The next day, Tess was sitting in the kitchen at her father’s MC eating lunch with Nitro and some of the others in the clubhouse. Her father was in a meeting with someone from the police station about Andrew’s accident. Tess couldn’t help but keep looking down the hall, wanting to know what was going on. The detective had arrived first thing that morning and had pulled him into his office without even greeting anyone out in the clubhouse. The expression on her father’s face said all that she needed to know.
“He’ll come get you when he’s done, baby,” Nitro insisted, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
Tess nodded and tried to be patient while the others talked about the latest NCIS episode on TV. She couldn’t get into the discussion though because she was too worried about what the officer wanted. If it was about Andrew’s accident, she knew that she’d be called in eventually and that she’d have to go in and talk to him, but she didn’t want to have to relive the past again any more than she had to.
It wasn’t long before the door opened and her father came out with the detective close behind. He motioned for Tess and Nitro to follow them outside. Tess got up with a sigh and Nitro continued to hold her hand, assuring her that they would be okay.
Once outside, Richard looked between them and said, “We need to go to the police station. They have brought William Bradley in, but he will only confess to running Andrew off the road if he can talk to you, Tess.”
“Well, then he gets what he wanted all along, doesn’t he?” Tess muttered and looked at the cop. “You’re crazy if you think he just wants to talk.”
“I will be there with you the whole time and if he so much as flinches, his ass will be in isolation,” the cop promised. “I’m Detective Luke Bridgett, by the way. Don’t think we’ve been formerly introduced.”
“Right, sorry,” Richard shook his head at himself. “Detective, this is my daughter Tess Crenshaw and her boyfriend Nitro, from Harlem. They’re here for a few days to visit with us as you know… It’s not exactly the homecoming they would have liked though.”
“That’s an understatement,” Tess sighed and reached out her hand to shake the detective’s. “So Will’s in jail, huh?”
“He is, yes. And I should point out that you don’t -have- to talk to him, if you don’t want to, but it might be good to get it done and over with. Then you never have to see the piece of trash ever again.” When Tess raised an eyebrow at the detective’s vehemence, he explains, “I’ve heard enough about this guy in the past couple of months that it takes everything in me not to punch him in the face myself. I am sorry for what you’ve been through, Tess. Trust me when I say that I really really want to nail this guy.”
Tess couldn’t help but grin at that. “Well, then we have that in common. Let’s go get this over with, as long as Nitro can come and be outside the room in case I need him?” She asked, looking from Luke to Nitro.
“That’s fine, absolutely,” Luke said with a nod. “I won’t make you guys come with me in the car… I know how that looks around here. So why don’t you guys ride behind me and we’ll meet there?”
“Thanks, Detective,” Richard shook his hand and they got on their bikes.
On the way to the police station they drove through an area that was cordoned off for a movie set. There were mountains and hills all around the property and Tess saw some wolves set up there as well. She was curious what kind of movie was being made, and also thought that it was somewhat ironic, as she felt like she was being thrown into the wolves with having to go see Will again.
They rode to the station and parked in the visitor’s lot and then headed inside with the detective. Tess was nervous about seeing Will, but she reminded herself that they were safe here and that nothing could happen. She was surrounded by three men that would move hell or high water to keep her safe, so that gave her peace.
Before going into the room, Nitro leaned over to kiss her cheek and whispered, “You’ll be okay, honey. And if he tries anything, just kick his ass.” Tess chuckled and kissed him back softly, more than grateful that he was there with her.
Tess stepped into the interrogation room with Detective Bridgett and saw Will sitting at the table in plain clothes. He was handcuffed and his hands were rested above the table. Tess inhaled deeply before sitting down across from him. “Well, you got what you wanted. Now what?” She asked shortly, not wanting to give him any pleasure out of this meeting more than he deserved, which was none.
“That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Will asked with a smirk. “Do you really need him in here too? Can’t we just talk?” He asked, looking from her to Bridgett.
“Are you going to tell me what you wanted to say to me, or not?” She asked, really not in the mood to be patient.
“I need to know the truth,” he said, looking in her eyes. “Did you really have a miscarriage?”
Tess blinked the tears away and leaned back against the chair. That was his opening question? She looked at him, trying to determine if he was being serious or just being a jackass. “Yes, I really did. Do you want the medical records for proof?”
“I just… everyone kept saying that you left because of me. But we were good together, Tess. You know we were. I don’t understand what went wrong. I thought you loved me.” There was real emotion in his voice, and for the first time in a long time, she realized he was being genuine.
“I... did. But then you started to treat me like shit,” she admitted, looking over at the detective who was leaning back against the wall, just watching and listening. She knew that whether or not he was in the room, this would be on camera, so she forged ahead. “You made me feel guilty for getting pregnant, like it was somehow my fault.”
“That’s because I wasn’t ready to be a father. But baby, I am now… I still love you… I want a second chance.”
Tess blinked, wondering if she heard him right. “Are you kidding me?! You’re about to get arrested for running my brother off the road because you were mad at me for losing a baby that you never wanted in the first place!” She jumped up and started towards him, hoping the detective wouldn’t hold her back. “You’re delusional if you think that I would EVER take you back after all of this. Even if I hadn’t moved on… there’s no way in hell that would even be a possibility.”
“Tess…” Will started, leaning back in his chair. “I really mean it. I know I shouldn’t have run him off the road but he was coming after me and my crew for running you away from town. He hated the fact that you were gone and he wanted me to know how much it had cost him. So I had to do something to protect my crew. I needed to…”
Tess could no longer hold back and reached out to slap him across the face. The detective instantly pushed off the wall and reached for her, pulling her back from Will, who just sat there looking stunned up at her. Tess shoved at Will as much as she could before Detective Bridgett gained a better handle on her and she turned to look away from Will. “Get me the hell out of here,” she told the detective insistently.
Bridgett took her out of the interrogation room and Tess immediately fell into Nitro’s arms, clinging to him as she trembled in anger and let the tears fall.
x