Stay Away From My Daughter

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  He watched her as she ran down the steps and strode over to Devon, and he took in the way the young man watched her, that softness, that look he was familiar with. He’d saved her, and now he was taking her out. But there was something about him that he couldn’t put his finger on. Yes, he’d saved his daughter, but something else was off.

  “Stop looking at the clock. It won’t bring her home any faster,” Laura said. She was carrying two steaming mugs into the living room, and she handed one to Andy. He smelled the herbal raspberry that his wife had a fondness for, and she settled on the sofa beside him.

  “So how long do you think it takes to order, get your taco, eat it, and then talk?” he said, and Laura lifted her brows and blew on the hot tea before sipping. He rested his mug on the sofa table and slid around to set his hand over the back of the sofa, letting his fingers brush back her hair.

  “You do know she’s going to be fine,” Laura said. “We know where she is. She’s been gone just over an hour. Devon is a nice guy. He’s not going to hurt her. Seriously, you really think he saved her to then come all the way out here, meet us, give a description and work with the sketch artist so the guy who really hurt her can be caught, only to then hurt her himself?”

  Okay, the way she said it, of course it sounded ridiculous. He grunted, because he couldn’t think of anything rational to explain what he was feeling.

  “You know, Andy, what happened down in Cancun isn’t going to happen here,” she said. “That was rough and hard, and I know it all fell on you. Ever since then, you’ve been more overprotective than usual. It’s endearing and choking at the same time. You’re going to need to ease up. You have to back off and give her some space…”

  The phone was ringing, and he went to get up when Laura pressed her hand to his shoulder and said, “I’ll get it.” She rested her mug on the table and stood up, and he took in her perfect ass, the way it swayed as she walked into the kitchen and answered the phone.

  “Yeah, he’s right here,” she said. “What’s going on?” After a second, she walked towards him. He wasn’t sure who she was talking to until she pulled the phone away and handed it to him. “It’s Blake. He’s got news on the guy who attacked Sara.”

  Andy was on his feet with the phone to his ear. “Tell me it’s good news.”

  “Yeah, we found him. Carter Jackson. My deputies just picked him up, brought him in. But there’s kind of a problem.”

  Of course there was. Nothing was ever simple and easy.

  “And that would be?”

  “Well, he lawyered up, and his lawyer said he has a deal to make.”

  Andy took in Laura, who was standing right in front of him, waiting impatiently for him to finish and hurry up and tell her what was what. “What kind of deal?”

  “Devon Reed. Jackson said he knows him because he’s a dealer. He’s apparently the guy who delivered the pills and sold them, and right now I’ve got two deputies on my way to his place to pick him up. It kind of complicates the case, because the lawyer is asking for a plea, a reduced charge, for his cooperation.”

  Andy realized in that second what that off feeling was. “Devon Reed isn’t at home. He’s with my daughter at the taco place on main. So you’re telling me he’s a drug dealer, and the guy that attacked my daughter wants a slap on the wrist for what he did?”

  Laura’s eyes widened.

  “I’ll alert my deputies,” Blake said. “I’ll head over to the taco place myself and pick up Sara, but we should talk first about what this means. The drug thing on campus is a really big deal. We can’t let it go.”

  “You’re saying you’re about to cut a deal with a guy who was going to rape my daughter and leave her for dead?” Andy pulled in a breath when he heard silence on the other end, then said, “We’re on our way.”

  Chapter 14

  They sat at the picnic table outside Emiliano’s the taco place on main, which was a fast food favorite of his. He took in the wrappers from the burrito he’d had and the soft taco Sara had ordered, along with two sodas. There was a long lineup to the window to order. It was always the same, some nights worse than others, but the tacos were amazing.

  “So, you and me, tacos and chit-chat. Don’t know if you noticed all the looks tossed our way,” he said. It was likely because of the scrape on her face and the bruising. At least she’d worn a shirt that wasn’t low cut and hid the bruising around her throat, because he was sure a few were thinking it was him who had done it.

