"Fire can make a conscience clean. Strike the match, we'll see."

~Anberlin, "There is No Mathematics to Love and Loss"

~.~.~.~

Chapter 10: The Storm and the Calm

Ben's POV

"Shit!" I swore at the sound from downstairs, rising up from the bed. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Ben, I'm so sorry." Rey quickly dismounted my lap and ran her fingers through her hair. Her cheeks flushed, and a panicked look shot across her features.

"It's okay, Rey. It was just as much my fault as yours," I told her, my eyes raking over her nude body as she stood before me.

Against my better judgment, I knelt on top of the bed and reached out my right hand to cup her left breast. It felt so soft, yet firm, against my skin. Even though I knew her grandfather could burst through the bedroom door at any second, I couldn't resist the urge to wrap my lips around her pert nipple.

"You're just too damn sexy." I lapped my tongue around the peak once, peering up at her in nothing but adoration. "I'm finding it very difficult to keep my hands off you."

Her gorgeous hazel eyes locked into mine, and she responsively bit her bottom lip. My dick instantly hardened at the sight.

So. Fucking. Sexy.

My mind was still reeling from what Rey had confessed to me earlier. She loved me, and I could hardly believe how goddamn lucky I was to have her in my life.

"Ben..." Rey's sweet voice whispered. At the same time, I felt her fingers sweep through my hair and force my head back from her tits. "Obi-Wan, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right," I managed to say, blinking and shaking my head to rid it of her spell.

I took a deep breath in through my nose, trying to calm myself down, and realized the entire room reeked of sex. Fuck, Obi-Wan was going to have me castrated. I should have known better than to sleep with his granddaughter under his own roof.

Scrambling to my feet, I hurriedly searched the dark bedroom for my clothes, which were now strewn across the floor. Rey did the same, and once we were dressed, I slowly opened her bedroom door and peeked out into the upstairs hallway.

"Stay here, Rey," I warned, holding up my palm toward her.

"No, I want to come with you," she begged and clasped her hands onto my arm in a vice grip. Her worried eyes melted any resolve I still possessed. "We're in this together."

"Okay, just stay behind me," I caved, cautiously stepping out into the hallway. "We still don't know why Obi-Wan shoot his gun in the first place. It could be an intruder."

Taking one step at a time, I shielded Rey with my arms as we passed her mother's old bedroom and reached the top of the stairs.

"Obi-Wan?" I called, pausing on the top step. "Everything okay down there?"

No answer.

"Stay here." I kissed Rey's forehead and carefully descended several steps before calling out again, "Obi-Wan?"

Taking the remainder of the steps, I noticed a dark shadow, silhouetted against the front door in the bright moonlight. My heart racing, I looked back up at Rey and pressed a finger to my lips. She placed a hand over her mouth and clung to the banister for extra support.

I slowly crept toward the door, reaching into Obi-Wan's umbrella stand and grasping hold of the first makeshift weapon I could find.

Ah, a baseball bat. Nice one, Obi-Wan, I thought to myself.

Holding the bat securely to my chest, I quietly plastered my back against the wall. My eyes fixated on the doorknob as it gradually started to turn, the door extending outward with the motion. I stepped forward, my hands tightly gripping the bat, and raised it up over my right shoulder in preparation to strike. I was going to protect Rey and Obi-Wan at all costs, fighting to the bitter end. No one would ever hurt them again.

The door violently swung open, and I immediately loosened my grip on the bat when I realized who was standing in the doorway. My heart fell in my chest as I took a deep breath and sighed in relief.

"Damn raccoons," Obi-Wan swore, scraping the mud off his boats on the rug just inside the door. He then saw me standing there with the bat in my hands and chuckled. "Not to worry, Ben. Everything's fine. Just some raccoons trying to rummage through the garbage out back."

"Obi-Wan!" Rey raced down the stairs in nothing but her silk nightgown and wrapped her thin arms around his neck. He held her tightly against his chest, kissing her hair. "Thank God you're okay. I was so worried."

As Obi-Wan hugged her, the bottom of her nightgown inched up slightly, revealing the soft curves of her ass. I tried to look away, but to no avail.

Obi-Wan's eyes pointedly focused on me, and I swiftly darted my gaze upward to the shotgun he now held firmly against Rey's back. I flinched at the symbolism - Obi-Wan holding a gun between Rey and me. It was my ultimate fear.

Regaining my composure, I deflected my eyes and slipped the bat back into the umbrella stand.

