Lost in You

bag?”
    “Clothes, I flew into Jackson and drove straight here. I didn’t have time to check into a hotel yet.”
    “Where are you guys off to?”
    “Excuse me?” Ryan speaks up. I’m thankful he’s not just standing here. I know he must be scared, but really, what does he have to lose. I look like a freaking child predator here.
    “Your dad reported you missing about two hours ago and I find you in this car with Miss Carter and her luggage.”
    “It’s a backpack, hardly what you’d consider luggage.”
    The officer steps in front of us and turns off his light. “That’s not how I see it. What I see here is an impressionable young man from a good family getting mixed up with big-city money like you. What I see is an older woman taking advantage of a young boy. A boy that may not have everything he needs out of life and you come in here with your money and flash it around. What I see is a woman about to kidnap this boy to cause him harm.”
    My mouth drops open at his accusations. I hate that he’s close to accurate. I did come in here and show Ryan that I can offer him something different, but I only did it because I love him and want to be with him. I never suggested we run away together. His birthday is close. If we’ve waited this long, we can wait until he’s eighteen.
    Besides, he needs to finish school and get his diploma and then we can be together whenever we want. He can travel with me and work on my tour if he wanted. Although we’ve never discussed that, I’d want him with me. But never would I force myself on him.
    Ryan steps forward, dropping his arm until our hands link together. “Whoa, Officer Daniels, you don’t know anything about me and Hadley. I’m here because I want to be and she’s nothing like that. She didn’t do anything or force me to do something that I didn’t want to do. We’ve been together for a while now. She’s my girlfriend.”
    “Is that what she tells you?”
    “It’s what I know. We’re in love, that’s why she’s here. She came to visit.”
    “Son, people visit at homes, not in parking lots. Haven’t you been listening to Reverend Monroe’s sermons?”
    “Yes – and if you were listening too, you’d know Hadley’s been at church with me and my mom, so my dad is mistaken. So what if I’m not in my bed. I haven’t left Brookfield.”
    “Save your story for your dad.” The officer steps forward and grabs my arm.
    “Don’t touch her.” Ryan pushes his arm off me and moves me behind him. He stands in front of me, guarding me. His shoulders are shaking. I reach out and rest my hand on his back, hoping to calm him down, but things just turned from bad to worse.
    Officer Daniels stares down Ryan, his face taking on a menacing look. I cower even though Ryan is shielding me. Officer Daniels takes a step forward, his hand on his gun. Ryan stands his ground, not moving. I don’t know how he’s so calm. The only thing I know is that we are in some serious trouble.
    “I’m going to forget you touched me because of your relationship with the Rosses, but you need to move out of the way so I can arrest Miss Carter.”
    “Arrest her for what?” Ryan scoffs.
    “Harboring a runaway.”
    “I didn’t run away! I’m here because I want to be here.”
    “That’s for a judge to decide, now step away.”
    “No!”
    Officer Daniels draws his gun and points it at Ryan. I clench his sweatshirt in my fists, tightly. My knees are about to give out. This can’t be happening. This is a dream. I’m going to wake up any moment now and be back in my hotel where Cole is watching over me, babysitting me, because I can’t take care of myself. Ian is right. I’m trouble.
    “Ryan, I’ll go with him.”
    “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he says, turning around to face me. I know it’s never good to turn your back on a gun or an officer trying to arrest somebody, but he did. He cups my cheeks and presses his lips to mine.
    Another car pulls into the parking lot, the blue lights flashing, alerting the homes around the area that something is going on. When the other officer steps out, the first thing I notice is the handcuffs dangling from his fingers. I close my eyes and lean my head against Ryan’s chest. Everything I thought could go wrong with us is nothing compared to what’s about to happen.
    “I love you,” he whispers against my forehead. I fist his sweatshirt, hanging on to him. They descend on us at the same time, a calculated move that