Bad Daddy by Jayda Marx
Chapter Twelve
Colt
“Let’s go,” the guard said as he slid open the barred door of my cell. It was the morning of my arraignment, and he was here to escort me to the courtroom downstairs. Knowing the drill, I held my wrists out and allowed him to place cuffs on me before I stepped out of the cramped area.
As we walked down the long hallway, it was impossible to keep my eyes off of the other inmates. One man was sitting on his cot, rocking and talking to himself, while another was pacing his cell. I knew that once I returned to Blackwater, the clientele would only get rougher and more intimidating.
The only bright side of going back to the federal prison was that I’d get to see Westin again. Being apart from him was the worst part of any of this. Not a single moment passed without me worrying about him. How was he coping? Was he taking care of himself? What if he had a hard day and I wasn’t there to comfort him?
I desperately needed to see and be near him, but I also knew that it wouldn’t be fair to him. It wasn’t fair to ask him to drive four hours one way to see me for twenty minutes once a week. It wasn’t fair for me to ask him to wait for me for as long as this took. I wouldn’t be there every day to hold him or guide him.
The right thing to do would be to let him go, but the thought alone shredded my soul. Westin was everything to me, but he was too sweet to deal with this. He deserved better than having me for a Daddy.
Granted, I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I was still in fucking jail. Could I ever climb out of the pit of my past, or would I just drag Westin down with me? He was young and smart; he could do and be anything he wanted in this life. It was selfish to ask him to settle for being mine.
Before we reached the elevator at the end of the hall, a second guard approached the man escorting me. “Hey, there’s been a change of plans. Spriggs’ lawyer is here to see him in room 603.”
“Why?” my guard asked, but the other man just shrugged.
“I don’t know; I was just told to come and find you.”
The only reason I could think of was that maybe my lawyer was going to try and convince me to plead guilty in hopes of a shorter sentence, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Whatever.” My guard turned me around and we made our way to the opposite end of the hall. When we reached room 603, he opened the door and allowed me to enter alone. Visits with legal counsel were privileged so officers stayed outside of the room, staying close in case they were needed.
When the door shut behind me, my jaw dropped at the sight awaiting me inside the room; my lawyer was sitting at a table waiting for me, and standing next to him was my beautiful boy. “Westin?”
“Daddy!” He ran to me and threw his arms around my neck, hugging me as tightly as possible. I couldn’t hug him back because of my restraints, so I buried my face in his neck, inhaling his scent and kissing the side of his throat. Touching his body chased away any thoughts of letting him go. I couldn’t live without this feeling. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I whispered against his skin. “How are you here right now?” No one was supposed to get visitors.
Unfortunately, Westin let me loose and pointed back to my lawyer. “Martin helped me.” I was too happy to see my boy to be jealous of the fact that he was apparently close enough to my lawyer to call him by his first name.
“I called in a favor,” Martin shrugged. “Besides, this is a special circumstance.” I narrowed my eyes in confusion and he added, “I’ve received some new information.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Come sit down,” he replied, motioning to the table. “There’s something you need to hear.”
I took a seat across from him and Westin sat on my lap, right where I wanted him. Martin unsnapped his briefcase and pulled out a laptop, which he opened before clicking a few buttons until a black box took up most of the screen. He pressed a white triangle on the bottom left hand side of the screen and a voice began to speak; a voice I recognized as belonging to Buck.
“I don’t have any more money,” Buck’s voice said, sounding desperate. “I already gave you everything I could get my hands on from work.”
“That bastard!” I cried, but Martin held his finger up, signaling there was more.
“You still owe us seventeen hundred dollars,” an unfamiliar voice countered on the recording. “We covered your gambling debts, and now it’s time to pay up. The boss is tired of waiting.”
Oh shit. It sounded like Buck had gotten himself tangled up with some loan sharks. I wasn’t surprised; he never thought things through, and lived for a good time. Apparently this time he bit off more than he could chew. It was hard to feel sorry for him when he’d blamed the robbery on me. Why the hell did he blame me?
“But I don’t have it,” Buck argued. “I need more time.”
“Time’s up, asshole,” the angry voice growled back. “Last time I only fucked up your face. This time, I’m going to break your arms. And you won’t have the prison rat to blame it on and make a nice little sob story for daddy; he’s gonna find out exactly what you are.”
So that was it. For reasons that made no fucking sense to me, Buck was his father John’s pride and joy. Buck must have been trying to hide his actions from his dad to not disappoint him (or better yet, to continue getting financial support for doing basically nothing). But how do you explain an empty cash drawer and a busted face? By blaming it on the ex-con, apparently.
“I’ll get the money. Just give me one more day,” Buck begged. “I’ll pay extra!”
Martin clicked a button to stop the recording. “I don’t think we need to listen to the rest; it gets pretty graphic. Suffice it to say that this is enough to prove your innocence.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. My mind spun with a hundred questions, and the first one to pop out of my mouth was, “Where did you get this recording?” Obviously not from Buck, and surely the loan shark didn’t make it; it would only incriminate himself.
Martin scratched at his jaw for a moment before answering, “I’m not at liberty to answer that. Let’s just say that this was brought to me by a concerned citizen who wanted to help you.”
There was only one person who cared enough about me to help. I looked at Westin, who was staring back with a shy smile, and asked him, “How?”
“I broke into the car shop and Buck's house and planted bugs,” he answered proudly.
“I didn’t hear that,” Martin insisted.
