure as fuck can’t. If anything, Roan has his hands even fuller taking care of him too.
Samantha says I’ll be out of here soon.
Not soon enough.
My eyes skim over her letter, grazing over the furious words to her name at the bottom.
Love, Roux
I don’t think she meant to put that, but she did. Or maybe she meant to. Who the fuck knows? It gives me hope that she’ll still see me as another big brother when this all blows over. I want to be back in their lives. I want to cart Roux all over the damn place, taking her from school to tutoring or wherever. Always keeping my eye on her. I want things to go back to normal.
Then she can date someone normal. Someone I can personally shake the shit out of and threaten within an inch of their life. I just want her to be safe. Kayden is anything but safe. Roan told me all about his cocky ass dealing fucking drugs in front of the Hornets at Campfire Chaos. He nearly beat his ass, but Cal and Trey ended up dragging him away.
If I were there…
The truth is, I’m not.
I can’t do shit here.
I make a mental note to contact Samantha for an update. Until then, I watch the clock, waiting for my visitation with Roan. He’s supposed to update me on everything. Now that we’ve gone to regularly seeing one another, I miss the fuck out of him. I look forward to our meeting all damn month.
“Martin,” Dave says. “Let’s go.”
I fold the letter up and tuck it in my front pocket before standing from my cot. Dave ushers me out of my cell and down the hallways. My mind is on a million other things, so when I’m seated in the visiting stall, I’m confused at first as I take in the woman in front of me.
The only woman I’ve been up close with in years is Samantha. So when I see the full, dark pink lips on the brunette, my cock thickens.
“Wrong stall…” I trail off, dropping my gaze to her perky tits and then back up to her lips. “Yo, Dave. Wrong stall.”
The woman bites on her juicy lip. I dart my gaze up to her eyes. Amber eyes filled with fire and fury.
Wait.
“Little Hornet?”
She swallows and nods at the phone. I’m too transfixed by how she looks now. Her dark brown hair lies just past her shoulders, silky smooth, accentuating the fact she has tits now. I reluctantly tear my gaze from them.
I pick up the phone receiver and clear my throat. “Where’s Roan?”
“Don’t be a dick,” she snaps, her voice a throaty purr that goes right to my cock. What the fuck. I need to get a hold of myself.
“I thought I was seeing Roan.”
“He decided to visit Dad instead. To see if it was safe for me to visit him next time.” She gives me a bitchy smile that does nothing to calm the state of my dick. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”
“Roux…”
She shakes her head. “Don’t. I’ve had three years to think about what I wanted to say to you. Then…” Her bottom lip wobbles. “Then you pull all this shit with your letters and making my brother do your dirty work. I have a lot to say to you now, Jordy, and you’re going to hear every bit of it.”
Since when did she get a mouth on her?
She licks her lips, drawing my gaze there. “You broke our hearts.”
The breath is sucked straight from my chest. Images of that night flash inside my mind. The way those motherfuckers tried to rape her. She was just a young teen. That shit still gives me nightmares. I’d kill them all over again if I had to. I’d take pleasure in that shit.
“You were family,” she whispers, a tear racing down her cheek. “Family doesn’t abandon family.”
I shouldn’t have refused to see them, but it felt like the safest for all of our hearts.
I was wrong.
My throat is hoarse with emotion. I want to look away so I don’t have to see her pain, but it’s fucking impossible. “Roux.”
“I was devastated. We were so lonely without you.” She sobs, breaking what’s left of my heart. “You cut us off like we were a limb that was diseased. Like you didn’t need us anymore.”
“I n-needed you,” I choke out. “I still do.”
More tears roll down her pretty apple cheeks. I fist my hand, wishing I could swipe them away for her. “Why?”
I scrub my palm down my face. “Because I had to. You know I had to.”
“You didn’t have to shut us out, though,” she snaps. “You didn’t have to deny us visitation. It was cruel.” A pained whimper escapes her, obliterating the last bits of my soul.
I’d only recently reinstated visitation for everyone, only expecting Roan to ever show.
“Roux, honey, listen,” I utter, my voice tight with emotion. “I’m sorry.”
Her lip wobbles wildly. “I missed you.” She presses her fingertips to the glass. “We both did.”
My hand mimics hers, and I wish like hell I could touch her. “I missed you too.”
“When are you coming home?”
“Soon.”
She smiles. Small. Sweet. So fucking innocent. It’s in this moment I’m reminded this is Little Hornet. Roan’s little sister. His seventeen-year-old sister. I pull my hand from the glass. As much as she looks like a woman, she’s not. I’ve been locked up in here too long without female interaction. It’s natural I’d be attracted to one of the first ones I see.
“Stay away from Kayden.”
