Bad Daddy by Jayda Marx

Chapter Ten

Westin

 

Colt's cry of, "What the fuck?" woke me from a sound sleep. I rubbed my eyes and sat up next to him in our bed.

Colt moved into my apartment a couple of weeks ago and made it ours. We chose my place because it was a little bit larger than Colt's and because he had fewer belongings to move. He wanted to make things as simple as possible for me, but I would've done anything to live with him.

I quickly found out what woke Colt up when I heard heavy knocking coming from the front door in the living room.

"Open up," a deep voice demanded. "This is the police!"

I gasped and took Colt's hand. "The police? What's going on, Daddy?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's a problem in the building," he replied, though he appeared unconvinced by his own words. "We need to get out there."

We climbed out of bed and I pulled on my lounge clothes which were folded on my nightstand; Colt and I liked to sleep and cuddle naked. He stepped into his jeans from the day before; he had a difficult car repair and an unreasonable deadline, so he didn't get home until late in the evening. He stripped off his clothes and passed out in bed as soon as he got home.

Colt held my trembling hand as we walked to the front door, where the officer was still pounding. My Daddy pulled the door open, revealing two officers standing on the front stoop.

Before I could ask if everything was okay, one of the policemen looked at my man and announced, "Colton Spriggs, you are in violation of your parole. We're here to take you into custody."

"What?" Colt snapped. "I haven't missed a single appointment with my parole officer. I just had a visit with him two days ago." I nodded my agreement; it was beautiful that day, so I went with him and waited on a bench outside and then we went to dinner afterwards. This had to be a mistake.

"And I updated him on my new address," Colt added. "It's within city limits so it wasn't an issue. Hell, I'm assuming that's how you found me. I'm in compliance with everything that's been asked of me."

One of the officers laughed. "You're not serious."

"Can one of you please tell me what the fuck this is all about?" Colt asked, sounding like his patience was running thin.

"This is about you attacking your coworker," the policeman replied. My jaw dropped and Colt's face scrunched up in confusion. "Buck Arnold’s father brought him into the station. Buck filed a report claiming that you robbed the business they own after you assaulted him."

"I never touched him!" Colt roared, but the cop shook his head.

"Buck's face tells a different story. You did a number on him tonight. It seems to be a habit of yours."

"I don't know what kind of shit Buck got himself mixed up in, but it wasn't with me."

"You'll have your chance to tell the jury," the cop told him. "Until then, the accusation is enough to break your parole."

"That's not fair!" I insisted. "Colt didn't do anything!" I knew without a doubt that he'd never jeopardize his life with me.

The cop closest to me cocked his head before placing his hand on my shoulder and asking, "How old are you, son?" The question made my stomach turn; he was basically accusing Colt of being some kind of pervert.

"Don't call him that!" Colt growled. "And take your fucking hand off of him!"

The officer leaned in closer to him. "Talk to me like that again and I'll taze your ass."

"It's okay. I'm okay," I told Daddy, stroking my hand over his arm, trying to calm him down. I didn't want him to get hurt. I turned to the questioning officer and told him, "I'm twenty." He looked me over for a few moments before finally nodding.

"Turn around," the other cop told Colt as he pulled a pair of handcuffs off of his belt. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will-"

"You can save your breath," Colt interrupted. "I know my rights."

My eyes filled with moisture when the cop clicked the cuffs around Colt's wrists. "Where are you taking him?"

"He'll be held at the county jail until he's arraigned, and then he'll go back to Blackwater to await trial."

"But that's four hours away! I need him here. You can't take him. You just can't!"

"Pup, look at me," Colt instructed, and I did so as a tear rolled down my cheek. "It'll be okay. I didn't do anything wrong. It'll all work itself out." I didn't see how anything was okay, but I had to trust him. "Come give me a kiss. I've got to go now."

"But I don't want you to go," I sniffled.

He repeated, "Give me a kiss," so I stepped closer and pressed my lips to his. Too soon, the officers pulled him away from me and walked him outside to their cruiser. My poor Daddy wasn't even wearing shoes and the sight brought more tears down my face.

"Wait! Please wait two seconds!" I ran inside and retrieved Colt's boots and a throw blanket from the back of the couch. Thankfully, the trio were still standing by the car when I made it outside again.

I kneeled in front of Daddy and worked his boots onto his bare feet, wishing I would've thought to grab a pair of socks. When I stood up, I draped the blanket around his shoulders and explained, "I didn't think a shirt would work with your cuffs."

Colt's face softened into an adoring smile. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

"Go inside and warm up," Colt told me before the officers ducked his head inside the backseat of the cruiser. My heart broke as they drove away. What am I going to do?

