by Lucy Rinaldi
“We need to get this over with now, sweetheart. I can't let you go home until we have all the information we need to get this sorted. We need all the facts while they're still fresh in your mind. It's easy to forget important detail if enough time elapses.”
“I didn't kill him just for the sake of it. I killed him because he would have killed me first!”
“We understand, Dani. But this really is important.” Freddy smiles again. He's always giving people that smile that means he's easy to trust.
I sigh but nod my head to let them know I'll continue. “He grabbed my throat and pinned me to the wall. He went for the knife, but I held tight, kicked out at him. He smacked me across the face. I stumbled, but I didn't fall. But he did to his knees. He was bleeding bad from the wound in his stomach. I don't know what I was thinking.” I gulp back a sob. “He was taunting me. Telling me that I didn't have the guts, I wasn't strong enough, was weak that's why he'd always get the upper hand. I couldn't take anymore. It had to end. I had to make him stop. I just wanted to be free.”
I clasp my hands over my eyes and sob. I didn't think about the repercussions that would come after killing Joel. I hadn't even meant to kill him, I just wanted him to shut up. I didn't want to be his punch bag, sex slave anymore. I wanted my son safe. I was sick of running and hiding from the man I should never have been with, to begin with.
I can't change the past and the choices I made, I can only move forward. But right now, my future is so uncertain. I could end up in prison if the DA doesn't believe I acted out of self-defense. I'm not sure how he can't when it's well documented the kind of man Joel Scott was and the hell he's put me through over the years. Freddy also took pictures of my injuries. They'll coincide with my story of how I had to fight Joel off. But I did kill him, I can't deny that.
“Am I going to jail?” I ask while looking up at Keller, the kind man I had hoped one day to be my father-in-law.
“No, Dani. Not if I have anything to do with it. I doubt there's anyone out there who will give a damn that that man is dead. He was a monster who tormented you for years, beat, raped, and sold you. He stole your son after hunting you down again. He came to you today with intention of killing you.”
“But I killed him.”
“Yes, you did. But you did it in order to save yourself and your son, Dani.”
“I should have run. I should have called you. He would have gone to prison.”
“For a very long time,” Freddy tells me. “We had enough information to put him away for the rest of his life. But I think you know as well as I do that if you hadn't have done what you did earlier today, he would have killed you. He would have gotten exactly what he wanted. Once he had, he would have gone looking for your son and he wouldn't have given up until he found him and made good on his promise.”
I fully believe that. Joel was just that kind of bastard. Even with me dead, he would have hunted my son and killed him too. Even in death, he wouldn't've stopped trying to ruin everyone connected to me. Not just my son, but my brother, Greg, my friends. Everyone would have suffered, so did I really do the wrong thing in ending his life?
He was the worst kind of monster. He killed more people than I could ever count. He ruined, even more, lives with the things he did. Not just the girl's he kidnapped, broke in, then sold off, but their families and friends. If anybody deserved death it was Joel Scott.
I will never rid myself of the visions I will see every time I close my eyes, visions of his wide eyes as I thrust that knife into his body over and over again, screaming out my rage. But I know that I'll go on living. I will because I'm finally free.
Free.
Means different things to different people. It won't matter if I'm in prison for the rest of my life because I will be free inside my heart and mind. I'll be able to breathe easy because the monster that has ruled my life for the past decade is finally gone.
I've saved more people than just myself. I've saved the lives of any and all girl's Joel had planned to kidnap and sell for sex as slaves to rich men. And maybe, just maybe those memory sticks Hudson and Maya had possession of hold the key to finding more women alive. Maybe they'll be able to come home to their families.
If they are found and brought home, they'll need a lot of help and therapy to get over the hell Joel and his men put them through. But I have faith that they'll go on to live full and happy lives. Or at least, that's my hope.
And if I somehow get out of this, I'll do anything I can to help those women and girls who are found alive.
I want a place they can come and talk about what they've been through. I don't know, some kind of help center for victims of Joel's abuse. We could counsel them, help them find jobs, find some kind of peace inside of themselves. We could talk about our experiences.
They say talking helps.
I know it helped when I finally let it all out. I was able to move forward as much as I could with Joel still trying to kill me every chance he got.
“Are we done now? I need to see Greg, I need to tell him what happened.”
“He knows what happened, Dani. He's waiting right outside with Kory and Daxton.”
Daxton. I'd been such a bitch to him when he finally arrived at my house to find me covered in Joel's blood. I screamed how he'd let me down, he hadn't gotten to me quick enough. He yelled how it was the bodyguards he and Greg had hired to protect me that had let me down. They hadn't noticed Joel even walk the steps to my front door.
I shouldn't have been so hard on my brother, it wasn't his fault. Joel looked so different from the man he used to be. I doubt anyone would have recognized him from the pictures they'd all seen.
Daxton had grabbed my face as I sat on the floor of my hallway. He told me that it was over, Joel was really gone, I was free.
I blink and tears fall from my eyes.
Greg's right outside this room waiting for me.
