Second Chances (23 page)

Dustin wasn’t foolish enough to turn down a free meal, especially if it meant enjoying some of his sister’s creations. Plus he’d get to snuggle his little niece. He had never really thought of having children, even when he was with Emily. Now he could close his eyes and see Stacy standing there, looking beautiful with their baby growing in her belly.

“Dustin?” He shook his head to find Luke studying him. “Are you all right, man?” His brother-in-law asked.

“Yeah, sorry, I just spaced out for a second. I’ll go with you guys for sure.” Dustin followed Luke out and met Dylan by the front door. They told their receptionist that they’d be back in a little bit.

They made small talk on the way to Luke’s, which was fine with Dustin. Luke kept looking at him like he wanted to say something, but he held back. Dustin did want to talk to Luke and Bellamy about the whole Mark situation. They’d learn soon enough that Stacy was going to be staying with him indefinitely. He itched to call and check on her, but knew she was either still out with her mom or at the photo shoot she was doing today. Dustin would call in a few hours to check in.

After he had gotten to work, he just had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, but he wasn’t sure if it was good or bad. At least Dustin knew that she was out and about instead of being at home, which didn’t seem to be a safe place for her any longer. He knew what he should do. Dustin would ask her to meet him at his work and then he’d take her to his place. It gave him peace of mind. So he shot her a quick text.

Dustin: Hey babe why don’t u come to the office after you’re done taking pics.

Stacy: I just got here and that sounds good. C u in a bit! <3

Dustin: K.

Dustin smiled when he saw she put a heart at the end of her text for him. He slid his phone back in his pocket when he realized they were just pulling into the driveway at Luke’s place.

Dustin followed the guys into the house and was greeted with a heavenly smell. They walked into the kitchen and Bellamy scooping something out of a pan onto plates for them.

“Hi, boys,” she said with a smile and then went back to her work.

It was great to see his sister so happy. Motherhood and marriage agreed with her. Dustin watched Luke grab Bellamy to kiss her. Since that was his baby sister, he turned away. He could hear them whispering softly to each other and Dustin noticed Dylan rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

Luke was helping Bellamy carry out plates when Carrington could be heard crying through the baby monitor. Bellamy excused herself to go check on the baby.

Dustin watched Luke switch the monitor off and join them at the table. It was Mexican lasagna from what Bellamy had told them. It had a layer of some sort of pastry at the bottom, a ground beef mixture and then topped with sour cream and cheese. She had put taco chips, lettuce and tomato on it right before they ate it. It was so good the only sound at the table was the sound of forks hitting plates and an occasional moan.

Just as they finished, Bellamy came out with the baby on her shoulder and she was burping her. “How was it, guys?”

“Baby, you outdid yourself. How’s my little princess?” Luke said as he kissed Bellamy and took his daughter from her. Dustin watched Luke handle Carrington with so much ease. The guy had almost zero experience with babies, but now he was a pro.

Bellamy came and sat in between him and his brother. Dustin wrapped his arm around Bellamy’s neck and pulled her into a headlock while Dylan shoveled more food into his mouth.

“I want the recipe, Bell. That was some good shit.” Dustin let go of her and she sat up smiling.

“I’m glad you liked it, and watch your mouth around the baby.” She looked at him like she did when she was younger when she tried to boss Dustin and Dylan around. It only worked back then because she was so dang little but made up for it with big attitude. Hell, she was still little compared to them.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll watch my mouth. It’s not like she can even talk yet.”

They stayed for a little while longer and then went back to work. Stacy would be showing up any time now to see him, so he wanted to get as much as could before she arrived.

***

By three o’clock Dustin started to worry. He hadn’t seen or heard from Stacy. The shoot probably just ran over, like she said they did sometimes. Plus she was working with a newborn and she said that they were hard to shoot if they were cranky. Dustin had tried calling her a half hour earlier, but it went right to voicemail. Knowing her, she probably shut it off while she was working and just forgot to turn it back on.

Every five minutes he glanced at his phone and nothing.

