23. Skee Ball and Assault Charges
SKEE BALL AND ASSAULT CHARGES
Dean
Iwas turning around in the high school parking lot when my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Ten minutes—maybe less—and already, Damon was calling with an update.
That was the Lockhart family for you. If you needed someone tailed, found, or discreetly interrogated, you couldn’t do better than my brother, who’d spent his entire life turning small-town gossip into an Olympic sport.
I thumbed to answer, not bothering to pull over. “Yeah?”
“He’s at the arcade,” Damon said, voice tinny over the speaker on account of wind. “Far wall, by the skee-ball.”
“Anyone with him?”
“Nope. Just the douchebag and little man. You want me to go in?”
I cut the wheel at the intersection, pointing the truck back toward Felicity’s house. “No. Stay put and watch him. I’ll be there in ten and bring Felicity with me.”
There was a beat of silence. “Copy that, boss. You want me to make him sweat a little?”
“Just keep eyes on.”
“Ten-four.”
I hung up and called Felicity. She answered on the first ring. “Dean?”
“They’re at the arcade,” I told her. “I’ll be at your place in five. Be ready out front.”
She exhaled, half a laugh, half disbelief. “Good. Okay. Thank you.”
I could hear her voice shaking, even as she tried to keep it light for my benefit. I wanted to reach through the phone, pull her into my arms, and tell her it would all be okay.
As soon as the call disconnected, I called Donovan back to update him.
He told me he would be around if we needed backup.
He also reminded me of the definition of assault and what those charges would do to my life.
I appreciated my friend’s reminder, but he had nothing to worry about.
I might think Tanner was an asshole, but he was still Maverick’s father.
I wouldn’t do anything to hurt that kid, and if I hurt his dad, that’s exactly what would happen.
When I pulled up, she was already outside, arms wrapped around herself, hair loose and wild from the wind. She got in without a word, except for a whispered “thanks,” and buckled her seatbelt with trembling hands.
“Damon’s watching Maverick,” I explained as we drove. “He’ll keep an eye on them until we arrive.”
She nodded, jaw tight. “I just…I can’t believe he’d…” She broke off, shaking her head in frustration. “No, that’s a lie. I can one hundred percent believe it. I just hoped… I wanted Maverick to have one normal visit.”
“He will,” I assured her, and meant it.
The arcade was on the pier. I made it to downtown in less than five minutes and parked directly in front, ignoring the “patrons only” sign, and scanned for Damon’s car. He was parked half a block down, pretending to read a newspaper. Because Damon never did subtle.
Felicity hesitated before getting out of the truck. “I don’t want to make a scene,” she said, clearly concerned I was going to go in there and lose my shit. “Especially in front of Maverick.”
“Then we won’t,” I stated as if it were that simple.
She nodded once, and we headed into the arcade.
Inside was all neon and noise, chiptune music, the beeping of old-school pinball, and the yeasty smell of pizza from the snack counter.
I spotted Maverick first. He was kneeling on the stool in front of a vintage Donkey Kong game, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration.
Tanner stood behind him, arms crossed and face lit up by the screen’s blue glow.
I recognized the posture—lazy, careless, and just a little bored.
He was wearing one of those ironic t-shirts that only truly unfunny people thought were hilarious.
We were halfway across the carpet before Tanner noticed us. “Hey,” he said, forced brightness in his voice. “Wasn’t expecting you!”
“I bet you were,” Felicity said brightly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noted Damon walk in.
Maverick spun around at the sound of his mom’s voice. His whole face lit up, like Felicity arriving was the best possible surprise. “Mom! Look! I beat the high score!”
“Good job.” She walked over, hugged him so tight he squeaked, then turned to Tanner. “You missed pickup. You didn’t answer your phone.”
He looked at her blankly, then patted his jeans with exaggerated confusion, before pulling out his phone and looking down at the screen. “Oh, shit. I think it died. Must’ve lost track of time. Mav was having so much fun, I figured we’d just keep going until you called.”
I could practically feel Felicity’s hope snap. In her eyes, he was confirming every worst-case scenario, that he wasn’t changed, wasn’t responsible, wasn’t safe. She knelt to Maverick’s level. “Why don’t you grab your backpack, Bud? We need to go?”
Maverick frowned. “But I didn’t get my ice cream yet.”
There was a pause, and I could see Felicity calculating, stick to her guns, or let her son have his ice cream and pretend the situation was normal. She hugged him again. “We’ll get ice cream at the fundraiser. Say goodbye to your dad.”
Tanner watched this exchange with the detached amusement of someone who believed parenthood was a series of sitcom mishaps. “Fuck, Felicity. It’s not like I kidnapped him. I’m his dad, we were just playing games.”
She stood up, back stiff. “That’s not the point. You said you’d bring him home at two.”
He rolled his eyes. “God, you’re still so uptight. No wonder you can’t keep a man—”
I stepped between them. Not a threat, just a presence, and I instructed him, “Stop talking.”
He stood taller, his chest puffing out. “Or what?”