I don't know what he's been told, but I'm assuming it's everything. Or at least what the cops know. But I want him to hold me. I need to feel his arms around me. He's the only thing that seems real to me right now. He grounds me and keeps me centered.
Plus, I want him to know that our sons can come home!
I'm frightened that this will end badly for me.
But as long as I know my son will be loved and cared for, I know I'll be okay.
Greg
“I can't believe it.” I scrub my hands over my face. Daxton just explained everything that happened earlier today when Dani killed Joel Scott.
We're all waiting for my dad and Freddy to finish interviewing Dani. She's been in there hours. I know it's routine, but I can only imagine how tired she is right now. Going over the details again and again. Something she'll do a lot of over the next few days.
“She didn't have a choice, Greg. My sister has been through too much shit over the past decade. The only way out of his was either with his death or Alandra's.”
I'm never going to get used to calling her that.
“She's finally free, Greg.”
“Is she?” I ask my brother. “And if the DA decides to prosecute her?”
“We'll deal with that if it happens. There's too much evidence against Joel Scott for anyone to put Dani away for this. It was self-defense, plain and simple.”
I hope he's right.
But I've seen injustice time and time again. It would just be Dani's luck that the DA is a cunt mood and wants a full trial with the intent of putting her away for years to come. She'd miss years more with her son. I won't let that happen, she's been without him long enough. I'll do whatever it takes to get her out of this.
The interview room door opens, I get to my feet. My dad holds the room open and Dani walks past him, her head down. She's wearing a white jumpsuit. I'm guessing her clothes wear taken as evidence.
“We'll be in touch, Dani. Go home and get some rest, you'll need it.”
I watch her nod without looking at my father. She looks up to see me standing here waiting
for her. Her mouth hangs open, eyes wide and filled with tears. There are tears in mine as I walk towards her. She rushes into my arms and sobs against my chest as I hold her close to me.
I shush her gently. Which is stupid, she has every right to cry right now. She's been through an awful ordeal, anybody would be crying in her position.
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Greg.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Dani. Nothing. You did what you had to do to survive.” I take her face in my hands and wipe the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs. “Everything is going to be okay now, baby.”
“No. Not if I go to jail. Oh god, I can't get my baby boy back if I'm going to jail!”
“You're not going anywhere.” Daxton pipes in. “The only place you're going is to see you son. Right now.”
“No.” She protests, head shaking, moving away from me and folding her arms under her breasts. “I can't. I won't make him promises that I can't keep. I won't break his little heart again. You take care of him for me.” She tells Daxton. “Keep him safe and tell him that I'll always love him.”
I grab her, yanking her closer. I know she's scared, but she's not going to prison for this. It was self-defense. No judge will give a shit that a piece of scum like Joel Scott is out of the way. “You're going to tell him that you love him, we're going to keep him safe, together. Alex and Dean. Because he's mine, Dani. Our boys are coming home.”
My eyes lock with my dad's for a second. He smiles and nods his head in my direction. He knew Dean was mine, that's what he's trying to tell me. I can't believe my father and my brother kept this from me, but somewhere inside of me, I understand why they did.
I look at Dani again. “Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” There's no hesitation whatsoever.
“Kory and me, we're damn good lawyers, there's no way either of us will let you go to prison for this. Everything that happens from now on is just formality. I promise.”
She nods, more tears falling from her eyes.
“Alandra?” She pulls away from me to look at her brother. He chuckles to himself. “Don't know if I should call you that anymore.”
“No. She's gone, Dax. I'm Dani. Danika...”
“Harper, if I have my way.” I chime in. Dani looks at me and smiles while nodding her head. I pull a deep breath into my lungs. She's going to be my wife one day very soon. My girl. My wife.
“Let me take you to Alex. It's been too long, Dani. He needs you.”
“I want to hold him so badly, Dax.”
“And you will.” He lays a hand on her shoulder, but she wraps her arms around his waist. “You can hold him every day for the rest of his life. Let me take you to him.”
She nods her head while holding her hand out to me.
“Kory,” My bother looks at me. “You never told me where Dean is. I need to see him. He must be so scared.”
“He's with Alex, Greg.” I narrow my eyes. “When Daxton took Alex from Joel, he took Dean, too. They're together. We felt it best they stay together because they think they're brothers. Dean would cry every time we mentioned them being separated.”
I don't even know what to say. There's so much on my mind right now. Things I need to push out of my head and be in the here and now. I can let my brain take over when I've held my son close to me.
God, my son!
I can't even explain what it's done to me finding out Dean is actually mine. I grieved that little boy for months. I knew I'd always love him, but I let him go, now to find out he is mine, my head, and my heart are messed up.
But I have to be strong for the little boy I would die for.
I made him a promise the day he was born. I may not have wanted kids, but the moment he was born and the nurse handed him to me – Maya hadn't been bothered if she held him first or not – I kissed his tiny head and swore I would always protect him, that I'd always love him.
I watched him grow a little more each day, each day he learned something new, and each day I grew prouder of my son. My love grew as my heart expanded and almost burst with pride for Dean. He was my world, and I knew I would die for him.
