Nikki's POV
"You feeling better yet, chica?" Tommy plops onto the floor next to me, grabbing a toy and handing it to Wylie in hopes of cheering her up.
"No! Momma!" She whines, slapping the toy away from her.
"Great. Now she knows 'no', and with her attitude she'll say it to everything." I roll my eyes, frustrated that it's been an hour and Wylie still hasn't stopped being upset about Ryan leaving. She's been acting out a lot ever since Ryan got the job at the Whisky.
"Why is she so mean?" Tommy chuckles as Wylie huffs and rolls out of my lap, crawling across the floor to Riley.
"Have you met her mother?"
"Have you met you?" Riley snorts out a scoff.
"Fair enough." I shrug my shoulders, I can be a dick if I need to be. Maybe she did get it from me.
"Did you talk to Ryan this morning?" Tommy raises his eyebrows me and I silently curse him for bringing it up in front of Riley.
"No, I'm gonna talk to her when she gets home."
"Talk to her about what? Ow! No, Wylie!" Riley slaps Wylie's hands away as she tugs on her hair as hard as her little hands can pull.
"I called this morning and got a meeting with the lawyer to figure out what we can do to put an end to all this shit. He said after everything that's happened, and since Ryan has proven to not want any contact with the psycho bitch, that we can get a permanent restraining order that'll be more strict on her trying to contact Ryan. He said we can get one on Sylvia, too." I sigh in frustration, I should've talked to Ryan before she left.
"You think that would work?"
"Momma." Wylie pouts as she climbs onto Riley's lap, reaching down to play with her toes.
"I think it's a start. Ryan's complained to him about the letters multiple times and we have like fifty of them sitting in the closet upstairs. I'm sure there's all sorts of evidence in them that proves the bitch is dangerous, and from the letters I've seen she always complains about how Ryan never replies so that'll help, too. God only knows how many other people will come out of the woodworks, but for now it gets the main one out of our lives."
"Gotta start somewhere, and that sounds like a good start." I give her a weak smile, praying that she's right. "You think that would make you feel better? You sounded pretty defeated about it all last night."
"Yeah..."A pang of guilt runs through me, remembering everything I said last night. "I was just exhausted. My job is to keep her safe and I feel like I never can. I don't know, it just fucks with me. But she's my wife, and I'll do whatever I can to keep her here with me."
No matter how frustrated or angry I get about all of this, Ryan is the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. I should've never said the things I said last night, and I should've known that all the negative feelings I was having were just a reaction to how scared I was to lose her.
I should've kissed her this morning. I should've given her a hug and told her that everything would be alright. I should've made it clear to her that we can get through anything as long as we can get through it together. The sadness in her voice when she expressed that this was her mess to clean nearly tore my heart in two, and I should've told her that her mess is my mess.
"Maybe you're not such a dick after all." Riley shoots me a wink as Tommy exhales a chuckle.
"Whatever. I'm hoping we can go see the lawyer later this afternoon, depending on how long Ryan takes at the police station. He said he was free at four, would you mind watching the demon child if she gets back in time?"
"Of course not. I'm sure she'll be back in time."
Ryan's POV
"I'm here to see Kelsey McAllister, I'm Ryan Sixx. I might be on there as Ryan McAllister." Anxiety has taken over my entire body as I hand the woman behind the sheet of plexiglass my ID. I should've called to make sure I'm on her list.
"Yep, here you are. Place your items in the bucket and walk through the detector please. It'll take us a few minutes to get her out of isolation."
Who was I kidding? She's so narcissistic, of course I'm on her list. She's probably expected me to come every day since she first got here. My body relaxes a little bit when I hear she's in isolation, that's what I was hoping for.
"They don't give a shit about you anymore anyway. Kelsey flipped on a few of the cartel guys to get a shorter sentence, you are the least of their concern."
"She did what?"
"She flipped on some pretty big names, got seven years off of a twenty year sentence."
I throw my car keys and wallet into the grey plastic bucket and raise my arms as I walk through the detector. I don't know if I'm supposed to raise them or not, but they do it in all the movies I've seen.
"This way." A tall, mountain of a man leads me down the hall into an open room with circular tables that hold big metal loops on top of each one. "Sit here. She'll be out in a few minutes. No touching whatsoever, and you only get half an hour."
I look up and nod my head quickly, a painful gulp traveling the length of my throat as he walks away. I'm surprised to be alone in the big room, I figured there would at least be a couple other visitors here with me. The thought of being in a big space alone with her sends a shiver down my spine.
Maybe I shouldn't be doing this.
Maybe I should've just left it alone.
Maybe I should've just talked to Nikki.
Maybe we could've just worked it out.
Or maybe he would've just left me.
