The drive out to find Midnight has me thinking about everything I should’ve done, should’ve said to her. All those fucking missed opportunities. Why the hell did I sit back and wait? Why did I not see perfection sitting in front of me? Why did I think she needed my fixing abilities? And how could I have been so damn stupid to put my male pride in the way? Now I know why when you rearrange the letters in male, you come up with lame. Men. We’re nothing but a bunch of lame idiots. I swear to God, if anything has happened to her, I will kill the motherfucker who hurt her.

“What the hell, Harrison?”

Leland pulls me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

“You just crushed your sunglasses in your hand.” I look down and sure enough, they’re in pieces. “Good thing it wasn’t your cell phone.”

“Yeah. Good thing.”

“What’s got you so pissed off?” He glances at me quickly, then his eyes are back on the road.

“Nothing.”

“Right. And that makes so much sense. We know she’s okay, yeah?”

“We hope, Leland. We hope.” My words are clipped. “Just drive, goddammit.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t know who I’m going to kick in the ass first. You, or her.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“You let her leave when you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. We’re almost there. Call Rashid just to make sure she’s still there.”

“She’s there or he would’ve called us.”

We pull off the interstate and end up on a gravel road, way out in the middle of no-fucking-where.

“What the fuck was she thinking?” I slam my hand on the dash.

“Clearly, she wasn’t.”

“Jesus, F.”

This gravel road winds around desert land until we pull up to a ramshackle house with two cars out front. A light can be seen through the front window.

I get in my bag, pulling out my gun, the extra mag, and add a handful of extra rounds.

“What the fuck are you expecting in there?” Leland asks.

“No idea, but I won’t be caught off guard.” I slip the gun into the waistband of my jeans and we’re off.

Once we get to the house, I look inside the window and see things are clear to go in.

I knock, calling out her name to give her a heads-up. “Midnight, it’s us. Let us in.”

She flies out the door straight into my arms. Her body betrays the strength she tried to convey on the phone.

“Hey, it’s cool. I’m here. We’ll take care of things,” I say. “Leland, go inside and see what’s going on.”

I hold Midnight for a few minutes. Then I usher her off the porch. “You’ve got to tell me everything.”

“It’s such a long story, Harrison.”

I tip her chin up. Her cheek is swollen. That fucker hit her. Her lip is cut, and her eye looks like it might be cut, only it’s too dark out here to tell.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“It started with this.” She pulls a letter out of the back pocket of her jeans.

“Gummy bear, I can’t read that out here. It’s too dark. Can we go inside?”

“I don’t want to.”

I grab her hand, lacing our fingers together, and take her to the SUV. When we get in, I read the letter.

---

Dear Velvet,

I bet you thought you’d never hear from me. Guess what? I’m back. Truth is I never really left. I’ve been watching you for years. Yeah, that’s right, Lusty. Didn’t think I knew, did you? Oh, and Baby Jack Summers—knew about him too. I’ve had you followed for all this time. Started after you tipped off DCS and they came after us. After you ran away, I told them you ran off with some boy. They searched but then they got that little tip and came back here asking all kinds of questions. Threatened to press charges, but they couldn’t prove anything. After that, I found you working in that motel. I watched you. For months. Then you disappeared. Until one day when I was watching porn, and who should pop up on my screen but Lusty Rhoades! I was proud to know I was the one who taught you everything you knew.

So that brings me to the reason for this letter. My lips won’t speak a word about you IF you do exactly as I say. I want money. Cash. One million, to be exact. Now that you’re a famous movie star, this should be a breeze for you. Bring it to Phoenix. Call me when you land—623-555-0955.

You might be wondering what will happen if you don’t. Here’s a little sample of things to come. Come. Ha, ha. By the way, did you like my friends in New York? I was told you had a great time. Just so you know that porn ring of mine has brought in quite a lot of money for us. Your contribution was a nice addition. See, I’ve always known where you were.

Your loving Foster Father

---

“He sent me a thumb drive. On it were video clips. You remember how I told you he abused me? It was bad, Harrison. He physically and sexually abused me. For years. There were clips of me having sex with him. My face, not his. My body, not his. And then clips of some of my porn films. There was also a video of what happened in New York. It could ruin me. But that’s not all.”

“What else?” I hold her hand, stroking it with my thumb. I want to hold her for what that monster did to her. And then I want to march inside and cut off his dick. I also need to get in touch with Gino so he can call his NYPD contact. Our friend Trent lied to us and didn’t tell us the whole truth when they took Midnight from the club. It was planned and stemmed from her foster father. But that can wait.

