Crushing Violet

by Bree Rivers

  “She and West went food shopping.”

  “Good. Violet’s going to need food.”

  “Can you tell us?”

  Shane looked into Kane and David’s eyes. “I’m not really sure you want to know.”

  Daisy took Roman and Bear’s hands and gave a single nod. “And yet, you’re going to tell us.”

  “You guys have heard of HIPAA regulations, right?”

  “We’re her family, Shane.” Daisy went to wipe her eyes, but Roman beat her to it. “You know that. And Davis and Kane are going to be her husbands.”

  “I know, pretty girl. The bastard at least didn’t do anything too physical. The ... what does Maria call him, the Monster? ... well, the Monster focused on her mind. He seems quite determined to make Violet forget, well, everything.”

  “So she wasn’t raped?” Davis asked.

  “No, but the supposed doctor taking care of her was handsy. And she wasn’t taken care of. She’s emaciated from not being fed. She’s got bruises on her wrists and ankles from the restraints they used. There are some bruises other places—” Shane cut off his explanation when Lara walked in, went to the bar, and did three quick shots of bourbon as well before David wrapped her in his arms and guided her to join them at the table.

  “Her breasts are black and blue. She screamed when she touched her pussy ...” Lara closed her eyes and shook with the need to repress her emotion. “Those men deserved to be dropped into the worst kind of hell.”

  “My pleasure, sweetheart.” Gray winked at Lara.

  “Don’t call my wife sweetheart,” David scowled at Gray. “And I’ll be the one to end the life of the Senator.”

  “Again, you idiots. I’m a fucking FBI agent.”

  Everyone at the table ignored Wade’s sputtering. Maria entered the kitchen and gestured back the way they came. “She's as ready as she can be.”

  THIS TIME WHEN THEY walked into the guestroom, they found a clean Violet in the bed, leaning against a mountain of pillows, covered by a down comforter. Her purple hair seemed like a neon slash against the paleness of her face. Her hands kept smoothing over the flannel duvet, the red and purple of her bruises blending with the colors of the throw. Her eyes flicked between the comforter and their faces, never staying still for long. “I need to know. Are you real?”

  “We are,” Davis promised her. His heart twisted at the deadened, crushed look in his Precious’s eyes.

  “He said you were all a dream, that you—”

  “First rule of the Monster ...” Maria reminded Violet.

  “... The Senator always lies.”

  “Violet,” Kane waited until her eyes met his. “You and I were always fated. You know that, sweetheart.

  “And I know all of you?”

  Davis couldn’t keep quiet. “Precious ... do you truly not recognize me?”

  “I’m sorry.” Her voice was a thready whisper. “I’ve never met you before.”

  Shane took out his cell phone. “I’m getting that blood test now.”

  “Do I know you?”

  Davis’ entire body felt like it just froze at her question. “Yes, Precious. We know each other well.”

  She looked at the others. “All of you?”

  “They’re your friends,” Maria gestured to the staring crowd.

  “We’re your family,” Lara corrected her.

  “No,” Violet whispered. “My family is dead.” She slid down in the blankets and closed her eyes. “I want to go to sleep now.” They all stood there in shock as she turned over and thoroughly shut them out. Davis wished someone would shoot him again, it would have hurt so much less.

  They filed out in silent agreement. Davis stood in the garden at the center of the compound David and Lara carved out of suburban Seattle. He knew that Ivy and her men bought the house to the east. Roman, Bear, and Daisy took the place to the south. He and Kane had already discussed purchasing the home on the north side. David had actually bought it in hopes they would choose it soon.

  “She doesn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Davis shrugged at Kane’s attempt to ease his pain. “I know that, man. But your bastard father fucked with her memory until she barely recalls who she is. Why the fuck would she remember my name?”

  “We’ll just have to remind her.”

