“How about you let me worry about that?”

“Sure, but when you flip the f**k out on her about it, don’t come crying to me.”

“You—” I start to tell him that he needs help when my phone rings, showing that it’s my mom’s number. I answer right away; she has been keeping Jax and Ashlyn for Lilly and me while we’re at work. “Hey, Ma, what’s going on?”

“I just got a call from Lilly,” she says, sounding concerned. My stomach drops. I can hear the kids in the background laughing.

“Ma?”

“Oh, honey, she says she got picked up by the police,” she whispers into the phone, and I know I must have heard her wrong. “She’s didn’t want to call you in case you couldn’t pick up.” Oh, God, I was going to be sick.

“What happened?” I ask, starting to wrap up my tools. I feel Trevor at my side, and I know he’s waiting to find out what’s going on.

“I don’t know; she only had a couple minutes, so she told me where they were holding her and who to contact,” she says, sounding more nervous than before.

“Ma, I need you to talk to me so I can help Lilly.” It takes her a second to pull it together. She tells me where Lilly is and who to contact at the station, and the second I hang up, I'm on the phone with my dad, hoping that he knows someone who can help me out when I get there.

“What’s going on?” Trevor asks as I head out to my truck.

“Lilly’s being held by the police,” I tell him without thinking.

“What do you mean she’s being held by the police?” I hold up my hand when Dad picks up. I explain to him what Mom said, and he says he will meet me at the station where Lilly is.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on?” Trevor asks. I hadn’t even realized he got into my truck with me.

“I don’t know. Ma couldn’t tell me much; all she knows is that Lilly is being held, and the officer I need to speak to is Dan Pike.”

“Did she say what she was picked up for?”

“Nope.” I pull my hat off to run a shaky hand through my hair.

“It will be okay. Dad will meet us there and get everything straightened out.”

“Yeah,” I mumble, trying to calm down enough so I can drive the speed limit and get to the station in once piece. Trevor and I don’t talk during the drive; my mind is racing with question after question and coming up with nothing. When we finally pull up to the precinct, my dad is already there waiting for us outside the building. I shut off the truck, pulling my hat back on before hopping out.

“All right, son, I just talked to an officer and he was able to explain to me that she is being held for questioning. Now, I want you to be calm when I tell you what’s going on.”

“Is she okay?”

“I haven’t seen her, but I'm sure she will be fine. Now, she wasn’t arrested, but brought in for suspicion of check fraud, and they say they have evidence against her, but he couldn’t tell me what it was.”

“Check fraud?”

“That’s what they’re saying.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“I don’t know, son. They usually don’t bring people in without having a reason to.”

“Dad, you’ve been around her; she can’t even lie without fessing-up right after. I have a hard time believing that she would do what they’re accusing her of.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, looking away from me. I understand that my family is worried about me, but fuck, they needed to get over it already.

“She’s not Jules.”

“Son, I never—”

“Dad,” I cut him off, “Jules has made my life a living hell since the day she told me she was pregnant with Jax. During that time, Lilly was alone. Yes, she had her parents, but she raised our daughter by herself, and even believing what she thought I told her, she still told Ashlyn about me. She’s a good woman and a good mother; she’s also honest and kind. She wouldn’t do this, and if you’re not going to be on my side—which is her side—then I don’t want you here right now,” I say through clenched teeth.

“You would choose her?”

“Fuck yes, without a second thought. I love you all, but I love her. She has had enough things happen over the last few years, and I don’t know what’s going on right now inside that building, but I do know the woman I love wouldn’t do what they are accusing her of doing.”

“Your mom loves her; so does your grandmother.” His eyes light up.

“That’s good, ‘cause she’s not going anywhere.”

“All right, son, let’s go get your girl.” He pats my back before we turn to go into the building. Once inside, we’re ushered into a small waiting area. There is a man there around my age; his pressed, white button-down shirt and khakis make him stand out. When he sees my dad, who is in uniform, he goes right to him.

“Do you have any information about Lilly Donovan?” the guy asks, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. My hackles rise at the name of my woman coming out of this guy’s mouth.

“Who are you?” I ask without thinking. His head swings in my direction, his eyes meeting mine.

“David. Who are you?” he asks, looking me over.

“Her boyfriend,” I tell him, wishing that I could say fiancé or husband.

“Oh.” He shrugs like it’s all the same to him before turning to face my dad again. “So is she going to be okay? I mean, should I call a lawyer?” he asks, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his pants.

“Don’t worry; my son will take it from here,” my dad says, nodding in my direction. “He will have her call you when she’s out and settled.”

“Oh yeah, sure, of course,” David says before turning and leaving the room without another look.

“Not f**king likely,” I say under my breath and happen to look at Trevor, who is wearing a smug grin on his cocky face. If we weren’t surrounded by officers, I would punch him. We all take a seat, and it’s not long before someone comes to get us. We get to a section of the station that is a long hall with a few chairs spaced out. I see Lilly sitting in a metal chair; her face is tilted towards her lap, and even from a few feet away I can see the tears running down her cheeks. “Baby,” I whisper when I get close enough to touch her.

“I didn’t do it,” she cries softly as I pull her into my arms.

“I know you didn’t,” I tell her, pulling her closer to me.

“They said that I stole checks from an old woman and wrote them to myself and cashed them,” she cries harder, her body convulsing.

“Baby, you need to calm down before you make yourself sick,” I whisper into her ear while rubbing her back.

“I-I can’t ca-calm d-down. They told me that the wo-woman that this happened to d-didn’t even have m-money for f-food be-because of what they th-think I d-did.”

