“Sam…”
“No. I won’t sit here and listen to you beg for a fiend’s life. Get the fuck out of my house if that is how you feel. There are two sides here, Mya, Mine and his. Pick wisely.”
She rushes towards me and holds me close. “Yours, always your side babe. I just don’t want to lose you.”
I stroke my fingers down her back maybe to comfort her, maybe to soothe me. “If he dies then I will pay the consequence for it. There is no other way to look at it. They know I did it and if I have to pay, I gladly will. Every minute in a cell will be worth it.” I lean back to see her face because she is still holding me tightly. “He took her from me, Mya. I am left knowing she most likely cried as she called for me or Deja and she was alone. He was with her, enjoying it. That is something I will never forget. If there is a heaven, Pet, my apologies at the pearly gates will be to Kace for not protecting her. I won’t apologize for Tenpenner.”
As if God himself wanted to test that theory, my doorbell rang and I knew… I fucking knew.
Mya
I sit on the couch with Noah, Cal and Asa as the news reports the biggest tragedy of this entire thing. Yes, children were murdered and tortured…. But now Sam would pay for Tenpenner’s sins because he killed him.
“Levi Tenpenner of Battleground, Washington, died today after injuries sustained in a physical altercation with the father of one of Tenpenner’s victims. Landry Snow is on the scene now in Tacoma with more information. Landry?”
“It is a crazy scene here in Tacoma, Kelly. As Sam Sullivan, the father of three-year-old Kace Sullivan, who was abducted just shy of ten years ago, is escorted inside handcuffed. We reported earlier this week that Levi Tenpenner was attacked in the courtroom by Sullivan after refusing to plead guilty as opposed to No Contest.
Tenpenner was facing multiple charges including sodomy and forceable rape of a child, kidnapping, and murder, when he gave detailed instructions to the whereabouts of little Kace Sullivan. Sullivan attacked him Thursday in court when Tenpenner refused to admit his guilt. Sullivan was released on bail late this afternoon on pending assault charges. Now, he is facing murder, possibly manslaughter. We will be here reporting as more information comes in, but to recap Kelly, Levi Tenpenner, accused of multiple violent charges has died due to the injuries sustained by Sam Sullivan.”
“Turn it off,” Cal says, and leans toward me to console me. I didn’t even know I was crying until he wiped my tears. “Listen to me, My. We will get him the best lawyers money can buy. This isn’t murder and the world know it.”
I look at him shaking my head no. “What’s done is done. He took a life. I don’t see any court being lenient.”
“You would be surprised. Sam won’t plead guilty to the charges and a judge will need to hear him out. All he needs is a judge with kids and he has sympathy,” Noah states, as he looks at his phone as he and Cal’s start alerting over and over again.
“Media coverage will be a nightmare. Asa, can you get T on this?” Cal says, and I sit back watching as these three men try to do damage control. I wish I had their enthusiasm. I won’t sit here and show my fear though, fuck that. I will fight for Sam just as hard.
“I say let the media know everything. The world will sympathize with Sam, say a few life matters campaigns. We aren’t talking a race issue or police brutality. This was a father killing the sadistic fuck that tortured and killed his child. The world will mourn Kace and support him,” I say, and start pulling up the internet on my laptop.
“I agree,” I hear Tayla’s voice come through on Asa’s speaker. “Where are you guys right now?”
“We are still at Sam’s,” I say, and like moths to a flame, I see headlights coming in one after the other. Sam lives in a wooded area in a modern two-story home, but it isn’t secluded or private.
“I am sending security and cars there now. Meet at my cabin in Yakama,” Tayla says, and disconnects the call.
We wait until Drake and the security team for my brother’s band get us safely in a slick black Escalade. We are riding together, but there are five total all going different directions like the president. It is annoying that anyone should go to this extreme for privacy.
By the time we make it to T’s cabin in Yakama it is almost four in the morning and with hours of media coverage all saying the same version of bullshit, I wanted to scream.
“Have a seat,” Tayla says, her phone glued to her ear with a conference call of some type on her laptop as she motions to Cal to take over on the laptop.
“Hey,” He says, confused I assume by whoever he is talking to.
“Mr. Dorian, I am Frank Adeleke, Mr. Sullivan’s new attorney,” The man was older, maybe in his fifties with greying dark hair. He was clean cut and well-manicured, and I liked him more than Poet immediately.
“Where is Poet?” My brother asks.
“Fired!” Tay hisses in a whisper, before mumbling a few words and ending her call.
“Fired?” Why?” Noah asks, and I look to Tay for answers. She was once my soon to be sister in law. I didn’t agree with her cheating on my brother and hurting him, but he was happily married with a family now, so I held no grudges.
“Sam fired her the minute he made bail.” Tay explains to my complete shock.
“He did what!”
She nods and squeezes my shoulder. “He didn’t want a defense attorney that defends men like Tenpenner and Poet Degrassi Grey was that kind of attorney.”
“Sam hired me. My firm handles mostly cases like this. Technically, he falls under vigilante justice, which in theory most people agree with, but rarely does a court. My firm has lost ten percent of the cases we take to court and defend. In this situation, this is the best defense.”
