Chapter 35 DIDN'T THINK
THANE
Pops had a way of not just stating his rules—he made you follow them. Whether you liked it or not, he pressed, pushed for it, until you bent to his will.
I learned that the day he decided to “clean up Mom’s mess”, three years ago. I never expected it to be in a good way, but I sure as hell didn’t imagine he’d lock her away in some mental hospital I only found out about last year.
Now it looked like the same fate was coming for this whole Wendy thing. Once he decided something needed fixing, there was no escaping it.
I pulled into the station driveway and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. My head pounded so hard I wished the whole damn day would just end.
Then my phone chimed on the headboard. I picked it up and stared at the screen.
Molly: Found the address?
Me: Yeah. Just got here.
Molly: Cool. Go work your magic.
I exhaled sharply. If Pops ever found out I was going behind his back on this, he’d bury me.
But I didn’t care what lines I had to cross. Not if it meant protecting Rachel and fixing what I should’ve handled long ago.
I killed the engine, stepped out, and headed inside.
The first person I spotted was George. I’d seen him a few times with Pops, usually when criminal cases brought him over for coffee. Lawyers and cops being friends didn’t exactly read normal to me.
The second he saw me, he looked surprised when he saw me, but still waved me over.
“Hey, man. Fancy seeing you here?” He clapped my shoulder. “Excuse me,” he told the person he’d been talking to, then motioned for me to follow. “Let’s go.”
He led me to his office and we both dropped into chairs across from each other.
“Coffee?” he asked, raising a brow.
I shook my head. “No. I’m good.”
He poured himself a cup and leaned back behind his desk. The chair creaked loudly as he adjusted his weight.
“Can’t remember the last time I saw you this year, man.” His eyes scanned me with an amused smile. “You look… different. Good difference.”
Yeah. I bet his good meant decent and responsible, the same way Pops always said it. If this were three years ago, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here in a suit with a bold tie.
Things change. I let him enjoy the moment for a second before cutting straight to the point.
“I came here for something important, George.”
The smile disappeared. He set his mug down. “Alright. Let’s hear it.”
“It’s about Mylla.”
His expression shifted instantly, like he already knew where this conversation was going.
He nodded slowly. “What about her?”
“I don’t care what mess my father’s involved in,” I said, leaning forward. “I just want to do the right thing. Help me get her out… and I’ll give you what you want from him.”
He frowned. “What I want?”
“Yeah,” I shrugged lightly. “You’ve been hanging around my dad for a while now. We both know why. And I’m pretty sure I know how to get him to give you exactly what you’re after.”
He let out a quiet scoff and leaned back again. “Impressive, Thane. I’ll give you that.” He shook his head slightly. “But whatever theory you’ve built in your head about me and your father… you need to drop it.”
He studied my face for a moment before continuing. “I’m guessing Molly talked to you, right?” he said. “Let me guess, she told you your father had her sister locked up here without any real charge.”
My gaze faltered for a split second. He caught it immediately.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “That’s what I thought.”
He rubbed his jaw and sighed. “She came here about a week after she got released. Made a whole scene.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “My advice? Stay as far away from her as you can and forget about this whole thing.”
He reached for his cap on the desk. “I think we’re done here.”
“Can I talk to her?” I asked quickly.
He paused. “No,” he said, tone firm. “Don’t even think about it. It’s time for you to go.”
I stood and walked around to his side of the desk. “Just one minute,” I said quietly. “That’s all I’m asking. One minute.”
He exhaled heavily, then gave me a reluctant nod. “… Fine. One minute.”
Relief cut through the pounding in my skull.
“I’ll have an officer bring her out.”
“Thank you, George.”
He nodded with a forced smile.
He led me back outside and called over one of the officers. After whispering something to him, he nodded in my direction. Then he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Your father’s a good man, Thane. Don’t let people twist that in your head.”
He gestured toward the hallway. “And for the record, Mylla’s in here for shoplifting. I didn’t even know she and Molly were related until Molly showed up here screaming about it a week later.”
He shrugged. “You see?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah… I get it.”
The officer motioned for me to follow him. As we walked down the hall, George’s words kept replaying in my head. Nothing made sense anymore. Just when I thought I had the whole story figured out, everything flipped again.