“It’s okay. We’re going to get this figured out; I promise,” I say, trying to calm her down while the rage inside me starts to burn hotter and hotter. The minute I find out who really did this, I'm going to rip off their f**king head and shove it up their ass.

“I feel so bad,” she whispers into my chest. My dad stands close by with a look of worry and understanding on his face, and Trevor looks like he is ready to help me hide the body.

“Did they say you could leave?” I ask her, pulling her small body tighter against mine.

“Yes, but I can’t leave the country.”

“You weren’t going to anyways; so that’s okay.”

“I know; I told them that.” She nods, sniffling.

“Good, let’s get out of here. We’ll stop by your house and get you and Ashlyn some clothes. Then we can head to my house for the night.”

“I don’t—”

“Hey.” I tilt her face towards mine with a finger under her chin. “If you think for one f**king second that I'm letting you out of my sight tonight, you have lost your damn mind.”

“Okay.” She sighs, looking down.

“You okay, darlin?” my dad asks. Her body stiffens and she looks over her shoulder; seeing both my dad and Trevor, her face pales, and I feel her body start to shake.

“Oh no,” she whispers, looking back at me.

“Hey, it’s okay. My dad came when I called him. Both he and Trevor wanted to make sure you were okay,” I tell her quietly.

“They already hate me,” she says under her breath as new tears begin to fall from her eyes. “I think I'm going to be sick,” she says before covering her mouth with her hand and running down the hall towards the sign marked restrooms.

“I think I need to apologize.” My dad lets out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think that she noticed.”

“She’s sensitive. The day after the bar-b-que she was excited to get to know you guys. She thought you were all welcoming her into the fold; then she noticed that y’all acted different with her than you do with November or Liz, and that was okay with her. She understood that it would take some time to build a relationship, except no one ever tried, and now she feels like an outsider. Well, except Ma; she has made it clear from day one that she has Lilly’s back.” I smile; I love my mom.

“I know Liz has called her,” Trevor says, and I nod.

“She did, and they talked and Lilly likes her a lot. She likes her and November both.”

“I like Lilly,” Trevor says, shaking his head and frowning.

“Yeah, but you all still act like she’s going to wig out if you say or do the wrong thing when she’s around. She can feel it, and so can I.” I rub my face. “She is here all alone; her parents are in Alaska, and she has no one except Ashlyn, Jax, and me.”

“We’ll do better,” my dad says, shaking his head. Then he turns as an officer starts coming towards us.

“Are you all here with Lilly Donovan?”

“Yes.” I take a step towards him. His eyes go from me to my dad.

“Shit, James, is that you?” the officer asks, looking at my dad with surprise written on his face.

“Dan?” My dad steps forward to shake the man’s hand.

“How the hell have you been?” Dan asks, pulling my dad in for a one-armed hug.

“Could be better. My son’s girl was brought in for question.”

“So you’re seeing Lilly?” the guy asks, turning towards me.

“Yes.”

“I know that this is hard, and I hate doing this, but it’s not my decision. I'm sorry that she is going through this, and if it makes you feel any better, I don’t believe that she did it. But the evidence is pointing in her direction,” Dan says, looking at my dad.

“I know that it’s a part of the job,” my dad says, and Dan nods his head.

“I know she didn’t do it,” I speak up.

“I’m sorry, but until we get evidence that proves otherwise, we are forced to go with what we have. Now, I informed Ms. Donovan that she is not allowed to leave the state, and that it would be best for her if she got a lawyer.”

“Done,” I say right away.

“Also, it wouldn’t hurt for her to have proof of her whereabouts on the days that the checks were cashed.”

“If you can get me the dates, I'm sure we can come up with that information. She and my daughter are usually with my son and me,” I say as Lilly starts heading back our way from the bathroom. Her face is pale, and her eyes are red and puffy from crying. I hate that she’s going through this. Once she reaches our group, I wrap an arm around her shoulders, tucking her into my side.

“Lilly, here are the papers that I told you about, and there is also a list of affordable lawyers in there that you can contact.”

“Thank you. And I know that the answer will probably be no, but do you think that I can get the address of the lady this happened to? I would like to see if she needs anything.”

“I'm sorry, but I can’t give that information out, but I can give her your information, and she can choose to contact you,” he says with a shrug.

“Okay, well, thank you,” she says quietly, taking the file folder from his hand.

“My card is in there as well, and if you need anything or have any questions, you call me.”

“I will, thank you,” she repeats, and I see the tears beginning to fill her eyes once again.

“Let’s get you out of here, baby,” I say softly, and then Trevor is there, taking her out of my arms and pulling her in for a hug.

“Don’t worry, sis. We’ll get this figured out,” he tells her, rocking her back and forth. I hear another loud sob come from her before Trevor transfers her into my arms.

“You good riding with dad?” I ask Trevor before scooping Lilly up into my arms. She doesn’t protest, just wraps her arms around my neck, laying her head against my shoulder.

“Yeah, man, call me tonight,” he says, looking at Lilly once more before shaking his head.

“Thanks for coming, Dad,” I say as we start making our way out of the building. Once outside, my dad holds open the door of the truck for me as I set Lilly inside, making sure she gets buckled in. When I'm done, I kiss her forehead, and then tilt her chin up to kiss her lips. “Give me a minute to talk to my dad, and then we can go.” She nods, not looking me in the eyes. “Look at me, baby.” She shakes her head. “Lilly, look at me.” Her eyes come up and meet mine. “This will all be worked out; I promise you.”