“Are you sure you can handle this?” Hamilton asked Dakota. They were at the hospital to visit Wesley, but Hamilton hadn’t thought it a good idea to come right after leaving Tymico’s funeral. Dakota had been a wreck, but he hadn’t been able to talk her out of coming.
“Yes, I want to know who killed my best friend and who tried to kill me.”
Wesley had been in the hospital five days, and after two surgeries he was expected to make a full recovery. According to the nurse, this was the first day he’d been awake for any long period of time.
“Somehow the black clothes seem appropriate for this visit. Wouldn’t you say?” Dakota mumbled, still angry with her father. The only reason she was there was because she needed answers.
“We shouldn’t be too long,” Hamilton said to Kenton who had been keeping a short distance behind them.
“Take your time. I’ll be out here.”
Hamilton pushed open the door, and it wasn’t until they were in the middle of the room did they realize Wesley wasn’t alone.
“Homer, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Dakota said and approached a guy who Hamilton had seen previously but couldn’t place where.
Homer, Homer, who was…the director. The movie director.
All types of warning bells went off inside Hamilton’s head. Was this guy responsible for the threats, murder and attempted murder of Dakota? At six feet tall, with salt and pepper hair, olive skin, and a medium build, Homer could be the guy in the photo, but Hamilton wasn’t sure. He’d only seen him from a distance once.
Hamilton glanced at Wesley. He was as pale as a corpse, and Hamilton was pretty sure it had nothing to do with all the blood he’d lost days ago. When his attention went back to Homer, the man was watching him. Hamilton didn’t know what he saw on his face, but before he could react, Homer wrapped his arm around Dakota’s neck and pulled her to him.
“Scream and you die,” he said to her in a lethal tone, a gun pointed at her temple. Then Homer looked at Hamilton. “Come any closer and I will kill her.”
Hamilton lifted his hands out in front of him. “Okay, okay. Let’s calm down. We don’t want any trouble. Just let her go.”
The man backed up to the window, the gun held steady in his hand. It was clear he was comfortable with the weapon.
“Please…don’t…do this. Take…me,” Wesley rasped.
“Dakota, did your father ever tell you how he met your mother?”
“No,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“Figures. I’m sure he didn’t want you to know he stole her from me. Katrina was my life. She was the woman I was supposed to marry and have children with. We were all friends and Wes knew how I felt about her. He didn’t care. He only cared about himself.”
“I didn’t know. He shouldn’t have done that to you.” Dakota’s words were calm, but Hamilton could hear the catch in her voice.
“Wes moved her to Atlanta, far away from me when her home was in LA. She loved California and he forced her to leave. And his selfishness and greediness are what eventually killed her.”
“No,” Wesley said. “We were…in love. She was…everything…to me.”
Hamilton didn’t want to make any sudden moves, and he prayed Dakota wouldn’t either. Homer’s gun was now against her throat. One wrong move and she’d be gone.
“Homer, I know you’re angry with Wesley, but this is not how to get back at him. Dakota hasn’t wronged you. Leave her out of this.”
“I vowed that I would make him pay for what he did to me. For who he took from me. The only way he’ll know my pain is if I take something just as precious from him.”
“You already did that when you killed his girlfriend, Tymico,” Hamilton said.
Homer shook his head vigorously and Hamilton hated he brought Ty’s name into the conversation. The last thing he wanted was to upset this man.
“That was an accident. I didn’t know she was there. She just…she wasn’t supposed to be there. She wouldn’t have gotten hurt if it weren’t for Wes.”
“I’m sorry,” Wesley said, his voice weak. “I didn’t mean to… Homer is right. We all spent time together. Every weekend. Me, him, and Kat… She and I fell in love. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It just happened, and she’s the one who wanted to move to Georgia.”
“You’re ly—”
“Please don’t hurt my daughter,” Wesley cut into Homer’s words.
Hamilton kept his attention on Dakota as she stared into his eyes. He didn’t see fear. All he saw was love. This woman was his, and her bravery never ceased to amaze him. She was planning something, and he knew they only had one shot.
“Homer, if you kill her, you won’t be getting back at Wesley. She doesn’t belong to him. She’s mine, and I love her as much as you loved Katrina. Please, don’t do this. Don’t take her from me.”
The man looked at Hamilton as if he was considering his words, and his arm relaxed around Dakota. She might not be one hundred percent, and she still had a cast on her arm, but he’d been watching her each day getting stronger and stronger. She could take the guy, but he didn’t want her risking her life.
“I’m sorry,” Homer said. “You look at her the way I used to look at my Katrina, but I have to do this. Wesley doesn’t deserve Dakota.”
“I agree, but—”
“Katrina was perfect,” Homer said to Dakota. “Even more beautiful than you are. Every day I saw you on the set, I thought of her. I dreamed of her, but your father—”
“Homer, we all agree, Wesley was wrong, but if you kill Dakota, you’re killing the woman I love. The woman I plan to marry. The woman who will be the mother of my children.”
Dakota blinked several times and Hamilton eased his hand behind his back.
“Kiai!” she yelled, and elbowed Homer in the stomach, then slammed her foot down his shin.
“Get down!” Hamilton yelled and whipped out his gun. Dakota dived to the floor, and he pulled the trigger. A single shot to the head and Homer crumbled to the floor.
Kenton burst through the door, and within minutes, the room was flooded with hospital personnel and security. Hamilton had only one focus.
“Dakota,” he breathed, his heart hammering in his chest when he didn’t immediately see her. Then she came into view. Sidestepping around those in the room, she hurried to him, practically falling into his arms.
“It’s over, baby. It’s all over,” he said.
