"I'd love that, Jen," he answered warmly as he gave me the first real smile I'd seen on his face since he got arrested.
"I'll pack some stuff at home after work, and I'll see you tonight." I stood and leaned down to press a sweet kiss to his warm soft lips. "I love you," I told him affectionately. "Call me if you need me."
"I always need you, Jen," he answered with certainty as he reached up and ran his knuckles up and down my cheek. "And I love you too."
I kissed him again and pulled back a fraction of an inch. "I always be here, Ford."
His answering smile was warm and sincere, but there was no mistaking the sadness that still lingered in his eyes. I wanted it gone, but was helpless to take it away from him. I put on a brave face, not wanting him to see how lost and afraid I felt too. I patted his cheek and smiled warmly. "See you later, big boy."
"Bye, honey." He gave me a ghost of his usual lop-sided grin. It broke my heart and nearly undid me, but I held myself together for him as I turned to leave. I walked out, and somehow managed to hold it in until I made it to my car. I climbed in and drove home, desperately trying to ignore the tears that streamed down my face the whole way there.
**********
"Jenny?" Andy said my name in a low worried tone.
I looked up to see my brother walking into my office. He closed the door as he came in, then sat across my desk from me.
"How's Ford?" he asked as he eyed me closely. I hadn't been here long, and I'm sure my eyes were still red and swollen from crying in the car again. I was so worried about Ford that I'd been crying off and on since leaving his place this morning.
"Not good," I told my brother as tears welled up in my eyes again. "He's terrified and feels helpless, and I can't do anything to fix this mess I created." Guilt swamped me. If it wasn't for my history with Carter, Ford wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.
"You didn't create this mess," he said comfortingly. "You're a victim of a malicious douchebag who targeted you and those you care about. You have no reason to feel guilty, and I'm sure Ford doesn't blame you in any way."
"Then why do I feel so guilty, Andy?" I asked as tears started falling yet again. "Carter is ruining Ford's life, and it's all my fault." I sobbed pathetically. I'd been holding it in for Ford since he got out of jail yesterday, and it was really catching up with me this morning. "What will I do without him if he goes to prison? How will I live with myself, knowing it's all because of me?"
"Jenny," Andy said worriedly as he stood and rushed around my desk. He knelt down in front of my chair and pulled me into a fierce hug. I clung to him desperately, needing to let out my insecurities here, where Ford couldn't see. I had to be strong for Ford, but with my brother, I could let go.
"I should have just given Carter what he wanted," I whispered. "I'm going to lose Ford either way, but at least that way he'd be free and have a chance to be happy with someone else."
Andy jerked backwards and glared at me. "You put that fucking bullshit right out of your goddamn head right now," he practically snarled at me. "Nothing is set in stone here. Ford hasn't been put away yet. You will not beat yourself up over something you're not responsible for. You will not regret that you didn't give that asshat what he wanted. Ford wouldn't want you to, and neither do I. Do you honestly think Ford could live with knowing you sacrificed yourself that way? I know I couldn't. And who's to say he wouldn't have done this to Ford anyway, just to get his rocks off."
His eyes grew determined. "You're going to fight this, Jenny. Carter Bennett may have money and power, but you have something he doesn't. You have love and family and happiness. He doesn't have any of that. That's why he wants to hurt you, but it also makes you stronger. You have more to fight for than he does, so you're going to put on your big girl panties and fight this shit." He grabbed my hands and held them tight. "And you won't have to fight alone either, sister of mine. I've got your back, and Ford's too." He smiled wryly. "After all, I am an evil genius. How could we lose?"
"You are not an evil genius, Andy," I told him with certainty, then snorted out a laugh at his offended expression. "You're a really great brother, and a good man."
He gave me a warm smile. "You're going to make me blush if you keep complimenting me like that."
"Well, don't get used to it," I said curtly. "I don't want to feed your already overinflated ego."
