by Alex Grayson
I call the emergency room to let them know we’re heading their way. I give a brief, discreet description on my suspicions so they’ll have everything ready by the time we get there.
I grip the steering wheel and squeeze my eyes closed for a second. Why in the fuck would Trent do this? Is this why he’s been acting even more strange today? I thought he was getting better. I thought his feelings for Mia were changing. I just don’t understand. T is not a violent or hurtful child. There has to be a very good reason for this. Once I know Mia is okay, I’m getting to the bottom of this shit. No more avoiding it. No more putting it off. This shit ends tonight.
Twenty minutes later, we’re skidding to a stop in front of the emergency room doors. I fling open my door and rush around to Mia’s side. I tell T to run inside to let them know we’re coming in. A nurse pushing a gurney meets us halfway to the counter.
“Mia Walker, right?” The nurse asks.
I lay Mia down on the gurney, and the nurse starts wheeling it towards a set of double doors.
“Yes. She stopped breathing about five minutes ago,” I tell her, the words coming out raw. When I reached down in the truck and couldn’t find her breath anymore, I nearly drove us off the road. The only thing that kept me sane was the slight flutter I found in her wrist. Her heartbeat was getting weaker but, thank God, it was still there.
“Okay, we’ve been informed of the situation and have everything prepped and ready, Sheriff Weston. I need you to stay out here. As soon as the results are in and she’s been treated, someone will come speak with you.”
I nod my head, unable to form any more words because of the lump in my throat. I look down at Mia and see her face is red. I quickly give her forehead a kiss before the nurse wheels her away.
I turn from the double doors and scrape my fingers through my hair. I see T hunched over in a chair in the waiting room, his eyes red rimmed and tears leaking down his cheeks. I turn my head away from him, not able to deal yet with the fact that my own eleven-year-old son poisoned the woman that I love. Tears prick the back of my eyes with that knowledge.
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Jaxon’s number. I half explain what’s going on. We hang up with him yelling for Bailey to get ready to leave. I have no idea how I’m going to tell him that T is the reason Mia’s in the hospital.
Not looking forward to this conversation, but knowing I need to have it, I walk over to Trent and take a seat beside him. How in the fuck do you ask your eleven-year-old why he poisoned someone? How in the hell did he even know how to do it in the first place?
I lean forward in my chair and rest my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. I sit there in silence for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts.
“Dad?” Trent asks with a tremor in his voice.
“What, T?” I turn my head to him, wanting him to see the torment in my eyes.
More tears gather in his eyes and spill down his cheeks. “I-is she going t-to be okay?”
I take a deep breath before answering. “I don’t know, son. It all depends if they can get it out of her system fast enough.”
I watch as his face crumples. I want to gather him in my arms to reassure him, but I can’t. Why is he acting this way when he put Mia in the hospital in the first place?
“Why, T?” I ask him quietly.
“Why what, Dad?” he asks in return. Fuck if we’re going to play this game. He knows damn well what.
Forcing myself to stay calm, I look him right in the eye and say, “I know what you did. I know you put something in Mia’s food.”
The anguish and fear I see in his eyes almost breaks me, and I have to fortify my resolve. I need to get to the truth.
“Because I was scared,” he whispers so low I barely hear him. “They said they would hurt you and me.”
What the fuck?
“Who, Trent?” I ask him calmly, when I’m nothing but calm. I want to rave, rant, and punch something. Who in the fuck has the balls to threaten my son? Somewhere in the back of my mind tells me I already know who. It’s the only explanation. I would have never thought that Tessa would threaten our son, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think I never knew how sick and twisted she is and that T’s been living with her for years. How can a father not know that his son has been in danger?
Trent doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. His expression says he scared to. I reach over and grab his shoulder. “Trent, Son, I need you to tell me who threatened you. I promise nothing will happened to either of us.”
Relief floods through me when I see T come to his decision to trust me and says the one word that has me boiling with rage.
“Mom,” he says quietly, and then shocking me with the next name. “And Shady.”