On second thought, I silently mused, retrieving the bat to keep upstairs for the remainder of the night.

"Why don't you two head back upstairs?" Obi-Wan suggested, letting Rey go.

"Night, Obi-Wan," Rey said and kissed his cheek before turning to me. She exaggeratedly wiped her brow to show me how relieved she was that we weren't caught in the act. That's what I assumed anyway, though I knew better; Obi-Wan knew exactly what we were doing upstairs. It was written all over his face. Not to mention the fact that I was just caught red-handed staring at her perfectly-rounded ass.

Rey then flew up the stairs, leaving me alone with her grandfather.

"Better head up, too, Ben." He eyed me up and down, the shotgun draped across his left arm. "We need to get an early start if we're gonna head down to Ahch-To tomorrow."

"Sure," I said, walking languidly toward the stairs and swinging the bat at my side.

"Oh, and Ben?" Obi-Wan called as I took the first step. I froze, not turning around to face him. "You might want to zip up your fly."

I closed my eyes, glancing down at my waist in utter humiliation. I almost shit my pants, hoping to God that he didn't have the shotgun aimed at my back.

"Um… thanks, Obi-Wan." I gulped and quickly zipped up my jeans before taking the stairs two at a time to rejoin Rey.

"And if I'm not mistaken, the tag's supposed to go toward the back of the shirt not the front..."

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath when I reached the top of the stairs. I pulled the front collar of my shirt outward and noticed the white tag jutting out from beneath the seam.

"Goodnight, Ben," Obi-Wan added with another chuckle. "Sleep well."

I could have sworn I heard him cock the gun before I headed into Rey's room.

~.~

The rest of the night passed without incident. Having barely escaped humiliation downstairs with Obi-Wan, I had insisted that I sleep on the floor beside Rey's bed. I had already pushed the limits of our relationship in front of Obi-Wan, and I didn't know how much longer he would tolerate me being in the same room with her alone. Therefore, I resolved to be a good boy, no matter how much I wanted to nestle beside my beautiful girlfriend and feel her heartbeat next to mine.

Early that next morning, Obi-Wan drove Rey and me to my father's house in Chandrila to retrieve my Impala. I stood there in the driveway for several minutes, my eyes taking in the Chevy I'd practically built from the wheels up with my bare hands. Flashes of the good times I'd spent in that very same vehicle for over half of my life came rushing back to me: the first time I'd gotten laid in the backseat, the first real cry I'd ever had after my father's stroke, Rey's beautiful laughter filling the entire cab on our first date, the sight of Hux's lifeless corpse twisted on the floor of the trunk that very same night…

I blinked my eyes, attempting to force that last haunting image from my mind. I couldn't believe that I'd let myself get so carried away in the moment. I had royally fucked up, and now I would have to destroy the only thing that truly was mine.

"Ben, you okay, son?" Obi-Wan's distant voice called to me from his blue pickup.

"Yeah, just saying goodbye to some old ghosts," I replied, smiling in his direction.

Reluctantly, I walked over to my baby and slid into the driver's seat.

"It's been a fun ride, girl." I sighed and cranked the engine, following Obi-Wan's truck out of my father's driveway toward Ahch-To.

Just as we pulled onto the highway, I caught a glimpse of Rey as she sat beside her grandfather in the truck, her brown hair dancing in the crisp breeze flowing in through the window.

I knew then that everything I'd done up until that point was worth it. She was worth it.

And I would die for her.

~.~

We reached the auto salvage yard in Ahch-To about noon. Obi-Wan told Rey and me to stay in our respective vehicles while he talked with the owner, who he referred to as "Yoda." He wanted to protect our identities as much as possible in the event the authorities found out about the car.

Supposedly, Obi-Wan had known Yoda ever since he'd trained for the police force several decades ago. He was confident in the fact that Yoda would help destroy my Impala with no questions asked. Apparently, Obi-Wan had cleared some outstanding fines Yoda had accumulated while he lived in Jakku. Needless to say, Yoda owed the Chief a favor.

After only a few passing minutes, Obi-Wan emerged from the tiny, mobile-home office and motioned for me to pull my Chevy around back to the car crusher. Not even fifteen minutes later, Rey held my hand in the cab of her grandfather's truck as I watched the car I'd grown to love almost as a member of the family as it was compressed into smithereens.

