Page 127 of Don't Make Me Beg
He shakes his head, his grin splitting his face. “I’ve never felt better.”
The wail of the police sirens grows louder, blue lights flashing. The gravel crunches as they pull their cars to the road.
Everyone clears a path as they make their way over, this time arresting the real criminals.
“Holy shit. That’s one way to do it,” The officer chuckles as he and his partner handcuff my father and Jimmy before cutting their ropes loose.
They read them their rights before walking them to the police car, my father shouting in protest every step of the way as my mother chases behind them.
The officer closes the police door with a loud thud, silencing my father’s screams.
He looks to Luka as he says, “I’d ask what happened, but Jett’s already given us access to the cameras. We saw the whole thing.” He gestures over his shoulder. “Why don’t you wrap things up here, and you can stop by the station when you’re finished.”
“Yeah. I’ll stop by on my way home,” Luka says with a nod, but there’s an uneasiness in his voice.
“Thank you, officer,” Frank shakes both of the officers’ hands, thanking them for their hasty arrival.
I don’t hear anything else because my attention is on Luka. I can’t imagine how triggering all of this must be for him, even if he isn’t the one leaving in handcuffs this time.
I place a hand on his chest, feeling his thundering heartbeat beneath my palm. “Hey, are you okay?”
He gives me a slight nod before pulling me into a tight hug. “I’ll be fine, Girl Scout. Just need a minute for my adrenaline to come down.”
I nod against his chest in understanding as we just stand there, holding each other.
The moment is broken when a shrill whistle rattles my eardrums. I glance up to find Miss Scarlett standing on the stage, microphone in hand. “All right, you know the drill. Everyone grab something. Let’s clean this mess up.”
Without hesitation, everyone jumps into action, stacking chairs and emptying trash cans, and setting everything exactly as it was.
I feel Miss Scarlett’s gentle touch on my back as she says, “Why don’t you two get out of here and handle your business. We’ve got this taken care of.”
I look at Luka. “Are you sure? There’s a lot that needs to be broken down.”
Luka smiles, pushing my hair behind my ear as he straightens my glasses. “I think they’re more than capable of handling it.” He scoops me up in a cradle hold. “Now what do you say we grab some frozen hot dogs to ice this ankle with?”
I roll my eyes and giggle, loving how easy life is with Luka. The way he never takes things too seriously and makes the most out of every moment.
“Sounds kinky.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Luka
“Okay, just one more time,” Scout giggles.
She’s wrapped in a fluffy robe lying on my chest as the cam footage from Restaurant plays on the TV in the background.
“All right, but then we’re going to bed.” I kiss her forehead as I rewind the footage once more.
I think we’ve watched Roman hogtie her dad and Jimmy at least ten times. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard, and somehow it gets funnier the more I watch it.
I can’t think of a better way to unwind after a long day.
Scout’s laughter reverberates through me, warming me all over. There’s this rush I get when I’m with her, like I’m able to feel things more deeply. It’s like every one of my emotions is heightened. I didn’t realize it was possible to feel so much joy.
To say that she makes me happy doesn’t even scratch the surface. The way she trusts me, lets herself be fully seen, it’s the greatest fucking honor of my life. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making damn sure that she knows it.
After we left the festival, we drove straight to the police station, where I turned over all the evidence I’d collected. My parents met us there, and my dad was all too happy to add physical assault to the Judge’s growing list of charges.
