“Mmm,” I grumbled as my phone rang on the nightstand of the apartment in Atlanta, Fern asleep next to me as Kipling was working at the club tonight, “Hello?”

“Ren? Ren! It’s Gem!”

“Oh, hey Gem,” I smiled, my eyes still closed as I was trying to stay awake.

“Kipling’s been arrested. You and Fern need to get the hell out of the apartment right now before the police raid the place. Jett is waiting outside in my car to take you both back to Sandy Springs. You have 30 minutes to get out of there.”

“Huh?” I jumped up, throwing on my pants and picking up Fern, gathering everything as quickly as I could, “What happened?”

“I think they caught him on drug possession, intent to sell, and using the club as a brothel. Ken turned him in. He’s fucked, Ren. Totally fucked, you have to go.”

“I…”

“Just go, babe. I’ll come to see you when I can.”

“Okay, thanks, Gem.”

I raced out of the apartment once I had wiped any real trace of being there with Fern and found Jett waiting for me. I put Fern in her seat and climbed into the passenger seat, barely buckling in time for Jett to peel away from the curb, heading back to Sandy Springs.

“I can’t take you to Kipling’s house. The police are already there. He told us to protect you and Fern. Swear to me that you have no knowledge of what he was doing.”

“I-I don’t, Jett. I don’t understand. Kipling can’t be a drug dealer.”

“I didn’t know until today when I watched the cops haul bags worth of pills and powder down the stairs. It was all stored in a closet at the back of the VIP room. I mean kilos of it, Ren. He’ll get at least 4 years minimum, but if it’s as much as it seemed and they can prove he sold it, which he admitted to in front of all of us, it’s at least 20 now. Plus, the prostitution charges. I guess he was using the club to let some of the guys at the strip club next door use it as a spot to sell their business. I knew about that, assuming it was for their safety. But it wasn’t. Kipling is kind of their… pimp. They give him all their money. He’s… fooled all of us. I’m so sorry. I know you love him. But it’s best to just cut away. The police will probably want to talk to you. Tell them the truth. That you didn’t know what was going on. You were only with Kipling because you loved him.”

“I know,” I whispered, tears rolling down my face, “I’ll direct you to his parents. They’ll take me back in; I’ve lived with them off and on since I was 16.”

“Alright.”

We reached Clara and Rian’s house 20 minutes later, and Jett helped me bring all of my things to the porch. I rang the doorbell twice, and Dara opened the door, confusion on his face, before he saw I was crying.

“Come here,” he whispered, pulling me inside as Jett followed with the bags and carseat, “What happened?”

“Are Mum and Dad asleep?”

“Not anymore,” Clara yawned, coming downstairs with Rian, both in their pajamas, “Oh. Hello,” She nodded at Jett.

“Nice to meet you, Ma’am. I’m Henry Raquel, but everyone calls me Jett. I’m Ren’s friend, and I work at Solstice under Kipling. I was bringing Ren back as a favor to Kipling. He’s been arrested. The police will probably show up to question all of you.”

“What did he do?!” Rian shouted, running to get his phone.

“Drug possession, selling it, and sex trafficking of adults,” I whispered as Dara held me, “Jett thinks he’ll serve at least twenty years based on the amount of drugs found in the club. I had no idea, did any of you?”

“No,” Dara shook his head, his parents copying, “Kipling clearly wasn’t using.”

“I actually think he is. At least Molly,” Jett cleared his throat, “I need to get out of here before the police show up. They already questioned me and let me go. I don’t want to seem suspicious if they show up here. Ren, I’ll call when I find out anything. Just stay here. Don’t go to the main house.”

“All my stuff is there,” I sniffled, gripping Dara’s sleeve.

“Until the police release the place, you have nothing. Just what’s in these bags. I’ll check in later. Gem is waiting,” he kissed my forehead, gave everyone a wave, and ran out of the house.

“Fuck,” Clara sighed, picking Fern up out of her carseat, “Fuck me. This is awful.”

“What happens to all his property? If he is found guilty, which he will be since he already pleaded guilty to the cops,” A hiccup escaped me, and Dara gently pulled me to the couch, rubbing my back.

“Kip will be given the chance to decide what happens to anything not seized by the police. If it is, it becomes property of the bank that he got his loans from,” Rian yelled from the kitchen, clearly making phone calls as he did.

“They’ll take the club,” I nodded, “I doubt they’ll find anything in the house or apartment. It's the same with the barbershop. It’s just the club, from what I understand.”

There was a stiff knock on the door, and Clara rushed to open it, Fern asleep in her arms.

“Good evening, ma’am,” a gentle voice filled the air, and I leaned to the side to see who it was, “I’m Officer O’Malley with the Atlanta Police Department. I need to speak with all occupants of the home, including Ren Bell.”

“Of course, Officer,” Clara stepped aside, letting him in, “What is this regarding?”

