Chapter 21 Ella
TWENTY-ONE
ELLA
“Mommy!”
“Keva!”
I wrenched myself away from the police officer that had been stationed at my house.
I was ready to be out of his fucking presence anyway.
He kept looking at me with this pity-filled look, and I wanted to smack it right off his fucking face.
The second I saw my daughter hop out of that cop cruiser, I dashed out the front door.
She ran to me with her arms outstretched, and I scooped her up, spinning her around in the air.
I buried my face in her hair and breathed in deeply the smell of her cotton candy shampoo.
“Daddy fell down, Mommy. Does he need a doctor?” she asked.
I held my daughter close and rubbed her back. She clung to me in a way she’d never held me before. And as I locked eyes with the officer getting out of her cruiser, she shook her head at me.
Relief like none other coursed through my veins.
Holy shit, Jett was dead. He was gone, and we were rid of him for good.
Tears of happiness soared down my cheeks. I kissed my daughter over and over while she babbled on about Daddy not feeling well. I slowly walked her back onto the porch where the other officer was. The male officer was ridden with guilt about not helping me sooner.
“Will Daddy be okay?” Keva asked.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. But you know what?” I asked.
“What?” she asked, sniffling.
“That means you and I get to spend so much more time together. And no more courts. Would you like that?”
“Tex, too?”
She sat up in my arms and looked into my eyes. I sat on the porch and wiped away her tears as the two officers stood around me. I rocked Keva slowly as she settled into me, unable to answer her question.
“We’ll see, okay? One thing at a time,” I said.
“Does she mean Texas?” the officer asked.
“Yes. And while we’re on that topic, where’s my brother? Stone?” I asked.
“They’re headed down to the station for questioning. We need their statements,” the other officer said.
“Statements? Why?” I asked.
And when they both looked at one another, I knew why. They’d been caught wherever Jett had been. Which meant they were both being lugged downtown in handcuffs.
“Ella!”
I looked up and saw Joanne crossing the street. She closed her cardigan tight around her while her eyes scanned the cop cars in my driveway. She hustled up to me and shoved one of the officers out of the way and then wrapped me up tightly.
“Oh my gosh, you found her. Thank God, you found her,” she whispered.
“He’s dead,” I breathed.
Keva sniffled into my chest as Joanne pulled back and looked into my eyes.
“He took Keva?” Joanne asked.
I nodded slowly, and I watched many emotions rush over Joanne’s face. Anger. Frustration. Relief. Much like the emotions I was experiencing.
“Stone and Texas are down at the station,” I said.
Joanne furrowed her brow. “Texas?”
“Mr. Horsey,” I said, giggling.
She smiled. “Ah. Him. Well, if you want to go down there, I can take Keva—”
I clung to my daughter tighter, and Joanne nodded her head.
“I can’t be away from her right now. I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s not a problem. You don’t owe me an apology. But can I hug her? Please?” she asked.
“How did you know what happened?”
She scooped Keva out of my arms and hugged her tightly.
“I have my ways of figuring things out.”
“Honestly, I don’t plan on letting Keva out of my sight ever again if I can help it,” I said.
“Trust me, no one blames you on that account. And, if it’ll make you feel better with regard to work, I can start coming over here to babysit Keva for a while. Until you’re okay again.”
“I’m not even thinking about work right now.”
“Are you thinking about going down to the station?” she asked.
No use in lying, I guessed.
“I am. Yes,” I said softly.
“Well, you should. If that’s where you want to be. And you know that if you ever need anything at all, just call. Or come knock on my door. Or yell at me from your porch. I’ll hear you. I always do.”
I smiled softly. “Yeah. I know. Thank you so much, Joanne.”
“Anytime.”
She kissed the side of Keva’s head then handed my daughter back to me.
And when Joanne exited my porch, I followed quickly behind her.
The cops tried to stop me. Tried to tell me that my best course of action was to stay home and calm myself down.
But I wasn’t having any of it. I had to see my brother. I had to make sure he was okay.
I had to make sure Texas was okay.
I piled Keva into my car and we headed out.
I left those two cops in my dust to do whatever the hell they wanted with my home.
I didn’t care. I didn’t feel safe in it anyway.
I drove through Keva’s favorite restaurant and picked her up some food, and then the two of us headed to the station.
I wasn’t hungry. Not by a longshot. The fact that Jett was really dead fed my muscles and my aching joints.
I felt myself slowly coming back to life again.
I was free, and it was a new feeling to explore.
We sat in the police station for hours on a hard bench just beyond the doors where the officer at the desk told me they would eventually come out. If they weren’t booked first. I had no idea what that officer meant. Had Stone and Texas done something?
Holy shit, had one of them been the one who pulled the trigger on Jett?
“Mommy, are you okay?” Keva asked.
I kissed the top of her head as my leg continued to jiggle with nerves.
“I’m fine, princess. Just waiting for Uncle Stone,” I said.
“Why’s he here?” she asked.
“The police just have a few questions for him. That’s all.”
“Where’s Tex?”
“He’s answering questions too.”
“Can we all go get dinner after?” she asked.
I looked up at the clock and saw it was almost nine at night. Holy fuck, Keva and I had been sitting there for four hours.
“We’ll figure it out, okay? I promise,” I said.
The two of us ended up falling asleep against one another.
Nine o’clock bled into midnight. And midnight into two in the morning.
The officer at the desk didn’t tell me much.
Just that they were all still being questioned.
Thankfully, Keva had no issues sleeping.
I placed her on the bench and slipped my cardigan over her, and then I began to pace the main room.
Where the hell were they? Why hadn’t they been released yet?