My head rears back at the name. What in the fuck does Shady have to do with this? I never even knew that Shady and Tessa really knew each other. Yes, there were some parties when we were younger that we all happened to be at the same time, but Shady is four years older than us and normally didn’t hang out with the younger crowd.
“Are you sure it’s Shady?” I need to make sure that he’s right and not mistaken.
“Yeah, Dad. He’s been coming around for a few years now. He really scares me.”
“What did they say to you?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“They just said they wanted me to do some things for them. I didn’t want to, Dad. I swear I didn’t. They said that if I didn’t, then they would hurt you and me.”
Shame laces his teary voice, and I can’t hold back any more. Knowing that Trent didn’t want to hurt Mia, that he was only doing it to protect himself and me, lifts a huge weight off my chest. Also knowing that we now know the person that’s been helping Tessa eases some of my worry. At least we know who we’re looking for.
I pull T into my arms and squeeze him tight. The fear he must have felt guts me. I should have protected him better. I should have made sure he knew without a doubt that he could come to me with something like this. No child should ever fear for his life, and it pisses me off that my child did.
“I’m so sorry, dad. I didn’t want to hurt Mia, but I was so scared,” he cried against my shoulder.
My heart squeezes at the anguish in his voice. “I know, T. It’s okay.” I pull back from him and meet his frightful gaze. “Everything is going to be okay. I understand why you did what you did, and so will Mia and everyone else. When was the last time you talked to your mom?”
“Yesterday while you were out in the barn taking care of the horses. She made me go to the kitchen and look under the sink for chemicals. I named off some kind of bug spray, and that’s what she told me to put in Mia’s food.”
“So she’s contacted you since she disappeared? Has she told you where she is?”
I hate to involve T even more in this because she is his mother, and I know that he loves her. But I have no choice. She needs to be found. I’m hoping that once Shady gets called in, he’ll turn on her and tell us where she is.
“I’ve talked to her a couple of times,” he says while looking down at his lap. I know that he feels bad for the part that he played. I also know that he wouldn’t have if he felt like he had another choice. “She hasn’t said where she is though.”
A noise off to the left has me turning my head. Jaxon and Bailey come rushing in. When they spot us, they quickly head in our direction. Bailey’s face loses all color when she sees mine and T’s expression, thinking the worst.
I get up to meet them and let them know that Mia is in the back getting tests and treatment.
“I’m still waiting on someone to come tell me how she is.”
“Oh, thank God.” Bailey says. “I thought…” She doesn’t get the chance to continue before Jaxon drags her into his arms.
“Tell me what the fuck happened,” Jaxon growls over Bailey’s head.
“Bailey, do you mind sitting with T while I speak with Jaxon? After I explain everything to him, he can tell you.”
Bailey pulls her head away from Jaxon’s chest. “Yes, of course.” She takes a seat next to T and takes his hand. “How are you holding up, Trent?”
Trent quietly answers her question with, “Okay, I guess,” and looks to me with scared eyes.
I reach over and squeeze his shoulder, “Don’t worry, son, everything’s going to be okay.
At his nod, I gesture for Jaxon to follow me. We stop just outside the double doors leading to the back where Mia is, and I turn to face him. I tell him what Trent told me about Tessa and Shady and that he felt he had no choice but to do what they said.
“Are you fucking telling me that Trent poisoned Mia because Tessa, his own fucking mother, and Shady threatened him?” Jaxon hisses out, barely holding onto his control. I know how he feels. The only reason I’m not out hunting down the bastard is because Mia’s here, barely holding onto her life.
“Yes. As soon as we’re done talking, I’m calling the station to have someone bring the fucker in.”
“Not if I get to him first. I’ll kill the bastard. What the fuck does he have against Mia? And why in the hell has your ex hooked up with him?”
I ignore the comment about Jaxon killing Shady, because I know damn good and well that if I see him, I don’t know that I’ll be able to hold myself back, let alone Jaxon.
“I have no idea, but I intend to find out,” I tell him.
