Sparks Fly (Davis Brothers Book 1)

by Nicole Douglas

  I couldn’t keep ignoring what had happened to me. Couldn’t give him the opportunity to do it again to someone else. Ignoring it didn’t make it go away.

  My counselor had encouraged me to report him too. But she backed off easily enough when I let her know I wasn’t ready.

  I was ready now.

  So after I finish unloading the last box and filling his cabinets with cooking utensils I grab my purse and head to the police station.

  Chapter 30

  Max

  It didn’t take much convincing to get the DA to agree to let me turn state’s evidence against Dad in exchange for immunity for both me and Chris. After telling my story in full detail, they weren’t interested in pursuing criminal charges against either of us anyways.

  They were solely focused on Dad. We were kids at the time of many of the events I recount to them and under duress during the ones from our adulthood.

  He gets charged with the murder of my mother along with three other murders. I’m sure there’s plenty more but those were the ones I knew about. The ones I witnessed.

  They plan to interview Chris when he gets out of his recovery program but they decide to wait. He’s set to be done in two weeks and there’s no sense in screwing up his progress at this point.

  They have enough information from me to make an arrest.

  The most terrifying part of the investigation is when I get a text from Dad demanding I show up at the house to help him. There’s nothing different in this text as opposed to all his others but I still feel paranoid as fuck when I read it.

  I’m overwhelmed with the feeling he’s found me out. That he knows what I’ve done and has invited me over to finish me off.

  Worst of all the detectives ask me to wire up and try to get a confession recorded. It would seal his fate faster than anything else.

  I’m all but shaking when I show up at his house and let myself in like nothing is wrong, all the while having a wire taped to my chest and a white van with tinted windows full of cops parked at the end of the street.

  Cops and Lacey.

  My sweet angelic girl.

  I tried not to think about the fact that she insisted on being there too. She was worried sick about how this would all play out and I was worried sick Dad might actually kill me this time with her listening in on the entire incident.

  I knew what that would do to her and didn’t want her to have to live with that. Chris either. If anything happened to me my big brother would always blame himself for going away and seeking treatment, leaving me behind to take Dad down alone.

  I force myself to focus on my job for the night and not worry about the possible outcomes. Anything could happen but at least the cops were within a hundred yards of us.

  “What do you need me to do?” I ask when Dad enters the kitchen.

  We both ignore the three girls sitting on the couch with Natalie, waiting to start their long night of working the streets. They laugh together but mostly stay quiet enough to stay off his radar for the time being.

  Even they knew the importance of staying invisible to him for as long as possible.

  Natalie gives me an odd look that I can’t quite read. Maybe she can tell I’m acting weird. Which most certainly means Dad will be able to tell.

  I force my body to relax, even though inside my nerves are amped up. He stares at me with a cold look and a chill runs through me.

  “Have a seat, son.”

  His tone sends a second, deeper chill through my body and into my bones. Into my heart. He didn’t call me here for a job. I should have seen that. Should have known after months of silence from him. He hadn’t called me out here since the altercation Chris and I had with him and I was such a fucking moron for not seeing that.

  Is this how he gets caught and arrested? By killing me over a wire tap?

  I sit, unsure what else to do. I need to keep my cool and a level head while I try to figure out my next move.

  “Why did you ask me to come tonight?”

  “I think you know why. You and your brother pushed your fucking luck the other night.”

  I swallow hard but try to remain outwardly unaffected. “So what? You have a hole for me to dig?”

  He sneers at me and doesn’t say a word for a long moment. Long enough to make me uncomfortable which I would guess is the point.

  “You like digging holes now, Max?”

  He’s onto me. I stay quiet.

  “You know what happens to people that try to talk to the cops, right Max? Because I had your phone records pulled. You sure have been in contact with them more than I’m comfortable with.”

  My heart drops but I push forward.

  “Why would I call them, Dad? I’ve helped you. I would get charged with all the same shit as you right? That’s what you said.”

  “Do you want to go to prison, Max? This isn’t a fucking game. You might hate me. And I really don’t give a shit. But do you really want to ruin your own life just to ruin mine? Is that how petty you are? Have you forgotten what you’ve done?”

  “I haven’t forgotten shit.”

  “Well then. I suggest you retract whatever you’ve already told them. I’m quite fond of you. You’ve always been good at what we do. Good at picking girls most of all. Right Natalie?” Her face reddens on the couch and contorts into a glare behind his back. He doesn’t bother to look back at her to see her reaction. “So I’m willing to let this little indiscretion slide. I would hate for you to end up like your mother. You remember what happened to her. Right?”