  THE WATER. THE WATER was rising. She felt it pressing on her body. Pushing on the parts that felt broken. She could see blood floating by. The water went into her mouth, her nose. She sputtered trying to get it to stop, but there was no stopping water. Her arms thrashed as she tried to go up and press against the ceiling. Air. She had to get to air. She had to get away—

  Violet catapulted herself out of bed and straight into the wall. Her arms gesticulated wildly as she tried to find a way to get away— “Violet! Violet! It’s okay. I’ve got you, Precious. I’ve got you.”

  Sage. Lime. Her mind stopped her trashing before she fully understood what was going to happen. She knew that smell.

  He set her to the side releasing her body slowly.

  Violet blinked at him trying to bring the male who belonged to that smell into focus past her sleep befuddled, tear-filled eyes. When she realized who was holding her, the man who called her Precious, she let out a long slow breath. “Why did you let me go?”

  “You were ... I didn’t want you to feel as if you were being imprisoned again.”

  “I don’t,” she threw herself at him as hard as she could, and wrapped her arms and legs around him squeezing tight. Her nose buried in his neck, she kept taking long deep breaths of the smell so uniquely this man. Her memory might have been wiped, but whatever part of her mind this smell was housed was firmly affixed. This man was hers, and he would always protect her.

  “Violet ... are you sure you want me to hold you?”

  “Don’t you dare let go,” she told him.

  “My pleasure, Precious.” He took a few steps to the bed, but she shook with terror at his perceived target. He froze and waited for her to look at him.

  “Not there. Outside, please, take me outside. I need to feel the air.”

  The man carrying her as if she were a child, immediately turned for the door. He kept moving until he made his way to a large wrought iron bench set in the center of a vibrant green lawn. Readjusting her across his lap, her head still connected with his shoulder, she felt her thundering heartbeat start to slow. When he ran his hand gently over her hair, her body stretched into his caress. Her mind was still blank, but her body knew this man, and that was enough for her right then. “I don’t even remember your name,” she admitted softly.

  “Davis, my Precious.”

  She hoped he could feel her smile against his skin. When her breath and pulse calmed, she leaned back to look at the stars she craved seeing but cursed instead. The high walls surrounding the plot of green were filled with large shadowy men carrying some deadly looking weapons.

  “Check it out, boys. Davis finally found himself a gorgeous woman who can tolerate his ugly mug.”

  “I thought it was his manners that sent them running.”

  “Well, he does have her on his lap, so maybe he took out her kneecap or something. Do you need rescuing, gorgeous?”

  “Nah, man. This girl’s got stones, she likes to rescue herself.”

  “You idiots focus on your guard duty, Conroy.” Davis scolded them.

  “Did you guys hire an army to protect me?”

  He chuckled at her question and gently closed her open mouth. “You are worth far more than that, Precious. Unfortunately, given our current time schedule, this ragged crew is just the guys from the city we could call in.”

  “Come on Davis, you know we’re the best.”

  “I’d like to have you try and sell Gray that idea, Martinez.”

  “Nope. I’ll pass.” The Joker stepped back into the shadows as if there mere mention of Gray was enough to give him nightmares.

  “Thank you for protecting us,” Violet called out to them.

&nb
sp; “Our pleasure, gorgeous.”

  “We’re the best of the best.”

  “The terror of bad guys worldwide.”

  Violet smiled at the brown-eyed man who winked at her. “I’m shaking in my boots.”

  “You’re not wearing boots,” one of them pointed out.

  “Someone really should explain how fierce we are.”

  “Don’t you still sleep with a teddy bear, Conroy?” Davis asked.

  The other men laughed, as the brown-eyed man stood stiffly. “It happens to be a stuffed Godzilla. And you should be more respectful.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Just looked what happened to Tokyo,” the man drawled.

  Violet giggled and sighed as Davis’s arms tightened around her. “Thank you,” she repeated for them all. “I really do appreciate it.”

  “Our pleasure, Gorgeous. You sleep sweet tonight.”

  The men withdrew, and soon she couldn’t see them at all “I don’t understand,” she whispered to Davis.