His hand flew to his chest as he gave me an overdramatic hurt expression. "My God, how you wound me, your own flesh and blood. I'm telling Mom."
"Well, she is the one that helped build your ginormous ego in the first place." I smirked at him, feeling a little better. "Dad will just roll his eyes and agree with me."
"Mom and Lydia are the only people who truly get me."
"Lydia doesn't get you. She puts up with you," I said sternly. "And I have no idea why."
"Well, I could enlighten you, but I'd hate to make you blush," he replied suggestively as he waggled his eyebrows at me.
I made a disgusted noise. "Don't you mean puke?" I asked with a glare.
He grinned at me. "I cheered you up though, didn't I?"
I couldn't help smiling back at him. I nodded. "Thanks, Andy."
"You're welcome." He gave me another hard hug. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I told him warmly.
He stood and patted me on the head, which earned him another glare. I hated it when he did that, even as a kid. "I've got to get back to the garage." He kept grinning, knowing he'd succeeded in annoying me like he intended. His face softened. "Come find me if you need me."
"Okay." I smiled and watched him leave, then threw myself into work to try to block out all my fear and worry. It didn't work completely, but I managed to get some work done without crying for a few hours anyway.
A little after twelve, I decided to go out and take lunch to Ford. I was rummaging through my purse for my phone, so I could text him, when Andy suddenly rushed into my office. He slammed the door behind him and leaned back against it. His face was ashen, and his eyes were wide and panicked.
"Andy?" I asked in a hushed tone, suddenly terrified. I'd never seen him look like this before.
Andy held his phone out toward me as he crossed the room. "Fuck, Jenny. It's bad, really really fucking bad."
"What are you talking about?" I asked frantically as I stood up.
He came around the desk to stand next to me, and held his phone up in front of us. It looked like he had a local news broadcast paused on the screen. Andy touched play on it, and a news woman began speaking.
"A local man was arrested on rape charges yesterday. Ford Spencer was charged and arraigned for criminal confinement and rape, then released on bail. Spencer is the owner of local tattoo shop, Apex Ink, and a tattoo artist there. A trial date has been set, and an investigation is currently being conducted by local authorities." Then she moved on to another story, oblivious to the havoc she had just unleashed on Ford's entire life.
I abruptly shoved Andy's phone away from me. "Oh God," I blurted out.
"How the fuck did this get out?" Andy asked as he put his phone in his pocket.
I knew exactly how. "Carter," I whispered. "He...he said he was going to ruin Ford's business and his future."
"Holy fuck," Andy breathed out in shock.
Panic swept through me in a wave. "Oh God, oh God, oh God." I stepped back to my desk and began frantically searching my purse for my phone.
"What are you doing?" my brother asked.
"I have to call Ford," I said as I finally managed to find it. I pulled it out, but Andy immediately snatched it away from me.
"You are not telling him this on the phone."
"But-"
"No, you're going to go see him right now," he said sternly and emphatically. "He needs to hear it from you in person. Hopefully, you can get to him before he finds out some other way that will be a lot worse."
"Okay," I breathed out. My brother was right, of course. I couldn't drop this shit on Ford ov
er the phone. He was going to need me to be there for him. I was going to have to suck it up and be the strong one. I just hoped I had it in me.
Andy grabbed my purse and shoved it into my hands along with my phone. "Go," he said insistently. "Don't worry about anything here. I'll take care of it."
"Okay," I repeated as I hugged my bag to my chest. I hurried out of my office and out to my car as fast as my stilettos could carry me.
Once I was in the car driving, my brain finally caught up with my panicked emotions. What was going to happen to Ford now that his arrest was public? I was terrified that people would assume the allegations were true and stop coming to his tattoo shop. That shop was everything to Ford, and being a tattoo artist was his life's passion. He'd be devastated if his business failed. Would this nightmare follow him for the rest of his life, even if he wasn't convicted? Fuck, how would it affect his case? I didn't know the answer to that, and I was feeling panicked again, so I decided to call someone who could.