Then, the door finally opened.
“You’re cleared to leave,” the officer at the door said.
“Good. Because I gave that statement so many damn times I could do it in my sleep,” Texas grumbled.
I watched him as he gathered his things. His wallet. His keys. His leather jacket. He slung it around his shoulders and stuck his arms through, and then his eyes lifted and met mine.
He paused before his eyes fell behind me. To Keva. Who was sleeping soundly on the hard, cold bench.
“You're cleared?” I asked.
His eyes came back to mine before a smile crossed his cheeks. Instead of answering me, he strode for me. His arms opened wide, his muscles ready to greet me. I didn’t care who saw us. Or who snapped pictures of us. I didn’t care if Stone came around that corner the second we touched.
Texas was okay, and he was free to go.
“I’m so glad you're all right,” I whimpered.
I threw my arms around him and held him closely.
He buried his face into my neck, breathing me in the way I had with Keva when she finally got back home.
Tears rushed my eyes again as his arms cloaked my back.
He pulled me close to him before picking me up and carrying me over to the bench.
And when he sat down, he worked my sleeping daughter into his arms and held us both tightly.
“You two are finally safe,” he murmured.
“I can’t believe it,” I whispered.
“I promised you that the two of you would get out of this okay.”
“You did. You did,” I whispered.
In that moment, I didn’t care who had shot Jett.
I didn’t care who pulled the trigger. All I cared about was the fact that I could finally move on with my life.
Keva stirred long enough to peel her eyes open and see Texas.
And when she did, she squealed with delight and held him close.
She placed a soft kiss to his cheek that melted my heart, and I’d never seen Texas smile brighter than he did in that second.
“Come on. Let’s get you girls home,” he said.
We all rode back to my house in my car. I didn’t know where Texas’s motorcycle was, but I figured he wasn’t worried about that. He didn’t mention it, so I didn’t push it. We drove home and walked into the house and then promptly went to tuck Keva into my bed.
She sure as hell wasn’t sleeping in hers for a while.
“I think she’ll be sleeping with me for a few days,” I said.
“Come on. Be honest. She’ll be there for a few weeks,” Texas said, grinning.
He closed my bedroom door behind him as I snickered.
“Or months, if my anxiety gets that bad,” I said.
“She’s safe, Ella. I promise you. The threat is gone, and you two are going to be okay,” he said.
“I know, I know. It’ll just take time before I’m able to put her in her own room without freaking out every second she’s in there.”
“You could always permanently bolt the window shut.”
“Or I could switch her room and the guest room,” I said.
“There’s an idea. I’ll even help you with it, if that’s what you want,” he said.
I looked up into his eyes and took in the way the shadows of the darkness played against his sharp features.
“Where will you go?” I asked softly.
He winced. “Well, Jett’s gone. For good. No more of a reason for me to stay here on duty.”
I nodded. “That’s true.”
“And I do have this new place I moved into. I should probably get back there and start settling in. You know, trying to make this townhouse my new place or whatever.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I needed a bigger place anyway,” he said.
I paused, unsure of what to say after that.
I looked down at my feet as my mind swirled with all sorts of things.
The truth was, I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to stay with me and Keva in this house.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to sleep with both eyes closed without him there.
But I didn’t know if he would. I didn’t know if he’d want to.
I had an idea that he might, but it was only an idea.
I didn’t know if I’d ever be afforded that kind of life again, to be honest. That kind of happiness. That kind of man.
Not after what I’d put him through.
“Take care of yourself, yeah?” Texas asked.
“What?” I asked.
I snapped my head up as he moved past me, heading for the front door.
“Texas, where are you going? It’s five in the morning,” I said.
But instead of answering me with his words, he answered me by opening my front door.
I stood there in silence as the door closed behind him.
And though I had the urge to go after him, I didn’t.
He’d made his decision. He’d made his choice, and no matter how much it hurt, I couldn't change it.
I let the silent tears flow freely. What was a few more tears shed over a man that deserved them?
“Mommy, why are you crying?”
I whipped around and saw a tired Keva rubbing her eyes in the cracked doorway of my bedroom.
“What are you doing up, silly?” I asked softly.
I scooped her up and took her back to my bed before I hunkered down next to her underneath the covers.
“Why are you sad?” she asked.
I sighed. “I’m just sad because my friend is leaving.”
“You mean Tex?”
“Yeah. I mean Tex.”
“Is he coming back?” she asked.
I tucked her in before I brushed her hair away from her forehead.
“I don’t know, princess. I really don’t,” I said.
“Well, that makes me sad too. Can we be sad together?” she asked.
I snickered. “You can be sad with me whenever you want. But I hope you’ll be happy too. Little girls should always be happy.”
“I wish he was my daddy.”
“What?” I asked.
Keva closed her eyes and snuggled into me as a yawn fell from her small lips.
“Tex can be my daddy since my other daddy got hurt real bad and won’t come back,” she said.
I had no clue on how to answer her. Or appease her.
Or make her feel comfortable again. All I could do was pull her close and sing softly to her as she fell back asleep.
The sun was slowly starting to crest over the treetops by the time Keva fell back into her slumber.
And I didn’t care if we slept the day away. But I knew one thing for certain.
I wouldn't beg Texas to love me.
I’d begged Jett to love me. I compromised so much of myself to make that man want me.
I wouldn’t do that for another man. Begging him had gotten me nowhere.
Nope. The next man who loved me would have to fight for me.
I wasn’t going to chase after some apathetic man who had no issues sidestepping me in some dark hallway.
Even though my heart broke into pieces, I refused to go after him. I already had once.
If he wanted me, he could come get me.