CHAPTER 55
Special K
“Your hands are bruised but not broken and the lacerations are minor,” the doctor tells me.
He sits across from me in my cell. I’m perched on the edge of the bed and he’s on a rusty metal chair, the back of which is spray-painted with bright orange letters indicating it’s the property of the county jail. Just in case someone might want to steal it.
His latex exam gloves are cool against my skin. He narrows his eyes as he studies the swollen mess below the handcuffs, turning my hands this way and that, curling my stiff fingers, and pressing down on my knuckles.
“It’s my first-ever house call here,” he says. “Out of respect for your father. The MacLaines are the backbone of this whole…” He stops himself and clears his throat.
Except for me. That’s what the doctor was about to say. Because I’m the blond-haired black sheep of an otherwise respectable family. I’m the baby MacLaine, the one who can’t seem to keep his fists in his pockets and his ass out of jail.
I’m the wild one.
He gently cleans the skin with antiseptic.
“And son, if nothing’s broken, that’s a miracle. Because from what I’ve heard of your fisticuffs—one man against six, was it?—you should be in a body bag. I’ll wrap your hands in sterile gauze, just to protect them.”
Fisticuffs? What the fuck? That sidewalk smackdown was a blood sport, and very little of the blood was mine.
“Normally my nurse does the first aid, so don’t blame me if the bandage starts to unravel almost immediately.”
I’m not listening to him.
Instead, I’m counting in my head.
The deputies who booked me confiscated my tactical watch and my phone, along with my belt, hat, and shoelaces. So, I’m counting.
It’s been three hours since I was arrested.
Evander hasn’t managed to get me released yet, and he warned that it could be one to two days before my bail hearing is scheduled.
Cal and Declan returned to the ranch to make sure everyone’s safe and then they went searching for Frankie.
Finn spent some time with Emma to make sure she was okay after witnessing what I did, and now he’s using his tech skills to run down ownership of the Escalade.
And all I can do is count.
The doc finishes bandaging my hands just as Cal and Declan return. Frankie isn’t with them.
“The bastard got her,” I say. I have to get out of here and find her. Save her. It’s what I swore I would do, but here I am in jail instead.
An abject failure.
“No,” Cal says. “She drove off on her own. We found your car on the back side of the ridge, keys in the ignition.”
“And an extra set of tire tracks indicate she was hiding an SUV on the back side of the hill,” Declan says. “The tire track database can’t reveal anything more specific.”
“So,” Cal says, leveling his gaze at me. “It looks like she took off.”
“What?” My entire body goes ice cold. I can’t move.
“That truly sucks,” Declan says.
And that about sums it up. It sucks. But it’s the truth. She left.
Frankie saw me beating half-a-dozen men half to death, and she took off. She thinks I’m a monster, and she’s right. It’s happening again. The whole fucking nightmare is happening again.
I’m losing the woman I love because I can’t stop beating the shit out of people. Because I’m an animal. Because something’s wrong with me.
The doctor excuses himself as the deputy lets him out and locks me inside again. Evander walks up to stand next to Cal.
“Dad’s at home, guarding the roost,” Evander says. “Finn’s there, too. Unfortunately, turns out the plates were stolen.”
“Of course they were,” I mumble.
“But they’re letting you out free and clear, little brother.”
I’m shocked. “Wait. What about the bail hearing?”
“No bail needed if you’re not being charged, and you’re not.”
I shake my head. “What?”
“The would-be kidnappers are nowhere to be found. Given the circumstances—that the assault and battery was to prevent a Class A felony kidnapping, the prosecutor has declined to file charges.”
I stand up. “Get me out.”
“Not so fast,” Evander says. He adjusts his suit and locks eyes with me.
“Kevin, we need to have a chat. While preparing for your hearing and planning your defense, I… uh… you know, when I was creating the picture of a dedicated Navy SEAL with longstanding family ties to the area, you know, shit like that...”
“Let’s talk about this later,” Cal says.
Declan looks at Evander, then at Cal, and then at me. “What’s going on here?” he asks. “Oh, come on! Why am I the last to be told anything? It’s almost like everyone thinks I’m an idiot or something. What did you find, Evander?”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Cal tells me.
“He never says anything,” Declan points out. “But Evander does. So spill, bro. What did you find out?”
Another voice says, “He found probably ten percent of what I just found.”
Finn appears around the corner, iPad in hand. He walks up to stand next to Evander. Cal stares up at the ceiling.
“Your file was expunged, Special K,” Finn says.
“But that barely even slowed me down. Attempted murder of a Senator’s son?