Colt wanted me to go inside, but I couldn't just sit there in the warm comfort of our home while he was being carted off to jail for a crime he didn't commit. This was one time I wouldn't do what my Daddy said.

I rushed inside, pulled on a hoodie, stepped into my sneakers, and grabbed my keys on my way out the door.

I drove to the courthouse downtown, where the county jail was located on the top floor. Unfortunately, the building was locked up tight. The police officers surely had a key to take Colt inside, but I was out of luck.

I sat on a bench just outside the entrance; it was the closest I could get to Colt. I wrapped my arms around my body to fight against the chill in the air. It was only a few hours until sunrise and the courthouse would open shortly after that. I wasn't leaving until I saw Colt and made sure that he was okay.

 

*****

 

The sun was up, but the morning was still cold as I waited on the front steps of the courthouse. The doors would open soon, and I couldn’t wait to see Colt. It would be difficult to see him in an inmate jumpsuit and behind bars, but it was even more difficult to be apart from him.

My attention was caught by a middle aged man in a suit who was climbing the stairs towards me. He carried a briefcase in one hand and the other held a cell phone to his ear. I couldn’t help but overhear his conversation.

“Yes, I’ll be in the office soon. I had to stop at the courthouse; I was called to be a public defender for a parolee. The guy is accused of attacking his coworker. I’m going to talk to him and then I’ll be in; it should be a quick visit.”

The man put his cell phone back into his pocket and I blocked him on the stairs with my body. “You’re here to see Colt,” I gathered, and the man blinked in surprise. “He’s my…” I wasn’t sure how ‘Daddy’ would sound to the lawyer, so I finished with, “Boyfriend. My name is Westin.” I held my hand out and the man shook it.

“I’m Martin Dodge, and yes, I’ll be defending Mr. Spriggs.”

“You have to help him,” I begged. “He didn’t do this. He’s a good man and the last thing he’d want is to get in trouble again. He was just as surprised as I was when the cops showed up at our apartment. Plus, we were together all night; he would’ve told me if something happened between him and Buck.”

“You were together all night?” Martin asked excitedly.

“Oh, well, not all night,” I corrected, and Martin deflated. I wished I could give Colt an alibi for the whole evening, but lying would only make things worse for him. “He came home from work late; he had to stay over to fix a car that needed to be done before this morning. But once he got home around ten, he didn’t leave again.”

Martin blew out a breath while running his hand through his hair. “I’ve already visited the garage where he works and found out there aren’t any security cameras to show what took place last night.” I was grateful that Colt’s lawyer was invested and proactive. “Did he mention who all was at the garage with him? I’ll need to interview everyone.”

I cringed. “He said that his boss John left at the regular time around six, and that he and Buck were there alone after that.”

“Damn,” Martin grumbled. “Did you notice if he had any cuts or bruises on his hands?”

“He’s a mechanic,” I shrugged. “Sometimes his hands get roughed up.” Martin cursed again and I shook my head. “It sounds bad, but trust me, once you talk to him, you’ll see that he couldn’t have done this. I’m here to visit him too; can we talk to him together?”

Martin winced and answered, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but the jail doesn’t allow visitors except for legal counsel.” My knees buckled and I landed on my ass on the hard steps. “Shit, are you okay?” Martin kneeled down beside me and I shook my head.

“No, I’m not okay! None of this is okay! I need to see him!” Martin patted my back, but it only made me feel worse; Daddy should be the only one to comfort me.

“He’ll be held here until he’s arraigned Monday morning. When he’s sent back to Blackwater, you’ll be able to visit him once a week.”

That didn’t make me feel any better. “That’s not enough. You can’t let them send him that far away.”

“It’s out of my hands,” Martin replied sadly. “He won’t be eligible for bail because this is a parole violation. He’ll have to stay in prison until his trial starts.”

“When will that be?”

“I’m not sure. Sometimes it can be as quick as a few months, and other times it’s a year or more.”

“No,” I whispered as my eyes clouded with moisture, and Martin patted my back harder. And then as quickly as defeat had washed over me, determination took its place. Sitting here crying wasn’t going to help Colt. Just because the lawyer’s hands were tied didn’t mean that mine were. I had to find a way to help Daddy.

I wiped my eyes and asked Martin, “Since I can’t see Colt, will you at least give him a message from me?”

“Of course.”

“Tell him that his pup loves him very much, and that I’m going to take care of him this time; that I’m not going to let anyone take him away. I’m going to get him out of here.”

“Westin…”

“Just tell him.”

Martin sighed and gave me a sad smile. “I will. Now, why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

I nodded because I had nowhere else to go, but there was no way I could rest. I needed to make a plan to keep my promise to Colt. Nobody was going to take him anywhere.