Parker Sibling Series Box Set

by Leigh Ann Lunsford

  “They won’t judge you on his actions. It isn’t like we have the best parents. You are as much a victim to him, if not more, than my sisters. It will all work out, Teryn” I told her with blind faith. She didn’t seem as confident.

  Now here we are today. Her freedom is just beyond the door. The problem is that she is frozen at the steps and won’t move. Short of picking her up and carrying her to the car, I am unsure as what to do for her.

  She hasn’t stepped foot outside in sixteen years. I don’t know how to reassure her, and I feel like an ass, but I have to use her fear on her. “Come on, sweetheart. We have to go before your father comes back. We have to get you to safety.” I don’t know if it was the word safety or sweetheart that snapped her out of her trance. I had taken to calling her sweetheart a few days ago, and the first time I did, she cried. To know that she hadn’t had one ounce of goodness in her life, that a simple endearment could move her to tears, broke my heart. It made my stomach flip and tie in knots at the same time. It made me want to be the man to protect her and give her all of her firsts.

  She is a mess. Safety is another word she clings to, and seeing her this morning, I had to stop myself from blowing this whole case and going after Brent myself. I had seen the bruises on her the first day, but they had begun to fade. This morning’s bruises were fresh, and I couldn’t imagine what kind of force had to be behind the hits to cause them. Her entire face was almost purple, and for moments I couldn’t speak, only stare at her. She just stared at me defiantly, much like the first day I met her. “I guess dinner wasn’t up to Daddy’s liking last night,” she says flippantly.

  “Don’t make light of it, Teryn. I am so close to killing that man myself. Don’t put this on you.”

  “I know it is his fault, Dustin. But after so many years of it, you learn to deal with it, and this is the way I deal.” That pisses me off. I hope he ends up in the cell with the biggest, meanest motherfucker who makes him his bitch. Let him call somebody Daddy while he is being stripped of his dignity daily. And I hope it fucking hurts every single day. That is my justice.

  She takes her first hesitant step forward, and I want to reach out to her, but she doesn’t do well with touch. From anyone. Every touch she has ever had has always been bad, so I have taken to just whispering encouraging words to her, which is what I am doing now. Finally, we make it to the car, and my heart is racing. We need to get there, let her give her statement, and get the search warrants executed. I told Mitch most of it, so they had the warrants all ready to speed up the process, just waiting on her statement for the judge to sign. The key to it is Brent staying away long enough not to realize she is gone. We couldn’t have him destroying evidence. The shots I had would be inadmissible because they were obtained when I illegally broke in the house.

  Buckling her seatbelt took her five tries. The things we take for granted every day are new experiences for her. Her eyes stay riveted on the streets and other cars around us. She is in shock with the mundane tasks of everyday life outside of her dungeon. I can’t help the small smile that forms on my face as I think about showing her all kinds of new things, and for the first time in a while, none of it has to do with sex.

  Arriving at the police station I lead her in and immediately see Mitch and Max. Both their faces go from welcoming to pissed off when they see her. Quickly they hide their emotions, as to not scare her. I whisper to her and explain who they are. We are led to an interrogation room, and I can see she is barely hanging on.

  “Dustin, I don’t want you in here,” she mutters, shocking me. I thought I was her comfort, the only sense of familiarity she had in the outside world. I am about to protest when Max pulls me out.

  “I don’t know what she is about to tell us, but let her tell us on her own terms. She has something to say, she doesn’t want you to hear, give her this. She has been through enough,” Max lays out for me gently.

  I can’t imagine what else there is that she has been through, then my mind wanders and I feel physically ill. “Exactly,” Max whispers. I have to give her this, it is her pride and dignity, and no matter what happened, her father did not strip that from her, and I won’t either. I silently agree and make my way down to the chairs in the hallway and watch him disappear back in the room.

  About thirty minutes later, both of them come barreling out of the door, looking more pissed off than when they saw the bruises. Mitch calls, “Go to her, wait here until you get the call it is safe. This is going down now.”

