Someone To Watch Over Me
by Purple Lacey
 

Part 17


Sawyer had come to the mall to pick up the new suit he had ordered from his tailor for his trial. The tailor had run his credit card and it had been rejected - maxed out according to the furious phone call he had made to his credit card company. The tailor had been forced to regretfully refuse to accept his check too when the tailor’s check service declined it. Sawyer was outraged.

It seemed that before she had left him, Maude had maxed out all of his credit cards with cash advances as well as emptied his bank accounts. For the time being he was flat broke, the only asset still in his possession being his auto dealerships. While he knew he could usually recoup his losses, the charge of child abuse that had been made against him had people staying away from his businesses in droves. To make matters worse, his powerful political friends had deserted him faster than rats leaving a sinking ship. He was far along the road to being ruined and it was all that she-devil and her demon spawn’s fault!

The man was already in a towering rage when he had spotted Ezra standing alone in the mall and he snapped. He’s temper drove him completely over the edge. He had stalked up to the unsuspecting boy and grabbed him, full of an almost joyful malice. Sawyer shook the boy like a terrier does a rat, uncaring of the hordes of onlookers staring at him in frozen disbelief.

“You little bastard!” He yelled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? You and your bitch mother! I should have broken your neck when I had the chance. It would have saved me a lot of grief. But I think it’s the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time!”

The man raised a fist high over his head and started to swing it down at the little boy cowering in shock and fear in his grip. He never made contact. As he tried to swing his arm down it was stopped by some invisible force that held it suspended. Suddenly from out of nowhere, a body came flying at Ezra’s attacker. Ezra felt the man’s painful grip torn from his shoulder and Sawyer went flying backward to land on his back with a loud crash on the mall floor. Ezra watched in astonishment as JD picked himself up from the floor where he had landed after delivering a tackle worthy of an NFL superstar and stood over the fallen man with fists clenched and raised threateningly.

‘”You try to lay one hand on him and I swear you’ll never make it to jail,” JD growled low in his throat.

Sawyer sat up and shook his head groggily before staring at his attacker with dark anger. The man began to climb to his feet. He had four inches and 30 pounds on the young college student standing between him and Ezra, but JD didn’t back down.

“Get out of the way you son of a bitch,” Sawyer yelled, “This doesn’t concern you!”

“The HELL it doesn’t,” JD argued fiercely. “Ezra is a member of my family and NOBODY is gonna hurt him, EVER!”

Sawyer let loose an angry howl and rushed at the young man but found himself flat on his back again from the karate kick JD landed. Before he could rise again, Vin appeared to flip him over and pull his arms behind his back and cuff them.

“You’ve really done it now, Sawyer,” Vin grinned. “You can’t talk your way out of this one. You finally screwed up. There’s a mall full of witnesses to the kind of dirtbag you really are. You’re going down!”

Sawyer started to struggle up but Vin placed a hand on his back and pushed him back down. The mall security guards showed up about that time and Vin pulled out his badge. Vin instructed them to take Sawyer to the mall security office and wait for the officers that would be coming to pick him up. The security guards hauled Howard Sawyer to his feet and led the screaming and struggling man away. Then Vin began issuing orders to the crowd to remain for statements before they could all drift away. Finally, Vin pulled out his cell phone to call it in to the precinct dispatcher, and notified Susan Torrance. He kept an eye on Ezra but decided to let JD handle the child for the moment, intent on  getting the witness statements that would help put Sawyer away for good.

Meanwhile, Ezra stood staring at his savior in shock. JD hurried over and unthinkingly pulled the boy into his arms and hugged him close.

“Are you alright, Ezra?” JD said with a voice full of concern. “He didn’t hurt you did he?”

Ezra didn’t respond. He was still stunned at what had just happened. JD pushed him back far enough to look him over worriedly before pulling him back into his arms and holding him once more.

“You’re scaring me, Ezra,” JD said as the boy remained silent and stiff. “Please, talk to me. Tell me if he hurt you. Do we need to take you to the emergency room?”

The threat of another emergency room visit, even though JD hadn’t meant it as such, was enough to finally break through to the silent boy, and Ezra wrapped his arms and legs around JD and began to wail. JD simply sat down on the mall floor, uncaring of their audience, and whispered soft words of comfort to the child. The mall manager eventually came and offered JD the use of his office, wanting not only to give the pair some privacy but to get things back to normal in the mall, preferably before the press showed up.

JD had risen to his feet with Ezra still clutched tightly to him and followed the man down one of the hallways that ran behind the mall shops to the mall headquarters where the man left them in his office and told them to just ask the secretary outside if they needed anything. JD had nodded absently at the offer, still focused on the crying child in his arms. He sat down on the vinyl upholstered sofa in the office and pulled Ezra close.

“Shh, it’s alright, Ez,” he said in a low soothing tone, “It’s all over. You’re safe now. I won’t let him touch you again. Shh, Ez.”

Finally cried out, Ezra lay in his arms silently as JD stroked his hair and rocked him gently.

“You saved me,” Ezra said in tiny, wonder-filled voice.