  “They only came out, my Precious, to reveal themselves to you.”

  “But ... why?”

  “Our friends, the peanut gallery as Gray likes to call them, heard your bad dream. They wanted you to know that should you go to sleep again, there were plenty of people working to keep you safe.”

  Kane came out of the house and walked swiftly to them. “Is she okay?”

  Violet repressed the annoyance she felt that he asked Davis and not her. “I’m fine. I know Davis. I know his smell.”

  “Good, that’s progress.” He joined them on the bench, moving Violet’s legs to his lap. “I am so sorry my father did all this to you, sweeting. I swear I’d have a million men guarding you if I thought for a moment he’d come after you at the lake house. Do you believe I’m real, yet?”

  “I know you’re real, Kane. I know we grew up together.”

  “Do you remember our summer together?”

  She cupped his cheek and blinked as the tears began to seep from her eyes no matter how much she tried to will them back. “I do. I also remember ...”

  “What sweeting?”

  “I remember you left me, and I want to know why.”

  Chapter 19 - Before

  “If you ever touch her again, I swear Dad I’ll kill you. Or worse.”

  “Worse than death, son? Whatever are you referring to?”

  Kane sat down in the chair across from the Senator’s looming mahogany desk and kicked his legs up on the surface. “You know what I mean. Leave Vanity alone, or I swear I’ll leak every bad dealing and secret payoff I’ve been a part of over the years. The Senior Senator from Virginia will go down in a book of infamy. Not to mention that the truth is your long sabbaticals in Switzerland are due to your unfortunate habit of hitting on young girls, keyword being hit.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “How do some photos of you with your face all black and blue making a perp walk sound?”

  “You’d lose just as much as I do.”

  “Try again, Dad. I’ve got Grandpa’s money.”

  “Not until you’re twenty-five.”

  “That’s all of three years away. I’ll figure something out in the meantime.”

  “Well, son. If you’re going to try and threaten me, you’d be smarter to check your arsenal.” The Senator pulled out a stuffed file with papers and photographs. “The first thing I’ll do if you try to draw down on me is release these.”

  Kane glanced at the photographs and tried to keep his shock from his face. They were photos of Vanity and him, in the guest house. “You put in cameras while I was away.”

  “I did.” The Senator lit a cigar and took a long smooth puff from it. “I must say, I had no idea you could get her into quite that many positions. I was almost impressed.” He took out a series of accounting spreadsheets next. “Now after I make your girlfriend the new web sensation, I think I’ll send these to my friend’s at the IRS and get her beloved father thrown into prison for embezzlement.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” Kane’s feet hit the floor with a thunderclap.

  The Senator slammed his hands on the desk. “Try me, boy!”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Law school.” The Senator tossed an acceptance letter to his alma mater.

  “No. I’ll never do anything to be more like you.” Kane crumpled the letter and threw it back at him.

  “Fine. Then get the hell out of my house. No money. No access to my friends or my connections. You’re dead to me.”

  “I’ll still take Vanity with me.”

  “No, you won’t.” The Senator shrugged as he started to put the papers back into his locked drawer. “You’ll never move her away from her father, and until you can take care of both of them, they’re staying. We both know that.”

  “What’d you want from me?”

  “Get out of my house, Kane. Either learn to fall in line and be something I can put on my website with pride ... or disappear. I won’t have you near my staff or me. I’m under enough scrutiny as it is.”

  Kane stood up and kicked the chair out of his way. “I’ll be back for Vanity and her father. Enjoy your time in Switzerland.”

  “We’ll see.” The Senator stood, facing the window that looked over his sprawling lawns and smoked. Kane knew he was already out of the Senator’s mind and had just lost his only family member.

  Chapter 20 - After

  “Your father was always a monster, Mr. Kane. He couldn’t forgive you for two things—” Maria’s voice broke the uneasy silence that Kane drifted into after telling his story.

  “Killing my mother with my birth ...”