  I rush to her side, and she looks so small sitting in that massive room. I slowly make my way to her. I don’t want to startle her, and she looks like she could crumble at any second. “You did it, Teryn. The future is at your feet.”

  She turns to look at me, and what she does next, shocks me. Launching herself at me, I barely catch her I am caught so off-guard. Her arms go around my neck and she holds on for dear life. Her body is shaking with sobs, both from relief and the terror she just relived by telling the details of her sordid past.

  She calms down, but doesn’t remove her arms from my neck, so I gently circle my arms around her, with a light touch so she doesn’t feel fear. She actually burrows closer to me, so I increase the pressure of my arms until she is secure in them. “Thank you,” she whispers before all the adrenaline leaves her body, and she collapses. I move us to the chair and hold her like a small child, and the whole time she sleeps. She is emotionally drained, and I finally see the stress the last few weeks have put on her, excitement mixed with fear. She needs to finally rest.

  Hours later when I haven’t heard from Mitch yet, I begin to worry. He walks in the door, and I don’t like the look on his face.

  Chapter 25

  Mitch

  This couldn’t have worked out worse for us. We got the asshole, and all the incriminating information, but somehow he called in a favor, and a judge let him out. All within three hours he was booked and arraigned. Total system fuck-up. He had to surrender his passport, has to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet for house arrest, but he should be in lock-up. Once every agency working this case gets their thumbs out of their asses, hopefully that is where he will be. He doesn’t have a chance in hell in beating these charges, but he still has reach. Addison, Brielle, and Cambree should be okay, Dustin will be fine once he gets back to Tennessee, and we can protect him with the others, but Teryn is who I am worried about.

  Brent knew who sold him out when she wasn’t in the house. She has nowhere to go, and I have a bad feeling when I tell Dustin that news. I wanted this over today, to be able to enjoy the last month of Kayleigh’s pregnancy, maybe unite with my siblings, no lies, no secrets. When I saw their dad in the courtroom, yet again supporting Brent, my heart sank. Yes, biologically he is my father, too, but I had an amazing man who I call Dad. They didn’t get that. Brielle and Addison got that in their grandfather, but not until they were twelve and fifteen, and Cambree and Dustin lost him too soon. They cannot catch a break.

  “Is she asleep?” I ask Dustin.

  “Has been since about ten minutes after you left. Why don’t you look happy?”

  “We need to wake her up. Sorry, man.” The protective look that crosses his face is enough to tell me I am about to have a fight on my hands.

  “Where is Max?”

  “Conference room, calling your sisters and letting them know you will be on the plane with us tonight. We will probably be able to hear their delight all the way in here.”

  He chuckles. He gently wakes Teryn up, and the sheer terror in her eyes before she realizes where she is makes my gut clench. This poor girl has been through too much, and I am fixing to bring more on her. Sometimes my job sucks.

  “Did you get him? Is he in jail? Am I free?” She rushes the questions out, and I see her shaking with anticipation.

  “Relax, girl. One at a time. Yes, we arrested and charged him. We got all the evidence, and along with your statement, he doesn’t have a chance in hell of beating these charges. Everyone agrees on t
his, even his attorney. He is going to try and deal, but the feds are standing firm, no deal. They have enough on him they don’t need his testimony. He left a trail a blind man could follow. Here comes the hard part, so brace yourself.” I watch her flinch, and confusion crosses her face. Then she straightens up and moves away from Dustin, and squares her shoulders, and holds my gaze. I don’t even know her, and I am so damn proud of her at this moment. In the face of adversity you see a person’s true colors, and this girl will be a force to be reckoned with. I can just imagine her and Brielle together.

  “He has friends in high places, as you know.” She nods, and I look at Dustin. “Your father being one of them.”

  “No, please tell me he didn’t,” Dustin says, and as the realization hits him, I don’t think I have ever seen someone so disappointed. I think he knows who his dad really is, but as a child, he held out that little bit of hope. I am going to crush it.

