69. LUKE
Chapter 69
LUKE
I sit in the wet towel and watch until I hear her steady breathing that she’s asleep. I get up and return to the bathroom to remove the clothing off the floor and to the living room to remove her scrubs. Engaging in this mundane task is my way of keeping a lid on the rage bubbling beneath the surface that’s waiting to explode.
I go back in to check on her, put on my sweatpants and t-shirt, and return to the living room to call Bruce.
“Hello.”
“Where is Lily?”
“Booked at the police station, she’ll be spending the night.”
“She’s not leaving that jail cell ever. Find out her connection to Dr. Beiz and the man she called; there’s no way Lily did this alone. They are all going down.”
“Did Dele say anything?”
“Not a word. She has been crying since we found her. She’s asleep now. I can’t leave her.”
“How about Osei comes to stay with her with some bodyguards?”
“No, I want her to see me when she wakes up. No one else. She needs to see me.” Or I need to see her. Either way, we are staying together tonight.
“I already told Osei that we found her, and he’ll let your parents know that she’s safe.”
“Thank you.” I hang up and hear the door open. I get up fast and head towards our room. Dele is moving gingerly with her arms wrapped around her. I pull her into my arms.
“I can’t sleep. I have a headache,” she says as I pull away from her. Holding her hand, I lead her to the kitchen.
“Come on, let’s get you something for the headache,” I say.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispers. I stop in my stride and cup her face. I kiss her forehead. I’m thrilled at the news, but we can’t share the joy right now; my Dele is emotionally checked out.
“Are you sure?” She nods. “Did she hurt you?” I ask, hoping we won’t lose this pregnancy too.
“Someone knocked me from behind with something. I don’t know what object; it must have been Lily. She slapped and punched me in the face a few times.” My blood seethes, but I try to hide my stormy emotions from her.
“Let’s get you pain meds and have the doctor check on you.”
“Okay.” I go to the cabinet to get some Tylenol and prepare some food. I show her each marked bowl, and she shakes her head.
“You have to eat something. Should I order something?”
“Soup.” I nod and pick up my phone. I text Osei.
Me: Can you please order soup for Dele and have it delivered fast?
Osei: Sure, how is she doing?
Me: She can’t sleep, she has a headache.
Osei: I will see her in the morning. Bruce said she’s fine otherwise, right?
Me: Yes, she’s fine. Please order the soup for her.
Osei: Got it.
I turn to Dele; she’s gazing absentmindedly at the wall as if a horror show is playing. I can’t wrap my mind around how to get her back to her normal self. Lily did this, and there’s no way I’ll ever forgive her. She has crossed a Rubicon, and forgiveness is not an option.
I take Dele’s hand and lead her to the living room. She sits and wraps herself in a blanket. I sit next to her and hold her. I turn the TV on and find a comedy show. I do find one she likes, but Dele just stares at the screen, completely lost. My phone soon beeps with a notice from the front desk. I respond to the message to have the delivery come up.
When our doorbell rings, I go to answer and tip the delivery person. I return to the kitchen to grab a tray and spoon for her. I take the food to her, and she sits up. I watch her eat and take the pain meds I set out for her. Afterward, I return the tray once she’s done. She rests her head on my lap, and we continue to watch the comedy show. At some point, I hear her chuckle. Somehow, it breaks through my heart that she’s able to show that emotion, and it gives me hope she’ll return to herself again. We keep watching, and as she laughs more, she eventually falls asleep. I want to move her, but I fear waking her. So, I sit with her, asleep on my lap.
When I wake in the middle of the night, I’m covered, and she’s not next to me. I jump up and race to our bedroom. I find her sleeping in our bed, her hand under her pillow. She probably has a knife underneath it. I return to the kitchen to find that one of the knives is missing.
I leave her to sleep alone and return to the living room. She’s back to living in fear because of my crazy ex-girlfriend.
When I wake up in the morning, Dele is still in bed. I slowly reach under the pillow and remove the knife before kissing her.
“Ayo mi, wake up.” She stirs and opens her eyes. It takes a moment, but she begins to shake and reaches under the pillow. “I’m here, Dele, you’re safe.” She looks at me, almost as if her brain needs to register that I’m safe. Once she does, she hugs me immediately. “Any pain or headache?”
“No, just tired,” she murmurs.
“Well, you rest the whole day. I will take care of everything else.”
“Please, don’t leave.” She holds my hands tight.
“Osei and Jax will be here soon. They will stay with you until I get back.”
“You will come back, right?” she asks, fear in her eyes.
“Yes, Ayodele. I will come back, I promise. I need to take care of a few things and I’ll be back to stay with you all day.” I give a gentle kiss to her lips and forehead to reassure her.
Paula soon arrives. I ask her to make breakfast for Dele. I go to change and wait for Jax and Osei to arrive. I send Bruce and Daniel a text, letting them know I’ll be on my way soon. When I return to the kitchen, Dele is eating and talking with Paula. The doorbell rings, and Paula races to open it.
Osei and Jax rush in to hug Dele, making her cry again. Osei whispers in her ear, and she starts to laugh. I mouth “thank you” to him, needing her to not focus on last night’s ordeal.
Jax is talking fast, saying lots of things that earn chuckles and smiles from Dele. I signal to Osei. He follows me to my office, leaving Jax to keep Dele engaged.
“How is she, really?” he asks the moment he shuts the office door behind him.
“I honestly don’t know. What I do know is she’ll laugh and live without worry again, and I’ll be by her side every step of the way.” He nods.