“I couldn’t let him hurt you, Ez,” JD told him earnestly. “You’re my family now. Nobody hurts my family.”

“But I...I was so mean to you,” Ezra said and pulled back to look up at the young man with tears beginning to fill his eyes again, this time because of the thought of how badly he had treated him.

JD smiled and shook his head, “It’s okay, Ez. I understood. I know what it’s like to be alone and in a new place and scared to death. And then there comes Buck making it all better and just being Buck. I wouldn’t have wanted things to change once I came to live with him either. In your place I would probably have done the same thing, if not worse. I know you really didn’t mean anything bad by doing the things you did.”

“I’m...I’m sorry,” Ezra hung his head in shame.

“Hey, I forgive you. We’ll just consider it your way of initiating me into YOUR family, alright.” JD hugged him again. “I really do want to be part of your family, Ezra. The only family I really have is Buck and the guys. I would really like to add you to that list. What do you say? You want to be my cousin?’

Ezra nodded and latched onto JD’s neck again for a tight squeeze.

“That’s great,” JD said happily then just had to tease him by saying, “I can really use the help when it comes to Buck. He’s just one big ole ball of love. It’s pretty hard for just one person to handle it all, let me tell you. It will sure be a relief to give him another target to use it on.”

Ezra giggled and sniffed then wiped his nose on his sleeve. The two sat quietly for a moment just calming down some more.

“I was so scared when Vin and I looked down and you weren’t there, Ez,” JD informed him with remembered terror. “What happened? Where did you get off to? Vin and I searched the whole food court before heading back into the mall to find you.”

“I heard...” Ezra broke off to look around in dismay. “It’s gone!” he wailed.

“What’s gone?” JD asked hm.

“Buck’s present. It was in a yellow sack and I had it when...” Ezra broke off and shuddered as memory of the episode gripped him again.

JD tightened his hold on the boy in comfort then pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket and pushed one of the speed dial numbers.

“Hey, Vin,” JD spoke into the phone and smiled at Ezra gently. “Could you...no, he’s fine, Vin. Doesn’t look like that bast...ah...that creep hurt him any, but he’s really upset about Buck’s gift. Seems he lost it in the ruckus. Could you look around and see if you see a yellow sack on the floor around there? It is? That’s great. Ez will be relieved. Yeah, we’re in the mall office. No, we’re fine. Just come and get us when you’re ready. See ya then,” and then he disconnected and turned to the anxiously watching little one with a grin. “Vin found it. He says he’ll bring it with him when he gets finished out there. Nothing to worry about.”

The young man felt the child slump against him in relief.

“So tell me, Cousin,” JD grinned at the boy as he addressed him by that title, “Where did you learn to booby trap the bottom of a cereal box that way? That trick might come in handy. There’s this guy I know at school...”

When Vin finally came to round them up later after Detective Torrance had arrived to take over the scene, he entered the mall Manager’s office to find the pair with their heads bent together chuckling evilly.

“You think it should be blue or red?” Vin heard JD ask thoughtfully and Ezra’s firm answer of, “Blue. Red might just look like he was hot or something. Everybody would know if his face were blue.”

“Good point,” JD acknowledged with a grin. “Blue it is then.”

“What are you two talking about?” Vin asked and made the pair jump in surprise.

JD recovered quickly and responded with an innocent look worthy of Ezra, “Oh, nothing. Just talking. Everything wrapped up?” he asked to change the subject.

Vin, trained detective that he was, knew full well he was being hosed but decided what he didn’t know he wouldn’t have to testify to later and dropped it.

Vin went to kneel down in front of the sofa and handed over the yellow music store bag to Ezra who cried out in relief and reached for it eagerly. Vin looked Ezra over carefully but could find no indications the boy was hurt. “Are you sure you’re alright, Ezra,” he asked with concern. “He didn’t hurt you again, did he?”

The little boy shook his head emphatically and stated, “No. JD didn’t let him. JD saved me. He knocked him down...twice! He was really brave.”

“I know,” Vin said throwing an approving look at the young man that was grinning all the while he was blushing at the praise. “You guys ready to get outta here?” Vin asked looking between both of them.

“Yes!” Ezra told him unequivocally.

“Then let’s boogie,” Vin told him with a smile.

JD shifted and put Ezra’s feet on the floor then rose to take one of his hands. Vin reached for the other but had to take the child’s hand bag and all as Ezra refuse to let go of it or let anyone else carry it for him. With great relief, the three left the mall.

It wasn’t until Vin was pulling up in front of the house a short time later and saw Buck’s truck parked out in front that daunting realization struck.

“Aw, hell!” he said running a hand through his hair in agitation.

“What’s the matter?” JD asked with concern.

“I gotta go tell Buck that Ezra almost got hurt again while I was supposed to be watching him,” the blond said casting apprehensive looks at the house.

JD grimaced and patted the man compassionately on the shoulder as he offered, “We’ll wait on the porch for a few of minutes before we go in if you want to get a head start.”

Vin shook his head in resignation and said, “What’s the point? He’d find me...and just be madder for having to come looking.”

JD nodded and conceded the point with a commiserating look.


Part 18

Part 16

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