At three-thirty, his office phone rang. He quickly answered it and it was their receptionist, Debbie, stating that there were officers there to see him. Dustin felt sick to his stomach. Every possible scenario popped into his mind. All of them were involving something happening to Stacy. He made his way slowly to the front taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Dustin could hear several people talking in raised voices as he reached the doorway. Two officers were standing there with Dustin’s dad talking heatedly.

“You have no right to do this. He hasn’t done anything wrong,” his dad told them.

He stepped forward. “I’m Dustin Carmichael. Are you looking for me?”

The officer closest to him stepped forward. “Are you the owner of the black Toyota Tundra?”

“Yes. What’s this about?” He saw out of the window that there was an officer searching his truck.

The officer pulled out his hand cuffs. “Turn around please.” He patted him down quickly. “Hands behind your back.”

Dustin’s head was pounding. He didn’t know what the fuck was going on. He complied and did what the officer told him to do. When he asked Dustin to put his hands behind his back he did and felt the cold metal of the cuffs. The officer was telling him what they were arresting him for when Dylan and Luke ran out with Patrick, Luke’s dad on their heels.

“Dustin Carmichael, you’re under arrest for the possession of a controlled substance and an unregistered firearm.” Dustin knew the guy next started reading him his Miranda Rights, but he couldn’t hear him with the blood roaring in his ears. This was some huge-ass mistake. He didn’t use drugs or carry guns.

The officers led him out to one of the cruisers. He didn’t even know what to say so he just kept his mouth shut and his legs moving. Dustin’s dad appeared next to him. “Don’t say a word. We’ll be there soon with your lawyer.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Dustin muttered.

When they walked past Dustin’s truck there was stuff all over the hood. It just didn’t make any sense. As they loaded him into the back of the cruiser he looked up and saw his dad Patrick and Luke looking at him. He tried to give them a reassuring smile, but knew he failed miserably. Dustin saw that Dylan was on his phone talking rapidly to someone. This was going to freak his mom out. Maybe they’d hold off on calling her until they knew for sure what was going to happen.

The sound of the door shutting snapped Dustin out of his thoughts. With his hands cuffed behind his back and the cage separating the front and back seat made Dustin feel extremely claustrophobic. The ride to the station was short. The officer opened the door and helped him out of the cruiser. They booked him as soon as they went inside. The officers had taken his belt, took his shoes and wallet. Dustin’s mug shot was almost the worst part; why, he didn’t know. Maybe it was because until the whole mess was cleared up he was classified a criminal. The moment they stuck him in a holding cell and the bars closing was the absolute worst.

Who in the hell would do this to him? It was like a light bulb went off in his head. “That motherfucker,” Dustin murmured. What would Mark have to gain if he got Dustin locked up? He jumped up and went to the bars.

“Hello? I need to make my phone call. Please, is anyone out there?” Dustin started pacing the inside the cell until he heard footsteps. He let out a sigh of relief when Scott Jefferson, the older brother of one of his good friends, Zach. “Thank god you’re here. I need to make my phone call, Scott.”

“Man, what is going on? I got a call from Dylan saying you’d been picked up for possession of a firearm and drugs.

“I swear to you that shit is not mine. I don’t even know what kind of drugs they found. I know I was set up, but I can’t prove it.”

“Well, who in the hell hates you that much that they’d do something like this?” Scott asked.

“His name is Mark Jefferson. He was the undercover DEA agent that was there when Bell was kidnapped. Stacy Hutchins dated him a while ago but broke it off because he was married and has kids and he never told her. He didn’t take the breakup well and he hurt her. Mark calls her all of the time, shows up where she’s at and we just found out that he has been in her house when she’s been there sleeping. He was there when she had her six year old cousin there and the little girl saw him. Mark scared her, but threatened to hurt Stacy if Chloe told anyone that she saw him there.” Dustin needed to hear her voice. He needed the reassurance that she was all right.

“Okay, let’s go call her.” Scott pulled cuffs out of pants. “I’m sorry, man, but I’ve got to cuff you. They’ll be in front of you this time.”