“I’ll stay with her. Where are you headed?” His face questions why I’m going out.
“To deal with Lily. She’s in custody, and I intend to make sure she stays behind bars. All the McIntyre money can’t save her from what she did.”
“Good. She went too far. She’s a fucking psycho.” His anger is clear in his words. I nod in agreement.
“Listen, Dele told me last night that she’s pregnant.” He cracks into a big smile, his mood switching quickly from anger. “Please make sure she doesn’t push herself or anything. I don’t know how this ordeal might affect her. I just want her to be cared for.”
“I got you. Go and deal with Lily. Dele is in good hands.” He pulls me into a hug. I know Dele going missing yesterday was hard on both of us. We pull from the hug, and I head out to the living room. I kiss Dele on her lips.
“I’ll be back soon, Ayo mi.” She nods. “I promise.” She nods again. “I love you very much.” She nods once more.
I leave and head out. Martin is ready with the car. I send a text to Bruce that I’m on my way. My phone rings. Dad is calling.
“Hello.”
“Is she okay?” he asks. I can detect fear in his voice.
“Yes, Dad, she’s okay.”
“Nathan called me, pleading for his daughter. I told him, I’m not in a forgiving mood right now, and I doubt my son will ever forgive. What madness possessed Lily to do this?” I know his question is rhetorical, and I can hear the anger in his voice.
“I’m certainly not forgiving Lily for what she did. She hit Dele and was planning to have—” I choke up, remembering Lily’s plan to make Dele disappear.
“What was she planning, son?” Now is not the time to choke; now is the time to attack.
“She was going to make Dele disappear for good. Even the darkest corner of my imagination cannot process it.” I choke up again, but shake the thought off. I refuse to let my imagination go there. “Had we not arrived in time…”
“I’m glad you got there in time to save your wife.”
“Dad—”
“Yes?”
“Dele is pregnant,” I say, fighting back the tears of joy I’ve been keeping in since she told me.
“Congratulations, son. Go and deal with Lily and return home to care for Dele.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You got this, Luke.”
“Bye, Dad.” I hang up.
I pull up at the police station to find Bruce waiting. We go in to find Daniel already inside with his stern ‘don’t mess with me’ face. It seems he has pulled some strings because Lily is seated with her lawyer and the state attorney. I sit and turn a scowl toward her. She must be in some kind of crazy realm because she’s smiling at me.
“Luke, please, I love you,” is the first thing she says. I furrow my brow at her words; she has no idea how much control I’m holding in, resisting the urge to attack her right now.
“Don’t speak to my client,” Daniel says in a stern, commanding tone. She shrivels. Bruce is standing and leaning by the wall. Daniel pushes papers toward the lawyer. The lawyer flips through them and turns to us.
“You can’t be serious about this. Seven years in prison?”
“That’s generous,” Daniel says.
“Come on, she lost her way, and she has no priors,” she asserts. A sad chuckle escapes me—if only she knew the extent of anger I’m taming.
“So, you say. We have enough to show all the atrocities she’s committed in the past and gotten away with, and I believe the ASA is ready to go to trial, but we don’t want a trial. We don’t want to put Mrs. Blythe through any more trauma of reliving the attack by your client.”
“I didn’t touch her; she stole Luke from me,” Lily blurts out with an eye roll. She must think this act is going to get swept under the rug, but not this time.
“Her busted lips and the bruises on her face says otherwise. She may not have a visible mark on her head after you cowardly hit her from behind, but I’m sure we will find it in the hospital cameras. You should have tried facing her instead of being a coward,” I reply sternly. “We have the recording of you saying you were going to make her disappear. I warned you to stay away from my wife. Be thankful that prison is all you’re getting. Imagine if you had to disappear like you were going to do to my wife. Take the deal and don’t make Dele go through the trauma. If you keep fighting this and make her go through it, once I’m done with you, your father is next for every atrocity of yours that he has covered up.” Daniel puts a firm hold on my hand. I get up in anger and move close to Bruce.
“Give us a minute,” her lawyer says to Daniel. I stand, trying to control my anger. What I want is for her to disappear into a dark abyss.
“My client will take the deal, but she wants to speak with Mr. Blythe alone,” the lawyer says in a shaky tone. Even she knows it’s a risky request.
“No!” I blurt out. “I do not want to speak with you alone.” I take my seat and lean in. “I never want to speak with you again after today. You and I have nothing to discuss.” She starts to cry.
“We had something, Luke.” I scoff at her words. I get back up and head to the door, turning to her.
“We never had anything, and that was always your problem. You kept thinking we had something when all we were was nothing . My wife is pregnant, and you better pray that what you did doesn’t cause her to lose the pregnancy, because if she does, prison can’t save you from my wrath.” I open the door, and walk out with Bruce by my side. We leave Daniel to deal with the legal aspect. Bruce knows how upset I am. Once we get outside and I inhale some air—
“Congratulations,” he says. I exhale, a load of regret for ever dating Lily.
“Thank you. I just hope what fucking Lily did doesn’t affect her in any way.”
“Dele will recover because your love for each other is so strong,” he states.
“You head home to Dele. I’ll wait for Daniel.”
“Thanks, bro.”
“Can we all meet tomorrow at ‘the corner’?”
“I’ll see how Dele feels. Right now, she’s in this space between okay and reliving the experience of her worst nightmares.” He nods. Martin pulls up, and I head home.
On the drive, I realize we still don’t have the man on the phone or Dr. Beiz. We need these kidnappers teed up. I need to know who that man is, otherwise Dele still isn’t safe, and that worries me.