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* * *
The next day, Dakota stepped away from Hamilton and stood near her father’s bed, afraid of the anger still brewing inside of her. The day before had been one nightmare after another. First attending her best friend’s funeral, which had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. And then having a man hold her at gunpoint because of feeling he’d been wronged by Wesley. Dakota was done. If it hadn’t been for needing closure on some of the horrors that she’d been experiencing lately, she wouldn’t there.
She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to forgive her father.
“I can wait outside,” Hamilton said.
“No,” Dakota and Wesley said in unison.
“I need to apologize,” Wesley said to Hamilton, which shocked Dakota. “I’m sorry for everything I put you and your family through. Back then…and even recently, I was angry and cocky.”
He paused and glanced away. Dakota wasn’t sure she wanted to hear more, afraid that whatever he said would make her like him even less. None of them spoke until her father continued.
“Avery made a fool of me, sleeping with other men while we were in a relationship. That night, when I heard her screaming as you walked out of my bedroom,” he said to Hamilton, who still hadn’t spoken, “I really believed you had done something to her. But later, when I found out she had slept with others that night, I was angry. I went after you to avoid humiliation. Wanting…needing to believe that you had forced yourself on her. I know what I’ve done is unforgivable, but I really am sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to make amends.”
Dakota shook her head. “Unbelievable. You just keep…disappointing me,” she choked out, swallowing hard to keep from bursting into tears. “Why now? Why the change of heart?”
“I’ve made so many mistakes. It’s time I right some of my wrongs.”
Dakota didn’t respond immediately, but she felt that time had come and gone a long time ago.
“I asked you several times if you knew who was sending you the threats. Each time you said no.”
“Dee Dee, I swear to you. I didn’t know until the middle of the night…before the shooting. Tymico and I were planning to talk to you about us the next morning, which was also when I intended to tell you about Homer.” Tears bloomed in his eyes and he batted them away. “I had no idea he would break into the house and…”
Dakota tried not to get emotional, wanting to believe he was telling her the truth about everything. She just didn’t know what to believe.
“How long…how long were you seeing Ty?”
“Almost five months.”
“Why? Why her? Why my best friend…my sister?” Dakota choked out, determined not to cry, but each time she thought about how she would never see Tymico again, a stab of pain pierced her heart.
“It just happened. We ran into each other at the airport. She was working, on a flight that I was on heading to California. When we landed, I invited her to dinner.”
Dakota remembered that. Tymico had called her that night and told her that she’d ran into Wesley and that they’d hung out. Dakota hadn’t thought anything of it. They were family. She remembered joking with Tymico, telling her that she should’ve chosen a more expensive restaurant to get Wesley to take her to. Never thinking that the two of them would eventually be sleeping together.
“We bumped into each other periodically, and we always had a good time whenever we were together.”
“Why didn’t either of you tell me? Why sneak around?”
“She wanted to tell you, but I…I just couldn’t. I didn’t want you to think I was some dirty old man or that I was using her.”
Instead, Dakota thought he was so much worse than that.
“I know you probably won’t believe me, but I loved her, Dee Dee,” he said, his voice full of emotion before tears leaked from his eyes. “I really loved her. I never intended to fall in love with her.”
Dakota wondered if he realized that the two women he claimed to love were dead, partly because of him. She didn’t have the energy to point that out.
“I’m sorry for everything I put you through, both of you,” Wesley said to her and Hamilton. “Please forgive me.”
Dakota glanced at Hamilton who’d been silently watching her from across the room and wondered what he was thinking. When she returned her attention back to her father, he looked more exhausted than she felt. She had never been able to stay angry with him too long, but too much had happened in the last few days.
“I need time,” she said.
He nodded. When he started struggling to keep his eyes open, they left him to sleep.
Dakota was so emotionally spent as they trudged out of the hospital, she could barely see straight. She and Hamilton didn’t speak until they climbed into his truck.
“What are your thoughts regarding all that my father said?” Dakota asked. She rested her head on the headrest, barely able to keep her eyes open. “Do you believe he’s really sorry for what he did to you? Do you think he was telling the truth about Ty?”
Hamilton stared out the front window and took so long to respond, Dakota thought he wouldn’t, but then he said, “I feel like I’ve been vindicated. I didn’t realize how much I needed for him to apologize, to admit he was wrong about me. I doubt we’ll ever be friends, but I’m willing to let him into our lives for your sake.”
Dakota wasn’t there yet. There would always be a special spot in her heart for him because he was her father, but the trust had been shattered. It was going to take a long time for her to welcome him back into her life.
“I believed him when he said he loved Ty. He seemed genuinely distraught, both at losing her and hurting you. I’m not going to make excuses for your father, Dakota, but I will tell you something my mother said to me after I left Atlanta PD. She said you’ll never be able to truly move on with your life without forgiveness.”
As Hamilton pulled out of the parking lot, Dakota thought about the last few months of her life. Her days with Hamilton had been like a dream come true, but then some of the things she’d experienced lately were like living a nightmare.
You’ll never be able to truly move on with your life without forgiveness.
“I have to forgive my father because I don’t want anything to hinder the life you and I are planning to build together.”
Hamilton held her hand and squeezed. “I’ll be right here to support you. I guess right now, though, we should head home since we have a wedding to plan.”
Dakota smiled, feeling so blessed and excited about her future with this wonderful man.
“Have I told you lately how much you mean to me?”
Hamilton brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “I think you might’ve mentioned it a time or two, but I’ll never get tired of hearing it. And I hope you know how much I love you.”
“Yeah, I do.” She grinned. “We’re going to have an amazing life together. I can’t wait!”