Dustin let Scott cuff him and then let him lead him out to where he could make his phone call. When he sat down he noticed his dad, Dylan, and a man in a suit standing in front of the partition. He sat and accepted the phone from Scott. Thank god he had a good memory with phone numbers and punched in Stacy’s cell number. “Shit!” It went right to voicemail. “Can I try her home phone number?” Dustin listened as her home phone rang and rang until her machine picked up.

When it beeped he left a quick message. “Hey, baby, it’s me. I need you to call Dylan’s cell phone right away, okay?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and rattled of Dylan’s number. “Please call him right away. I love you, okay?”

Dustin hung his head. Where was she? His head shot up. “Dylan!” he shouted to his brother. Dylan couldn’t come back where he was, but he just raised his voice to be heard.

“Dylan, I need you to find Stacy and make sure she’s okay. She was supposed to come to the office. If she’s not there, please go by her house.” Dustin had Scott write down the address and deliver it to his brother. “I’ve got a bad feeling, bro.”

“Don’t worry, man, I’m on it. Luke’s gonna go with me. We’ll keep her occupied until they release you, okay? This is all bullshit, bro, you’ll see.”

Dustin watched his brother and best friend walk out the door he closed his eyes and said a small prayer that this bad feeling he had was all for nothing.

***

Stacy decided to run home before heading to Dustin’s office. She’d pack a bag and grab her toiletries. Stacy pulled in her drive way. She grabbed her purse and camera and headed into the house. Stacy sat her stuff down on her couch and decided to turn on some tunes as she got her things ready. She started dancing when the first notes of “George Michael’s Freedom! ‘90” came through her speakers.

Stacy grabbed the stuff out of the bathroom first. She sat it on her bed as she started rifling through her clothes. Stacy tossed a couple of pairs of panties, some shorts, tank top and her uniform for The Waterfront. She put her bathroom supplies on top and then zipped it up. Stacy slung the bag over her shoulder, dancing and singing as she made her way out into the living room.

The smile on her lips quickly fell. “W-what are you doing here?” she stammered out. Mark was standing in front of her TV with a smile on his face. “You need to leave, now!”

“Sorry, baby, I can’t do that. We need to talk.” He was acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. Mark moved towards Stacy until she felt her back hit the wall. Flashbacks of the last time she was up against the wall in front of him hit her hard. She felt her heart start to race. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Stacy tried to slide along the wall until she could break away from him.

“M-Mark, we have nothing to talk about. Shouldn’t you be trying to work out things with your wife?”

“I’ve told you, Stacy, I don’t want her anymore—I want you. She’s taken my kids, but we’ll get them back. The bitch is unstable and she shouldn’t be anywhere near them.”

Stacy felt like she was in alternate universe. He was clearly the unstable one. How could she have not seen it before? It made her feel stupid and blind. Oh god, what if she made the wrong decision about Dustin? As much as she loved him, maybe she was just blinded by love that she couldn’t see he was just playing her.

“You need to go. Dustin will be here soon and he won’t like finding you here.” Stacy hoped he believed the lie. The smile on his face showed that he didn’t.

“Oh, I don’t think he’s coming at all. I get the feeling he’s a little indisposed.” With a smirk on his face he caged Stacy in with his arms.

“What did you do, Mark? D-did y-y-you hurt him?” Stacy choked out. She couldn’t stop the tears that dripped down her chin.

“No, I didn’t hurt him, but I wanted to. He can’t have what’s mine, Stacy. He doesn’t love you like I do.” He actually looked sincere when he said it.

“You’re wrong: you don’t love me. Dustin does.”

Mark stared at her and then threw his head back and laughed. It made her feel uneasy. She was starting to feel sick to her stomach. Stacy placed a hand over it and took a deep breath. She looked up to find Mark studying her. He stared at her hand smiling.

“What?” Stacy whispered.

He put his hand over hers. She flinched at his touch. Mark didn’t pull his hand away, he just kept holding it there. “You’re carrying my baby.” The blood began to roar in her ears. She was not carrying his baby; that was ridiculous. They never had sex without condoms.

“No, I’m not, Mark. We never had sex without protection.” She didn’t want to think about sex with him at all let alone talk about it.