The drive home from the salvage yard was mostly spent in silence. I guess we were all separately contemplating the whirlwind of events that had happened over the past few days. I couldn't thank Obi-Wan enough for what he'd done to save my ass from facing possible murder charges. I also couldn't even begin to thank him for being so accepting of me dating his granddaughter and tolerating my careless stupidity. I would be ever grateful to him.

As I peered over at his expressionless face, Rey leaned against my shoulder and slipped her right hand into my left.

"I love you," she whispered sleepily and yawned, running her free hand under the fabric of my shirt.

I sucked in a breath as her fingers ghosted along the groves between my stomach muscles. The effects of her playful touch went straight to my groin, and my head silently screamed for her hand to descend just a bit lower.

"Well, will you look at that? Some SOB's riding my bumper," Obi-Wan unexpectedly said, making us both jump.

I hurriedly pushed Rey's hand away from the top of my jeans and casually adjusted my erection. Obi-Wan didn't even seem to notice our exchange; he was too busy glaring into the rearview mirror at something behind the truck.

"What is it, Obi-Wan?" Rey sat up on the seat and turned to look out the rear windshield. "Shit, it's the black car!"

I quickly sobered, my eyes widening with the realization.

"The black car that was following you?" Obi-Wan questioned, looking out the back glass.

"Yes, I'd know it anywhere," Rey said gloomily, slinking back down on the seat. She pulled her legs up to her chest. "Oh, God, will this ever end?"

Suddenly, the car tailing us whipped into the oncoming lane, speeding up as it aligned parallel with Obi-Wan's truck.

"Ben, there's a notepad in the glove compartment," Obi-Wan told me, relatively calm given the situation, and pulled out his cell phone from the holster on his hip. "If he cuts in front of us, get his license plate number. I'm nabbing this SOB right here and now."

Without saying a word, I fumbled with the lever on the glove box and retrieved the pad and an ink pen. I kept them at the ready, watching the black car wildly swerve back and forth in the opposite lane.

Rey's body frantically rocked forward and backward beside me, and I was torn between comforting her and doing what Obi-Wan had asked of me.

"There he goes, Ben..." Obi-Wan warned me and then spoke into his phone, "Yeah, this is Chief Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Jakku Police Department. I have a reckless driver here on 360 heading east, just outside of Ahch-To..."

As the car cut ahead of us and into our lane, I quickly scribbled down the plate number for Obi-Wan and handed him the notepad. Obi-Wan read off the numbers and provided the car's description to whoever was on the other side of the line, finally snapping his cell phone shut.

"The state police are on their way," Obi-Wan assured us, placing a hand on Rey's shoulder. "They'll catch him, Rey, and he won't be a problem for us anymore."

"But what if they don't, Obi-Wan?" Rey looked up at her grandfather with tears in her eyes. My heart actually hurt at the sound of hopelessness in her voice.

"Then I will." Obi-Wan gritted his teeth and firmly gripped the steering wheel with both hands. "If it's the last thing I ever do."

"Shhh." I tried to further calm Rey by placing my arm along her shoulders and pulling her to my chest. Her arms desperately enfolded around my waist, and she cried into the fabric of my shirt. My hands formed into angry fists, wanting to pummel the driver of the car for being the cause of her tears.

Rubbing my cheek soothingly back and forth along the side of her head, I glanced out the front windshield as we rounded a bend in the highway.

"Well, I'll be damned," Obi-Wan observed, obviously noticing what I had just seen.

The black car had literally disappeared, as if it had evaporated into the thick canopy of woods surrounding us.

~.~

For the next two days, Obi-Wan and I took shifts watching over Rey, concerned that whoever was driving the black car would take any given chance to abduct her and do God only knows what. Rey spent the daylight hours with me in Chandrila, while Obi-Wan worked tirelessly at the station. He called me every few hours to check on Rey and update me on the progress of trying to find out the driver's identity.

Unfortunately, even though we now had the asshole's license plate number, the tags had expired, and the registered owner had been deceased for several years. However, nothing could defeat Obi-Wan. He tried his damndest to figure out the whole mystery, even painstakingly pouring over Qi'ra and Dryden's accident file in secret. Like Rey, we both feared that whoever was stalking us had to be related to the accident in some way. It was just too much of a coincidence to ignore.

Of course, my father, Han, was oblivious to the whole situation. He didn't even comment on the absence of my Impala in the driveway. Seeming pleased to have a woman around the house again, he merrily relished in Rey's presence. Rey, too, seemed more relaxed around my father, but I knew she was just repressing her fear of the days ahead. I could sense her trepidation each time I looked into her soft, hazel eyes. We also didn't know what would happen when she headed back to Richmond on Sunday. Each time I thought about her leaving Jakku to finish up her college semester, the stressful notion of being away from her would nearly cripple me.