  Sara sucked on her straw and then put her soda down, glancing over her shoulder and then back to him. “Because of how good we look together,” she said and wiped her hands with the paper napkin before sliding the tray to the side.

  “You really want me to point it out?” He rested his forearms on the table.

  She pulled in a breath and sighed deeply. “Devon, you’re going to need to get over it. Stop looking at them. It doesn’t matter what they think. You’re supposed to be looking at me and only me.” The way she said it, he couldn’t not laugh.

  “Well, you got me there.” He lifted his hands in the air in surrender and then rested them back on the table, taking a look right and then left. It was just second nature to him to always watch his back. He felt her hand slide over his. It was soft and tiny, and she had such a sweet smile.

  “You know I’m over here, and you’re supposed to be out with me.” She was so direct. It was something that surprised him, considering he’d always referred to blondes as shallow airheads, but she was anything but.

  “Habits, you know. You really do have my undying attention, though.”

  “Hmm.” She nodded. “Hope so. So tell me about your family. You mentioned a brother?” She was still holding his hand, and at the mention of his brother, Devon knew Anton would have a few things to say to him about Sara and would ask him what he was thinking.

  “Anton, my brother,” he said. “We share an apartment, and he’s all the family I have. He’s always watched out for me.” Anton had also protected him from every stranger their mother had brought home.

  “Wow. I mean, you went on and on about the wrong side of the tracks, and you mentioned not choosing your family. You have to have a mother, a father? What happened to them?”

  Maybe this would be the way for her to get up and leave, to cut ties with him. Dark and ugly was just that, and who wanted that in their life?

  “My dad, I don’t know him, but my mom said he ran off when she was pregnant with me. He’s likely in jail somewhere. Anton’s father is dead, shot in a convenience store robbery. He was picking up diapers and got hit by the clerk, who was trying to shoot the guy robbing the joint but missed. He was dead before the paramedics even got there. Mom…I’m sure that was what messed her up. I heard from some that she was never the same, but she was always the same to me: angry, hurt. She had a long string of boyfriends, all bad news, and she got sent up a few times to jail for assault, loitering. The last time, she took the fall for her latest boyfriend. He had stolen guns. She’s there for life. Last I heard, she entered a recovery program and found religion. Anton visits her once a month.”

  But not him.

  He wasn’t sure what to make of Sara’s expression. He’d expected her to pull her hand away, but she didn’t, so he did. He sat back. He’d never shared that with anyone, and he didn’t like the way it left him feeling vulnerable.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and he wasn’t sure if it was sympathy or her just being polite.

  “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so sharply.

  “I’m sorry that you had to go through that, because I can’t imagine. Maybe I am damn lucky that way, because I have a mom and dad who love me, love all of us. At times it seems smothering, but I guess I take it for granted. But at the same time, maybe I’m not sorry for you, because if you’d had it easy, would you have been there to save me? Would I have even met you? Would you be here with me now?” She shrugged, and he didn’t know wha
t to say. This wasn’t what he’d expected.

  He pulled in a breath and then sat back and crumpled his napkin. “We should get out of here.”

  She nodded and loaded up the tray with their packaging, cleaning up the table. After she was done, he stood in front of her and slipped his hand under her chin to lift it. He let it linger and took in how she didn’t pull away. Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. Her lips were so soft, and he lingered just a second more before he pulled away. It was so sweet, and there it was, a smile.

  He hadn’t expected this, shouldn’t want this. He ran his hand over her shoulder and down her arm as she pressed her hand to his chest.

  “Let’s go,” she said, then faced him and slipped her hand into his.

  He turned with her just as he spotted cops, two deputies, and the sheriff walking their way.

  “Devon, get your hands up,” the sheriff said, his hand resting on his gun.

