[Reviews - 169]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2128 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Brat, Bint, Caitie, cee, Sevvy_O, lacey, and BuffyandSpikeForever for your reviews! Here's the second part to the chapter, as promised :-)
Hank stared at William in disbelief, mouth agape.

“Surprise number two, mate.” William opened his red button down shirt, revealing the tiny microphone attached to the black tee shirt underneath.

“A wire,” Realization hit Hank like a ton of bricks. “You… this was a setup?! I’ll kill you, you fucking bastard! I’ll-“

A loud CRASH interrupted his threat as the door was kicked in behind him. Hank spun around to face several large LA police officers, weapons at the ready. One beefy looking officer stepped forward with a grim look on his face.

“Hank Summers, you are under arrest for conspiring in the murder of Jennifer Giles, for perjury, for battery, for…”

The officer continued to list a very detailed account of Hank’s numerous offenses. Forced to tackle Hank to the ground as he tried to escape, he roughly pinned him with his body and cuffed his hands behind his back, reading him his rights as he did so.

“You have the right to remain silent…”

Then, Hank was dragged to his feet and escorted from the premises.

As William witnessed this spectacle with a somber expression, another tall man stepped forward and tapped him on the shoulder.

“William Giles? I’m Agent Riley Finn.” He shook the offered hand. “You got plenty on that tape for us to finally put Hank Summers and Angelus McCarthy in prison. So, thank you for your help.”

He merely forced a tight-lipped smile and nod of his head in response, too exhausted from his experience to care.

“Oh, and Mr. Giles?” Turning to face him once again, William noticed that he held the very same gun Hank had threatened him with mere minutes earlier. Opening the chambers for Will to examine, Riley continued, “The gun was never loaded,” He explained. “We made sure one of our guys took care of that before he got here.”

William’s face drained of all color, and he merely nodded again in response, his thoughts all over the place as Riley moved away from him to speak with the other officers present.
However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard the most welcome sound of all.


“No, let me through! Please tell me what’s going on! Please, my husband’s in there!”

“Buffy,” William whispered. Seeing her golden head poke between the shoulders of two large officers as she stood on tip-toe to peer inside the room, William felt his breath hitch in his throat.

“Buffy!” He repeated, this time loud enough for her to hear. She jerked her head toward the sound of his voice. Locking eyes, Will saw the flood of emotions apparent in her features matched his own; exhaustion, relief, anger, worry…

Taking another step closer, William motioned to the officers blocking her way.
“She’s my wife. Let her pass,” He managed to choke out, and the officers complied, slowly moving aside.

In the blink of an eye, she was running towards him and in his arms, her hands clasped tightly around his neck as she sobbed. Burying his face in her hair, he returned the embrace with equal fervor.

“You’re ok,” She whispered, “Thank God.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. Sniffling, she slowly raised her tear-stained face to look at him, managing a watery smile of relief as she did so. Suddenly frowning, she raised a hand tenderly to his cheek as she noticed the swollen redness.

“You’re hurt,” She observed, voice laden with concern. Her fingers trembled slightly as they caressed his cheekbone.

William took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. “I’m fine,” He assured her.

Feeling her tense, he loosened his grip on her, noting that she was closing herself off as she averted her eyes from his gaze.

“But what if you weren’t?”

Upon receiving no answer, Buffy continued to speak.

“William, what were you thinking?” She scolded, and he bowed his head.

“I wanted to keep you safe, Buffy.”

“By lying to me?!” Her frustration was growing by the second.
“You said we wouldn’t lie to each other anymore, but you did it anyway.” Waiting until he lifted his head again, she looked him squarely in the eye.
“Why?” She demanded.

“Because I needed to finish this, before anyone got hurt again.”

Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

“Finish what, exactly?” William sighed loudly.

“You father, Buffy, he’s… not a good man.” A loud snort was his response.

“Yeah, tell me something I didn’t know.”

Shaking his head, William clarified, “No, as much as you hate him for what he did to you and your mum, I don’t think even you realize the extent of his crimes.” Seeing Buffy’s uncertainty, William pushed open his red shirt, revealing the wire he had been wearing.
Her mouth fell open in shock.

“Is that…”

“Yes,” William nodded. “Good ole’ Hank’s been suspected for years of embezzling funds, lying under oath, among other things. So many things, in fact, that the police were willing to do anything to take him down.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.

“Again, I ask the question. Why did you lie to me about coming here?”

“Because I knew you’d try to stop me.”

Without missing a beat, “Damn right I would have,” She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration.

William gently grasped her shoulders to momentarily still her movements. “Buffy, you don’t understand-“

“Then by all means, enlighten me.” William braced himself, knowing she wouldn’t take what he was about to say very well. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain.

“After that night at the Bronze, when you ran into Hank… I, uh, spoke with my father, and he filled me in on a few things…” He cleared his throat, “Turns out, our fathers were friends at one point, a long time ago. And to make a long story short, Hank ended up in prison, and he blamed my father for it,” William paused, making sure he had Buffy’s full attention before he continued.

“But I don’t even think my father knew all of what Hank was capable of…”

William felt his insides twist at the thought of what he had to tell Buffy next. She had to know the truth, but the truth was going to hurt.

“Hank let the anger eat away at him for years. So much so that he was willing to do anything to get back at my dad, because he wanted to make him suffer…”

Buffy drew in a sharp breath, her head suddenly throbbing as William let the bomb drop.

“Buffy, your father was behind the accident… He hired Angel to do it, because he wanted to give my dad the lowest blow he could, by attacking his family.” William finished, bracing for the fallout.

“What?!” Disbelief clouded her features. Mouth agape, she raised a hand to her face, the other hand clutching her suddenly upset stomach as she shook her head.

“It was all because of him?” Her voice sounded small and weak, though full of hurt, disbelief, and anger. It tore at William’s heart.

“I’m sorry I had to tell you this,” Reaching for her, he hesitated when she held up a hand to stop him.

“No.” She shook her head. “You knew this, all along? And you didn’t tell me?!” Tears were once again streaming down her face, and she did nothing to stop them.

William hung his head again. “I didn’t want to upset you, before-“

“No excuses, William.” Fighting an intense feeling of dizziness, Buffy spoke again. “You knew this, and you kept it from me. You lied to me! You – you made me believe everything was going to be fine, just to lie to me, and nearly get yourself killed in the process!”

She was openly sobbing now, and William wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and comfort her. Though he knew she was beyond finding comfort at this point.

“I want to go home,” She stated softly. “Clem will take me. I just need… I can’t be around you right now.” She looked up at him tearfully, noticing his own tears that were beginning to pool in those beautiful blue eyes. “I need time to think.”

William could only nod as he looked at her, knowing he needed to give her the space she requested. Regret and anguish cut into him like a knife.

“I love you, Buffy,” Was all he could muster, his voice a husky whisper, choked with tears.

Her chin quivered slightly as she continued to gaze at him tearfully. “I love you, too,” She returned. Leaning in to brush a gentle kiss upon his lips, she then took a step back, holding his gaze for several more long moments before finally tearing herself away and turning towards the door.

‘But sometimes love isn’t enough,’ She thought sorrowfully, fresh tears blurring her vision.

William watched as she disappeared from view, praying to whatever God that was listening that things could start going right for them.





You must login (register) to review.