"Ryan?" Goosebumps run down my arms and my heart starts to race ferociously at the voice coming from across the room. I keep my eyes focused on the wall across from me, my back still turned to the door. "Are you really here?"
My heart almost stops and nausea creeps up my throat as my ex-wife comes into vision, slowly walking to the other side of the table. Her hair is a lot longer, her eyes dull despite the glowing smile her mouth has twisted into. She's gained a little bit of weight, probably from being away from the drugs for so long. The blue jumpsuit washes out her olive complexion, but all in all, she's just as beautiful as she always has been.
"Yeah." My voice comes out as a squeak as the guard attaches her cuffs to the metal ring on top of the table. "I'm here."
"Hi." Tears pool behind her dark eyelashes, a look of wonder flushing over her features as her eyes explore my face.
"Hi." My mind goes blank, instantly forgetting the speech I've been preparing since six o'clock this morning.
"I can't believe you're here. You look-" She sniffs back her tears as her head moves up and down my body. "You look great."
"Thanks." I mentally kick myself for being so tongue tied.
"I never thought I'd see you again. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Her overly caring voice sends waves of anger through me, helping me remember why I'm here.
"Yeah. Something is wrong." She slumps back, surprised at the sudden change in my tone of voice. "Sylvia came to see me last night."
"Did she hurt you?" Her jaw visibly rolls, her eyes taking on a dark shade.
"Not as bad as she wanted to."
"She's always been fucking psycho. I never liked her for poor Michael, but he was always too weak to kick her to the curb. Too entranced by easy pussy to see she was mentally unstable." I let out a laugh, realizing anyone could've said the same thing about me.
"Cut the bullshit caring wife act, Kelsey. Stop fucking lying. It was your fucking idea for her to come see me. You told her where to find me."
"I don't know why on Earth you would think that." Her eyes level with mine, an indiscernible look on her face.
"Maybe because you're the first one that tried to kill me? Because you're mad you couldn't and you had to get someone else to do it for you?"
"Look, I'm sorry about what I did. I really am, but I'm a different person now. I'm clean in here, I'm in recovery and working on myself. I'm not the same person I used to be. I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon, but I really am sorry. You have to believe me." Her handcuffs clink against the metal loop as she reaches her hands for mine and I immediately pull my hands back out of her reach.
"No touching!" The guard's deep voice makes me flinch, and Kelsey folds her hands back on her side of the table.
"That shit might work on anyone else, but you're forgetting I know you. I know everything about you, down to the most minute detail. You are a terrible person and you always have been. That'll never change."
"That's not true, Ryan. I've changed a lot since you last saw me. I've spent months reading and journaling and working through my shit. If you would just give me a chance to show you-"
"No. You can't fix evil with self-help books and a fucking spiritual journey, Kelsey. Lie to yourself all you want, but deep down you know you'll never change."
"If I'm so evil then why did you marry me?" She quirks her eyebrow, obviously testing me.
"Just like you said- easy pussy. Easy drugs." Her face falls out of the smug look it held, her jaw dropping just the slightest bit.
"Wow."
"Look, the reason I'm here is to get you to leave me the fuck alone."
"Leave you alone? I'm in fucking prison, Ryan. I can't get much further away from you." She rolls her eyes, her snarky tone only causing the anger in me to rise.
"Actually, you can." I let out a shaky breath, but I've come too far to back out now. "And you will if you don't back the fuck off."
"What is that supposed to mean?" She scoffs out a condescending laugh as her eyes dart around the room.
"I know who you flipped on to get a lesser sentence." Her jaw clinches as her eyes bore into mine once more. "And I know it would probably only take a few grand to get that guard over there to take you into gen-pop and look the other way for a few minutes."
"You wouldn't."
"Stop sending me letters, stop sending your piece of shit minions, stop looking at the magazines with my family and I's pictures, forget my goddamn name-" My voice is a low growl as I hunch toward her, doing my best to speak quietly so the guard doesn't hear me. "Or you'll see if I will or not."
She sits in silence with disbelief, her eyes hyper focused into mine. I do my best to keep the most intimidating face I can muster up plastered over my features, not wanting to give any sign of wavering.
Do I really know who she flipped on? No, but I have a hunch and can find out easily.
Am I really crazy enough to have her killed? I hope it doesn't come to that, but when it comes to protecting my family, I probably am.
Maybe we're not that different after all.
"What the fuck happened to you?" She whispers as she shakes her head, shooting me a disapproving look.
"I lost my fucking patience."
Nikki's POV
Anxiety and a little bit of annoyance continue to wash over me as I look at the clock reading 3:45 PM. It's been over four hours, what the fuck is taking her so long?
"She's still asleep, thank God." Riley sighs in contempt as she walks into the basement where Tommy and I are narrowing down the last few song choices for the new album. "Making any progress?"
