Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
DYLAN
Time sped by too quickly. In just under two months, the luxury of having Cassius at home would be over. Already I dreaded it, but we’d make it work, just like every other League player with a family did.
But that was a concern for future me.
What I should have been doing was making every moment count. In theory, I was doing that.
Almost every minute not at work, I was with Mikey and Cass.
With the exception of tonight when I was having a couple of beers with Suzie.
Our four-day roster had finished at six thirty. We’d thrown on some civvies before going to The Backward Bridge, usually the quieter of the two bars in our town.
“You still thinking about moving out of town?” Suzie picked at the bowl of curly fries, just the crispy ones left over as we’d all but inhaled our meal.
“Yeah, but not yet. We’re going to see how this season plays out first. No point in upping sticks if it works out just fine. If it’s not, we’ll look into it.”
Living in town was convenient, but I could adjust if need be.
“And what about you?”
Suzie’s brow dipped. “What about me, what?”
I rolled my eyes. She’d been unusually quiet about her love life. It wasn’t like Zumbrota was a hive of activity for single residents, but throw in gays and lesbians and all the letters in between, and the likelihood of meeting anyone local became pretty slim.
“Didn’t you head into the city last week? You’ve been really tight-lipped about that.”
“That’s because it was boring as shit, so I cut the night early.”
Frowning, I raked my gaze over her. “You sure there’s nothing wrong?”
When she smiled, it seemed genuine. She added, “Nothing at all. Just tired.”
I raised my bottle to that. We’d had two quiet days followed by a callout last night, with Briggs and Mason needing support. And today after I’d spotted Kelsey at the pharmacy wearing a dark pair of shades, I’d spent the rest of the afternoon pissed off.
It had been a few weeks since she’d stepped in at the ice cream store, and I still hadn’t done a thing to help her.
And I’d tried.
Today, though, Suzie had given it a go, suggesting she have a quiet word to see if it made a difference.
It didn’t.
But there was only so much we could do without harassing the poor woman. Then was the fact that it would be easy to make life even worse for her. That’s the last thing Kelsey needed.
The message alert on my phone went off. Immediately, I smiled, seeing Sexy Husbutt.
I’d attempted to change the name Cassius had set one time. When he’d complained and whined so damn hard, then had sucked my brains out through my cock, I gave in willingly and returned it.
Sexy Husbutt:
I am a fucking genius. Mikey ate all his spinach. I’ll await my reward when you get home.
I snorted, fingers flying across the screen.
Me:
Looks like your eggplant has exploded prematurely. You should see someone about that. And spinach, really? How? What did you promise him?
“There’s only one person who can get you to smile like that.”
I side-eyed Suzie, not even trying to control my grin.
“Jesus, will this honeymoon phase ever stop?”
As three dots appeared, I shot out, “I hope fucking not.”
Suzie snorted. “Cheers to that.” She clinked my bottle.
Sexy Husbutt:
No promises. Just a bit of healthy competition.
Sexy Husbutt:
Premature sounds like a you problem, especially after yesterday’s
Heat flamed my cheeks, and I quickly closed my phone. The last thing I needed was a reminder of how hard I’d come down Cass’s throat last night while he’d had two fingers up my ass, teasing my prostate.
“Geez, do I want to know what that exchange was about?”
“No, you do not,” I said quickly, taking another pull of my beer to get myself under control. With my half-hard dick trying to take notice, I swallowed my beer and thought about how I’d had to hunt through the garbage bin outside Powell’s Butchers yesterday, looking for a stolen wallet.
A surefire way to calm my excited dick down.
“You guys are sickeningly sweet, but I’m happy for you.”
“I’m happy for me too.” I bounced my eyebrows at her, earning me a chuckle.
“I suppose you want to head on home to that man of yours.”
Well, I did, but… “I’m good here for a while.”
Shooting the shit with Suzie seemed like a luxury these days, and that was all down to me and my eagerness to be at home. I had no desire to change that, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t aware that Suzie, who I counted as a good friend, and I hadn’t spent much time off the clock together.
“Honestly, it’s all good. I’m beat. Crawling into bed and not waking up until ten sounds like heaven.”
Didn’t it just.
