“If you hear anything, call me,” I replied and opened the door to go to the police station and the sorry ass police in this town that could be bought.

I’d go see my father last. He wasn’t going to be as easy to threaten.

I didn’t check in at the front desk when I got to the station.

“You have to check in Mr. Kerrington,” Margaret Fritz called out as I stalked past her without a word.

Deputy Sheriff Josiah Burton was in his office when I reached it and I walked into without knocking and slammed the door closed behind me. I locked it just in case I needed time to kill him. I turned to glare at the man I knew had been paid off to do my father’s bidding.

“You better start talking you sorry motherfucker, or the last thing I do before they lock me up is blow your sorry ass head off,” I growled.

Josiah jumped up from his desk his beady eyes going round in surprise.

“I did just what your dad had me do. I covered everything. The paper work is done and filed; she can’t come back to town. I secured it. Calm down. It’s done. No reason to get so damn demanding.”

He thought I knew about this. I forced the raging need to rip his head off down and stared at him deciding exactly how to play this. I needed more information.

“What time did you arrest her?”

Josiah shook his head. “I didn’t. Like your dad told me I just cuffed her and threw her in the back of the squad car. Scared her a bit. Then took her to him.”

My chest was about to explode. They had purposely scared her. My father would pay for this. Every minute she was terrified he would pay tenfold.

“Where was my father? Where did you take her?

Josiah frowned. “Your house.”

He had taken her to my house.

“Is she still there?”

“No man. I told you I did all the paperwork. She was warned not to come back or I’d arrest her and then she was shipped off to wherever the hell he had Leo take her.”

“Why can’t she come back?” I asked balling my hands into fists.

Josiah started to answer and stopped. He studied me a minute and then his jaw went slack. “You don’t know. He did this and you didn’t know. Fuck me,” he said, sinking back down into his chair. “Oh man, Woods. I thought you knew. I thought she was crazy and you were scared of what she might do. I was getting rid of her for you. Your dad said she was dangerous. A mental case. I even roughed her up a bit. I didn’t know… please tell me that girl is screwed in the head and what I did was good.”

I closed my eyes tightly trying not to think about the part where he said he’d roughed her up a bit. I needed to hit someone. “How did you rough her up?” I asked in a slow even voice.

“Just jerked her around unnecessarily by the arm and put the cuffs on a little too tight.”

I grabbed the front of his uniform and jerked him up out of his seat. “Even if she had been crazy, she’s a woman. No woman needs to be handled like that. Ever.” I took a deep breath. “She’s the woman I love. The woman my sick f**ker of a father doesn’t want me to love.” I threw him back in his chair and he rolled back and slammed into the wall. I didn’t apologize or wait to see if I was going to deal with charges of my own. I jerked open his door and made my way back out to my truck ignoring questions as I went.

Leo. I had to find f**king Leo.

Leo wasn’t in town. My parents had left on a plane for New York City after I left their house today. No one knew anything. I stood on my porch staring out at the ocean and dialed Della’s phone for the hundredth time just to hear her voicemail.

“It’s Della. Can’t answer my phone right now but leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.”

Beep.

“It’s me again. You’re gone. I wasn’t there and you were hurt. God baby, knowing how scared you must have been and I wasn’t there. I just need to find you. Where ever you are. I need to find you, Della. Call me. Let me know you’re okay.”

Beep.

Then a dial tone.

I dropped my phone on the table and gripped the railing in front of me. She was going to have to sleep without me tonight. Her bad dreams would come back and I wouldn’t be there. Would someone be there? Was she alone?

Della

My phone was gone. I’d unpacked all my things and my phone wasn’t there. Woods couldn’t call me. Maybe that was best. Telling him that I wasn’t good for him hadn’t worked before. His father was forcing my hand and proving to Woods the truth. I wasn’t worth it.

The idea that his father had lied to Woods to make him believe I had left voluntarily or that I actually had stolen something hurt. I didn’t want him to think I would do either of those things. I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep after waking myself and Braden and Kent up screaming last night. I’d sat up and thought about what I needed to do next. Where I needed to go. How I should live my life. Would I ever see Woods again? It had kept me from falling back to sleep and letting another bad dream come haunt me. It was all too fresh right now.

A swift knock on the door broke into my thoughts and Braden opened the door and stepped in carrying a cup of coffee.

“I thought you might be awake,” she said smiling and handing me the cup in her hands.

“Thank you,” I said and took the cup. After taking a sip, I looked over at Braden. “I’m sorry about last night.”

Braden frowned. “You have no reason to be sorry. I’m sorry that you have those damn dreams. I’m sorry that I can’t make them go away. I’m sorry that you found someone to love and it all fell apart. I’m sorry about all of the shit you’ve been dealt. But you have nothing to be sorry about Della Sloane. You never have.”