“No! You are not taking him!” she yells at the officer.

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to step away from him,” the cop orders.

Anna clings even tighter to me, and as much as it pains me, she needs to do as he asks.

I kiss her forehead. “You’re going to have to let me go, baby. I don’t want them putting their hands on you. I’ll lose my shit.”

She swallows hard and sniffs. “I don’t want to be without you.”

I cup her face in my hands, and I fight back all the emotion from my face. I can’t let her see how this is breaking me.

“You have to be strong.” I don’t know if this is more for her benefit or my own.

Tears flow down her cheeks, and she reluctantly nods. “Okay.”

“Good,” I whisper, and before I get a chance to kiss her again, a cuff is locked around one of my wrists.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you…” Two officers yank me to my feet as they continue to read me my rights and pull both of my arms behind my back so they can finish linking both of my wrists together.

They begin leading me away, and I turn back to look at Anna. She’s still kneeling on the mat clutching her chest while she sobs. More than anything I want to break out of these shackles and hold her. That frown on her face is killing me, and I hate knowing I’m the one who put it there. I close my eyes and pray I haven’t just done something that will destroy us forever now that I’ve finally found my heart.