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I’m startled awake by a gentle nudge to my shoulder. Straightening, I look around confused and disoriented, before meeting Colton’s soft gaze.

“Hey.” He settles into the chair next to me.

“Hey.” I rub my eyes, trying to pinpoint exactly where I am. “What time is it?”

“Just after four in the morning.”

“I must of dozed off.”

The events of the night before seem to catch up to me in a flash and I look around again, taking in the drab interior of the local police department.

“Hudson?” I ask, my stomach instantly knotting.

“He’s okay.” He reassures with a soft hand to the back of my neck.

“The label sent over an attorney. He should have a hearing sometime in the morning. I’m sure they’ll take care of everything.”

“I don’t know what happened,” I admit. “I’ve never seen Hudson like that. Makes me wonder if I really know him,” I admit, staring down at my hands that are knotted in my lap.

“You do, Lennon.” Colton takes my hand in a way that feels almost protective. “Don’t judge him based on this one incident. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty thing to witness and based on how you look, I’m guessing that it scared the shit out of you, and I get that. But Hudson is still the same guy. He saw someone he thought was hurting you and he reacted.”

“I tried telling them that. I tried telling them he was just protecting me.”

“I know. You did what you could and I’m sure in the long run your statement will help him.”

“This is my fault.”

“It isn’t. Hudson made his own choice and he’s going to have to deal with that. This isn’t on you, Lennon.” He pauses. “Why don’t we get out of here?” He stands, looking down at me when I make no attempt to move.

“I’m not going anywhere until I see him.”

“Lennon.” He holds his hand out to me.

“No, Colton. I have to see him,” I insist, crossing my arms over my chest.

He gives me a sad smile before crouching down so he’s eye level with me.

“Babe, he’s going to be here all night. You’re not doing either of you a bit of good sitting in this station. I promised Hudson I’d make sure you got home safe and I plan to do just that. Now get up. I’m taking you home.”

I open my mouth to argue but snap it closed, noticing how exhausted Colton looks.

Only then do I realize that he’s likely been up all night to get here. I know that because it’s exactly what Emma would do for me if I were in the same position.

“Okay,” I concede, allowing Colton to pull me to my feet and guide me out of the police station.

—-

I don’t sleep well. Completely unable to shut my mind off or block out the vision of Gage’s face every time Hudson’s fist connected with it.

No matter how much I wish Gage would go away, I never wanted to see him hurt like that. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it and even sicker that I’m more worried about Hudson when he was the one that did it to him.

By nine a.m., I’m up, showered, and ready to head to the courthouse. I was able to confirm that Hudson’s hearing is set for ten and I have every intention of being there when he walks in so I want to get there early.

When I make my way into the living room, Colton is awake, and like me he doesn’t appear to have gotten much sleep.

“Hudson’s hearing is at ten,” I tell him, stepping into the kitchen and heading straight for the coffee pot that I set to brew before getting into the shower.

“Yeah. Jerry called a little bit ago,” he says, standing and making his way toward the kitchen. “I think maybe you should stay here, Lennon.” He leans his hip against the kitchen counter.

“Why would I do that?” I ask, turning my attention back to my coffee as I drop a couple packets of sweetener inside and pop on the lid.

“It should go pretty smoothly and there’s really nothing you can do for him. Why don’t you wait here? I’ll go. The minute I know anything I’ll call you.”

“You think it will go smoothly?” I ask, turning to face him.

“Gage isn’t pressing charges so I can’t see them holding him any longer.”

“What do you mean Gage isn’t pressing charges?” I don’t try to hide my shock.

“I take it you expected him to.”

“There’s no way Gage would roll over and take what Hudson did to him. I know him. He’s vengeful and selfish. What could he possibly gain from letting Hudson walk?” I pause when I see the look Colton gives me. The one that says I should already know the answer to my own question. “They paid him off.” I shake my head in disbelief.

“That’s my guess.” Colton shrugs.

“Wow.” I don’t even know what to say. A part of me feels immense relief, the other part of me feels angry, though I’m not entirely sure why. “I’m still going,” I announce, knowing there’s no way I won’t.

“Lennon, honey, Hudson doesn’t want you there.” His words feel like a physical slap to the face and I pull back from their impact.