"Yeah, I think we just finished out the list. Now we just gotta get into the studio to remix them and finish out the couple new songs we got." Tommy gives her a peck on the cheek as she sits in his lap.
"That's great! Did you guys get the live ones you wanted?"
"The only one worth a damn is a cut we got of Kickstart My Heart in Dallas." Annoyance is apparent in my voice and Tommy gives me a weird look. "Has the phone rang at all?" I shoot Riley a hopeful glance, praying Ryan called while she was upstairs.
"No, she hasn't called. I'm sure she'll be back any minute though."
"Maybe you should call Layla, Ryan said she was gonna go see her after she talked to the cops. Maybe they just got wrapped up in whatever the fuck girls talk about."
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I should go call her. Just to make sure they're okay." They both give me a nod of approval as I throw the pad of paper onto the coffee table.
If she's just at Layla's talking away when she barely said a damn word to me today, I might lose my shit. Sure, Ryan didn't know that we had plans at four, but she should know better than to just be gone all afternoon without calling to check in. Especially after a night like last night.
I smile when I see Wylie curled on the couch on her side, her thumb stuck all the way into her mouth. It took another hour for her to calm down and stop screaming for her mom earlier. All of us decided it was best to leave her on the couch instead of risking her waking up if we tried to move her.
"Hello?"
"Layla. It's Sixx."
"Oh, hey. What's up, Sixx?"
"Can you tell my wife to come home, please? We have somewhere to be."
"Your wife?" Confusion is settled into her voice when the front door handle starts to shake, signaling Ryan's arrival home.
"Oh, nevermind. She just got home. Thanks."
"Okay?" In the back of my mind I know I should question why she sounds so confused, but we're already too late to the lawyer's office for me to care.
"You took forever. Don't put your stuff down, we have an appointment with the lawyer. I'll go tell them bye." Ryan freezes in her spot against the front door, her eyes red and puffy.
"An appointment with the lawyer? What for?" Her voice dissipates as I run back down the stairs to the basement to let Riley and Tommy know she's home and we're heading out.
Ryan doesn't put up much of a fuss as I practically push her into the car and speed down the street onto the freeway. She doesn't ask any more questions about why we're going, and I don't ask questions about why it looks like she's been crying for hours on end. I make the thirty minute trek in a record breaking twenty minutes, leaving us only about fifteen minutes late.
"Can I have a heads up on what's going on so I don't look like a dumbass when I get in there?" She slams the passenger door shut after we park in front of the lavish office building.
"We're getting a permanent restraining order on your ex-wife."
"Oh." She looks at the ground as she starts to walk onto the sidewalk.
"Is that a problem?" Her nonchalant response pisses me off, making my tone come out a little snarkier than I meant it to.
"No. That's fine with me." Her voice takes on a higher pitch, her eyes never leaving the ground in front of her.
Ryan's POV
"This should be pretty easy. I'll just send a copy of the final police report from Vancouver and from last night when I get it, along with all of the letters Kelsey has sent you over the past however long to the judge and he'll grant the order. This is a different protective order than what you have now, this will be a lot stricter. The women's facility will also be apart of this new order, so they'll be under obligations to not allow any contact. I'll try to push one through for Sylvia Rodrigo as well." My greasy lawyer uses too many hand gestures, my head becoming dizzy trying to follow what he's saying.
Why the fuck didn't we do this months ago? My hands tremble as I realize this entire day has been pointless. I went and threatened to have my ex wife killed, possibly shattering my marriage in the process if Nikki ever finds out, for absolutely nothing.
"And this will stop all contact? For good?" Nikki rubs his chin, intensity overshadowing his body language.
"Yeah. It should. As long as they see she is a constant threat to your safety and that you've done everything possible to keep her away, they'll have no problem granting it."
"Why wasn't this brought up when I called you last time?" The lawyer looks at me with a blank stare, unsure of how to answer my question.
The answer is simple: The lawyer is a misogynistic ass who took Nikki more seriously than he took me.
If he would've brought this up then, I wouldn't have had to put everything on the line to take care of it myself today.
"It doesn't matter. We're taking care of it now, babe." Nikki reaches for my hand and twirls his fingers into mine, the first time he's touched me since last night at the hospital.
"I need you to bring me all the letters." The lawyer is happy to get out of my questioning, quickly refocusing the conversation. "They'll review the police reports, they'll probably contact you and ask you questions, and they'll contact the women's facility to double check that there hasn't been any correspondence from you to her."
Fuck.
"Will that be a problem?" The lawyer raises an eyebrow, noticing my sudden change in expression. I can feel Nikki's eyes bore into the side of my skull as I let a deep breath out my nostrils.
"No. No, it won't."
Yes, it absolutely fucking will.