Exposed (Book Three) COMPLETE!

chapter thirteen

Harry

"We can get a restraining order.." Jeffrey offered, knowing it wasn't going to be enough for me or Jerry.

"That's it! A restraining order for the man that almost killed my daughter! How the hell did he get out of jail anyways!" Jerry was furious, pacing the kitchen.

"Jeffrey, there's got to be more that we can do. He's in the area, he could easily find out where we live or where her father or sister live. You know how dangerous he is." I watched as Jeffrey ran his hands over his face, trying to think of a better solution for us all at this point.

"We could do the protection order again, like we did with the paparazzi. Along with the restraining order. I know it's not ideal but my hands are tied." I knew Jeff was doing his best, even though I still feared for everyone's safety.

I looked over to Jensen and Reese, who were playing with Piper who lay on the floor. Less than an hour ago, Jensen came home in a panic, not able to get a full sentence out. I tried hard to figure out just what the hell happened at the store and when she finally blurted out 'Ryan', I knew I needed to get everyone here as soon as possible.

"I think the protection is needed-"

"You think I needed to be protected from this son of a bitch! I beat the shit out of him years ago and I have no problem finishing the job now!" Jerry was pissed, his whole face red with anger. I didn't blame him, not one bit, but I watched Jensen flinch as he did. She said something to Reese as she got up and walked over to her dad, hugging him.

"Here's the deal guys, I could care less about my safety-" She held a hand up as we all began to protest, "But I know you all do. I want my daughter safe, I want my family safe, so if this restraining order and protection order can help that, then give me the papers to sign. I don't know how he got out of jail and quite frankly, it doesn't matter at this point but I'll be damned if he hurts any one of you."

She gave all of us a stern look, waiting for a rebuttal that she didn't get. She held her hand out to Jeffrey for the papers which he handed her quickly. I didn't know what else to do at this point, Jensen has made up her mind and there was no changing it.

"J, he is dangerous! This protection and restraining order mean nothing! He could still come after you!" Jensen slammed the pen on the table as Jerry said the words.

     "What do you want me to do then, Dad? You want me to find him and kill him? Or better yet, you do it? Who wins then?" She was yelling now, causing a wail from Piper. Reese picked her up, sighing at us all as she took her upstairs.

     "I almost did it before! You girls are older now and-"

     "And nothing! Dad, it's not worth it! You have other obligations now! You want to see Piper grow up? You want to see Reese graduate from college? You want to see me get married? You can't kill Ryan if you want to see all those things!" Both of their faces were red now, neither one wanting to give in at this point.

     "You didn't see your child almost die, Jensen! Why are you defending him?" Jensen scoffed at her dad's remark and I could tell by the look on his face he instantly regretted the words that left his lips.

     "Defending him? Dad, I'm defending my family which is one of the many things you of all people taught me to do!" She held her hands up in surrender, "This is MY decision. Ryan is out there and yeah, a piece of paper won't keep him away forever but for now, this is the best option. If he shows up again, we go from there and we do it my way. Understood?" Jerry looked surprised but ultimately grumbled something and walked out the front door in a huff.

     "Anyone else in this house disagree with the way I'm handling this situation?" She looked between Jeffrey and I, brow raised and ready for a challenge. She crossed her arms over her chest as we both shook our heads, "That's what I thought. Thank you Jeffrey, for everything. I truly appreciate it. I'm sorry you had to see all that." He was quick say it was fine and practically sprint out of the house.

     Jensen sat at the bottom of the stairs, her head in her hands as she sighed. I moved to sit next to her, placing my hand on her back.

     "You're doing the best you can, J." She looked up at me, nodding as tears pooled in her eyes, "Hey, please don't cry, love. You and your dad will work things out and you know I would never let Ryan lay a hand on you or Piper." She nodded, giving me a sad smile.

     "Well, that was so much fun to witness," Reese walked down the stairs, sitting one above us, "He's just upset, J. You didn't see the things he did after Ryan beat you and please don't start yelling at me because I don't want to choose sides. He's angry and not thinking rationally but he'll call you over tomorrow. You know that." Reese held her hand out and Jensen took it with a 'thank you.'

     "Is Piper okay?" Reese nodded, telling her she went down fine and was just startled by the yelling, "You staying here tonight? Since dad was your ride home?"

     "Pancakes in the morning?" She looked to me for an answer to which I agreed to, "Then yeah, I'll stay. Plus, I love your child and I guess you guys too." We all laughed at this, group hugging on the stairs, "Although J, if Ryan throws the first punch, he's fair game."

     "Oh, I'm in on that." I held my hand up for Reese to high-five. Jensen rolled her eyes at us but ultimately agreeing that she would be too if Jerry didn't kill him first.

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a fight but probably not the one you expected.