Gareth answered on the first ring. "Please don't tell me the cops showed up to talk to you already, because I'm just leaving the state pen after meeting with a client, and I'm a good hour away."
"Um, no," I said uncertainly, thrown off by the abrupt way he answered my call.
"What happened, Jenny?" he asked, his voice dropping into a low dangerous tone that sounded more like a demand.
"The...the press...they...they know about Ford," I told him in a frantic voice.
"What?!" Gareth snarled out viciously. I knew it wasn't directed at me, but he was still intimidating as hell.
"It...it was on the news," I continued babbling. "They said his name and where he works. What's going to happen to him now? What are we going to do?"
Gareth's reply was a long and blistering string of profanity that would have put my brother to shame. "Where's Ford?" he snarled out demandingly after he ended his tirade.
"He...he's at work at his shop."
"Does he know yet?" he asked in a gentler tone as he managed to calm himself somewhat.
"No," I replied dejectedly. "I'm on my way to tell him right now."
"Alright" he replied, his voice firm and confident. "Get him out of there and up to his apartment as soon as you can. I don't think the press will show up at the shop this soon, if they even show up at all, but you never know. I don't want him talking to them."
"Okay."
"I'm headed your way, and I'll be there as soon as I can," his tone was gentle and understanding now. He was giving me whiplash. "Stay strong, Jenny. This is going to get bad. People are ignorant assholes and they'll believe whatever the press feeds them. Ford's going to need you now more than ever."
"Thank you, Gareth," I told him in a soft emotional tone.
"You're welcome," he said. "Don't worry. I'll get him out of this. I won't stop until he's cleared of these bullshit charges. I promise, and I don't promise anything I can't deliver." Then he was gone without even a good-bye, and I was left hoping like hell that he really could keep his promise, because the alternative was unthinkable.
Chapter 4
Ford
"Hey, Ford," Angel said from the doorway of my tattoo room. "Your five o'clock just called and canceled."
I'd been sitting in here for the last hour and a half since we opened at eleven, doing an inventory of my supplies to distract myself from my fucked-up head. It wasn't working, and I'd been staring at the wall for the past few minutes, worrying about my future and whether I even had one anymore.
"Really?" I asked in puzzlement. "Did she say why?" It didn't make any sense to me. I was giving this particular client a tattoo in remembrance of her father, and she'd been adamant about getting it done today since it was the one-year anniversary of his passing. I'd been relieved that I got out of jail yesterday, so I could still give her the tattoo today.
"No, but she sounded really odd." Angel stepped further into the room, her expression perplexed. "I asked if she wanted to reschedule, and she got all weird and uncomfortable, then said she'd call back another time."
I scratched at my head in confusion. Maybe she chickened out. It wouldn't be the first time that happened with a client. It was going to be her first tattoo, and it was fairly large. I sighed. I couldn't bring myself to worry about it too much. I had other things to consume my every thought right now, like my life being ruined by a sadistic bastard, and never seeing Jenny again except through prison bars.
"Thanks, Angel," I said in a subdued tone as I turned back to the drawer of supplies I was attempting to go through, and stared blankly at it as I tried to muster the will to care.
"Are you sure you're okay, Ford?" Angel sounded worried, and I couldn't blame her. I'd been quiet and distracted today.
When I came down to open the shop this morning, I gave her the lame excuse Jen suggested about the "family emergency" from yesterday being too personal to share. She'd accepted it without pushing for more, but I still felt guilty about it since she was my best friend. I knew Angel wouldn't tell anyone about it, but I didn't intend to go against anything Gareth told me to do. I couldn't take the chance of doing something that would jeopardize what he was doing to help me get out of this legal mess.
"I'm fine," I answered with a shrug, knowing I was anything but alright. I suddenly just wanted to go up to my room and curl up in a corner.
"Okay," she said doubtfully. She eyed me for a long moment with her lips pressed together like she was stifling whatever she wanted to say.
