Life After Love: Part 17

Serena

Today was the day we'd finally know Michael's fate in this drug trafficking trial. Perfectly inconvenient, if you asked me, since Daniel and I were supposed to renew our vows tomorrow. He might not even be in the mood considering his best friend might be going to the slammer for a long time. Either way, the venue had our deposit, and I cursed when I felt my phone vibrating in my purse as I headed towards my car. Marley and Daniel were waiting for me at the court house, and I was almost sure it was her calling to make sure I was still coming. To my surprise, it was the women's correctional facility in Galveston calling. The only person I knew in there was Becca, and I wondered why she was reaching out today out of all days.

I accepted the call as I entered my car and pulled out onto the dirt road leading out of the farmhouse. My babies were with the new nanny until Daniel and I were done at the courthouse, which wouldn't take too long. At least I hoped it didn't. I had a million things to do today.

"Look, I don't have alot of time, but I need to see you today. It's important," Becca's shrill of a voice hurt my ears as it filled the empty space in my car through the speakers. Her odd and desperate tone was what kept me from hanging up. Whatever it was she needed to tell me, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Becca, I have to be at the courthouse for Michael's hearing today. I don't have time for—"

"Your family is in danger. If you want to keep them safe, you have to meet me here. I'll see you soon," Becca interrupted, her cryptic message making the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up just before she ended the call.

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Breaking several speed limits on my way to Galveston, I managed to make it to the women's correctional facility in record time. After they pretty much confiscated everything I had on me, they lead me to the visiting room, where only Becca and a man who stuck out like a sore thumb as a cop sat next to her. His hair was dark and slicked back, square-shaped face, tall but medium build with warm brown close-set eyes, and a complexion I could only describe as a warm caramel. He didn't look like he was from around here, and I wondered where Becca managed to find him.

"What's the big emergency?" I asked, not bothering to wait for the cop to hold out a chair for me. That seemed to irritate him enough to keep his distance from me as he sat next to Becca again.

"We have reason to believe your family is in danger of being in the crossfire of this underground drug trade happening in Pasadena," the cop, who's name I didn't care to learn, explained, and I looked at them both, wondering what kind of game they were playing.

"We paid off Michael's debt. They have no reason to come after any of us," I explained, and they shared a look before Becca moved in her seat, her cuffs dangling on the laminate table we were sitting at. Orange was definitely not her color. It wasn't the put-together gold-digger I was used to seeing. Then again, you couldn't do much gold digging in prison.

"Let's just say that Thea isn't done making you pay for what happened to her sister," Becca warned, and her words were starting to scare me as I tried to process what she was saying. Daniel was about to follow in Michael's footsteps, losing everything he had worked so hard for because of his past. Thea had the law on her side, and she knew exactly how to frame somebody without anyone thinking twice about it. Apparently, having Becca take the fall for everything hadn't been good enough for her.

"How can I help?" I offered and waited for them to explain how exactly we were supposed to fix this mess.

"You have to take your kids and leave. We can put you in protective custody until we find a way to stop her," the cop promised, and I shook my head in response. This couldn't be happening. Not today. Not when Daniel and I were finally in a good place and things were going well. Maybe we were cursed after all. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, like everyone around us had voiced vehemently since the day we met.

"Daniel isn't coming with us, is he?" I concluded, and the cop shook his head first, while Becca sent me a sympathetic glance. She actually looked remorseful for once. Maybe motherhood had changed her after all.

"He's the bait. Once Thea makes her move on him, we'll catch her, and then you can come back. Until then, you have to stay away," he insisted, and I could feel the weight of the world on my shoulders again, anchoring me down with helplessness. I had no choice. I had to leave Daniel and everyone else if I wanted to save him and our family. I always wondered what kind of circumstance would cause us to break free from each other for good. Everything in my bones was telling me this could be it.

"Do I have time to warn him at least?"

"No. Trust me, it's better that way," the cop informed me, and I glared at him, wondering where the hell his compassion was. Whose side was he on?

"Better for who exactly?" I countered and watched his eyebrows raise at my tone. He wasn't used to people standing up to his authoritative presence from the looks of it. There was a first time for everything.

"Can you promise me you'll keep him safe? Keep all of them safe?" I pointed out, and the cop nodded confidently. My hands were tied, but I wanted to make sure they were on my terms.

"I need an hour to get things in order," I added, and the cop continued to explain how they planned on sneaking me and the twins out of the country without making much noise. I suggested they take me to Colombia, since I had some contacts there who could provide much better protection than the ones they had, and I convinced them to allow me to call up a friend to take over my business while I was gone. I hated how it had to be Aaron, but he had the experience and was the only I could trust with this kind of information, and I knew he'd help if it meant keeping my family safe.

"Okay," I began an hour later, after I finished leaving a few secret voicemails to the rest of the group, letting them know I was off to an emergency business trip and disposed of my cell phone in a nearby trash can. They would think it was odd of course. But at least they wouldn't try to look for me. Not right away, anyway. Who knew how long it would take for Thea to exact her revenge. Where Aaron was concerned, I let the cop give him the instructions I had detailed to him, so he'd be able to take over my business as soon as he accepted.

"Are my kids on their way?" I inquired, making sure the cop had followed through with his promise of bringing the twins to me so I didn't have the chance to run into anyone who'd ask any questions.

"Five minutes out, and look about my behavior in there—" he started and I raised a hand to stop him. I didn't care about his delayed apology. All I cared about was getting me and my kids out of this mess as soon as possible.

"Save it. Just do your job and bring that bitch down," I demanded, and he cleared his throat at the sound of my sharp tone, pursing his lips as he straightened.

"Not a friendly one are you?" he uttered, failing at keeping his rude personality at bay. I wondered if he was from New York as well. Not that it mattered. I just needed him to keep my husband and my friends safe. Other than that, I didn't care much for law enforcers. They used and abused too much power, only adding more fuel to the fire they couldn't help but start in the first place.

Once I saw the black SUV pull up in the parking lot of the prison, I hurried over to it and opened the door to make sure my twins were safe and sound. As soon as I saw them nestled into their car seats next to a couple of suitcases, I sighed in relief.

"Michael is getting a slap on the wrist, by the way. I thought you'd like to know," the cop addressed, informing me of Michael's future community service due to his time as an EMT, and the fact that he had been threatened to comply with the drug dealers in the first place. I pictured how wide Marley's smile must be right now and wondered when I'd be able to smile like that again.

"Make sure Daniel gets that note. He'll try and find me otherwise," I advised firmly as he helped me up into the SUV, and I handed him the keys to the car my husband had bought me as a peace offering. He was to hide it somewhere I'd be able to find when I got back. I didn't want to discard of it like he suggested. It meant too much to me to be treated like garbage.

"Got it. Don't worry, you'll be back before you know it," he claimed, lifting his sunglasses to let me get a glimpse of his determination. I had a hard time trusting cops after all the havoc they've been spreading in New York and all over the states right now. But something told me he was one of the good ones. I had no time to believe otherwise.

"Name's Vinson, by the way. For when you decide to thank me for rescuing your family," he added with an arrogant smirk, and I rolled my eyes at him as I slammed the door shut. While I closed the window, he began to wave while the driver began to drive down the pathway that would lead us out of the prison gates.

I took one look at my boys, taking each of their little hands in mine and decided that crying wasn't an option right now. I had to get my shit together and do what I needed to do to keep them out of harm's way. If that included breaking Daniel's heart along the way, it was a sacrifice I had no choice but to make.