“When I was seventeen, I ran away from him. You already know that part, I believe. The main reason I did it was because I found out I was pregnant. If he ever figured that out, he would’ve killed me. He would’ve known the baby was his and that would’ve ended badly for me and the baby.”

“What happened? Did you give the baby up? Or have an abortion?”

“Oh God, no. I had the baby. But he died when he was only seven months old.” Then she breaks down and cries, clinging to me like a baby herself. Jesus, what do I say to that?

My arms pull her into my lap as I do my best to ease her broken heart.

“How old were you?”

“I’d just turned nineteen”—she sniffs between sobs— “when baby Jack died.”

“So young. And you were alone?”

Her head bobs up and down. I run my hand down the length of her hair, onto her back, rubbing circles on it, remembering how my mom used to do the same for me.

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through all that by yourself.” Her fingers dig into my arms. I wish I could take that pain away, but there’s nothing more I can do than just be here for her.

“He sent pictures of baby Jack’s tombstone. I never thought he knew about him. When I got here, he laughed about it. That’s when I shot him.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a bad shot. I’ve already called Misha. He’ll be arrested for child molestation, abuse, and sexual assault. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

She leans back. “But I shot him, Harrison.”

“Where did you get the gun?”

“It was his. When I got here he left the thing sitting on the counter.”

“Well, you shot him in self-defense. Leland has probably called the police by now. Not to mention he tried to blackmail you. I’ll be with you every step of the way. If I could, I’d kill the man and bury him myself, but would you want that on your conscience?”

Her head pivots from side to side. “I used to imagine ways I wanted to see him die. But I don’t want to be a part of that.”

“This way, you’ll be charged, released, and when we go to court, you’ll be free of all this. That man tortured you for years, Midnight.”

I wrap her in my arms again and say, “I figured something out I want to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m an idiot.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Because you are the most important thing to me, and I let my stupid male pride get in the way.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that. So, you ready to go inside and get this shit over with?”

“Yeah.”

We get out of the car and walk toward the house. When we walk through the door, I break out in roaring laughter. I don’t even know what the guy’s name is but he’s lying on the floor, ass face up, with duct tape over his mouth and around his wrists and ankles. The funny part is she shot him in the ass. It reminds me of the story Weston told when his wife Special shot him in the ass.

“Jesus, you really are a bad shot.”

“I know.”

Leland is sitting in a kitchen chair, drinking a beer.

I take in the surroundings and there’s one thing that puzzles me. “Midnight, how did you subdue him? I’m sure he was a little feistier than this.”

“Oh, I hit him in the head. When I got here, he thought I’d have the cash, which I didn’t. We started arguing and that’s when I shot him with his own gun he’d left on the counter. He told me about how he came to LA and fired those shots at my place. His stupid mouth pissed me off so bad when he started in about baby Jack, I couldn’t help it. Then after he grabbed his butt, he was whining worse than a baby. It was more than any woman could take. So, you see that frying pan right there?” She points to one sitting close to Leland.

“Yeah.”

“I grabbed it and hit him on the side of his head. He went down like a stone.”

Leland and I laugh. What’s-his-name tries to say something, but with that duct tape over his mouth, we have no idea what it is.

“Hey, Leland, how about taking that tape off? Let’s see what crybaby has to say.”

Leland strips off the tape and the guy immediately starts threatening Midnight.

I bend over so he can see me and say, “I want you to take note of this. If you don’t shut your mouth, I’m going to kick your face in. Do you understand me?”

That’s pretty effective because he shuts up fast.

“You’re going to be spending a long time behind bars. You do know it’s illegal to molest and abuse your own foster child, don’t you? I thought so. So, it would be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut.”

Then, Midnight pipes in. “By the way, I recorded everything that was said tonight.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and hands it to me.

“Nice work, ace. You need a job?”

“I don’t think so, but if I do, I know who to call.”

Before the police show up, I mention to Midnight the deal with Trent. “Should we bring his name up to the police? Your foster father was the one who set that whole wheel in motion, after all.”

“Isn’t it too late for that?”

“No. Two years haven’t passed. We can still get those guys.”

“Then let’s tell all.”

The police show up, along with an ambulance, and everybody gives their statement. The paramedics want to take Midnight to the hospital, but she refuses. They examine her though, just to be on the safe side.

We go to the police station, and they decide, after a long night and listening to the audio, along with the videos and letter she provides, that no charges will be filed against Midnight at this time. She acted in self-defense when she shot that asshole. They will be in contact with NYPD regarding her rapists in New York. That ring is about to go public.

Her foster father, on the other hand, is charged with everything he deserves. After he’s released from the hospital, he’ll be held in custody until his arraignment. I hope he can afford a good lawyer, because he’s going to need one.

