She sits down at the edge of the couch. “Am I in trouble?” Her bottom lip trembles, and I let her hand go to wrap my arm around her shoulders.
I kiss the side of her head. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper, and she looks up at me, worry all over her face. Anger now fills my body, and I vow to never ever let her fucking parents and their actions touch her ever fucking again.
“They did something,” she says, “I can feel it.” She turns to Burke. “What happened? Am I in trouble?”
“You aren’t in trouble,” he reassures her, “but?—”
“There is no fucking but,” I snap at him. “She’s freaking out, and you are not helping. What part of ‘she can’t be stressed’ are you not getting?”
“Theo.” She puts her hand on my leg.
“Like I was trying to say, you aren’t in trouble, but your father is. Normally, this wouldn’t be your concern, but since he was arrested at your house . . .” I feel her whole body go tight under my arm. “I take it they did not have your permission to be in your house?”
She puts her head down, and I look up at the ceiling. It takes everything in me not to jump off the couch, go down to the jail, and bail him out just to beat the shit out of him.
“No,” she states softly. Burke looks at me, his eyebrows raising. “They said they would be staying at my place since I was staying here, but I told them not to. I guess I’m not surprised they didn’t listen to me.”
“Okay, well that answers that.” He leans forward and puts his elbows on his knees. “There was stuff we found in your house when he was arrested that needs to be discussed, things your father is saying are your property. He said all he was doing was staying the night.”
“What things?” she asks, her voice soft.
“There were four credit cards on the kitchen table in the names of a couple people in town.” She gasps. “We also found some items that were stolen from Caleb’s jobsites.”
“She didn’t fucking steal any of the tools, and you fucking know it. I was with her the last time she was home, and they weren’t there. If she isn’t at work, she’s here at my house. I pick her up and drop her off.”
“I’m sorry, Theo, but she’s going to have to answer this,” Burke declares.
She glances at me, then meets Burke’s eyes. “They’re not mine. I didn’t take any of that stuff. I haven’t been home in about a week. I didn’t steal anyone’s credit cards either. I would never.”
“I know that,” he says, “but I have to follow up.”
“I want to press charges,” she states. Burke’s eyes look like they are about to pop out of his head. Her hand goes to her belly. “It ends now. I refuse to let them interfere with my life again.”
I smile at her, kissing away the tear that slips down her cheek. “You do what you need to do for you.”
“It’s for us.” She turns to Burke. “I didn’t give them permission to be in my house. So what is that, trespassing?”
Burke lets a sly, proud smile slip out.
She presses on. “And I got a call from my bank a couple of weeks ago about a check that was cashed. They forged it. I want to press charges for that also. I don’t know how to do that.”
“You’re going to have to come in and do a police report with whatever proof you have.”
“Okay,” she agrees. “What else do you need from me?”
Burke goes over a list of things she needs to include in her complaint.
“I’m going to assume you aren’t going to bail him out,” he says as we walk him out.
“I am not,” she declares. “I refuse to.”
He gives her a nod. “Good. It’s about time. Come down later to give a statement, okay?”
“It depends on how she’s feeling,” I interject.
He glares at me. “You better be good to her.”
I close the door as he gets in his cruiser, then pull Collins against me. “Are you okay?”