  I snap.

  I lunge at Dad and knock him to the ground in his fancy ass suit. The two of us roll around on the marble floor, fighting for the upper hand. Without Chris backing me up it’s more of a struggle but I get a few really good punches in.

  I don’t stop, hoping the cops can hear this meeting going to shit through the wiretap and swoop in to put an end to it. I didn’t get them the details they wanted but it was as good as it was going to get.

  Dad and I weren’t close. He wasn’t going to have a heart to heart with me, confessing all his sins.

  Without warning Natalie rounds the corner with a gun pointed down at us. I don’t know where the hell she got it from but I guess there are plenty of guns lying around this house if you knew where to look. She had lived here plenty of time to learn.

  For a split second I wonder if it’s me she’s planning to shoot. Both of us. We both played a pretty heavy hand in her ending up in this damned house all those years ago.

  We both freeze and break apart at the sight of the barrel pointed our way. She keeps the gun trained on Dad and I breathe a sigh of relief. It only takes moments for the police to kick in the door and rush inside. There are five of them, guns drawn, shouting at Natalie to drop her weapon.

  She does without hesitation.

  As I watch Dad get handcuffed and shoved in the back of a cop car, lights flashing, I regret not doing this sooner. This felt like the closing of a chapter. The closing of a whole book really. It was the fresh start I always wanted and dreamed of.

  Lacey comes rushing from the police van and crashes into my body. I catch her and hold her against me so tight she lets out a whoosh of air.

  “I was so worried. Thank God you’re okay.”

  I kiss her firmly on the lips and press my face into the crook of her neck, holding her close. It’s over. We can relax and feel safe. We can focus on each other and the relationship we’re building.

  Natalie walks out into the street behind me, along with the three other girls from the house. The police have ushered them outside to search the house and now have caution tape sectioning off the yard.

  Lacey notices them over my shoulder and nudges me. “Where are they going to go tonight?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Hadn’t even thought about it.

  “We should invite them back to the apartment.”

  “Are you out of your mind?”

  He smacks my chest. “It’s not
their fault.”

  “You know who that is right? Natalie? The crazy bitch that tried to fuck me behind your back?”

  She shrugs without a care. “I trust you. She needs somewhere to go.”

  I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re unbelievable.”

  She shrugs again and heads over to the girls to invite them back to our apartment for shelter tonight.

  Epilogue

  Lacey

  Eight Months Later

  Max and I sit in the front row of the court. Brad Davis was convicted of three counts of murder, including the murder of Max and Chris’s mother, on top of countless other felonies.

  International drug and arms smuggling.

  Sex trafficking.

  Aggravated assault.

  You name it, he did it. And now he had the rap sheet to show for it.

  Today we wait patiently for the judge to sentence him. He had a damn good attorney but I don’t know if that could even save him at this point. The prosecutors wanted to seek the death penalty but agreed to take it off the table for a full confession.

  Brad agreed and wrote a ten page confession, explaining what he did and why.

  Trial had been grueling before that. Both Max and Chris had testified against him. Both described what they witnessed the night their mom was killed at the hands of their dad and the various things since that day.

  Chris completed his treatment program successfully and had a clear mind to testify. This was good since he was a key witness.

  The jury was in tears at some of the more emotional parts of their statements. I took that to mean they believed the guys and the terrifying memories they shared. You simply couldn’t falsify the emotion and pain both of them clearly displayed when they talked about the last night they saw their mother alive.

  The prosecutors also called Natalie to the stand. Max’s ex, if you wanted to call her that. He avoided her like the bubonic plague around the courthouse and she seemed to do the same with him.

  After an emotional day of cross examination where she was harassed by the defense and outright called a high paid whore in front of a room full of onlookers I decided to approach her.

  She was leery at first, knowing I was dating Max. She was one of the girls I brought back to stay at our apartment that first night of Brad’s arrest when the house was considered a crime scene. We didn’t talk much that night and the girls had gratefully accepted the clothes I let them have from my closet and went to bed almost immediately, spread out on the living room floor.

  They left the next day and the police department funded two hotel rooms for them to share through trial.

  Max and I had shown up to the courthouse daily holding hands. Natalie had stayed away from me to the best of her ability, eyes downcast when we passed each other.

  But when I told her how strong and brave she was for taking the stand and subjecting herself to the ridicule when none of the other girls were willing to, she softened toward me.

  She even apologized for trying to sleep with Max after she knew we were together. She grew teary eyed as she told me about smearing her lipstick on his jeans to cause distrust between us because she was jealous and unhappy. It was intentional, it was low, and she regretted it.

