Brent
Brent was in the middle of preparing dinner, frying up some asparagus, when he heard the piercing sound of sirens cut through the air, incredibly close to his house. “What the fuck?” he asked out loud. His anxiety rose in his throat. He turned off the stove and headed for the front door. He was halfway out the door when the sound of the sirens faded away, muffled by the quickly expanding distance between the car and Brent’s house.
He scanned the horizon, searching for some clue about what had happened. Then his eyes landed on a dark spot that contrasting sharply with the otherwise perfect green of his front lawn. “Kira!” a small voice called out. “Kira, what’s wrong? I’m scared. Where’s Lucian?”
It was Dylan’s voice, Brent realized, swallowing hard to clear the lump in his throat. He forced himself into motion, slowly walking down the porch and crossing the lawn to get to the bundle of limbs that had apparently collapsed onto his lawn moments before. It’s Kira, he realized as he got closer, her hair becoming more distinct against the contrasting colors around her. What’s going on?
The next moment, Dylan ran up to him and tugged at the bottom of his shirt to make sure that he got his attention. “Brent! Brent, what’s going on?” his son asked, looking up at him with a panicked expression on his face.
“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Brent said with a sigh. He leaned down to look Dylan in his eyes. “What did you see, buddy? What happened?”
Dylan’s eyes darted from Brent to Kira and back again, his young face contorted with worry as he stared up at his father. “There was a policeman. I think he was a policeman, anyway. He had one of those blue shining cars. But he took Lucian! And now Kira won’t answer me when I say stuff to her.”
“Okay,” Brent said, blowing out his breath in frustration. “Okay, I’ll take care of it.” He forced himself to pat the top of Dylan’s head, as soothingly as he could manage, before approaching Kira. He dropped to his knees so he could whisper in her ear. “Hey, Kira. I’m here. I’m here with you.”
“Go away,” Kira moaned out, keeping her eyes hidden behind her long hair.
“Why?” Brent said. “What’s going on, Kira? Talk to me.”
Kira sniffled loudly and shook her head. “He took Lucian. It’s over.”
“Who did? Your ex?” Brent asked.
Kira nodded but didn’t say anything out loud.
Brent was unsure what to do for a few moments. He watched as Kira’s shoulders shook, her body trembling as silent sobs overtook her. He reached out to place a hand on her back, but Kira’s spine stiffened underneath his touch, so he pulled away the next second, keeping a safe distance between their bodies.
“Okay,” Brent finally said. He blew out his breath and reached out his hand towards Dylan, who refused to grab it, shaking his head and backing away from his father in response to the gesture. Brent felt a little twinge of pain in his chest at that, the sting of rejection from his son. I shouldn’t care, he told himself as he adjusted his feet so that he was squatting more comfortably on the ground. He’s not my son. Not really.
He cleared his throat a few more times while trying to summon up the ability to solve this fucking disaster of a situation. “We’ll get Lucian back,” he finally said, keeping his tone as confident and self-assured as he possibly could. He wanted to be strong for Kira. He wanted to show her that there was nothing to be afraid of, even if the whole world was stacked against her, ready to smack her down.
Kira shook her head slowly and curled forward, burying her face deeper. “No. We won’t.”
“What? Why are you saying that?” Brent asked.
“Because he’s a cop!” Kira cried out, finally turning her head to stare at Brent through her fingers. Brent could see that her face was splotchy with tears, her chest rising and falling ridiculously quickly as she panted for breath. “He’s a fucking cop. He has friends in high places, and he can do whatever he wants. I should’ve known better than to accuse him of anything.” Her words trailed off into whimpers as she re-buried her face, sniffling into her hands.
Brent swallowed around the lump in his throat again, willing himself to be brave. I have to do this, he thought. He balled his hands into fists by his sides. I have to be strong. For Kira. I have to tell her everything. Even if she doesn’t understand what I do, I can still use the resources of the MC to help her. I have to tell her. Now.