  Maria came closer and sat down on the lawn chair next to the bench. “Yes, Mr. Kane. Your Mama was the only good thing in his life, and the only one that could break through the Monster to the man beneath. But that’s not your greatest crime.”

  “What could I have possibly done that’s worse?”

  “You aren’t his son.”

  Kane drew deadly still at Maria’s words. “I ... I ... Are you sure?”

  “I am positive. Your Mama—God rest her soul—told me herself.”

  Violet slipped out of Davis’s lap and moved to Kane’s. She knew she’d want consolation if someone told her that so she couldn’t resist providing it any way she could. As soon as Violet was away from Davis, his face started to fade from her mind. She tensed up as her memory began—

  “What’s wrong, sweet?”

  Kane’s question gave her something to hang onto as her mind felt as if it was dunking her in a vat of ice water. “I can’t ... he’s taking Davis from me.” Her response came out as a strangled wail as her panic escalated exponentially. A coat was draped on her shoulders, and again Davis’ smell righted her brain and stopped the feeling of her memory being wiped clean. “Thank you.” She leaned her head all the way back to smile at Davis, with a little help from Kane to keep her balanced.

  “Always, my Precious.”

  “I am so sorry to upset you, Mr. Kane.”

  “No, you’re actually making sense out of a lot of things I never understood. Do you know who?”

  “She never said.”

  “Did my grandfather know?”

  “He did.”

  “Which is why he left me his entire estate.”

  “It is, Mr. Kane. Your Grandfather loved his daughter with all he had which is why he gave you everything.”

  “Probably another thing your father hated you for,” Violet added.

  Shane came storming out of the house and headed straight to Violet. “What part of she needs rest and warmth did you idiots not understand?” His snarl at Kane and Davis was met by chuckles from them.

  “I’m not cold,” Violet said.

  “Well, that’s something. The initial blood test shows whatever they gave you ate up all of your potassium.” Shane took out a hypodermic and glass bottle.

  “No. No needles.” Violet shook and tried to move out of
Kane’s hold.

  “Give her a break, Shane. Potassium shot into your veins feels like mainlining battery acid.” The guy on the wall speaking sat down on edge, his legs dangling over the side. “Tell him to give you the pills, gorgeous.”

  David, Lara, Ivy, and Gray came out from the house to join them.

  “I’m trying to save her heart muscle,” Shane explained to everyone.

  “Please.” Violet swallowed several times as her stomach started to roil. “I just ... the needles remind me of what they did. Please don’t do this to me.”

  “Fine,” Shane grumbled. “Pills it is. We need to get as much potassium in—”

  “I’ll go make her a banana smoothie,” Maria said. “And we have potatoes with dinner.” When everyone nodded at her, she beamed. “I think also I’ll make my banana bread. Vanity always loved my banana bread.”

  “So did Mr. Kane,” Kane called after her as Maria went to the house.

  “We love banana bread too,” the joker on the wall shared.

  “Kane?”

  “Yeah,” Kane answered David.

  “I’m keeping Maria. Just thought I should warn you three.”

  “Damn, we totally wanted her.”

  “Quiet, Martinez,” Gray ordered.

  “I think we should debate who gets custody of Maria,” Ivy suggested.

  “Maybe we could share her?” Lara added.

  Kane and Violet looked at each other and smiled at their wrangling. “I’ve got news for you guys—” he said.

  “—Maria will decide who gets custody of Maria,” Violet finished.

  “She’s pretty much always done what she wants. Even in my father’s—I mean my—I mean the Senator’s house.”

  Violet rested her head on Kane’s chest at the anguish in his words. She felt Davis squeeze his shoulder as well. Their audience may not know the full extent of what had been revealed, but they did.

  “I want you to know, sweet. I left to make money. A lot of money. I knew I’d come back and get both you and your dad free. I stopped to make sure Maria would watch out for you, I gave her every dollar I had on me. From there I joined the army, figuring they could feed and house me until I got my grandfather’s inheritance.”