J O S H
He doesn't hate me, and it feels like he should. If I just didn't take off maybe we would not have been sitting in that god awful courtroom. The moment we left, and we parted ways I just wanted to run to him and be with him, but at the moment I can't. Jaxon and Lucas guide me out the same way we came in. I look over my shoulder and see Ryder take a quick glimpse at me.
"Don't worry champ, you'll see him soon enough." I look at Jaxon and he gives me a smug smile." We are taking you to my mom and dad's place since Ryder is in her custody." I nod my head, but we are stopped in our tracks when we see my father at the exit.
"Joshua." I cringe when he calls me by my full name. "Father." I still feel like a coward around him. I can feel Jaxon and Lucas next to me. "Lucas." My father acknowledges him, and Lucas gives him a curt nod. "I need to borrow my son for a while. I will drop him off wherever you want me to." I look back at Jaxon and Lucas and plead with them and they give me a small sad smile. I sigh in defeat as I nod my head and walk towards my father.
"I'll text you my mom's address." Jaxon says and I give him a grateful smile.
"Don't do anything you will regret Marshall." Lucas warns and when I look at him, he has a cold hard exterior written on his face. Lucas has respected my dad all these years, I wonder what has changed.
"I never regret what I do." With that he takes my hand and ushers me out the exit and into a town car parked right outside the exit. Once we are in, he tells the driver to take off. "You have gotten yourself into a real mess with this one." I go to speak but he speaks before I can. "What is it with you and turning your bodyguards into your lovers." My mouth hangs open and I glare at him. He slams his hand against the side of the door, and I flinch. "You have made a big fucking mess of things Joshua."
"I did not do anything."
"You fucked your bodyguard!" He yells and I scoot away from him. My father may be a lot of things, but he has never been this angry with me. "This is such a fucking mess and now a damn trial. You know he is going to go away for life."
I feel the bile rise in my throat and my hands start to shake. He can't go to jail it is all my fault and he would have been better off if he never met me. I don't believe for a moment that he killed her. Ryder may be a lot of things, but he would never do this, I know it in my heart.
"He won't." My voice is a whisper, but I know he heard me. He hands a folder over to me and when I look inside, and it is pictures of Candice and the pictures of the weapon. There are also pictures of Ryder and Candice and it looks like they are arguing. "This doesn't mean anything." I shove the folder back at him.
"It does. People do not want to hear the truth son." He puts his arm on my shoulder, and I still wish it was like it used to be with us, but it's not anymore. He squeezes a little tighter and I bite the inside of my cheek. "They will look at the evidence and conclude that he is guilty."
"It won't happen." I deny but he grips my chin to make me look at him. "It will." he says, and I swear he does not even look like my father at the moment. Well, he really hasn't been much of a dad lately anyways.
"He didn't do it."
"He did." I go to argue again but he shakes his head still gripping my chin. I didn't even realize the town car stopped. "In the eyes of everyone, and the media, he did."
"Make it go away." I can't believe I said that but the panic inside me is killing me. This is my fault, and I cannot let him take the fall for it. "I'll do whatever, but make it go away."
He let's go of my chin and smiles at me. "I knew you would see it my way. When the time comes you will take over the company." I go to argue but he gives me a creepy smile. "Otherwise, I will go right back in there and tell Judge Barker the deal is off."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You'll see."
With that my door is opened and his driver gestures for me to get out. I look around and see Jax's truck parked in the driveway. I look at my phone and then see the address and we are at his mom's place.
"Remember when the time comes you will come home." The window rolls up and the car drives away.
I just stand there looking, as the car fades away until it disappears from my sight. I just stare what feels like forever and know now that I will never be free.
"Hey." I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel Jaxon's hand rest on my shoulder. "Everything okay?" I shake my head because I am furthest from being okay.
"I think I just made a deal with the devil."
He gives me a questioning look, but I just stay silent. "Well, we better get in there before Ryder's pacing drives everyone insane." I'm glad that he changes the subject and turn around and rush towards the house and once opening the door I am engulfed into a bid bear hug. My feet are off the ground, and I bury my face in his neck.
"I was worried about you." He whispers and I plant a small kiss on his neck. I can feel the hair on his neck stand. "What did he want?" I shake my head and hold onto him tighter knowing that one day I will have to leave him, and I do not want to. God, I don't want to, but I will have no other choice.
"It's not important." He puts me down and I step back to look into his eyes. "Are you okay?" I can see the tiredness in his eyes. A throat clears and we pull away to see the shit eating grin on both Lucas and Jaxon's face. We both flip them off as Ryder grabs my hand pulls me up the stairs to the room apparently is staying in. Their laughter rings throughout downstairs as Ryder shuts the door. The moment it is shut his lips are on mine and I hold onto him tightly. He lifts me up and carries me to the bed and lays me down. When his arms encircle me and drag me as close to him as possible, I feel like I can cry.
"I'm better now." He says as plants a kiss to the back of my neck. "I'm sorry Josh." I turn around so I can look in his eyes and all I see is sadness and remorse. When his fingers glide through my hair I can't help but relish in the feel of him. "For what?" I breathlessly breathe out. "For everything." My eyes open and I stare into his. "You have nothing to be sorry about Cowboy. This is not your fault." It's mine. I lean in and brush my lips against his. No man has ever made me feel this way. I feel the tears pooling in my eyes, but before they can spill over there is banging on the door.
"If you are fucking in there, hurry up we need to go." Jaxon shouts and I groan as Ryder glares at the door. "And no, you cannot kill me Ryder because my husband will come after your ass. Plus, my mom will be pissed if you murder her only child." His footsteps echo down the hall.
"What does Lucas see in him?" My cowboy grunts out and I cannot help but laugh. He turns and looks at me. "What's so funny?" He looks at me then at the door. I bite my lips to stop myself from laughing again. "Tell me what's so funny." He demands and when I do not speak, he starts tickling me. I squirm as my laughter fills the room. "Fucking tell me Josh." He smiles at me as he tickles me even more.
"Damn it, stop Cowboy."
When he finally lets up, I jump off the bed laughing bolting towards the door. I turn around and look at him and fuck his smile is something else. He only smiles like that for me. My heart beats a little faster and I shake thoughts of the future of us out of my head.
"Get your asses down here now!" Lucas yells and I swing the door open running out of the room laughing as I hear my Cowboy groaning.
I hear his footsteps follow me as we get down the stairs and I stop dead in my tracks when I see Katherine gets off the phone.
"What is going on?"
Kate looks at us all and then at Ryder with concern written on her face.
"That was the judge, he wants us back in the courtroom as soon as possible."
And so it begins.
The deal with the devil is going to cost me the love of my life.
YOU ARE READING
Never Say Never
General Fiction(Completed)Book 5 of the It Just Happened Series. (This can be read as a stand-alone book, however there is mentions of the characters in the other books as well.) Ryder Dawson has just come home from his last tour of duty broken and lost. He does n...