The day I lost him was the day my heart broke in ways I never knew possible. Although the circumstances were very different, I finally understood the pain my parents had felt the day my sister was stolen from them. It's all-consuming. It tears you apart inside and out. The pain is so much and so powerful that you feel like you're dying a thousand deaths with no release.
When I met Dani, that pain began to ease. She replaced it with something beautiful, her love, and I gave her mine because she made it so easy to do.
I wish I'd known how much pain she was carrying around before she'd been shot. If I had, I could have helped her through it the way she did me. Even if she didn't know that she was.
Then again, maybe I did help her. I hope I did.
Joel Scott is dead. Alex and Dean are safe. Dani and I will be seeing our sons very soon, and I know once they're in our arms, we'll never be letting them go again. I'll never let any of them go. The woman who will be my wife, her son who will soon be mine, and my little Dean.
Everything might be fucked right now, but it's just a fracture that needs time to heal. A couple months at the most and everything will be as it should be. Perfect. My family will be complete. Dani will have the safety and security that she's longed for all her life, and so will our children.
After Dani changes into the jeans and sweater I brought to the station with me for her to change into, she and I ride in the back of Kory's car as he follows Daxton in his. They're taking us to our boys. I'm nervous. Why the hell am I nervous about seeing my own son? I don't know, but I do know that my stomach is churning.
Dani is wrapped in my arms, her head on my shoulder. She's worn out but fighting it because she's also nervous right now. I can sense it in the way she's clinging to me and the fact I can feel her thumping heartbeat against my arm.
I kiss her head and tell her, “It'll be all right, baby, I promise.”
“Our son's are coming home, Greg.”
“I know, baby.” I kiss her head and she snuggles into me.
“Greg?” She lifts her head and looks at me. “Are we going to be okay?”
I cup her face and smile. “Of course, we are. The threat to your life is gone. Our sons are safe. We're about to see them. We're going to bring them home, and we're going to love and protect them for the rest of their lives. We're going to get married...”
“Wait,” She stops me, a curious smile on her face. “I thought you were kidding back there when you said you wanted me to take your name.”
“I wasn't kidding, baby. You belong with me. You belong to me, and I belong to you. I want you to be my wife. I want to adopt Alex, I want you to adopt Dean, I want us to be a family. I know we don't need pieces of paper for that, but I'm kind of a traditionalist.”
Tears are falling from her eyes, but I know they're happy ones. I can tell from the smile on her face. “I love you, Greg Harper.”
“I love you, too, baby. More than anything in this world.”
Arms around my neck, I hold her to me, rocking her from side to side gently.
“We're here,” Kory tells us, pulling the car into a long driveway an hour from home. I climb out of the car and take Dani's hand, helping her out. “You're going to be taken to different rooms so you can see your sons separately. They need some alone time with you both.”
Neither of us argues the fact because he's right.
I take Dani's face in my hands and kiss her lips. “I love you, and I'll be waiting for you once you're ready to leave. This is it, baby, we're almost complete.”
“I love you, too.”
One more kiss and Daxton leads her away from me and through the front door. I follow Kory through the same door, but Dani has already disappeared by the time we make it through.
Everything will be okay, baby. Enjoy the moment. Hold your boy as close and you can, and remember, I love you.
>
The interior of the house is nice, as houses go. It's homely, clean, smells like someone's been baking cookies. There are kids toys in the what looks like the den. There's a huge TV on the wall, soft finishings, big couch. I can tell Dean has been taken care of here.
Kory leads me down a long hallway, coming to a stop outside the fourth door on the left. “You ready, little brother?”
I take a deep breath to try and quill my racing heart. I nod once at my brother, who then opens the door slowly. I stand on the threshold and just stare at my boy playing there on the floor with his toy cars. He's rolling a red one over the rug and making broom broom noises with his mouth.
I swallow back the urge to cry. I never expected this. I never thought I'd ever see him again. But there he is, my boy. The young girl watching over him rises from her seat beside the window with a smile directed towards me.
Kory tips his head for me to come in. I walk through the door. It's a bedroom, one in which looks like it's been made out to look like a little boys room. There are two beds, so I'm guessing both Dean and Alex have shared this room while they've been here.
I can't take my eyes off my son, not even when I hear the click of the door closing. But the noise makes Dean look up from where he's playing, eyes wide. “Daddy!” He screams while getting to his feet, sobbing his little eyes out while running to me.
I catch him and hold him against my chest. I kiss his head, his little arms wrapped around my neck as he sobs. “It's okay, Daddy's here now.”
“Daddy!” He sobs louder. “You came for me. You came.”
“Of course I came, little man.”
“I missed you, Daddy. Mommy said I can't see you ever again, but she left me alone, Daddy.”
I shush him gently. That bitch lied to my boy then left him. How could she do that to him? He's just a little boy, dammit!
“Mommy went to heaven.”
I'm not even going to ask how he knows that. But from the look on Kory's face, he knows the answer. I just don't care for it right now.