All progress is lost and her smile fades.
“Fuck you, Jordy.”
She slams the phone into the receiver and stands. My eyes rake down her body, drinking in all of her new curves. Her hips have flared out and she has an ass now. Fuck, she has an ass. As she walks away, she looks over her shoulder at me. All sadness is gone as she glowers at me. She flips me the bird before stalking off.
I watch her ass the whole way.
Oh, Little Hornet. Everything’s so fucked up now. You’ve turned into this beautiful woman and if you don’t think I’ll move heaven and earth to keep you safe from every motherfucker in this world, you’re sadly mistaken.
“Martin.”
I yawn, rising from my cot, and nod at Dave. “Hey, man.”
“Act a little excited,” he grumbles. “You could be leaving this shithole.”
“Trying not to get my hopes up.”
He smirks. “I’m pretty sure that attorney of yours has blown her way through the entire parole board. I think you’re safe to get those hopes up.”
I follow him through the halls. Jace sees me and whistles.
“Get the fuck outta here, One-Up!” He grins and then flips me off. “Take care of my baby girl and son.”
With newfound purpose, I straighten my spine and nod at him. “We’ll see. I might get laughed at.”
Jace shakes his head. “Naw, kid. They’re gonna let you out. I know how this shit works. They know you don’t belong here. Come visit your ol’ buddy, though. Don’t forget about me.”
Dave snorts. “Keep moving, Martin. Don’t let Hirsch distract you from getting the hell out of here.”
I give Jace a two-finger salute before turning down another hall with Dave. He takes us to a room and ushers me inside. Four people sit at a table, all wearing stern expressions. Samantha sits nearby, her pencil skirt riding up her silky thighs, a shit-eating grin on her face.
“Please sit,” an older man with a white mustache says.
I take a seat and straighten my back, bracing myself for whatever it is they’re going to say to me.
“Miss Livingston has been working hard on your behalf,” the man says. “Gathering all sorts of testimony, even going as far as securing you a job on the outside.” He nods at Dave. “And the people who see you every day here have also provided us insight into the kind of man you are.”
I give him a solemn bow of my head.
“But this file?” He thumps it with his finger. “Says otherwise.”
“I understand that, sir.”
He frowns. “Mr. Williams.” He sighs. “I see what you were convicted for, and it’s one helluva crime. But I also had a chat with the judge who presided over your case. You know what I’ve come to determine?”
“No, sir.”
“That you’re a scared little boy.”
I bristle and clench my jaw. “Why’s that, sir?”
“Because you did what you had to do to protect the ones you loved and then shut down for fear of what came after. Just took the punishment rather than letting people in to help you. Assumed the worst of the system. Let it swallow you whole.”
“I don’t know what you mean, sir.”
Mr. Williams scoffs. “That line of bullshit is what got you in here in the first place. If you have any hope to get out of here, I need to know that you’ve grown up, son. That you’re ready to face real life like a man. You’re not a boy anymore.”
I meet his stare. “What do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
“It doesn’t affect my sentencing. Why does it matter?” I ask. Then, I glance over at Samantha. “This doesn’t reopen the case, does it?”
She shakes her head. “They just want to know what happened. To understand you. They’re trying to determine if you’re even able to merge back into society. It’s okay to be honest,” she says gently. “Let them understand you.”
I frown, letting my mind go back to that night. The words flow from my mouth as I explain the absolute terror I felt when I learned Roux was in trouble. How all I could think about was getting to her. I recount how I walked in on them brutalizing my best friend and stripping the clothes off his little sister. The rest was a blur. My overwhelming need to protect my family at all costs. There were threats and I was to stand before them. When I finish, my cheeks are wet and my hands are trembling.
“I see,” Mr. Williams says, his voice hoarse. “Where’s your family now?”
I smile. “Roux’s being a typical teenager giving her brother hell.” Everyone chuckles. “Roan is a firefighter.” I swipe at my wet lashes. “They turned out okay.”
“They must miss you,” Mr. Williams says.
“Yeah,” I reply. “They’re probably both gonna kick my ass when they see me next. Neither one of them was exactly happy with me over how all this went down.”
“You were scared,” Mr. Williams tells me, his voice gentle. “We all do things out of the norm when we’re scared. It sounds like they’re tough kids, though. Maybe you don’t have to be the one always taking care of them. Maybe they can take care of you too.”
I smile at that thought. “Nah, they both kinda suck at it.”
The parole board chuckles.
“We’ll be in touch, Mr. Martin. There are some parameters I’d like to discuss with the board, but you’ll be notified once we’ve sorted it all out.”
He’s smiling at me.
Smiling is good.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“I absolutely won’t, sir.”