“Yeah. That’s what I thought. Even now, you treat me like the enemy when all I ever did was try to be your friend.”
“If only you could have been happy to be free, then maybe I’d have left you alone. You never appreciated what I did for you.”
Lucky stared up at Hawk’s solemn face. “She still thinks she did me a favor.”
Hawk saw all her pain and frowned, brushing his knuckles over her cheek, making her realize she was crying.
She met Desiree’s truth with one of her own. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be happy that your father is dead, your mother, and feel so guilty at the same time because your freedom came at a cost you weren’t willing to pay? Do you know what it’s like to know that your little brother will never grow upto be the man you saw in your head? Smart. Caring. Fiercely protective, even when the odds were against him. Danny never did anything to anyone. He was a jokester, the one person who always tried to make me smile. The one who always hugged me with all his strength.”
Desiree deflated. “I said I was sorry about him.”
“But. You. Aren’t. Sorry!” Her hands fisted at her sides. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You twist up your convoluted feelings and lash out at even the smallest affront to your heart. You want love, so you try to force it from Neil and steal it away from me. You want me to yourself, so you kill my family. Not because you love me, but because you want to control and hurt me. You don’t even tell me I’m your sister. You don’t give me a chance to be that to you before you try to kill me. You’re so busy blaming me for your own misery, you can’t even be happy that I found the love of my life.”
“You don’t deserve it.”
“Right. Because I have it and you don’t.”
“Because you go around making everyone feel sorry for the sad girl.”
“Up until recently, my lifewasreally fucking sad. Look at all the things I’ve endured. Hawk is the one thing I have that means everything to me. I’m taking you down to have a happy life with him. I would die for him.”
Desiree tried to come at her again. “Then die already.” She kicked out, trying to strike Lucky but Mason held her back. “I hate you!”
“Good. I hate you, too.” She let out a deep sigh. “Get out of my home. You’re not welcome here anymore. You can picture me here from your cell. Think of me with Krystal, with Hawk, with the kids we’re going to have, the life we’ll live, the happiness we’ll share. You wanted me to be free? With you gone, I finally will be.”
Mason pulled Desiree to the door.
“You should thank me, then,” Desiree bellowed.
“I thank Hawk for rescuing me from you. He saved me. He loves me. He’s all I need.”
Lyric slammed the door in Desiree’s face before she could spew anymore hate.
Hawk pulled Lucky into his arms. “You did it.”
“She did it. All of it. And now she’ll suffer the consequences.”
“Do you want to be there when Mason locks up Sheriff Collins?”
“No. But I would like to talk to him once he’s behind bars. I think it would be better if I can’t get my hands on him.”
Hawk’s fury showed all over his face. “I’d like five minutes alone with him, myself.”
She fisted his shirt at his waist in both hands. “He let it all happen. All of it. I suffered and he just stood back and did nothing. Oh, he gave my dad a warning, but that was too little, too late. That didn’t stop anything. He knew I was his and he just turned his back on me to save his own ass from the fallout of revealing that secret. All he had to do was arrest my father. To do his fucking job!” Tears streamed down her cheeks, even though she was so, so numb inside.
Hawk simply held her, letting her take whatever time she needed to settle her head and heart.
“I’m going to go down to the station and give my statement to Jase.” Neil put his hand on her shoulder.
Hawk stiffened, but didn’t bark at Neil to keep his hands to himself like he probably wanted to.
She managed to lift her gaze to Neil. “I hope you get a chance to finally spend some quality time with your daughter. She’s an amazing kid.”
“Yeah, well, she’s got a kickass aunt who loves her. Whatever happens next, I hope you’ll stay in her life, even if I’m in it.”
“I’m not mad at you. You did what you thought you needed to do at the time. You’ve paid the price for it. More than you should have by missing all these years with Krystal. I know you can’t get them back, but you deserve a chance to be the father she needs and deserves. I think you’ll be great.”
The parole officer smacked Neil on the back. “Come on. I’ll follow you to the station and make a statement on your behalf.”