  She said she wouldn’t have done it if she had met me first. That she liked me and could see the love between us.

  She assured me he didn’t do anything and that he seemed to really respect and love me, even back on that night when she threw herself at him so brazenly. She was embarrassed by her behavior but I reassured her that I didn’t blame her for her actions. She had been through so much at the hands of Brad and she was just lashing out. Just hurting and masking it with sex.

  I gave her my counselor’s office number and encouraged her to look into booking a session. She had helped me immensely and although I might not have fully healed yet I was on my way. It was a work in progress but I was so grateful for having started working through my pain.

  Max walked outside that day to find the two of us hugging and crying on the sidewalk. He looked utterly horrified at first but when I went back inside and explained what was said he relaxed visibly.

  “Don’t let her bully you.”

  “She’s not.” I promised with a smile. “She’s a sweet girl.”

  He huffs in incredulity. “Sweet?”

  “Yes. Sweet.”

  “That’s definitely not the word I would use to describe her.”

  I smack his abs with the back of my hand and shoot him a scolding look. “She is. She’s just been through a lot. It’s there underneath the surface. I can see it.”

  He kisses me, a smile twitching his lips. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that? You always see the best in everyone. I’m lucky to have you.”

  Chris and Natalie walk back into the courtroom just in time to hear the judge issue the sentence. Chris sits next to Max and Natalie sits on the other side of Chris. Max is still suspicious of her and stays far away even after I befriended her.

  Brad is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

  He remains stoic and unmoved when the guards lead him out of the room. On his way out he glares right into Max’s eyes and then moves his focus to Chris.

  I’m proud to say that each of them met his gaze head-on, keeping eye contact until Brad had no choice but to break it as the guards led him out of sight.

  They were unshaken by the threatening stare.

  Brad would never have freedom again. He would die in a tiny prison cell, no one to talk to but a single cell mate and the guards. He would only see sunlight for one hour a day. And he deserved everything he was going to get.

  Max visibly relaxes when his dad is out of view. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so relaxed in the entire year and a half I’ve known him. It’s like a weight, the heaviest of burdens, has been lifted. A light sparkles in his eyes and radiates from inside his soul.

  He’s happy.

  Chris is happy.

  Natalie is happy.

  And by default that makes me happy. These three people and so many others don’t have to live in fear anymore.

  Brad sold his giant house to pay his attorneys. The remaining money, plus that of his cars and other assets, was confiscated by the court and issues to his sons and several victims.

  Max and Chris were issued a lot of money. Let’s just say Max didn’t have to worry about working while he finishes his degree and was able to pay off his tuition in full. He plans to go for his master’s next year after his graduation.

  Chris got an apartment with Natalie in the same complex and us. They claim to be roommates and friends but I suspect there might be more to it. Max chooses to turn the blind eye to their situation.

  With the remainder of his money, Chris decided to go to school to be certified as a substance abuse counselor and open a small treatment facility. Natalie was going to help him and work at the front desk.

  That left Max and I the apartment to ourselves and we planned to make the most of it.

  “Let’s go home, angel.” Max smiles at me after we step out on the courthouse and step into the blazing sun. The warmth feels good on our skin after being in the chilled courtroom all day.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  ✧The End✧

  Thank you all for reading my book. If you don’t mind taking a moment, leave me a review on Amazon or Goodreads and let me know what you think! 

  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39301204-sparks-fly

  Other Books by Nicole Douglas

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  Kyle wasn't expecting to ever see Jessica again. He had made peace with that reality. Seeing her again in w
ar-torn Colombia has his world tilted on its axis, making him wonder if maybe he hadn't made the right choice when he left her behind.

  When danger find them Kyle is forced to make a life changing decision between his career and the woman he left behind all those years ago. Will they be able to make it out of the jungle with their lives, and hearts, still intact?

  Racing Hearts

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  Haven loved spending time at the stables with the horses. When she got to know Dylan, a handsome new stable hand, she found herself falling into a forbidden romance with the last guy her father would have wanted. As tensions rise and Dylan witnesses something that could change everything the two must make a life or death decision for a special friend; the racehorse they have grown attached to.

  Will Haven and Dylan be able to save the racehorse they love and fight against the forces that pull them apart? Or will they lose everything?

  Hide and Seek

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  Something inside Officer Chase Reed sat up and took notice the second he laid eyes on Arianna. She was an intriguing mystery he was itching to unravel. When she called him in her time of need, he knew he would stop at nothing to protect her. As dangers rise and the police station lacks the resources to offer her support, he is forced to take matters into his own hands.