“What?” I shake my head, confused.

“He doesn’t want you there,” he repeats. “Jerry called me specifically to tell me that you are not to be there per Hudson’s request.”

“I...I don’t understand.” The reality of his words sink in and tears instantly well behind my eyes. “He thinks this was my fault, doesn’t he?” My voice gets louder as my emotion threatens to take over.

“No, Lennon. He doesn’t. I don’t know why he doesn’t want you there but if I had to guess it probably has everything to do with him and nothing to do with you.”

“I watched him beat my ex-boyfriend to the point he was almost unrecognizable. I sat in a police station lobby half the night waiting, worrying, just needing to make sure he’s okay. And now he doesn’t want to see me?” I think on that for a long moment, anger bubbling in my gut. “Well fuck that.” I snag my keys from the counter and run out the door before Colton can even think to stop me.

He yells after me, but by the time he makes it out of my condo, the elevator doors are already sliding closed behind me.

I ignore my phone that rings in my pocket and quickly step off the elevator into the parking garage, my feet stuttering the moment I see the stain right behind my car.

The blood that painted the concrete has been haphazardly washed away but the remnants of what happened here still remains.

Trying to shake off the image, I quickly climb into my car. The faint spoiled smell reminds me of the groceries that were left abandoned in the trunk last night.

Not having it in me to worry about that right now, I quickly fire the engine and back out of my parking spot. My one and only focus right now is getting to Hudson. Everything else can wait.

—-

“Lennon, stop,” Colton hisses behind me as I march through the courthouse.

Not sure how he got here so quickly, I pick up the pace, heading to the courtroom the lady at the front desk referred me to.

“Lennon,” he says seconds before wrapping his hand around my forearm, pulling me to an abrupt halt.

“What the hell are you doing?” I bite, not caring that my voice echoes through the quiet hallway.

“I need you to trust me here, Lennon.”

“Why are you pushing this so hard? Why is it so important to you that I not be here? What aren’t you telling me, Colton?”

“I’ll explain in the car. Please, just come with me.”

“Not until I see Hudson,” I insist, refusing to budge.

“Seems like he’s a popular one this morning,” a female voice says from behind me, causing me to swing my gaze to the left. I lock eyes with a brunette woman just as she steps up beside us.

“Fuck,” Colton mutters under his breath.

I have no idea who this woman is but given Colton’s reaction she isn’t someone he’s very thrilled to see.

I look from him back to her, not able to ignore how beautiful the woman is. And not in the overly done up way either. She’s naturally beautiful. High cheek bones, full lips, thick brown hair. She’s wearing simple skinny jeans and a red top, but she manages to make it look so much sexier than it would on a normal person. Oddly enough, I feel like I’ve seen her before but for the life of me I can’t pinpoint where.

“Steph.” Colton gives her a stiff nod.

“You’re pissed he called me.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest.

“I knew he did. And I know why too.” Colton seems uncharacteristically angry, while I’m just trying to figure out who the hell this woman is.

“I think it’s pretty obvious why he called me,” she responds, narrowing her pretty eyes at him.

Nothing is confirmed but I get the feeling these two go way back. There’s a familiarity between them. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

“Lennon, we should go,” Colton says, turning toward me with what can only be described as panic hiding behind his light eyes.

“Lennon?” she questions. “This is her?” She looks from me, to Colton, and then back to me. “You’re the flavor of the week that landed Hudson in jail.” She sneers at me.

“Don’t do this here, Steph,” Colton pleads. A sick feeling forms in the pit of my stomach, knotting tighter by the second. Something is not right.

“I’m not doing anything. I have a right to be here. She doesn’t.”

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on right now?” I demand, my patience waning.

“I’m sorry, how rude of me.” She smiles, extending her hand. “Stephanie Demasi.”

Like a bolt of lightning it hits me. I know where I’ve seen her before. Thrive. She was the brunette in Hudson’s lap that night. I don’t know how I know that. How I could possibly remember someone I only saw once for a brief moment over five years ago, but I swear it’s her. I can feel it to my bones.

“Demasi?” I question, a sort of fog settling over me.

“As in Mrs. Hudson Demasi,” she clips.

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.