I began to feel at ease when the next two days proved to be uneventful, genuinely looking forward to my father's cookout that Friday evening. Obi-Wan didn't see any danger in continuing with the cookout, since there would be plenty of witnesses around if the stalker decided to make his move. However, Obi-Wan was on-call at the station, and had phoned to inform me that he would arrive later in the evening.

Little did we know of the storm that was about to hit…

The festivities started off without a hitch. Guests started arriving shortly after seven, and several employees and friends from the garage, including my boys Finn and Artoo, joined the party soon after. Gial Akbar's widow, Larma, arrived with her daughter Mara Jade, Mara's husband, and several gangly children, who immediately took off running toward my father when they saw him. He sat each one on his lap in turn and gave them salutatory hugs. As an elder in our small community, my father was well respected by everyone.

Larma and I shared a few awkward glances as she and her guests approached the small bonfire in the center of our gathering. Her obvious secret affair with Rey's grandfather hadn't gone unnoticed, and I wondered briefly if their relationship had only recently developed, or if it had been going on for quite some time now. It was hard to believe that she had moved on so quickly; Gial had only passed away several months ago.

"Hi, Ben." The familiar voice startled me as its owner sat down beside me on the wooden bench.

"Hello, Mara," I returned her greeting, worriedly glancing across the circle at Rey, who was busy helping my father prepare the fish to be fried. She looked up at me fleetingly, smiled, and then returned to breading the freshly-caught bass.

"How's life been treating you?" Mara placed a hand on my knee to get my attention.

"Can't complain," I politely replied, cringing at her touch and almost crushing the can of beer in my right hand.

It was difficult enough sitting next to a woman I'd once seen naked around Rey. Not to mention the fact that I'd had a one night stand with Mara several months before she and her husband were married. Kaydel had just left me for the umpteenth time, and Mara and I had left a local bar together, drunk off our asses. Later that night, I fucked her on the hood of my Impala in the woods. Mara had always had a thing for me, and I'd willingly taken advantage of her in her drunken, vulnerable state. After it was over, I'd instantly regretted ever laying a finger on an engaged woman, flat out telling her that I didn't want to see her again.

I swiftly pushed Mara's wandering hand away and focused my eyes on Rey, watching the way the light from the bonfire made her hair look one in the same. I crooked my lips into a flirty grin and winked at her as she met my eyes once again.

"So you finally ditched Kaydel, huh?" Mara asked, apparently noticing my exchange with Rey, and repositioned her hand on my leg. "I'm glad. She was just as clingy as that Qi'ra bitch was to her filthy-rich sex slave."

"Mara, please, not here," I retorted, peering back at her face. She was trying to get under my skin for not returning her affections those many years ago. I'd seen her as an easy lay and nothing more. "Have some respect for the dead."

"Oh, I have zero respect for Qi'ra, dead or alive. She didn't realize a good thing when she had it." Her hand moved gradually up my thigh to the fly of my jeans.

"Mara," I said through clenched teeth. I picked up her hand and placed it on her left knee, patting it firmly. "You're a married woman now. Run along back to your husband and leave me the fuck alone."

"Grrrr." Mara angrily stormed away from me and toward her husband with a shocked expression on her face.

I stood up, shaking off the rather uncomfortable experience, and looked around for Rey, who had suddenly vanished.

"Dad, where's Rey?" I asked my father, panic beginning to overtake me.

"She went inside to fetch some more breading," my father gruffly answered, not taking his eyes off the deep fryer in front of him.

I immediately took off toward the house, running faster with each step. I silently cursed Mara for distracting me from my duty to keep watch over Rey. I'd promised Obi-Wan yesterday that I would protect her, and I'd be damned if I didn't keep that promise.

"Rey?" I called, stepping inside the rear entrance and into the kitchen. I sighed in relief when I saw her leaning against the counter, a sprinkle of flour in her hair. "Hey, you scared me when you left the par..."

The look on her face nearly stopped my heart, and I found myself incapable of finishing my sentence.

"Who was that woman, Ben?" Rey questioned. Her head then fell to her hands, and she began to sob.