“How’s Trent doing?” Jaxon asks.
“To be honest, I think he’s terrified. Terrified that Tessa and Shady will hurt him or me and terrified that we’re going to blame him. He’s been acting so weird lately, and now I know why.”
“That bastard Shady and your bitch of an ex-wife are going to pay for what they’ve done to Mia and Trent. Mark my words, Mac.”
Before I get a chance to reply, the double doors open and out walks a doctor. Jaxon and I both turn to face him. Bailey and Trent come up beside us.
“Are you the family of Miss Walker?” the older doctor asks.
Jaxon and I both say “yes” at the same time.
“I’m Dr. Scott, the one that treated Miss Walker. She’s going to be just fine. We were able to get her heart rate up to speed. After running some tests, we confirmed that there was indeed Cyanide in her system. We’ve pumped her stomach and given her the antidotes and some oxygen. We’ll keep her overnight to monitor her. She should be waking up soon. We’ll send someone down when she can have visitors.”
“Thank God,” Bailey murmurs and sags against Jaxon.
“Will there be any lasting affects?” I ask the doctor.
He turns my way when he answers. “I don’t believe so. The amount found in her system was minimal. But just to be safe, I want her to go see a neurologist to rule out any potential delayed-onset problems with the brain or nervous system.”
After we thank the doctor, he leaves. We all take a seat and wait for a nurse to come get us. Jaxon pulls Bailey aside and explains to her what happened. I see Bailey throw her hand up to her mouth and glance at T with sympathy and sadness. When they’re done talking, Jaxon steps in front of Trent and kneels down. He grips his shoulder and pulls him in for a hug. I can’t hear what he says, but he murmurs something in his ear. T nods and pulls back. Bailey steps up next and reaches down to give T a hug as well.
A few minutes later, a nurse comes out and tells us that Mia is awake and can see visitors. She tries to tell us only two at a time, but when I pull my badge out, she relents and lets us all back.
I ask Jaxon if he minds me going in first so I can explain what happened with Trent. He nods, and I push through the door. Mia has her head facing the window when I step through the door, but turns it my way when she hears me enter. She looks a hell of a lot better than what she did when I brought her in, though there are dark rings around her eyes and her cheeks are still red.
“Hey,” she says in a low voice.
I walk up to the bed and grab her hand to bring her wrist to my mouth. At her wrist, I murmur, “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad. I have a slight headache and I’m tired.”
I lean down, rest my forehead against hers, and close my eyes. “I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life when I saw you on the floor. You’re whole body was convulsing, Mia. Shit!”
I feel her put her hand on my cheek. “I’m okay, Mac.”
“I know you are, but there for a minute, when you stopped breathing…fuck… Mia, I thought I was going to lose you.”
“What happened?”
I pull back from her and sit on the edge of the bed, still gripping her hand. I explain to her what I told Jaxon earlier. Surprise and some other emotion enter her face when I mention Shady’s name. Her face turns hard with anger when I tell her that he and Tessa threatened T and myself.
“Who in the fuck does that to their own child?” She asks angrily.
“Someone that’s completely fucked in the head,” I tell her honestly. There’s obviously something mentally wrong with Tess. “I’ve got someone heading over to Shady’s place right now to pick him up. With any luck, he’ll be there, and we can get to the bottom of this.”
She looks at me skeptically, as if she doesn’t believe that it’ll be that easy. I don’t blame her. Nothing’s ever that easy.
“Trent, Jaxon, and Bailey are outside waiting. I wanted to talk to you first. T’s really scared and worried about what he did.”
Mia grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze, before saying, “I hope you know that I don’t blame him. I could never blame him for trying to protect himself and you.”
I give her a tender smile, not surprised at her words in the least.
“I know you don’t. That’s just one of the reasons why I love you.”