“Kira, I—” Before Brent could get any more words out of his mouth, the sound of sirens returned, screaming over their heads. Kira to lifted her face out of her hands and looked around in every direction to find the source of the noise.
The next second, Brent saw it. A pack of police cars, their sirens screaming wildly as they shot down the street toward Brent’s house. There was no time to get away, even on the bike. They were stuck, easy prey sitting on the lawn, ready for law enforcement to come do whatever it was they wanted to do.
Kira stood first, slowly getting to her feet and walking to the edge of the lawn. As the police cars slid to a stop, she walked forward holding her arms out toward them. Cops spilled out of the vehicles and swarmed around Kira.
“Ms. Foster?” the eldest cop on the scene said to Kira, brandishing a pair of handcuffs. Brent silently screamed at Kira to run, to make a break for it, to do anything other than stand there and wait for it.
But instead Kira nodded and said, “Yes? That’s me. What is it?”
“You are under arrest for reckless endangerment,” the cop said. He flipped Kira around and locked the handcuffs around her wrists. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you….”
“Kira!” Brent called out, following along as the cops forced Kira into movement, pushing her towards the cars at the edge of the street. “Kira, wait! Don’t say anything!”
“I’m sorry, Brent!” Kira called back. “I’m so sorry!”
“You didn’t do anything!” Brent screamed back. “Please, just wait, don’t say anything, I can help you!”
“I’m beyond helping,” Kira called back right before her head was shoved down by the senior officer on the scene. He pushed her into the backseat of the vehicle before moving around to the front, hopping in seconds before the car set back into motion, the sirens blaring again as the car disappeared down the street.
“Fuck. Fuck, shit, fuck,” Brent said to himself, kicking the nearest rock on the ground just to release some of the frustration in his body. “Fuck!”
Brent sagged down onto the ground, his head pressing down onto the lawn beneath him as he listened to the ragged sound of his own breathing, praying silently to any god that might have been listening. Please, please, let this be a nightmare. Let this be a bad dream. Please, don’t let this be real. Please.
A few moments later, Dylan tapped him on his back. “Brent,” he said. “Brent?”
“What is it?” Brent snapped, too angry and lost to be careful of his tone, even when talking to his four-year-old son, who stared up at him with wide, worried eyes.
“What’s going to happen to Kira?” Dylan asked in a small, insecure voice. “And Lucian? Where is Lucian?”
Brent sighed. His limbs collapsed more against the grass under his knees. He felt completely empty, like all of his hope had been cut out of him with a huge, spiky knife. His heart beat slowly in his chest, all urgency sapped away like he’d already lost the biggest battle of his life up to this point.
“They’re in trouble right now,” Brent finally said, turning to look at his son. He struggled to keep his face even and blank, so as not to show how panicked and upset he really felt. “We have to help them, okay?”
Dylan chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between each of Brent’s for several moments before he finally nodded and said, “Okay. We will fight for them. That’s what families do, right?”
Brent was at a loss for words. His blood rushed almost painfully within his veins as he slowly lifted himself back on his feet. Dylan’s words rolled around in his head like a giant boulder, crushing every other thought down into the ground under its heavy weight.
That’s what families do, right? Brent’s inner voice repeated inside his mind. His stomach turned over painfully as he forced himself to head back inside the house.
“Brent?” Dylan said from behind him, following along as he headed back towards the house.
“Yes,” Brent finally forced out. His tongue felt heavy and useless in his mouth even when he was using it to speak. “That’s what families do. They’re our family now, Dylan. We have to take care of them. No matter what.”
He realized after saying the words out loud that he was saying them for himself, not for Dylan. I really believe that, he realized with a sobering sense of reality. He scooped Dylan up into his arms as he marched back into the house. I believe in my family. And there’s no way in hell I’m just going to give it up this easily. I have to fight for us. I have to fight for Kira. And Lucian. And Dylan. For all of us.
There was no more time for fucking around, no more time to lie to himself about his feelings for Kira. He had to fight for the people he loved.