  Just then, his cell phone started ringing. He glanced once to Sara, and he could see and feel this slipping away.

  “Get down on your knees!” one of the deputies shouted.

  There were two guns on him now, and he lifted his hands.

  “What’s going on? Blake, what are you doing?” Sara was spitting mad.

  “Sara, get away from him,” the sheriff yelled at her as Devon went down, his hands up. One of the deputies wrenched his hands behind his back and cuffed him after he was shoved to the ground, then yanked him up. Everyone was watching, but the look in Sara’s eyes just about killed him.

  “What are you arresting him for?” she yelled.

  But he already knew.

  “You caught him, didn’t you?” he said to the sheriff, who nodded.

  “Suppose you left out the part about knowing him,” the sheriff said. “Well, he sold you out.”

  Of course he did.

  “Let me guess,” Devon said. “You made a deal and are going to let him walk.” He could see the confusion and hurt and disbelief in Sara’s expression as she looked from him to the sheriff.

  “Drugs are a serious matter,” the sheriff said, “so how about telling us about the pills, Devon?”

  Devon didn’t know who was more shocked, Sara or him.

  Chapter 15

  She didn’t think she could breathe as she watched Devon struggling with one of the two deputies dragging him to the cruiser before they managed to put him in back. He was denying anything about pills, drugs, and he hadn’t said a word to Sara.

  She just stared. Her world had been rocked again, and Blake somehow guided her to his car, where she stopped at the passenger side. He held the door open, but she allowed her gaze to linger on Devon, who was now in the backseat, cuffed. She could see he was refusing to look her way.

  What the hell was going on?

  “I don’t understand what this is, Blake!” she snapped as he maneuvered her into the car, the passenger side, then stood there for a second as the deputies pulled away with Devon.

  “We arrested the guy who attacked you. Carter Jackson is his name. Maybe you’ve heard of him on campus? Regardless, it appears Devon and him know each other. I thought something was off about the way he reacted. He denied knowing him. Apparently, Devon is the dealer who supplied pills at the party. That was why he was on campus. He’s likely the one we’ve been looking for.”

  She just stared at Blake, who was staring down at her. She reached for the seatbelt and pulled it on mainly because she couldn’t figure out what to say.

  “I can see you’re upset, and you have every right to be,” Blake continued. “He fooled all of us.”

  She took in his hand on the door and the way he let his gaze linger over her: protective, all cop. She didn’t know what to say. He must have known how thrown she was, as he just closed her door and walked around to slide behind the wheel. At the same time, she could see all the people at the taco place staring her way with shock, excitement, and everything else that came over people when they were enjoying a dramatic scene. Of course, they had to be wondering what had happened. None of this made sense, but she knew they’d make up a story of something not even close to the truth.

  “So you arrested Devon because this guy who attacked me said what, exactly?”

  Blake backed up the cruiser but didn’t glance her way. “Your parents are meeting us at the station,” he said. So he wasn’t answering.

  “I see. I ask you a question, and you blow me off. This is my life, Blake. This happened to me, yet you’re acting very much as my dad does, thinking I don’t need to know anything, when that is the furthest thing from the truth. I have a right to know everything about the guy who attacked me and why you’ve assumed Devon supplied the pills.” It made absolutely no sense, any of this.

  “I can’t share everything, Sara, because we’re still investigating. Carter lawyered up as soon as we arrested him. We tracked him down. He lives off campus but is a student there. His lawyer wants to cut a deal and tossed out Devon’s name, said he recognized him. Let’s just say he’s the one who’s been selling pills. He’s a dealer, Sara, a bad guy.”

  She didn’t miss the way Blake tossed her that all-cop glance. “Really, a bad guy who saved me from an even worse guy? Or is there a scale of bad guys here? It sounds to me as if you’re more interested in the pills and who’s selling them than getting the guy who hurt me. In case you need a reminder, this Carter guy tried to rape me. He squeezed my throat so hard I couldn’t breathe. See the marks?” She yanked at her shirt collar, pulling it down.