"Oh, shit, Rey. I'm sorry you had to see that." I walked up to her, set my beer down on the counter, and pulled her into my arms. "That's Mara, Larma's daughter. She and I… slept together a long time ago."

"What?" Rey raised her head to look me in the eyes. "You never told me about her."

"I didn't think it was that important. I'm sorry," I assured her, kissing away several of her tears. I wanted to claw my heart out from my chest at the thought of causing her distress.

"Sleeping with someone isn't important?" Rey appeared to be offended by my dismissal of Mara. Sheer hurt filled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, Rey." I wrapped my arms tighter around her. "I just meant sleeping with her meant nothing to me. I was drunk and stupid at the time."

"Are there any other girls at the party you've slept with, Ben?" she asked me crossly. I guess I deserved that one.

Furiously wiping away her tears, Rey forcefully wiggled out of my embrace and pushed me away from her. She turned and grabbed the box of seafood breading from the table.

"I'd like to know now before I season their fish. It would be a shame if they swallowed a piece with too much pepper and choked to death."

"Rey." I grabbed her hands from behind, chuckling at her last statement.

In that split second, I realized that my body was now pressed against her back and that she was wearing a sundress. All the blood from my body rushed straight to my dick. I brushed the soft hair back from her right shoulder and kissed the delicate flesh it revealed. The box of breading soon tumbled to the linoleum floor with a thud.

"The only other woman I've slept with at this party is you," I whispered against her skin. Her body responded to my voice, sending ripples of goose bumps up her neck and down her torso. "And I must add, Miss Rachel Vos, you put all of them to shame."

I pressed my raging erection against her bottom, and she let out a whimper as my hands descended the sides of her white dress. My breath quickened as I grazed the area underneath her arms, realizing that she wasn't wearing a bra. Fuck, it had been too long since I'd had her last.

"You see what you do to me?" I asked, swaying back and forth with Rey in my arms, and tried my damndest not to bend her over the table right then and there. I knew that I had to take this slow; she was still hurting, and rightfully pissed at me. I didn't know how I would handle the situation if she rejected me.

"Mmhmm," she purred, raising a hand to my cheek and tracing a line along my stubble with her forefinger. I could see her nipples hardening underneath the fabric of her dress at my touch, and consequently driving me fucking insane.

"You know the biggest difference between you and the other girls I've slept with?" I hummed against her neck and sucked at her pulse point. I let my right fingers climb steadily underneath the hem of her dress.

"What?" Rey panted, barely above a whisper, her chest heaving with her uneven breaths. She arched her back slightly as my hand traveled between her legs.

"Those other girls were just easy fucks," I spoke softly into her ear and scaled down the back of her neck with my tongue. "I made love to you, Rey."

"Is t-that r-r-right?" Rey shivered and inched her legs apart, allowing my hand better access.

Holy shit, I swore to myself when I realized she wasn't wearing any panties.

I heard her breath hitch in her throat as I began massaging her clit with my fingers.

"Oh, God, B-Ben..."

She leaned forward against the table, spreading her legs further apart. I ran my fingers down the rim of her lips and slid one of them inside her moist folds, slowly pumping in and out. Hell, she was soaking wet.

"Ben… oh, fuck." Rey clutched the edge of the table with both hands so hard, I could see the whites of her knuckles. "More p-please."

Obligingly, I inserted another finger inside her, twisting and bending them both to heighten her pleasure, all the while rubbing her clit with my thumb.

"You like it, Rey?" I groaned against her back, running my free hand up to grab her shoulder for better leverage.

"Yessss," she hissed through her teeth, bucking against my hand. "Ben, please. Please."

I immediately removed my fingers, knowing exactly what she wanted. I went back to the kitchen door to make sure it was locked before unbuttoning and unzipping my jeans. I rubbed myself on top my cotton briefs at the sight of Rey's body bent over my kitchen table. I was sure this woman was going to be the death of me, but what a way to go.

Walking back over to her, I slithered one hand down the contours of her back while removing my cock from beneath the strain of my underwear with the other. When my hand reached the hem of her dress, I pulled it up to her hips, unveiling her gorgeously-rounded, bare bottom.

"Rey, you seriously need to start wearing panties or I'm going to get a hard-on just looking at you from now on," I warned her, laughing.

"Oh, I could get used to that," she joked, rising up on her tiptoes and reaching between her legs.

"Shit," I grunted as her cold hand clasped onto my dick and pushed the tip against her entrance. I carefully lifted her left leg, hitching it behind my hip, and glided into her, a plethora of obscenities ejecting from my lips as I went. She was so damn wet and tight from behind; I almost spilled my load as I slid all the way into her. "Oh, fuck, Rey. You feel so fucking amazing."