  “He did. He pulled whatever strings he had to, and he got Brent arraigned and released on bail pending trial. The other agencies are working on more charges and going to push to revoke bail and transfer him to federal prison. This takes time. Until then, he is on house arrest, monitored bracelet, and had to surrender his passport.” Even though all that sounds good, looking at Teryn, she knows what it means.

  “I’m not safe. I’m not free.” Yes, she realizes it.

  “A plan is in the works for you to be protected. I can’t tell you for how long, but you will be safe. And you are free of him, just not totally free right now.” She starts shaking her head.

  “I can’t . . . I can’t be in protective custody. Today was the first time in sixteen years I stepped outside. I can’t go back to being locked away again. It will kill me. I am barely hanging on now. Please, isn’t there anything else?” Her pleading is breaking my heart, and I can see what it is doing to Dustin. He is about to lose it.

  Max walks in right as Dustin says, “She can come back home with me. That solves all the problems.”

  Max answers before I can calmly explain why that is not an option. “Not an option. He wants her to pay, and she will be his primary focus. I won’t allow you to put your sisters and their families in danger. You should know better. Protective custody for her is the only option here.”

  Teryn falls to the chair and sobs silently. The whole time she told her story, and most of it was hard to stomach, and I had seen and heard a lot in my line of work, not once did I see her break like this. Dustin looks livid, and it is purely emotional. There is not a rational thought in his mind right now.

  He moves right into Max’s space. “You don’t get to tell me what is best for my family or for Teryn. I can guarantee you if I called them right now, they would welcome her with open arms.” He is correct about that. They would probably welcome Ted Bundy in their house if he were still alive, if it meant Dustin came home.

  “Dustin, stop and think about it. We can protect them right now, but you bring Teryn back with you, you bring him right to their doorstep again. You have three nieces and a nephew all under the age of four, not to mention a sister who was molested by him and another one who was attacked and almost kidnapped at his hands.” Although Teryn knew all of this, I see my words still rock her to the core.

  Dustin strokes her hair, and I notice she doesn’t flinch away from touch anymore. I don’t know when that breakthrough happened, but now that I think about it, she was in his lap sleeping soundly. “There has to be another option. I can’t put her through anymore. She is as innocent in this as my sisters are.” Fuck, he is correct. But still, all I think about is Hope, Brielle and Cambree at his mercy, my wife pregnant, Addison sick with worry, Colby and Tyler on the edge, CJ who is barely three, Riley is two, and the twins barely one. There is too much at stake, and I know I can’t think about it from a neutral point of view.

  Squeezing my eyes closed, I say a silent prayer he will see reason. “There is no other option, D. This is what is available. We have to keep her safe, and your family, and that cannot be done if the two of you are together.”

  “I won’t leave her. I can stay with her; she won’t be alone that way.”

  “That option isn’t available. You will be a liability to her protection.” He is not going to go down without a fight.

  Teryn reaches up and squeezes his hand. “Go home Dustin. Go to your family. They deserve it and so do you after what my father has done to them. I will figure out something.” She is so sincere, and I hope she got through to him.

  “No, I got you in this mess, and I am not walking away from you. I wasn’t raised to turn my back on people who helped my family, and I won’t start now. Teryn, listen to me, we will figure something out.”

  I hate to pull the big brother card, “Dustin, you are seventeen, still a minor. You don’t have a say in this.”

  “I can call my dad, get him to pull whatever strings he needs, I will get emancipated. Amazing what that man will do not to have his name tarnished.”

  “You know that will kill your sisters. Stop and think.”

  “Being a coward will hurt my sisters in the end. I won’t do that. They will understand, and if not, that is a risk I am willing to take. You can work with me or against me, but either way, I am in this with Teryn, and she won’t be locked away or pushed aside. I helped you, Mitch, now the question is are you going to help me?”

  I don’t know how to help him. I am afraid if I don’t figure something out for him, he and Teryn will take off, and the results can be catastrophic. If I do help him, I hurt my sisters. I am in a lose-lose situation. Max must see me thinking about this. “Are you fucking serious Mitch? You cannot do that to them. Any of them.”

