A breath lodges in my throat and I shake my head.
Cap shakes his right back. “We’re not having this conversation, but I know my brother. Whether you know it, whether he fucking knows it, it’s in there. Maybe not fully grown but Raven you’re inside him in a way nobody ever has been. He will always act in defense first, especially when you’re at the center of the threat.”
I nod, glancing at Royce.
“Fists first, fixes later,” he says.
“Kinda sounds like me,” a laugh bubbles out of me and they grin gravely.
“And we were pissed at you, maybe still are, to be honest, but we understand now. We see what you did and why, and we love you more for it even though you made the wrong move.” Royce’s eyes slide between mine, the honesty of his words hitting me hard and meaning more than I could express if I tried. “Now come on. We still have an hour but let’s get in there, the seats fill up fast.”
Together, three strong, we head inside for our fourth man.
Three fucking days.
They stuck me in a damn cell by myself for three fucking days. Not once did I get let out. No calls. No other inmate interactions, not that I wanted it, but still. Three days of nothing but a fucking guard who would stick a tray through the metal bars. He didn’t even speak.
I have no idea what’s going on at home.
I don’t know if Collins and his lackeys came after my family or if Raven took off again for some stupid fucking reason she cooked up. I don’t know shit.
I have never in my life felt more helpless.
And if I didn’t get a message from our lawyer telling me I’d finally see a fucking judge today for bail, I’d have lost my shit and threw my name around, forced them to feel the weight of it until they told me what I needed to know. But I trusted my dad and waited it out, just fucking barely.
Right now, my patience is being tested again as I’m crammed in a room with seven others waiting to see the damn judge. Shitty part is this isn’t even the only room, so who knows how long this could take.
If I lean forward a little and look to the left, I can see inside the room across from me where more inmates wait just the same.
The officer who led us in here stands in the center of the hall, blocking us from the others. He hits both door frames with his little nightstick to gain attention.
“Listen up!” he shouts, pulling up his belt to cover the potbelly hanging over. “Last names A through H, line up in front of that door. Face forward, no turning or communicating with the inmate in front of or behind you.” He points his toy my way, looking right at me. “You first.”
My pulse kicks higher at being singled out with these people around. My name hasn’t been said out loud in here. They have no fucking clue who I am and what would happen to them if they decided to act like brave little bitches and start a pointless fight for the sake of dick measuring. While I’d love to put someone in their place right now, I’ve got a lot of tension to burn, I need out of this fucking shit today.
Or maybe I’m fucking trippin’ from being in here three days with no contact and he simply called on the first eyes he locked with.
I take my time standing and slowly shuffle toward the door, the clinking of other inmate’s shackles echoing behind me.
They put these fucking cuffs on that bound at the wrist, a thin chain hanging down and connecting at the ankles, making it awkward to walk and cutting my strides in half. It’s infuriating.
I stand facing a door and my senses kick in.
He just fucking tucked me into a corner and expects me to stand here blind. I don’t fucking think so.
I start to turn when a hiss hits my ear.
“Do. Not. Turn around.”
My muscles lock, my shoulders stiffening.
“Stay perfectly fucking still or we’re made.”
“The fuck?” I hiss back, but he silences me.
“There’s no one behind me, someone’s causing commotion, but I only have a minute before the rest are in line and you’re brought into the courtroom. Give a tight nod if you were left alone?”
I do as he asks.
“Good. I asked for it, sorry for the no communication but I didn’t want your brothers stepping in and trying to speed up the process. I made them keep you waiting until my lawyer could get me here.”
I frown at the old wood in front of me.
“It took a lot of work, a lot of money and promises, but I’ll be reviewed for a parole release today.”
“Dad— ”
“I’m sorry to spring this. This isn’t normally how these things work, but it’s the only way. Things are moving quicker than planned, and I need to be home now more than ever.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I snap quietly.
“Shh. You’ll understand soon.”
“All right, the rest of you, in line!” the officer shouts behind us and my dad curses.
“They’re out there for you, son,” he whispers.
Annoyance flares. It’s not right to catch them off guard like this.
Cap is gonna freak if this goes how our dad clearly has planned. He’ll be forced to tell him he has a daughter he hid from him for the last two, almost three years. Cap will worry this will affect the little visitation he does have with Zoey.
But the irritation can only get so far before it’s replaced with anxiousness.
If they’re here, she will be, too. And if she’s not, something is wrong.
This also means my dad will see her. With all the shit going wrong lately, there’s no fucking way he hasn’t linked it directly to our newcomer. If he tries to push her out, I’ll push back for the first time in my life.
If she’s even here.
The door is pulled open and I bounce my shoulders quickly before we’re ushered through a narrow walkway and then straight into the open courtroom. My eyes immediately find them.
Four rows back, three seats over.
And my baby is here.
Her eyes fly across my face and form and she breathes a visible sigh of relief her head dropping to Captain’s shoulder a second when she finds I’m in one piece. Untouched.
No one can hurt me, baby.