“Wait here,” the officer said when we entered a small room. Two other cops stood against the far wall.
Her hair was a mess, her eyes sharp and wary the moment they landed on me. She looked like she’d either just been in a fight or was ready to start one.
She sat down across from me. The officer murmured something to the others, then stepped out and shut the door with a heavy click.
I waited until the lock engaged. Then I looked at her.
What the fck do you want from me, Thane Adams?” Her voice thickened with something heavier than hate.
“I talked to Molly. She’s worried…”
“You playing errand boy now?” She smirked, her tone sharp and bitter. “Don’t waste my time. Say whatever you came to say.”
For a second I almost walked out. But the memory of Rachel’s face outside her bedroom door kept flashing in my head. The way my body felt the connection when her eyes locked on mine, like she was trying to say everything we’d both been avoiding. I couldn’t shake it off. I’d walked away from her then, and now here I was, still trying to fix sht for her even when she probably hated me.
My eyes flicked briefly toward the cops behind her before returning to hers.
“I’m here to help you,” I said evenly. “But I can’t do sht if you keep swinging your attitude.”
She snorted. “Oh, I get it. You need something from me, but you still can’t drop the ego.” She tilted her head. “What about your father? Has he decided if he wants to kill me yet… or is he still thinking about it?”
My throat tightened instantly. The memory of Pops leaning over his desk, telling me he’d “handle” mum, flashed in my head. If he was capable of that, what else was he hiding?
I felt blood rush hot through my brain, but… Rachel’s hurt face after I shoved her out of my room hit me again. If something happened to her because of all this mess… because I couldn’t keep my sht together…
“Why the hell would he want to kill you?” my voice dropped low.
Fck this.” She turned toward the officers. “Get me out of here!”
I grabbed her arm, my heartbeat racing. “Your sister is losing her mind worrying about you. You want me to tell her you don’t give a sht after everything she’s risked to get me here?”
Her eyes flashed with tears for half a second before the defiance slammed back in stronger than before. “I don’t need your damn help, Thane!”
She laughed, obviously bitter and broken. “No matter what I say, nobody listens. And you? I don’t trust you either. Tell Molly she’s a fcking idiot for thinking she can.”
My voice stayed calm, but I was almost losing it. “You don’t have a choice,” I said, holding her gaze fiercely. “Trust me… or rot here.”
I swallowed hard. “Your choice.”
The words barely left my mouth before she moved. One second I was sitting. The next, she was already on top of me, yanking my shirt, her face inches from mine. The officers rushed in, pulling her off, but she kept thrashing.
“Fck you!” she screamed as they dragged her toward the door. “Tell your father I’m going to let the fcking world know what happened that night! Unless he wants to get me out of this shthole!”
Her voice echoed down the hall even after they hauled her away.
I pushed myself up slowly, tasting blood where my lip had split against the floor. My mind kept circling back to pop's words. Especially when he told me, “Fix that. Maybe then I’ll believe you’re actually growing up.” To him, this meant creating another mess instead of fixing the actual one.
Hell… If he was behind any of this, if Rachel was in trouble now because of my family’s sht…
“Fck,” I muttered, frustration gnawing at me deeply.
“Time’s up,” the officer said, stepping back in. “You should go.”
I wiped my mouth, straightened my shirt, and walked out on unsteady legs. Fresh anger mixing with guilt crept in. I had no idea why I couldn't get those thoughts out of my head. Why I felt this insane urge to go against pops for the first time. For her. My body felt stiff with the thought of something actually happening to her.
I hadn't even processed what had just happened when my phone lit up with Rachel’s name.
I answered quickly. “Hello?”
Just a shaky breath on the other end.
“Rachel?” My grip tightened on the phone, my heart slamming harder than it had during Mylla’s attack. “Are you okay?”
Her voice cracked, weak and terrified like she was straining. “It hurts…”
“Fck. Where are you?”
“I… I don’t know,” she whimpered.
I opened my mouth to say something else… But the line went dead.
I didn’t waste time thinking of anything. I just ran to the car, slammed the door, and tore out of the parking lot.
I tried not to picture the worst. Rachel hurt, alone, because of the same mess I was trying to clean up… But my mind was already there.
My grip tightened around the wheel so hard, heat crawled on my skin.