After bending down and giving her a lingering kiss that has my blood pumping and my cock twitching, I get up from the bed to let the others in. Jaxon and Bailey quickly step through the door and immediately go straight to Mia’s side. T’s steps are slower, like he’s unsure he’s welcome. The uncertainty in his movements have me angry all over again. Tessa did this to our son. She’s made him scared and feel unwanted. That woman better pray to God that I have the strength to hold back from killing her when I get my hands on her. Shady as well.
“Trent,” comes Mia’s sweet voice.
T’s frightened gaze flickers to me, and I smile and nod my head in encouragement. He takes a tentative step towards the bed. I watch as Mia gives him a smile and holds out her hand to him.
“It’s alright, Trent. Come here,” Mia says.
T walks the rest of the way to the bed and places his shaky hand in Mia’s. Mia sits up in bed and pulls him into her arms. I see T shut his eyes, tears leaking out the corners. She pulls back and puts her hands on both of his cheeks, wiping away the tears.
My heart swells even more with love for this woman as she says, “Please don’t be scared or worried. I understand. We all understand, okay? I don’t know you that well, yet, but I’ve heard a lot about you. I know that you would never hurt anyone unless you felt you had to.”
“I’m so sorry, Mia. I didn’t want to do it,” T says, his voice breaking at the end.
“I know you didn’t, sweetie.” She pulls him forward and kisses his forehead.
Fuck. How in the world did I live the last ten years without this woman in my life?
I have no answer to that question. But the one thing that I do know is that I will do whatever it takes, take out who ever I need to, before I let anyone take her away from me again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mia
Her hands…
Mac’s parents are due to arrive any minute now, and I’m a nervous wreck. Although this is Mac’s house, not my own, and was pretty much cleaned all the way through, I still went on a cleaning binge. I scrubbed from top to bottom, side to side, even tackling Mac’s gym in the basement. I want everything to be perfect. I know that it’s irrational to be so nervous, but I can’t seem to help it. His parents already know me very well an
d have adored me in the past. Nothing’s to say that would change, but I still feel the need to impress them.
It’s been two days since I was released from the hospital and things have been going well. Ever since Trent finally opened up about what his mother and Shady were doing, he’s changed dramatically. He’s been such a sweet boy, always asking me if I need any help with anything or offering to get me things. I keep telling him he doesn’t need to do anything for me, that he doesn’t need to try and win me over. He’s had me from the beginning. I harbor no ill feelings toward him. Any decent person would know that any eleven-year old child would have reacted the same way.
Mac explained to Trent that if he heard from his mother again that he needed to tell him. So far, there’s been nothing. I don’t know if that’s good news or bad. Of course, I don’t want Tessa to try and rope Trent into doing anything else, but it’s also worrisome that she hasn’t contacted him again to find out the outcome of my poisoning. You would think she would be chomping at the bit to discover if it worked or not.
Mac sat down with Trent and had a more in-depth conversation with him about what his mother asked him to do. It was then that we found out Tessa knew about mine and Mac’s horseback riding and picnic the other day. The night Tessa had left Trent at Taekwondo, she had told him to call his dad and tell him she forgot him there. The whole thing was planned. Trent was to go to Mac’s house, and he was to call her the first time Mia came over. He called her when we left for our picnic the next day, and she came rushing over to Mac’s house. That’s when she got the spare key to my house out of my purse and was able to go in without breaking in and decimate the walls.
More disturbing news is that when the deputy went to Shady’s house to bring him in for questioning, he wasn’t there, and it looked like he hadn’t been there for quite a while. We’ve asked several trusted people in the community to keep an eye out for both Shady and Tessa and that if they see them to contact Mac or someone at the station. Again, nothing so far.
While I was in the hospital, Mac had the same deputy that finger printed my house come in so I could make a formal statement. It was hard to witness, but Trent gave his statement as well. After we got home, Mac had Andrew come stay with me while he went to the courthouse to obtain warrants for both Tessa and Shady. I argued, telling him Trent and I would be fine, but he refused to leave us by ourselves. I relented when I saw the deep worry in his eyes. I didn’t want him to worry more than what he needed to. Needless to say, with mine and Trent’s statements, the judge agreed to the warrants.