My throat tightened. I was overwhelmed by Westin’s love and sacrifice, but terrified of what could have happened. “Pup, that was so dangerous. You could’ve gotten caught! You could’ve ended up in here too!”
“At least I would’ve gotten to see you,” Westin replied, and my heart shattered. I loved this boy more than I could ever put into words. “Besides, I was super careful. I wore gloves and re-locked the doors I picked open, and learned Buck’s schedule so he wouldn’t catch me.”
“I definitely didn’t hear that,” Martin groaned. “Please try not to say anything more about your illegal activities in front of me,” he added with a smirk.
“Sorry,” Westin offered, though he didn’t look like it.
Wait a minute. Even though this recording proved that I had nothing to do with the crimes against Buck, Westin obtained it in a very illegal manner. I wouldn’t risk his safety by using the audio at my trial. “We can’t use this in court,” I insisted.
“Luckily, it won’t come to that,” Martin assured. At my confused expression, he explained, “I played this audio for Buck and told him that the punishment for filing a false police record in this state was a minimum of one year in prison and a hefty fine. He didn’t ask where the recording came from or how I came to own it; he simply decided that he couldn’t handle the punishment. So, he confessed his sins to his father, who ended up paying off Buck’s debt to the loan sharks.”
“Of course he did,” I grumbled with an eye roll. Buck would never have to answer for his actions as long as his dad was willing to cover them up.
Martin continued, “Buck also visited my office this morning and signed papers saying that he wished to recant everything he said against you and that no one forced him to do so. All charges against you have been dropped, and as soon as I get the papers filed through the court, you’ll be released on the conditions of your previously outlined parole.”
My jaw dropped. “I’m...I’m getting out?”
Westin nodded and hugged me again. “No more jail and no Blackwater; you get to come home with me.”
“You freed me,” I replied, still in shock over the whole situation.
“I’d do anything for you,” he whispered before sitting back to look at me. “Oh, and John has already called to offer you your job back once you get out.”
I scoffed, “And I can’t wait to call him back and tell him to kiss my ass.”
Westin’s cheeks pinked as he ducked his head. “I already told him to kiss mine. I hope you’re not mad.”
How could I possibly be mad at that? “That’s my boy,” I told him proudly before pecking his forehead.
“I need to go file this paperwork to get you out of here as quickly as possible,” Martin said as he stood from his chair. “Westin, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave too.”
“I understand,” my boy replied sadly, standing up as well.
My lawyer assured him, “It won’t be long before Colt is released,” before giving his attention to me. “Mr. Spriggs, don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again.”
I laughed and nodded my agreement. “Same here, but thank you for everything.”
“Thank him,” he smirked with a nod towards Westin.
My boy gave me a quick kiss before telling me, “See you soon,” and following Martin through the door, leaving me beaming after him.
*****
Three hours later, I stepped out into sunshine and freedom. I’d only been behind bars for a few days, but it felt like forever, especially since I had myself convinced that it would be forever. I honestly believed that I could be trapped inside for the rest of my life.
But my sweet boy rescued me. He also dropped off a sweater and a pair of socks for me at the jail, so I was able to change into a full outfit when I was released, and I carried the blanket he sent me off with.
Speaking of my sweet boy, I found him sitting on a nearby bench, patiently waiting as the world passed him by. I wasn't so patient. I jogged towards the bench and Westin must have heard my footsteps, because he turned around when I was halfway there. When he saw me, he smiled brighter than ever before, leapt from his seat, and ran to me at full speed.
Westin jumped into my arms, locking his legs around my waist and kissing me deeply. It felt incredible to finally be able to snake my arms around him and hug him back.
I was only free because of him; because of the risk he took for me. Sweet Westin never would have broken the law if not for me. He said it himself; I'd do anything for you. The thoughts and worries from before came rushing back to me.
I broke our kiss and told him, "We need to talk."
"Well that doesn't sound good," Westin replied nervously before sliding down until his feet touched the ground.
"I keep thinking about what you did for me and what could have happened to you. I never want anything to happen to you, and I definitely don't want to be the cause. You deserve the world and I'm afraid that I can't give-"
"Stop it," Westin insisted sharply, and I blinked in surprise as he propped his hands on his hips. "First of all, you didn't ask me to do anything; I wanted to do what I did, so it's all on me. I knew the risks and it was my choice. I knew that you were innocent and I wanted to help you. Wouldn't you do the same for me?"
"Of course I would."
"Because we're partners. Yes, you're my Daddy and yes, you make the decisions, but it's my right to take care of you too. I'm allowed to love you however you need. So I don't want to hear this 'I'm not good enough' bull crap. Get it through your head that you are everything. You are worth the risk."
I was too shocked (and turned on) to speak; I just stared at him with wide-eyed amazement. Westin stared back for a few moments before tucking his bottom lip between his teeth and folding in his brows with worry.
"I'm sorry, Daddy; did that sound too harsh?"
I let out a belly laugh as I wrapped him in my arms. "No, pup. It was perfect. Sometimes even Daddies need to be put in their place. It's in my nature to want to protect you, but I appreciate everything you do for me and I love you more than you'll ever know."
"I love you too."
I kissed him deeply before resting my forehead on his and telling him, "Let's go home. I want to scrub the smell of jail off of my skin and then carry you into the bedroom and fuck you into the mattress."
Westin's pupils dilated and darkened as he licked his lips. "Yes, Daddy."
