Luke waved him off. "You're fine, and someone was going to ask eventually. It was good for her to see that she can say no. Ash and Cy have been explaining consent to her - and not just the sexual kind."
"So, how'd that turn out, anyway?" Berto asked. "Bad?"
Inwardly, I winced. We'd all talked about it, probably to death, but I had no idea if Luke would be willing to tell a man he'd just met. I liked thinking of us all as family, and a big one, but that didn't mean it would happen in a day. What Faith had been through was traumatic, as much for her father as for the girl herself.
"Not good," Ash said before Luke could reply. "Faith's mom married the fucker, but Violet pulled strings, Teal has a friend with the FBI, and the bastard went to jail."
"And the rest isn't necessarily legal," I told him, making it clear just how far we'd been willing to go. "Somehow, the videos from the cloud ended up on the man's laptop, and Faith's have all vanished, except for the proof needed to make sure he fries."
"Well, it'll be more like beating," Cy said. "Pedophiles donotdo well in jail. Seems that's one line criminals won't cross, and those who do pay dearly."
"Good," Berto grumbled. "But he didn't touch her?"
"No," Luke assured him. "I got her out first, but that's led to this whole mess."
Berto nodded, then took a long drink of his beer. "I'll stop in tomorrow, have a nice little rant about the reputation of the police, and throw around a few threats. I'll text my chief of staff tonight and get the ball rolling to follow through with it, because I want to make sure that bastard next door learns to keep his nose out of shit."
"You hate him too?" Luke asked.
Berto nodded. "Simmons hated Bea and Vera. Soon as I got my law degree, they called asking if they had any recourse." He lifted a finger. "Cessily passed the bar a year later, and she wanted to practice, not get into politics. But the pair of us made sure he knew to stay in his lane." He looked over at Cy. "You remember the vandalism incident, right?"
"Almost got blamed for it," Cy said.
Berto chuckled. "Yeah, that was it." Then he gestured around the table. "And this is working?"
Ash just laughed. "You told him, Vi?"
"It's Cobalt," I explained. "Not keeping secrets from family!"
"Well, be careful," Berto said. "Out here in far North Texas, things are still a bit behind the times. They can't legally discriminate, but they can use promiscuity and unstable living conditions as a reason to award the other parent primary custody."
"So I've heard," Luke assured him. "Which is why I'm with Violet, they're together, and this isn't happening."
"Faith has no idea?" Berto asked.
"None," Luke promised. "Cessily made us all promise to be on our best behavior until the trial."
"Which means sneaking around while she's at school," Ash explained. "It's working, though. Sucks, but not like we can have orgies with a kid in the house anyway."
"Exactly," Berto said. "Granted, I'm pretty sure that kid would love to move into the guest suite once all this is over. You know, her own space so she can decorate how she wants, and not be able to hear what goes on down the hall."
"I'd rather tell her," Luke admitted.
Which made me reach over for his hand. I loved that he was accepting this so easily, and yet I didn't want him to think it was a requirement. This whole time, our concern had been him being true to himself, and that was it. I opened my mouth to say something, but wasn't quite fast enough.
"Careful with that," Berto said. "Meredith can always try to get custody again, same way you are now. Pretty sure that poly relationships aren't quite that mainstream yet."
"You are not full of good news tonight, are you?" I said, trying to make it a joke. "But Cy's already mentioned that. The big question is how to deal with it, since Luke doesn't want to wait five years before coming out to his daughter."
"Yeah, I don't have a good answer," Berto admitted. "But I'm curious what the plan is if I can't come through with the cops."
I decided to answer before anyone else could. "I'll call Blaze."
"Ugh," Berto groaned. "That'd be expensive. I'm sure he could pay someone off, though. Made my last breakup vanish before the news caught wind, and made sure my ex didn't want to say a thing. Cost a hundred grand and a favor."
Luke casually took another drink. "How dirty is this rainbow? Honestly, guys, because I'm dragging Faith right into the middle of this."
Berto smiled and then took another long drink, but something about his mannerisms made it clear he'd just taken the "floor." The rest of us waited for the answer we knew was coming. I hoped he'd have a better way of explaining it than I could.