A small grin lifted at the corner of my lips. “I would love for you to find out.” I was really hoping this asshole would give me a reason. I wasn’t a violent man, but my fist was currently re-evaluating that stance.
He glared at me, trying to decide if he wanted to push it. I didn’t blink.
Maverick tugged his mom’s hand, looking up at all three of us with that kid’s sixth sense for tension. “Dean can we go now?”
“Yeah, buddy.” I ruffled his hair. “Let’s get you home and changed for the fundraiser.”
Felicity gathered Maverick and his backpack, keeping herself between him and his dad. They began to walk to the doors and when she realized I wasn’t following her, she turned her head. “Dean?”
“I’ll be right there.”
I saw the look of panic in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Damon’s here.” I tilted my head toward my brother who was leaning against Mrs. Pacman, hands in his pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face.
She exhaled, her eyes pleading with me not to do anything stupid. Which I wouldn’t. Finally, she sighed and continued to the door.
As she passed Damon, I heard him say, “You know things are bad when I’m the voice of reason.”
I ignored my brother’s comment, it was funny, but right now my sense of humor was being drowned out by my rage. I waited until Felicity was in the truck before I turned my attention back to Tanner.
He’s still wearing that irritated little smirk, like the last five hours were an inconvenience to him.
“What?!” he asked, like a petulant teenager. “What the fuck do you want?”
“This ends today.”
His nostrils flared and I saw that I hit a nerve. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I took a single step forward.
Not enough to threaten him. Just enough that he had to decide whether he wanted to keep pretending he had no clue what I was talking about.
“You lost track of time. Your phone died. Fine. Those are explanations. They don’t change the fact that Felicity didn’t know where her four-year-old son was for four fucking hours. ”
He stood taller, shoulders rolling back. “He was with his father.”
“And she had no idea where that was.”
Tanner scoffed. “Dude, this is exactly what she does. She turns everything into some huge fucking crisis. Felicity’s always been a drama queen.”
I took another step, stopping a few inches in front of him. “No.”
His mouth snapped shut.
“You don’t get to do that anymore.”
“Do what?” he feigned innocence.
“Scare the hell out of her and then belittle her for being scared.”
His expression hardened. “You don’t know anything, about me and Felicity.”
“I know enough.”
“Do you?” He gave me a once-over, apparently deciding he wanted to try his luck. “Because you’ve been around for what? Five minutes? You think that makes you some kind of expert?”
“No.” I held his stare. “It makes me the guy standing here telling you how this is going to work from now on.”
Damon made a quiet sound behind me.
Could be a cough.
Could be him reconsidering his decision to serve as the voice of reason.
Tanner laughed, but there was considerably less confidence behind it now. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
“If I wanted to scare you, Tanner, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
That shut him up.
I let that sit there for a second.
“I don’t have to listen to this shit.”
He started to walk away, but I stepped in front of him, blocking his exit. He glanced over my shoulder, and from the look on his face, Damon was now standing behind me.
“You seem to be confused about a few things, so I am going to educate you. You are his father. Act like it. Show up when you say you will. Bring him home when you say you will. Keep your phone charged. And if something happens, you call Felicity immediately so she never has to wonder where her little boy is.”
“And if I don’t?” he sneered.
“That’s a decision you’re free to make.”
He gave me a cocky smile, as if this was a game. “And then what?”
I glanced over my shoulder, through the glass front doors and saw Felicity was talking to Maverick in the truck, but she kept glancing in our direction.
“Then Felicity decides what happens next. Not me.” I paused.
“But what you’re not going to do is call her crazy.
You’re not going to call her dramatic. You’re not going to tell her she’s overreacting because she expects you to return her son at the agreed upon time.
And you sure as hell aren’t going to make her question whether she has the right to be upset when you fuck up. ”
“You don’t get to tell me how to talk to my ex.”
“No. But I get to decide what I stand around and listen to.”
Tanner stepped closer. We were now inches away from one another. I didn’t move.
That seems to bother him more than if I had.
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to be around.”
His jaw flexed.
“For a long fucking time, if I have anything to say about it.”
That landed. I saw the flash of anger and irritation in his eyes.
Good.
“So you might as well get used to me, Tanner,” I continued.
“Because every time you try to make Felicity feel small, I’ll be there reminding her she isn’t.
Every time you try to convince her she’s unreasonable, I’ll be there telling her she’s not.
And every time you try to make your shitty behavior somehow her fault, I’ll be standing right beside her while she hands it straight back to you.
” I leaned down and lowered my voice. “You had her convinced for a long time that she was the problem.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That shit ends now.”
Behind me, I heard Damon clear his throat.
“Okay.” Damon’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “For the record, Voice-of-Reason Damon thinks this conversation has reached its natural conclusion.”
I straightened and gave Tanner one last look.
“Charge your fucking phone.”
Then I turned toward the door.
Damon fell into step beside me.
“Look at that,” he said. “Nobody got punched. I’m really growing as a person.”
“Shut up, Damon.”
“I’m just saying. Mom would be proud.”
“It’s amazing how you can make every situation about you,” I shook my head.
Damon grinned proudly. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”