A month in the Jacksonville pretrial center before you’re suddenly out on honorable discharge?
And while all this was going on, Cal’s covering for you, telling us you were deployed in country? ”
“What the fuck?” Declan’s bottom jaw unhinges.
Evander shakes his head. “This is why we all left the Navy at the same time, isn’t it? StellaR Tech was just a convenient coincidence.”
“What the fuck, man? Declan’s eyes are huge.
I don’t say anything. What’s the point? I’ll just dig the hole even deeper before I throw myself in.
Cal tells Evander, Declan, and Finn to return to the ranch in Finn’s SUV. Cal drives me home in his Jeep. We’re silent nearly the whole twenty-minute ride, and only when we turn under the ranch gate does Cal ask the question.
“How do you want me to handle it?”
“I don’t,” I tell him. “I’ll handle it. I’ll tell everyone everything—the whole truth. It’s long past time that I did so.”
We march right into Dad’s kitchen, knowing everyone is already assembled at Mom’s old round table.
It’s far too small for our ever-growing family these days, but somehow everyone has squeezed into place, either sitting or standing.
There’s one empty chair, and I know that’s where my ass is expected to go.
I sit and gulp down the giant glass of homemade lemonade Phyllis hands me. I notice with relief that Jasmine isn’t here and check the clock. Shouldn’t she be home from school?
“She’s playing at Ashley’s house before supper,” Emma says softly, noticing my concern.
“Good. She doesn’t need to hear this.”
“You don’t owe anyone an explanation,” Cal says from his spot behind me. His hands are on the chair back at either side of my neck. Even when I don’t deserve it, Cal has my back.
I look around the table, knowing I owe every person here the truth.
It will crush Dad. Phyllis will be in tears. Summer will shake her head in scorn. And poor Emma—she’s already staring at me like I frighten her. It’s entirely possible that she’ll never forgive me or trust me again. Oh, shit… maybe I won’t even be allowed to play with Jasmine.
I can’t worry about the fallout. All I can do is focus on the facts.
So I do. I tell them the entire story, skipping sensitive details about missions and locations.
I tell them how I stumbled onto a rape in progress, about the beatdown I delivered while blind with rage, and how the rapist hung on for dear life in Bethesda Naval Hospital while I waited in the Jacksonville brig to learn my fate.
Whether my attempted murder charge would get bumped up to murder.
I relay the story with no trace of emotion in my voice, beginning, middle, and end. Until I’m done.
It’s too quiet—freakishly quiet until Declan shuffles his feet on the tile floor. “So what?” he says.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cal barks.
“It means so what?” Declan answers. “I’d have done the same damn thing, bro.”
“Me, too,” Finn says.
“Same,” Evander says.
“Well, damn son,” Dad says, letting go with a deep sigh. I think it’s a sigh of relief.
Emma reaches over to softly pat my bandaged hand. Phoebe rests a palm on my shoulder. Victoria gives me a sad smile.
Summer kicks my shin under the table, which is her version of a bear hug.
“You should have told us,” Phyllis says, shaking her head and wiping tears from her eyes. “We’re your family, Kevin. We’re here even during the worst of times. We love you, and the people who love you stick by you.”
I let go with a bitter laugh. “Until you fuck up and they just get the hell out of Dodge.”
“I don’t think that’s what happened with Frankie,” Phyllis says.
“It’s exactly what happened Frankie, and with Harper, too.
I scared them off. I spent all those years blaming Harper for dumping me when I was in the brig, but I see now that she did the right thing.
She was protecting herself, the way Frankie did today.
They both saw me for who I am—a violent monster. ”
“Bull-hockey!” Dad pounds his fist on the tabletop. “That woman loves you.”
“I agree,” Aunt Phyllis says. “You two are a love match.”
“Until I fucked it up,” I say.
“I don’t believe it,” Victoria says. “You did what you had to do. If she left it wasn’t because of the fight.”
Emma clears her throat, and we all look at her.
“What is it?” Finn asks.
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“Go on, Emma,” I say. “I’m sorry you had to see it all go down, but it’s okay to tell everyone what you witnessed. They should know.”
Emma nods. “It was pretty bad,” she whispers. “The men tried to drag Frankie into the car but Special K… he… he kind of went nuts. He dealt with all of them at once so that Frankie could escape. It was awful.”
I shrug. “See? A monster.”
Emma looks up at me, tears spilling over her bottom lashes. “Warrior, Special K. There were a lot of monsters on the sidewalk today, but you weren’t one of them.”