That wouldn’t be happening for me, but waking up wrapped around Cassius and with Mikey jumping on the bed was pretty damn perfect.
“Right. I’m off.” Suzie placed her empty bottle on the bar and tucked some cash under it.
“Hold on, I’ll walk you out.” We lived in opposite directions, but still.
She waved me off. “Finish your beer.”
This was my second light beer, and I was only halfway through.
Before I could argue, she gave me an up-nod and headed out.
Alone, I tugged out my phone, grinning when I saw a new message.
Sexy Husbutt:
Hope you’re having fun. You want me to send you a pic to reassure you that premature is never a problem?
Holding back my chuckle, I put my phone away and pulled out some bills. The beer didn’t have anywhere near the pull of Cassius.
I said goodbye to Jeremy, the bar manager, and made my way out, calling out to a few of the patrons as I went. The crowd tonight was a friendly bunch. And barring one young couple, they were locals. It was only Thursday, so nowhere near the busyness of a weekend.
That should mean a quiet night for the department at least.
The cooling night air greeted me when I stepped out onto the street.
It wasn’t that late, but the streets were empty. The norm for our small town, especially with the bar off the main drag.
I headed in the direction of my parked car. When I turned the corner, surprise slammed into me just as quickly as concern.
“Kelsey?”
I picked up my pace, taking a surreptitious look around the area. With no cars currently on the side street and no one milling around, I returned my gaze to her.
One wide, frightened eye peered back at me, her whole body trembling as she stood by my car, Millie on her hip, a bulging backpack at her feet.
“What’s happened?” I asked as soon as I was before her. But I needn’t have. A fresh cut on her lip would have told me enough, but it was her swollen right eye, so banged up it was closed, that had me gritting my teeth.
Staying silent, she continued to shake. And the look on her face I knew well, had seen so often over the years. She barely held it together.
Without words, I picked up the heavy bag and unlocked my car doors. I opened the back one, carefully took a sleeping Millie from her arms, and silently guided Kelsey inside.
She did so almost robotically, a noticeable wince and a painful gasp as she angled and finally sat.
Once she was safely inside, I closed the door quietly. A few careful steps later, I tugged open the driver’s side back door and settled a sleeping Millie in Mikey’s car seat, strapping her in.
Grateful she slept soundly, I could only hope Millie hadn’t witnessed what had gone down tonight.
With both of them stowed away, I took a deep breath. Questions burned on my tongue, my brain firing through the best way to support Kelsey. Ultimately whatever happened would be her decision, but fuck if I didn’t want to give her options.
Taking a calming breath, I fired off a quick text to Cass, letting him know I’d be home in a few minutes and that Kelsey and Millie were in the car with me. Reading what I’d left unsaid would unfortunately be too easy.
Sexy Husbutt:
Okay
His message came through before I climbed inside my car.
“Are you okay to come back to my place? Mikey’s asleep. Cassius is awake and expecting all three of us.” I kept my words soft.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Without another word, I started the engine and drove home. In no time at all, I pulled onto the drive, cutting the engine just as Cass appeared in the open doorway at the front of the house. Even from here I could see the concern etched on his features.
“Are you okay if I pick up Millie?” I made eye contact with Kelsey through the rearview mirror, receiving a nod in response.
Once out of the car, I indicated for Cass to come over. He did so immediately. “Can you collect the backpack from the front seat? Kelsey might need help getting out of the car.”
I suspected she needed an X-ray, too, but at the moment it was about getting her safe.
“Of course.” Cassius pressed his mouth briefly to mine. I let the touch center me before I eased a still-sleeping Millie out of the car seat, then waited until Cass, bag in hand, carefully supported Kelsey out of the car and toward our home.
Each step looked painful, and as Kelsey stepped under the porch lights, fresh anger burned in my gut. Seeing the damage, too, Cass shot his tight gaze to mine, his lips set in a harsh line.
Once in the hallway with the front door locked, I quietly said Kelsey’s name. When she made eye contact with me through her one open eye, I held back my wince, saying, “I’m going to put Millie in my bedroom. It’s just through the hallway there, okay?”
Another nod from her and I set about tucking Millie into our bed, an errant thought about being thankful we had clean sheets on it rolling through me.
