Chapter 22 #3
“I wasn’t alone. Hawk was with me.”
“Hawk?”
“My…boyfriend. I’m living with him now after Desiree tried to burn down my cabin with me in it.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It happened right after I got out of the hospital. I know she drugged me at the bar, then you came. What happened after that?”
“I demanded to see my daughter. She refused just like all the other times.”
“What did she want you to do?” Lucky figured there was always some angle Desiree was playing with everyone.
“What she always wanted. For me and her to raise Krystal together. To show you that she took me from you and we had some happy life together.”
Lucky couldn’t even fathom her making that proposition to the man she’d blackmailed and raped. “Saying she has a screw loose doesn’t even cover half the crazy she’s got going on.”
“Tell me about it. Which is why you’re never going to prove she did anything.”
“I don’t need to prove it. I’m going to get her to confess.”
Neil shook his head. “She’s too smart for that.”
“I think she wants to brag about what she’s done to me. How she got away with it. How nothing and no one can touch her.”
“She’ll be suspicious as fuck. And a recording won’t be admissible. Montana is a two party state. You’d be breaking the law if you recorded her without consent.”
“I don’t plan to record her, just to get her to confess in front of the right witness.”
“You’ll only get one shot at it. If she figures it out, you’ll never get another chance.”
“I know. But it’s worth the risk. Either way, I’m going to get all of this out in the open between us. No more lies and manipulations. No more attempts on my life. I’ll know she’s coming and she’ll know I’m expecting it and looking for any evidence to take her down.”
“I’m happy to help in any way I can without breaking the terms of my parole. I can’t go back. Not ever again.” Pain and fear flashed in his eyes.
She couldn’t imagine prison had been anything other than a nightmare for him. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage as well.”
“I just want to end her reign of terror and have a real chance to be a part of my daughter’s life.”
“We’re owed some real justice and I plan to get it one way or another.”
Neil rested his forearms on his thighs and looked her in the eyes. “Are you happy?”
Her smile came so easily when she thought about Hawk. “Very. And it’s all because I found someone who really cares about me.”
Hawk and Lincoln stepped out from opposite sides of the shelves and closed in on her and Neil.
She smiled up at Hawk as he stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder. “This is Hawk, and his brother Lincoln.”
“Watching her back, I see.” Neil stood and held his hand out to Hawk. “I’m glad she has someone who puts her first.”
“Always.” Hawk shook his hand. “I thought you were the bad guy. Now I see you were trying your best to save her in a shitty situation.”
“I put myself in that position. I was so focused on saving her, I didn’t reach out to her to help save me.
” He looked down at her. “If I’d told you what Desiree was doing, we could have maybe stopped her together.
At least then, you would have known what a terrible friend she was to you.
It wouldn’t have gotten you out of your situation, but maybe if we’d both gone to the sheriff’s department, we could have found someone who would help. ”
“Her father knows I’m going to take her down. He’s agreed to stay out of it and let me handle it. He has his own reasons for not doing it himself, but he won’t stand in our way.”
Lincoln closed their circle. “Are you sure you’re really in? Because things could get dicey if she figures out what we’re doing.”
“She needs to be stopped. And I want her away from Krystal before my little girl starts acting like her mother, or worse, becomes her target.”
Lucky couldn’t let that go. “She’s been really good with Krystal. Maybe not as lovey dovey as some moms, but she provides everything she needs. I’ve never seen her be mean or aggressive toward her. It’s more that she does what needs to be done and not much else.”
“Desiree is too self-centered to offer hugs and kisses and praise.” Neil looked sick with worry for his daughter. “She needs more than the basics. She needs to know someone cares and loves her above all else.”
“You can do that for her once we take down Desiree.” Hawk brushed his hand down Lucky’s hair, giving her comfort.
Neil caught the affectionate caress. His eyes filled with regret. “And how are we going to get one over on her? Desiree is one of the most manipulative people I’ve ever met. And I’ve been to prison.”
Hawk rubbed his hands together. “We have a plan.”
They all sat quietly on the purple couch in the children’s reading section of the book store until closing. They talked through the basic plan, then went through every conceivable variable until they had everything worked out. At least they hoped so.
In the parking lot, Neil turned to her before heading to his car. “Thank you for giving me a chance to explain.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner. If I’d opened one of your letters or taken one of your calls, I would have known how deceitful Desiree truly is and maybe I wouldn’t have ended up nearly dead in a ravine.”
Neil hung his head again. “If I’d told you back at the beginning the first time she pressured me into sleeping with her…”
She reached out and took his hand.
He gasped at the contact, his gaze coming up to meet hers, then look at their joined hands again. “I don’t deserve this.” He covered her hand with his free one and squeezed.
“I understand why you did what you did. I should have saved myself and Danny long before you were put in that position. I should have made the sheriff listen to me. I should have made him do his job. And if he wouldn’t, I should have found someone who would.
I don’t know why Desiree took it on herself. ”
“To be your hero. To keep you close. I think the more people she had under her thumb, the more she realized how alone she was. She made everyone around her hate her because she used them up and spit them out.”
“She deserves to be alone,” Hawk added.
Lucky squeezed Neil’s hand. “I just want you to know that you and I are square and I believe with my whole heart that you deserve to be with Krystal and she’ll be lucky to have you for a dad.”
“I really don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
“You have it anyway. Now forgive yourself for what you did, because your heart was in the right place.”
“I tried, I really did, to get it right. I really wanted to keep you safe.”
“I know.”
Neil hooked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “I hope you have nothing but happiness from now on,” he whispered in her ear. “Love you.”
She squeezed him back. “Thank you for trying and loving me when no one else did.” Well, except for her brother. But that was different.
Neil released her, avoided Hawk’s death stare, and headed for his car.
Hawk pulled her close. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“I will be.” She went up on tiptoe and kissed him.
Lincoln groaned. “If you two are going to be all kissy face, then I’m leaving. Catch you later.”
Hawk broke the kiss and called out, “Thanks for coming.”
“Always,” his brother called back.
She smiled up at her man. “I love you.”
“Love you more, sweetheart. Always. And I’ll keep you safe and make sure you know every day that you’re loved. Desiree’s time in your life is just about up. Then you’ll be free to be happy.”
“That sounds like a plan, and I can’t wait.”