  Blake looked over, but his expression gave nothing away. He shook his head. “Hey, Sara, this is about getting them both. I’m not letting Carter walk.”

  “But you want to nail Devon. Let me remind you, if it wasn’t for Devon, I’d likely be dead.”

  She could see how tense he was as he pulled up in front of the station, parking in front. Her parents’ pickup was already there. He shut off the engine, and she flicked off her seatbelt, her hand on the door.

  “Sara, I can see how upset you are, but I’m handling this…”

  She was too angry. She stepped out of the cruiser and shut the door, then started up the steps to the station, seeing her mom and dad step out. She didn’t know what to say at the way they were looking from her to the sheriff, who she knew was walking behind her.

  “You heard about what he did?” she snapped. Her parents seemed at a loss.

  “The sheriff called,” Andy said. “I also heard about the deal Carter’s lawyer wants to cut in exchange for Devon.”

  She wasn’t sure she’d heard right, and she dragged her gaze from her dad back to the sheriff and wondered why he’d omitted that. “A deal, what kind of deal?” she snapped.

  The way the sheriff watched her, she wondered if he’d tell her. He lifted his hand and gestured to the station. “Well, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that. Why don’t we go inside?”

  Sara was first through the door and took in the sheriff’s office, the deputies, the phones ringing. She wondered where Devon was, and where was Carter, who’d attacked her? She did her best to keep her head together as the sheriff led them to his office and closed the door.

  “Well?” she demanded. “What is this deal? I still want to know everything Carter said about Devon, because I’m telling you it doesn’t make sense.”

  Blake pushed away from the door and walked over to his desk. He didn’t sit behind it but perched on the edge of the front. “His lawyer wants a reduced charge for Carter in exchange for testimony against Devon, saying he’s the dealer who sold pills to him and others on campus. He says he was there the night of the party and was the dealer who brought the pills.”

  She blinked. If Devon was at the party, she’d have noticed him. This wasn’t possible. “Reduced charge in what way? Does this mean no court and I don’t have to testify?”

  Blake hesitated and took in her dad before dragging his gaze back to her. “It means that he wants the attempted murder charge dropped to assa
ult, with no sexual assault, and probation.”

  She heard her dad swear and was too stunned to say anything. Blake had been a friend of her family’s since she was a baby, and this was the first time he’d treated her as if she didn’t really matter. “So let me get this straight: You’re saying you’re more interested in nailing Devon for something you believe he’s done just because Carter said so, and you’re going to give a pass to the guy who tried to rape and choke the life out of me?” She’d never in her life felt so angry.

  “That’s not what I said, Sara. We never agreed to that, but we are talking reduced charges so he won’t do as much time.”

  She could only nod and drag her gaze over to her dad, seeing he was taking this as well as she was. “You know what? I want to see Devon.”

  Blake was already shaking his head, his arms crossed. “No, afraid not, Sara—”

  “I wasn’t asking permission, Sheriff. I want to see him now.”

  None of this made any sense, and she was still trying to understand how Devon could know Carter and say nothing. She didn’t miss the way the sheriff looked over to her dad, maybe to get his permission.

  “Okay, stop, both of you,” Sara said. “I asked to see Devon. This isn’t about you asking my dad’s permission. Dad, seriously…” She was furious and fisted her hands at her sides, at a loss of what to do. It seemed as if they were going to say no.

  “Let her see him,” Laura said, then leveled her gaze on each of them. “I don’t know about you, but I’m having trouble with all of this. It seems to me that you’re putting away the man who saved our daughter based on the word of the man who was going to rape and murder her. This isn’t right, Blake. Let her see him.”

  Her mom could be a force at times, and she found herself stepping closer to her, making a united front. Then her dad wiped his hand over his face. She knew the motion: tired, irritated, and about to give in.