“Kipling O’Connor was arrested this evening at 10:05 p.m. His charges are as follows,” he pulled a slip from his pocket and cleared his throat, “Possession of multiple schedule one narcotics, weighing nearly 20 kilos. Intent and proof of sale of multiple schedule one narcotics, sex trafficking of 15 adults and two minors, and running a nightclub without a liquor license. He has pleaded guilty to every charge and is set to receive his sentencing in two months, but will remain in police custody as he is seen as a flight risk due to the finding of multiple false identity documents in his possession. I am required to inform your family and question each of you regarding these charges. However, he has made it expressly clear that none of you have knowledge of his crimes, and I can see it to be true based on our investigation of his properties. I won’t be subpoenaing any of you, I don’t find it necessary. I will simply ask the following questions. What do all of you do for work?”

“My wife and I are physicians,” Rian nodded, squeezing Clara’s shoulder.

“I’m unemployed,” I whispered, “My daughter is only a few months old, I’m a stay-at-home father.”

“What’s your relationship to Kipling?” Officer O’Malley gestured to me with his pen.

“He is… He was my boyfriend.”

“Understood. You?”

“I’m a barber at a shop on 14th street,” Dara hugged me gently around the shoulders.

“Did any of you have knowledge of what Kipling was doing?”

“No,” we answered in unison.

“Do any of you feel he would have told you?”

“No,” Dara, Clara, and Rian answered quickly.

“Yes,” I hummed, “I think he would have told me and expected my silence, as we love each other. But I’m a father, I don’t want that life for my daughter. I had no idea what he was doing. I’ve been to the club, in the VIP area, multiple times and never noticed anything going on. I think he kept me distracted.”

“Very well. I don’t need any of you to testify; your statements to me match what I was told by Kipling.”

“What happens to his properties?” Dara called as Officer O’Malley adjusted his cap.

“His nightclub will be seized by the city and sold to the highest bidder. His apartment will be rented out now that the lease is broken due to his arrest. Kipling will be given the choice of what to do with his home and barbershop once he is given his sentence, as we found no evidence of his crimes occurring in this area.”

“Will he contact us?”

“If you’re to become his trustee or the person given control, yes.”

“All of my stuff is in the house. Can I go get it?” I sniffled.

“Meet me there tomorrow… oh, I mean today, at noon. It’s 3 in the morning. I’ll accompany you. Feel free to bring one person to assist in clearing your things from the home.”

“Dara?”

“Of course, love,” Dara hugged me tightly and Officer O’Malley left with a tip of his hat, “This is bullshit…”

“I have nothing now,” I sniffled, “Kipling was supposed to take care of me. Why did he make so many promises the last three months we’ve been together, if it could quickly fall apart like this?”

“He probably thought he was invincible, Ren. We’ll figure it out,” Clara kissed my forehead, and I nodded, “You stay here. Okay? We’ve got you.”

“I know, Mum.”

The four of us stayed up the rest of the night in silence, Fern sleeping in her nursery. I lay on the couch with Dara, my head on his lap as he played with my hair, looking up at the ceiling. Our friendship had been entirely repaired over the last few months, and Dara was finally himself again, the kid and teenager I had adored and needed growing up.

My phone broke through the silence at 8 in the morning, and I pulled it out of my pocket, refusing to move off Dara’s lap.

“Hello?”

“Hello,” a robotic voice came through, “This is a collect call from USP Atlanta. Do you accept the charges?”

“Yes.”

The call switched over, and I cleared my throat, my eyes damp.

“Ren?” Kipling whispered, and I gripped Dara’s leg.

“Hi, Kip.”

“I’m sorry. I only have two minutes, so I have to talk fast. I didn’t mean to hurt you this way. I want you to move on, okay? I was going to give up everything I was doing for you, but the money was good, and I was stuck. I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’ll be getting a letter in the mail in a few days. It’s from my lawyer. I’m giving you everything I have left. The house and the barbershop. All of the legal money I made is in my account. You can decide what to do after that. I know you dreamt about us having a bunch of kids and getting married. It was a dream of mine, too, but it won’t happen. I’ll probably be in here for life. I made this choice, it’s my own burden to bear. Don’t take it on, too. I love you, but I’m not meant to have you. You’ll be fine and happy. You’re strong. I promised to take care of you, and I am, by giving you everything. You don’t need a cosmetology license to run the shop, okay? Sell the house if you want; it’s yours too. I don’t expect forgiveness. I love you forever, but don’t give up. Someone else does; I’m sure of it.”

“Just… tell me why you did this?”

“Money,” Kipling laughed, “Good money in drugs and sex. I’m not a good person, Ren. I have to go, okay? My call is up.”

“O-Okay. Will you call again?”

“Probably not. I want all of you to forget me. Bye, Ren.”

Kipling ended the call before I could say anything else, and I began to weep. Dara wrapped me in a tight hug, shushing me softly, and I gripped his shoulders, trying to relax.

“I know. I know, Ren,” Dara whispered, “I’m so sorry. All of us are hurt, but I can’t imagine how hard this is on you.”

“I just… thought he loved me.”

“I think he does. But money is the strongest drug there is for some people. He didn’t know how to give up on it. You’re the strongest person I know. You got through Eddie enough to move on. You’ll get through this, too.”

“I’ll need your help, but I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of your friendship.”

“I never would.”