Jesus, this was a shit show, but I was so relieved Kelsey had gotten out and come to me.
I just hoped she had the courage and conviction to allow us to help her and get her out for good.
With Millie settled, I found Cassius and Kelsey in the kitchen, the first aid kit open and him handing her some Tylenol and a glass of water.
When I entered, I smiled softly at Kelsey and made my way over. The last thing I wanted to do was push her, but we needed to do this right.
“I want to allow you to rest and to settle, but there’s some things we need to figure out first, okay?” I watched her expression carefully, taking in the swelling, the cuts, and the bruises. When my gaze met hers, her sadness beat at me, but what else I saw there sparked hope in my chest.
Defiance. Anger.
Just what she’d need to get through this.
“Kelsey, what do you want to happen here?”
She shifted on the kitchen chair as she set down the glass, wincing at the movement.
Without breaking eye contact, she whispered with quiet, unwavering strength, “I want to leave. I want Millie and I to be safe. I want him arrested and a restraining order made against him. I never want to see Nolan again and would be happy if he rotted in jail.”
I shouldn’t smile. Shouldn’t find such joy in her words. But fuck if I could keep my grin at bay. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Kelsey.”
A shuddery breath escaped her, and she blinked, releasing a single tear.
“Will you let me help you?”
At Cassius’s “Us,” I looked at him, seeing the fierce determination in his expression.
“Us,” I clarified. “Will you let us help you?”
“Please.”
I nodded, wishing I could hug her, but I was too damn frightened to touch her, not sure where exactly she was hurt.
Over the next two hours, I took photographs of her face, her bruised ribs, and the giant bruise on her thigh.
And while she was desperate for a shower, I talked her out of it until after we formalized her statement, explaining that we needed to make sure all boxes were checked so that charges brought against him would stick.
In that time, I’d called the chief, letting him know what was going down and what the plan was. He agreed, sending Briggs over since he was on duty so he could take an official statement from Kelsey.
First thing in the morning, not only would we be helping Kelsey with a restraining order—though Cass had already woken his lawyer up to have him looking at speeding that process up—but Nolan would be arrested.
Since there were multiple callouts over the years to Kelsey’s address, it helped to strengthen her case. That she’d never previously pressed charges was neither here nor there. Nor was it uncommon for DV cases.
Once her statement was taken, Kelsey showered while Briggs had left, taking her clothes for evidence. It was now time to get her to the hospital, but we wouldn’t be going to our small local hospital.
“I think we should all go.” With his arms folded, Cassius wore a deadly serious expression.
“You seriously want to wake up Mikey now, at 10:00 p.m.?” It felt later than that.
“I can call Mom and Pop. They can come here and take care of him.” Something flickered in his eyes before he shook his head. “No, not that. What if Nolan comes here looking for them?” The pointed look he shot me told me loud and clear, he knew he’d gotten me.
Because, yeah, what if that happened and I wasn’t here? Just the thought of Cass or Mikey being anywhere near Nolan terrified me.
The guy was a piece of shit. Once he realized Kelsey and Millie weren’t home after the bar kicked him out, he’d be pissed. Fuck knew what he’d do.
I had little doubt he’d look for her and suspect I had some sort of involvement.
Cass was right and he knew it.
Fuck. It also meant we had to head to the city sooner rather than later in case Nolan left early.
Swallowing back my fear, I bobbed my head. “Okay. Text your mom, though, so she doesn’t worry if she comes over in the morning or something and we’re not here. I’ll pack Mikey’s bag, and you grab things for us.”
Relieved eyes stared back at me. “Thank you.”
I hugged him, appreciating how incredible he was.
“I feel pretty useless, but I don’t want to be away from you.”
“You’re not fucking useless. You’ve spoken to Granger.” That he was paying for the support Kelsey would need went without saying. “You’re also offering up your condo to Kelsey and Millie. That’s not nothing.”
“But it’s just me throwing money at—”
“No. It’s you being kind and generous and caring so much, you’ll use whatever is in your arsenal to help those around you. That, baby, is not nothing.”
His gaze softened at my words, and while I wanted to lean into him and love on him, we had more pressing matters.