  Dustin jumps in, “It isn’t really up to either of you. You can make it easy or hard, but either way it will happen.”

  “Give us a minute.” I nod to the door for Max to follow me out.

  In the hallway Max is about to kill me. “Max, either way we are screwed. He is going to go with her one way or the other. We help him, give him the right tools, and they are out of Brent’s reach. We don’t help him they walk right into his trap.”

  “Yeah, you help him, and this could destroy your relationship with them. Are you ready for that?” No I am not, but it will destroy them if Dustin gets hurt, or worse.

  “I guess I am. Here is what I am going to do. I have the money from Hope’s life insurance. I was going to use it for a college fund for the baby, but I will give it to him. We call in help from Chief and find someplace they can hide out. Not a safe house, but the next best place. That way . . . no registration, no trail. It could work. We would know where they are, and you and I both know we have friends all over.”

  “Shit, man, you are serious. I cannot even begin to imagine how the girls are going to take this. I can’t be the one to hurt Cambree, again. I get what you are doing, and I agree with you, but I can’t put myself in that situation, Mitch. We are building something good, and I can’t do that, for once, I am telling you no. I won’t be a part of this, but I can’t stop you.”

  I respect him for that. I don’t really need his help anyway. I was giving him a choice. “I feel you, brother. I wouldn’t have expected any less and if I had gotten it, I would have questioned your commitment and loyalty to Cambree.”

  “Don’t doubt it again.”

  “I only ask that you don’t tell them before we get home tonight. I am going to talk to Chief now, but I need this set up before they jump in and fuck it up for everyone.”

  When he agrees, I make my way to the office to talk to Chief. This sucks donkey dick. I am sacrificing three relationships to protect one person. In a way I am sacrificing myself to save them.

  Surprisingly, I met little resistance with Chief. I think he saw what I did with Dustin. Either way, he was staying with Teryn. I go back and explain the situation to Dustin. “Chief has a brother in law with a tiny house in the Keys, non-traceable to anyone. I have money, it’s not a lot, but as we speak it is being withdrawn, and
it will be in cash. Small bills. You will both stay there, live sparingly and light, not be seen a lot, and heal. It may be a week or it may be months. It depends on how bad he fights this.”

  Teryn speaks up first, “I can’t ask this of either of you. It is too much. I will go into protective custody. I will find some way to handle it.”

  “You didn’t ask. It is done, and I feel confident it will be safe, or I wouldn’t agree to this.”

  “Thanks, Mitch. I am guessing I can’t call my sisters, but if I write them a letter can you give it to them.”

  “You guessed right, no contact. There is a phone in the house, you need me, you call, let it ring once, and hang up. Then repeat. I will call you back.”

  “I will pay you back. I will explain it to my family, any blowback will be on me.”

  “No reason to repay me, and you and I both know that isn’t true, but I will take whatever consequences come with this decision.”

  With nothing left to say, I tell them good-bye and head out to get Max and get home. I call Kayleigh on the way, and tell her what has happened. Not in detail, but enough that she knows I need her.

  Max tells me, “You did well. You made the right decision, and I will back you, but I am telling you I don’t want details unless I need them. That will be one less lie I have to tell Cambree.”

  I am just praying this doesn’t do the amount of damage I think it will and my relationships with all of the girls can be salvaged at some point.

  Chapter 26

  Cambree

  I am relieved the day finally came that Brent is being taken down. Max briefly explained in his phone call that even though my father helped him get processed and out on bail, that he wasn’t a threat anymore. I am not surprised by my father’s help; he will do anything to not tarnish his reputation. I am anxiously awaiting with the rest of the family for them to get here. As much as I want to see Dustin, I want to be in Max’s arms. I have tried to not hold a grudge about what happened at the gym, and I think his explosion on me helped him work through the issues. I haven’t been perfect about making him jump through hoops, but it has been sa-weet having him kiss ass. Well as much as a guy like Max kisses ass . . . which is buying shit, and making out with me until I can’t remember my name. Winner winner chicken dinner!