Sullivan Family: BOOK 2

XXIV

I was in the police station for hours, but Emily Nolan argued a very compelling case to a sympathetic judge. It takes hours, but Ivan can finally pick me up, not that he wasn't right at the cop shop with me, waiting. Oddly, as much as Erik and Anton profess to be so protective of me and want one of their men watching me at all times, none of them showed their face. Unless Erik has cops on his payroll....

There were so many questions that made my head dizzy and mind confused. Ivan was at the police station, waiting for me, but we weren't allowed to talk. For bathroom breaks, I could spot him, but that was all. Being alone, without my brothers, was a terrifying ordeal I wasn't expecting.

They do so much for me. Especially Odin and Ivan. They'd speak for me in public, show me which way to go, wait for me outside the women's bathroom doors. Odin would hold my hand if I was nervous, and being around a bunch of people after they raised me mostly at home, it was daunting. But, at the cop shop, it was only Ivy and she was pushing me to say things I didn't want to.

She put words in my mouth. Bad words that will probably get Odin in trouble. She was at odds with me while Odin and Ivan are usually for me and with me. For the first time in my life, I was completely and utterly alone.

Ivan glances at me curled up in the passenger seat of his SUV, eyes red from how much I've cried. He opens his mouth, then closes it, as if sensing no words will comfort me. I look at him from under my eye lashes, terrified of what his reaction will be when he hears what all I said Odin did. Ivan trusted us with him and he trusted us to tell him if he wasn't treating us okay.

My primary concern is if he wants to decompress with me, like usual. I won't be able to hold back if he asks me point blank what I said before Mrs. Nolan got there. I'm not exactly sure what she said to them with all her fancy lawyer talk, but it was something along the lines of pressuring me to admit to a false timeline of events.

"Where's Odin?" I ask, wiping away at another round of snot sticking to my nose. My sweater sleeves are already covered in dried-to-wet layers of yellowish-green snot and it disgusts me. Even looking at my stained sweater sleeves is repulsive. Snot really sticks out on black.

Black. Emmett's colour. Usually, I don't pay attention to the clothes I wear unless it is to annoy a specific brother. Now that I've noticed, I'm wearing Emmett's clothes. Still. After what he did, I'm wearing his clothes.

Suddenly, the sweater is suffocating me. My fingers twitch and jump in my lap, itching to rip the hoodie off of me, but I don't. As much as I loath wearing his clothes, the layer of baggy protection is welcoming. Especially now that it is winter and snow blankets the ground.

Ivan glances at me, his lips in a tight frown and his eyebrows furrowed. "They're still questioning him. They can for another forty hours, or so."

"But-but, I'm out of there."

"Erik was in a hurry to get you out." Ivan answers, his voice tight and his lips pressed into a thin line. Dark purple bags have made their home under his eyes. I read behind the lines to what he isn't saying: Erik, for some reason, cares about me, but not Odin. At least, not enough to get him out of jail.

Who is Erik to us? More importantly, who is he to me? Does his cool accent have anything to do with it? Why haven't we met him, yet?

"I'm sorry I got him into trouble. I'm sorry I didn't keep it in the family. I get it if you're mad at me." My voice raises in pitch until I hiccup. Then, I throw my hood on so I can't see Ivan's face. My lips wobble and more tears fall down my cheeks, itching them profusely. I lift my legs up to my chest and curl into a ball. It is uncomfortable in the SUV, but it makes me feel comfortable at the same time.