"Angel," I told reassuringly. "I'm alright. I'm just having a bad day, and I can't talk about it. I'm sorry."
"I'm here if you need me," she offered, her eyes filled with sympathy and honest concern.
"I know." I nodded and gave her a smile that I'm sure wasn't convincing at all, and felt more like a grimace. It was all I could manage. She nodded with a small frown then walked out.
A few moments later, I heard the bell on the front door ring. Maybe it was a walk-in client. I perked up at that thought. I could certainly use the distraction right now. I shoved the drawer shut, and quickly straightened up my workstation. I stood and turned to go out front only to find Jenny in the doorway. Her eyes were wide and panicked, and her face was pale.
"Ford," she blurted out in a distressed tone that freaked me the hell out.
"Jen." I rushed over to her and cradled her face in my palms. "What's the matter, honey?"
"I...I need to talk to you in private," she said in a soft yet desperate tone, then wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed herself against me.
"Alright," I answered feebly, feeling fear blossom and roil inside my stomach.
Jen stepped back and grabbed my hand to lead me down the hall to my office. She closed the door behind us, before turning to face me with a pained expression.
"Jen," I said quietly. "What's wrong? You're freaking me out."
"I..." She sighed and stared at the floor for a long moment. Her eyes flashed up to meet mine, and they were filled with heartbreaking sympathy. "I don't how to tell you this, so I'll just show you."
I watched in trepidation as she pulled her phone out of her bag and came closer. Part of me wanted to run like hell. She stood next to me, holding her phone out for me to see it. She had what looked like a newscast paused and ready to watch on the screen. She hit play, and my whole world disintegrated around me. I watched in abject horror as my name and this appalling crime I didn't do was blurted out for the entire world to hear.
Suddenly, my canceled appointment made complete sense, and the ramifications of this going public hit me hard. My life's passion, my dreams, my business, all of it, were in jeopardy. Everything I worked and strove to get for myself for ten long years was going to be ripped away from me. I felt my knees begin to buckle, and I couldn't even hear what Jen was saying to me.
"Fuck," I whispered hoarsely as I sank to my knees, feeling numb inside. "Oh, fuck."
My clients, my business contacts, my friends, and my fucking father would all see this. Would t
hey believe it? I knew my father would, and even though I'd severed my relationship with him, it hurt far more than I cared to admit to know that he would believe these lies. Hell, he wouldn't even be surprised. "Fuck." I covered my face with my hands, and began rocking back and forth. "No, no, no, no, no," I chanted under my breath, like I could will this nightmare away.
"Ford," Jenny called out my name softly. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry." I realized that she was kneeling in front of me and holding me in her arms.
I grabbed her and held her tight against me, needing to feel her, smell her. She was the only thing holding me together right now.
"I called Gareth," she told me as she rubbed gentle circles on my back. "He's on his way. He'll figure this out. He'll fix this."
"Fix this?" I asked in a harsh angry whisper. And just like that the shocked numbness turned into fury. I pulled away to meet her anguished eyes. "How?" I snarled out viciously. "The genie's out of the fucking bottle now. Everyone knows. You can't shove it back in. I'm going to lose everything, just like that fucking bastard wanted."
I jerked away from her and rose to my feet. I started pacing back and forth as I pulled at my hair, feeling overwhelmed by helpless rage. It grew and grew until I couldn't hold it in anymore. It exploded out of me in an angry bellow as I turned and slammed my fist through the drywall with a loud crunching sound. I wished like hell it was Carter Bennett's goddamn face. First, he tried to take my Jenny from me, now he was going to take everything else.
I stalked over to my desk. "Fuck!" I shouted as I flung out an arm and shoved everything on it off the edge, watching it all crash to the floor in a heap. It didn't make me feel better at all. I stood there panting with my hands clasped into fists, wanting to destroy something else, but knowing it was pointless. It wouldn't change anything.
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3 Page 6
