***Trigger Warning.***

The officer look at us apologetically. "I'm sorry, but she's coming with us."

"No she's not!" I say louder than I intended to.

Brexton grabs the officer that's between us by the shirt. "I suggest you let my sister go." His voice is so calm, it's scary.

I watch the officer's hand go to the gun in his belt.

I reach up on my tiptoes and grab Brexton by the shoulder. "Careful." I say so only he can hear. When he looks down, I nod towards the officer's gun.

Inara's sweet voice cuts through the conversation. "Brexton stop, I'm okay! I can handle this. Please don't get yourself in anymore trouble."

He tenses up. "You do realize how serious this is,
right?"

She puts on a brave face. "I confessed. There's nothing you can do, so please stop."

I come to his defense. "Inara, he has every right to be concerned right now. This is the last thing any of us expected. You have a lot of explaining to do."

She looks nervously between the officers and I. "Trust me." Her eyes find mine, trying to communicate something I can't understand. "I have to go, you guys have to let me go."

Something about her demeanor is telling me not to fight this. She knows something we don't.

The officer who Brexton cornered goes behind her and takes hold of her handcuffs. "This is never easy, but she did the right thing by turning herself in. If either of you try to intervene, we have a cell with both of your names on it."

Brexton clenches his jaw. It's nerve-racking to see this other side of him, this angry, aggressive side. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been there."

I take his hand and pull him towards me, feeling protective. "Brexton."

I watch all the anger leave his system. "Yes? You have my undivided attention."

"We have to be smart. You're under house arrest and your trial is tomorrow." This just registers with me as I say it. His trial is tomorrow. This trial could end with him being charged with nine counts of first degree murder. If he's convicted, he may never get out.

He gives me a horrified look, then sighs. "Okay."

He turns to face the officers. "I know it's not customary, but can I please have a moment to say goodbye to my sister? I have a trial tomorrow that, if it ends badly, could cause me to never see her again. I can't even go visit her because I'm under house arrest."

The officers give each other a look. "You can say a very quick goodbye, but we'll be right outside this door. If you try anything, you can kiss your last night of freedom goodbye."

"You don't know if it's his last night. He's not convicted." I bitterly mumble under my breath.

Brexton agrees to their terms. "Thank you. I really appreciate you letting us do this."

"Yeah, yeah." The officer dismisses him. "You have about five minutes." His partner follows him out the door, leaving the three of us alone.

Brexton breaks the silence, for which I'm grateful for. There is no time to waste. "Inara tell me right now what's going on!"

She shifts uncomfortably in her handcuffs. "I told those nice officers that I tried to get Lyra in trouble because she took my boyfriend from me and when that didn't work, I decided to just get rid of her entirely."

I step closer to her, my heart pounding. "What?! Inara what are you talking about?"

She won't look at me, making me feel worse. "Brant called and told me that they were going to arrest Brexton tonight. Apparently, he gave them evidence that would've been enough to convict him. With his trial coming up tomorrow, he would've had no chance of winning."

My blood runs cold. Brant strikes again. Why does he have to keep hurting the people I care about? He is going to wish he had just went to jail when I'm done with him.

I can feel heat radiating off of Brexton's body. "You did what?! Inara, I will not let you go to jail for me."

Her eyes narrow. "You killed for me."

He looks taken aback. "That's different. You were going to die, I'm not."

Inara looks defeated. "You don't know that! You wouldn't have been in this position if it wasn't for me and don't you dare try to tell me otherwise! I'm doing this and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Oh, I'll find a way." Brexton fumes.

"No you won't" Her full lips curl into a devious smile. "Don't worry, I'll get out soon enough. Lyra is smart and determined and everything inside me tells me she's going to have him begging for mercy in no time."

A small sense of prides bubbles up inside of me. Inara thinks I can save her? Save Brexton? She thinks I'm strong enough to do that. That's all I needed to hear, I will not let her down. I think through all my options and realize that unfortunately, this is the best one we have.

"She's right." I jump in. "As much as I hate the idea of her going to jail, she has a way better chance of getting out than you do. She has no prior history and can't even pretend to have a mean bone in her body. I thought about going myself, but since I was poisoned it won't make sense. It's not ideal but if we can get her out quickly, I think we can save you both."

Brexton tugs at his hair. "Prison is no joke. She's going to get eaten alive in there."

I stop him. "Inara has been through things most people can't conjure up in their worst nightmare. She's one of the strongest people I know. If anyone can handle it, it's her."

This seems to ease his mind because he says nothing more.

Inara looks at me with unshed tears in her eyes. "Thank you Lyra. Now, come hug me before they come back."

I go straight to her and hug her like my life depends on it. "Promise me you'll be careful?"

She nuzzles her head against me, not being able to properly hug with her handcuffs on. "I promise. I love you Lyra."

My heart swells hearing her words. What's even more meaningful is I can tell she means them, unlike Jeremiah who only used those words as a weapon. "I love you too."

Brexton's fierce gaze burns a hole in the back of my head. I can sense that he's thinking about the same thing I am, love. What is it we feel for each other? We've never talked about it.

I move out of the way to let Brexton say goodbye. He hugs her, causing her feet to dangle in the air. I smile. Watching him with Inara has shown me how much love he has to offer the people he's close to.

We say a tearful goodbye as the officers drag her away from us, leaving me with a hole in my chest. I don't know when or how, but somewhere along this crazy journey, she's become my best friend.

"I need a drink." Brexton says glumly.

I walk behind him. "Are you okay?"

He pours Patron into a glass. I guess the fact that he's using a glass instead of drinking straight from the bottle is a good sign. "No, are you?"

His honesty breaks me down enough to be honest too. "No."

He gives me a sympathetic smile and grabs another glass. I watch his defined arm muscles as he pours me a glass. "Thanks." I say as he hands it to me.

"Screw this." He downs the clear liquid. "Why did we have to meet like this? You came into my life after I picked up all this baggage. I was just some nerdy IT guy like a month before you met me. Now, I finally found you and the universe keeps trying to pull us apart."

It's my turn to drink. "Finally found me?" I question him.

He wraps his arms around my waist. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for someone like you."

I have to keep talking to stop myself from kissing him. "There's only one question I need the answer to for me to know if this is going to work. Where do you see this thing between us heading?"

I take a deep breath before saying the next part. "I'm only asking because I think I'm falling for you. It's okay if you aren't feeling the same way but I need to know because..."

He pulls me by the waist until I'm close enough for him to crash his lips on mine. I loose my grip on the glass I had in my hands and it crashes onto the floor, smashing into a thousand tiny pieces. I don't care. I hungrily kiss him back, running hands wildly through his hair. I step into him, pressing my body against his.

"Careful." He mumbles against my lips. He lifts me onto the counter and I wrap my legs around his torso. He stands between my legs, his hand holding the back of my head.

When we're both breathless, we move our heads back. "In case it isn't obvious, I'm falling for you too." He smiles at me. It feels good to see him smile like this with everything going on.

I refuse to think about everything happening around us. I'll have to deal with it all later. We have this moment and that's more than I could ever ask for. I smile and give him a quick peck on the lips to show him that I'm happy with his answer.

I lean back on my hands. "Do you think you can teach me what you learned from doing my homework? I am so grateful for what you did, but I don't want to take shortcuts. I can't help people if I have my hott crush do my homework."

"You're hott crush can arrange that." He smirks. "I'll go grab your books."

I keep ahold of his hand. An insane idea goes through my head. "I was hoping you could show me that trick you claim to know. The where you please me without looking."

That night was the first time I've ever been pleased by a man and it was more than magical. I can only imagine what it'd feel like if he didn't just use his hands.