BEX
Chapter Twenty-One
A few protocols were being overlooked. But we lived in a small town and law enforcement resources were limited. Also, Nick and Salinger Security were trusted beyond all else. A process that was meant to be distant and cold was softened with the presence of family and friends.
For one thing, I was no slouch when it came to protection detail and I could get even more feral when it involved people I loved.
Also, Dom and I were accompanied by Ollie and Lilly, as well as Drake Wilder from the US Marshals and Jessica Rone as our police guards.
My kid was the most protected teenager in Southern California and I was happy to be surrounded by so many people who knew what they were doing.
Once we arrived in the interrogation room, only the FBI agent was present.
Since Dom was a witness and not a suspect, as well as being a minor, they allowed both me and our lawyer in the room with him.
Our lawyer was not a criminal attorney but rather was there to make sure Dom was treated right and that I didn’t put him in unnecessary danger.
When it came time to petition for permanent guardianship, I wanted to make sure Logan and I had done all the right things.
That was, of course, if Logan and I could actually get things right.
We’d had no time alone since that date at the diner. Of course, sex would be a lot easier if we were at home and awake at the same time. Perhaps that was the one thing that could change. Even if nothing happened, my schedule was flexible so I could make sure to be with him when he got home.
Yeah, I was ready to go at it with him the night of the wedding.
But so much had changed since then. I had little kids to consider.
I also had an impressionable teenager under my roof.
We both did. I had no idea whether Dom had a ‘birds and bees’ talk.
I assumed he hadn’t had sex, but also had no idea how he was with girls. Or boys for that matter.
The car stopping had me shaking off my thoughts. “Let's go.”
Dom nodded and stepped out of the back of the SUV. He held the door open as I slid out and I stifled a smile. His parents had taught him how to be a gentleman. I loved that for him. And I loved even more that Logan would take it further.
I held out my hand to him, knowing he had to be scared. The one thing I knew about his current situation was that reliving the worst night of his life would not be easy. As far as I knew he hadn’t experienced nightmares. Not loud ones at least. But the interview could trigger them.
As we walked through the door, I let go of his hand and placed my arm on his shoulder. Jessica led the way to the interrogation room.
The FBI agent spoke up as we walked in. “Hello, Dominic, I am Special Agent Lamb. I am going to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”
Dom nodded and I squeezed his shoulder.
Agent Lamb took a breath. “I know this is scary and you don’t want to be here. But I need you to speak up, okay? There is a camera in that corner and the State’s Attorney, Samantha Lang, is on the other side of that mirror.” He pointed to the shadowed glass window in the wall behind her.
“Yes, it's okay.” He looked at me and then back at Agent Lamb. “Can Bex stay with me?”
The agent smiled. “I don’t think anything could make her move from where she is.”
He had that right. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Still, there was no denying the warmth that flowed through me knowing Dom wanted me to stay.
I sat in the chair next to him and took his hand.
Our lawyer sat on his other side. I wanted him to know he would not be alone as Agent Lamb asked him all the questions he had already answered weeks ago. Dom had nothing new to add.
Then agent Lamb leaned forward. “You said you heard your mom scream. Is that right?”
“Yes.” Dom nodded. “And I’ve heard my mom scream before because she's not a fan of mice.”
Woman after my own heart. I couldn’t stand mice or spiders. I didn’t comment though, not wanting to compromise the integrity of the interview.
Agent Lamb seemed to understand what Dom was saying. “Was this scream any different?”
“I think when my mother shrieks over a mouse… sorry, shrieked, over a mouse, it was more from shock or surprise.” Dom shuddered and I could only imagine what his memories were doing to him. “But she sounded so scared.”
It was most likely the idea her children were a few feet away from the danger in her living room.
“Did you hear anything else?”
“The men were talking but I couldn’t understand what they were saying.”
“Were they talking to your stepfather?”
Dom narrowed his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. “I heard him talk. But I’m not sure if he was talking to the men, or trying to calm my mother down. That was after I heard a shot.”
“So, you don’t know who was shot first?”
