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“You’re under arrest for assault in the first degree against my son.”
My heart stuttered. “What?” I gasped.
Gideon simply stared at the cop.
“You have the right to remain silent…” The sheriff’s voice faded to a buzz in my ears as he pulled Gideon from his chair and spun him, snapping cuffs around his wrists.
“Lloyd!” Mother said, rising to stand. “What is going on?”
Her husband rounded through my periphery to grasp her hand, murmuring something I didn’t hear, but I couldn’t bear to tear my attention off Gideon to repeat Mother’s question.
He peered at me, his eyes fathomless. Empty of heat and teasing. He didn’t listen to the sheriff reading his rights any more than I did as the world closed in on us—in silence.
“Gideon?” I whispered, my eyes welling and causing his image to swim before me.
“Stay away from him, Addilyn,” he whispered back, his voice ragged, his steady stare begging me to obey him like I had willingly done the night before. “Stay away from him!”
The other cop jerked Gideon toward the door behind Devon’s father, breaking the connection between us.
Mother and Lloyd followed on their heels.
I sat in silence at the large dining room table. Alone and frozen in my seat. My ears buzzing and brain unable to process what had happened.
Handcuffs.
Gideon being read his rights.
My stepbrother, my protector, the jackass I shouldn’t want…was getting taken away from me.
“Gideon…” His name tore like a gasped whisper past my lips.
A tremor rippled over me, adrenaline rushing throughout my entire body.
I leaped up and sped through the foyer and out onto the porch, my gaze flitting, searching. Desperately seeking as I pulled up short of fleeing down the front stairs.
The sheriff handed Lloyd a packet of papers in my periphery while the other cop tucked Gideon into the cruiser with its flashing lights atop.
Blue and red. Blinding.
The clang of the car’s door hit my ears with a finality that stole my breath away, causing my temples to throb.
Gideon peered at me through the closed window, his shoulders rounded beneath his black T-shirt. “Stay away from him,” he mouthed at me, his eyes pleading, hair tumbling over his brow.
What are you talking about? What’s going on? I wanted to shout back while hugging myself tight against the cold creeping up through my center, choking my lungs, and keeping me captive on the porch.
I slumped down onto the top step, rocking myself. My gaze remained locked on Gideon until the cop car pulled away, leaving me with a migraine from hell and a head full of confusion. Tears coursed over my cheeks.
“I want answers, Lloyd!” Mother said while striding past me toward the front door I’d left hanging open. “You need to explain this mess to me!” Her voice echoed in the foyer beyond.
“Come along, sweetheart.” Lloyd grasped my elbow and helped me to stand.
“W-why didn’t you stop them?” I asked, my lips as numb as my icy heart.
“They had a warrant—and you saw what happened last night.”
“It was just a little fight!” I argued, hugging myself tighter as he steadied me on my feet. “Just a couple of young guys acting like…like guys!”
Lloyd held me close, tucking me against his side as we stood on the porch.