The next morning, when the sun is just rising, Midnight and I take a drive. She directs me to a place she wants me to see. I make a stop along the way at a convenience store. When I come out, I have a bag that I won’t let her open, and two large cups of coffee.

“Thanks. Why can’t I open the bag?”

“Because. That’s why.”

“You’re mean.”

“No, I’m not.”

She scoots over so she can lean against my shoulder. “I know.”

I pull the car back onto the empty street and ten minutes later, we pull into the open gates of the cemetery. She tells me which way to go and when to stop.

“You ready?” I ask.

A long gust of air leaves her. “I guess.”

I pull her hand to my lips and press my own to it. “I’ll be right by your side.”

The visit was her idea, but it’s not going to be easy for her. She made a brief stop here when she arrived but didn’t get out of her car, so in a sense, she hasn’t been here since she left Phoenix all those years ago.

I open her door and help her out. Her hand grasps mine as she leads me toward the final resting place of the son who was stolen from her far too early in life.

Once there, it plows into me as I read his name. Baby Jack Summers. Tiny angels with wings surround it. No dates. Only his name. Last night, when we finally got to our hotel, she told me all the details about her son.

She falls to her knees as her fingers trace each of the letters, and then the tiny wings.

“Oh, Jack. If only things had been different. If only I had been stronger ... older ... wiser. Maybe you could’ve made it.”

That isn’t true, from everything I’ve read about pulmonary atresia. Nothing but a new heart could’ve saved baby Jack.

I put my arms on her and say, “Hey, it wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could.”

“No. I could’ve taken better care of him.”

Pulling her back so I can hold her, I say, “No, that’s not true. I’ve done my own research. And it wasn’t anything you did. He needed a new heart. One that wasn’t damaged. One that never came. It wasn’t your fault. You need to let that go.”

“I’ll never be able to do that. He was my baby.”

“Look at me.”

Eyes so pained they practically slash through my own heart stare at me from beneath wet lashes. “You saw that he had everything he needed at the time, right?”

She nods.

“You made sure he had all his medicine and you gave it to him when you were supposed to, right?”

She nods again.

“He was fed and given a home. You kept him safe and loved him with everything you had. You were a great mother, Midnight. The best. Most people could never have accomplished what you did, given your circumstances. If Jack were here, as an adult, he would tell you the same. You sacrificed so much so he could survive. Don’t take that away from yourself, or him.”

“I should’ve gone to the doctor earlier. Maybe ...”

“They wouldn’t have known. No one knows what causes it.”

“Oh, Harrison, when he took that last breath as I held him, I wanted to die right along with him. I was alone without anyone to lean on and I didn’t know what to do. But I tried … everything I could,” she says, stopping to look at the tombstone. “The choices I made—I answered an ad. I just needed the money so I could find my son a new heart, one that never came.” She can’t continue because her body is wracked with sobs, sobs that break my own heart as well as hers.

Her words crush me. To think she bore the weight of this for all these years fucking staggers me, not to mention she was only nineteen when he died. I think back to what I was doing then and I can’t come close to imagining how she handled it all. And there I was, getting shitty about her doing porn when all she was worried about was her baby surviving.

I lift up her face. “You won’t ever have to shoulder anything alone again, do you understand me? I’ll be with you every step, by your side. Through good times and bad.”

Reaching for the bag, I pull out the little stuffed bear I bought. I set it next to baby Jack’s headstone. She smiles when she sees it.

“He loved to squeeze soft things and rub the satin edge of his blanket.” A sad smile appears on her face. Then I pull out a bag of gummy bears and give them to Midnight. Her sad smile turns a bit happier when she sees them.

“Aww, thanks.”

My last item is a yellow rose. I place that next to her mom’s headstone.

“How’d you know she liked yellow roses?”

“I didn’t. It was all they had in the store.”

“How weird. Mom always said yellow roses meant joy and friendship and lavender ones meant love at first sight. She always said when she saw my eyes for the first time, she knew it to be true for sure because it was love at first sight for her.”

“I’d have to agree.” I hadn’t meant to tell her this way, in a cemetery of all places. But the words spill from my mouth like water over a dam.

“What did you say?”

My arms circle her waist, and I draw her against me. “I’d say your mom was correct. The first time I looked into your stunning eyes, I was lost. I never found myself again. I’m in love with you, Midnight, Velvet, whatever you want me to call you. You’re my person, the one who sets me free, sets me on fire, makes me want to do crazy things with, but most importantly, spend the rest of my life with.”

She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me. Not a long, passionate kiss, but a short, happy one. Then she steps back and takes my hand as we walk back to the car.