“No, Sir.” Dom’s eyes widened as if remembering something new. “But there were more than two shots.”
Lamb brushed his chin. “How far apart were the shots?”
“I don’t know, Sir.” He seemed to be trying to think real hard. “I have no idea how much time passed. I don’t even know if there was a few minutes, or a few seconds, between shots.”
On and on the questioning went. Dom remembered a little more than when he was originally questioned.
The nine-one-one call from the neighbor was part of the evidence since they were the ones who made the call after hearing the first shot.
That neighbor likely saved my son’s life because if it weren’t for the sirens, they would’ve searched the house and found Dom.
Once Agent Lamb was done, he nodded at Lilly. She had worked for the FBI at one point, as a field agent and a Behavioral Analyst. Knowing her training and experience was probably why Agent Lamb was at ease at allowing Lilly to do Dom’s cognitive interview.
I needed to step in though. “Can we take a break for a few moments, please? I’ll take him outside for some fresh air.”
They agreed as long as a police officer accompanied us. Not that I would veto that. Keeping Dom safe was my only priority. And if that meant we all walked around with armed guards until it was all over, then that was what we would do.
I bought us each a drink from the vending machine and gestured for him to walk ahead of me as Jessica, a friend and a cop, led us through to the entrance of the police station.
Once outside, I could see the color returning to Dom’s face. He was stressed and overwhelmed and I hated that he still had more waiting for him. Probably the hardest part of this terrible day.
I put my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t pull away from me. He didn’t do it earlier, either. The kid was getting used to me. Or maybe I was his only option. “I’m sorry you have to go through this all again.”
“It's okay.” He looked up into my eyes. “I just want them to catch the people—”
A loud bang cracked the air. Without thought I shoved Dom to the ground. “Get down, stay down.” Some more followed.
I was at a police station, and for obvious reasons I was not armed.
I stayed down with Dom, covering his body with mine.
Jess, however, was moving between the cars.
Other police officers came rushing out along with Lilly and Agent Lamb.
Tires screeched and an engine roared. Loud voices surrounded me as I heard everyone trying to figure out what had happened.
It took several seconds for me to release Dominic and stand. I had faced enemy fire. I had been in war zones and had even narrowly escaped being blown to smithereens. And yet, I was sure none of that could compare to the fear I felt the moment I heard that first gunshot.
Even the ones that followed scared me. Dom was safe underneath me, but what if that gunman didn’t stop until he killed Dom? What if the people after Dom never expected to make it out of the situation alive?
I didn’t think I could be more terrified than I was at that moment.
When I stood, and Dom didn’t immediately follow, I looked down at him.
The dark red pool blooming from under his body had all the blood draining from my face.
My vision blurred and the world tilted. My ears rang as bile hit the back of my throat. Dom was hit.
“Dom.” I screamed his name as I crouched down beside him. “Dom, talk to me kiddo.”
He grunted similar to the noise when he was annoyed or inconvenienced. Lilly and Jess ran over to me.
“Is he okay?” Like me, all Lilly could see was the blood. “Turn him over.”
I did as she suggested and Dom grunted once more. That time in pain. “Fuck.”
I wasn’t about to correct his language. “Where are you hurt, kiddo?”
“Arm hurts like a bitch.”
I checked out the arm closest to me and nothing seemed amiss. I turned my focus to the other arm and noticed the big gash in his bicep.
Red filled my vision like it never had before.
When I found Curtis in bed with Jessica, I was angry.
It took me a long time to understand Jess was as much a victim as what I was.
When I found out he was only with me so he could spy on me and my family for a deranged cartel-owning psychopath, that betrayal hurt more than I could imagine.
I could finally admit that nearly eighteen months later.
But there was no anger. No visions of castration or disembowelment.
The gash in Dominic’s arm brought out another side of me.
One I didn’t know existed. I was not interested in a fair trial.
I only wanted ten minutes with the man who aimed his weapon at my child.
I didn’t need more than that. No doubt he’d fight and scream.
But he would leave not being able to have kids and he’d be eating through a tube.
No one hurts my kid.