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“He’s my son,” he spat, trying to wiggle free again, then cursing.
“He’s also eighteen and under my fucking protection,” I reminded him just as two officers rushed into the apartment. I stood up and moved to the side, letting them take over. I stalked off and knocked on my bedroom door. “Lillian?”
She flipped the lock and flung the door open. I gathered her into my arms the moment the door was open enough. She was pale and shaking, looking on the verge of passing out.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” she whispered when she looked over my shoulder and saw my father flailing around on the floor, shouting obscenities and threats. She quickly lurched from my arms and spun back around, rushing to our connected bathroom.
I quickly rushed after. Sinking to my knees beside her in front of the toilet, I held her hair back out of her face as she emptied her stomach. After she’d rinsed her mouth out and didn’t look like she might fall over at any second, I led her from the room. It was quiet now, only one of the officers remaining.
“I just need to take a statement,” he said, looking at the four of us. Solomon had emerged from his room and was tucked under Ezra’s bulky arm, looking as pale as Lillian did.
“Sure,” I told the officer, gesturing to the living room. I settled Lillian on the couch and grabbed the trash can from the kitchen for her, just in case she felt the need to throw up again. Then, I settled beside her, tucking her against my side.
It took a couple of hours for the officer to get a statement from each of us. It was after five in the morning by the time he left. I brushed my lips to Lillian’s forehead. “You ready to go back to bed, little blondie?” I softly asked her.
She nodded, but she didn’t move, instead just clinging to me. I looked over at Solomon. His coloring was a little better, but he was still pretty pale.
“You good, little bro?” I asked him.
He snapped his eyes up to me, nodding too quickly for me to believe him. I frowned. Ezra shook his head at me. “Go on and get back to bed,” he told me. “Solomon and I will chill out here and watch TV until he feels comfortable enough to go back to sleep.”
I looked at Solomon, waiting for him to give me a signal. If he needed me out here with him, I’d stay. Lillian was already falling back asleep anyway.
A tight smile pulled at Solomon’s lips. “I’ll be fine, Amadeus. Ezra can take care of me.”
I nodded. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”
He nodded. “I know.”
I stood from the couch and then lifted Lillian into my arms. She twined her arms around my neck, leaning her head on my shoulder as I carried her back to bed.
Hopefully, that fuckface would be locked up for a good few years, long enough for Solomon to grow into himself and out of his fear. And if he wasn’t, Ezra and I would be here to protect him.
The abuse was over, and I refused to let that darkness touch my family ever again.
Epilogue
Amadeus
Irolled over in bed, patting my hand around, hoping to come in contact with Lillian, but her side of the bed was cold. I grunted and slowly opened my eyes. Sunlight was creeping around the edges of the blackout curtains over the window.
Fuck, what time was it?
I rolled my head around and snatched my phone off the nightstand before squinting my eyes at the screen.
Fucking past eleven. Jesus Christ. Lillian had worn me the fuck out the night before. It wasn’t often it happened, but I was coming to realize that the further along in her pregnancy she got, the higher her sex drive became. The doctor assured her it was normal, and I sure as hell wasn’t complaining.
It’d been almost five months since the night my father showed up. He got six months in jail for violating the restraining order against him, but then when the church was investigated thanks to Ezra dropping bread crumbs for the police to follow, he got life in prison, not just for child abuse charges, but for also making money off of marriage deals within the community, sex trafficking, and also multiple counts of rape.
All Ezra had done was shed light on the extra money he’d found in random accounts. And someone on the force had traced it all back to a fucking trafficking ring, which then uncovered the rest of what he’d been doing.
My father had been involved ina lotof shady shit, and merely being related to him made my skin crawl. Ezra and I both drank ourselves sick after that court hearing. It was honestly one of the quickest criminal cases to ever be closed in the county, but we were thankful for it.
Because now, we could finally be free. Ezra’s parents hadn’t had any dirt, but they’d been sure to keep their distance.
Lillian’s father and mother moved shortly after that. And the one time her sisters tried reaching out to Lillian, they made her feel like shit for turning her back on their parents, so I quickly cut them off. She didn’t get a say in it, but she hadn’t minded. Like most of everything else in her life, she gladly gave me the reigns on it, allowing me to do what was best for her.
My woman was off-fucking-limits. I didn’t give a damnwhowas coming at her sideways. She wasmine, and her mental, physical, and emotional health were mine to protect and take care of. And I fucking would, no matter who got hurt in the process.