"Make love to me, Ben," Rey commanded, shuddering beneath me, her voice somewhat strained. I placed my forehead to her shoulder, providing it with a tender kiss.

"Please..." she mewed in response.

God, I loved it when she begged.

Moving unhurriedly at first, I gradually built up speed as I began to pull in and out of her. She groaned loudly and met my rhythm, pressing back into me as I fully sheathed myself inside her over and over again.

The feeling of being connected to her on such an intimate level was overwhelming. Rey was so much different than the other women I'd dated in the past; she was smart, funny, breathtakingly beautiful, and most importantly, giving. She'd given me her love, despite my past faults and failures, looking beyond my screw-ups to find the kindred soul that dwelled just underneath my well-armored skin. She didn't know it at the time, but she was irrevocably taming the wild side of Ben Solo, molding me into the man I knew

I could become.

Our bodies continued to move together in perfect harmony against the kitchen table. Knowing that I wouldn't last much longer in that position, I grabbed her neck gently and pulled her body flush with mine.

"I love you, Rey, with all my heart." My lips tenderly kissed her shoulder. My teeth soon replaced them as I leaned us both forward and came hard with one final thrust. "Yes, Rey… fuck."

"Oh, God, Ben, that felt so good, I could barely stand it." Rey giggled, throwing her head back, and my forehead fell to her shoulder. "I've never done it that way before."

"We must do it more often then." I smiled against her skin, relishing in the fact that I'd been the first to make love to her in that position. My ego was sent skyrocketing through the roof.

"Definitely," Rey said, and I pulled out of her and lowered her leg to the floor, turning to the sink to clean up.

After washing up and refastening my jeans, I walked back over to Rey, who was now leaning against the table, her sundress neatly adjusted back into place. My lungs found themselves gasping for air at just a glimpse of her gorgeous form. I combed back a few stray strands from her eyes and took her face into my palms, planting one lingering kiss to her beautiful, pink lips.

"Ben?" I heard Finn's voice call from behind the closed kitchen door, coupled with a few pounding knocks. I nearly had a heart attack. "Sorry to interrupt, but Chief Kenobi's here to see you. You better come outside quick."

"Thanks, Finn!" I yelled at him, not taking my eyes off my girlfriend.

"I wonder what he wants," Rey considered, bringing me back down from the high of post-coital bliss. She looked nervous and instantly began biting her lower lip. "Do you think he found something?"

"Oh, I hope so." My eyebrows lifted, and I leaned in for another kiss. Smiling, I pressed my lips to hers gently and then took her hand in mine. "Come on. Let's see what he wants."

As we exited the house, I was almost blinded by the red and blue flashing lights of Obi-Wan's police cruiser and one other cop car in the gravel driveway. The crowd of our guests had gathered around the side of the house, looking onto the scene with curious speculation. I halted my footsteps immediately and felt Rey's body collide with mine.

"Obi-Wan, what's going on?" I heard Rey's voice ask from behind me.

Her grandfather spun around at the sound of her question, handcuffs held firmly in his palms.

"No!" Rey screamed and clung tightly to my right arm. "Obi-Wan, you can't do this!"

"Ben," Obi-Wan said solemnly, stepping forward, an apologetic look in his eyes. I felt all sensation in my limbs go numb. "I have a warrant here for your arrest."

All my vision started to go blank, and in that moment, my world went spiraling out of control. They had found Hux's body.

I contemplated running for my life, but that would only hurt me in the long run. Deciding to offer my surrender, I turned to face the house, my wrists clamped together behind my back at the waist.

"Obi-Wan, please!" Rey's frantic cries sent knives piercing through my still-beating heart as Obi-Wan cuffed my wrists and patted me down.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I had no other choice," Obi-Wan whispered and then began reading my rights. "Ben Solo, you are under arrest for the murders of Kaydel Connix and Dopheld Mitaka. You have the right to remain silent..."

Obi-Wan's voice faded into the background as my mind focused on only three words that had sprung forth from his lips:

Kaydel.

Dopheld.

Murder.

Someone had set me up.

Attn: Sooooo, am I totally getting flamed for this chapter? LOL, I hope you'll bear with me. It's all going to come together in the end, I promise. Thank you as always for reading! Let me know what you thought. ~Dazzy xxoo