by Ramona Gray
* * *
Naomi
I took a deep and calming breath before I opened the door and stepped inside. It was almost six hours later. After finishing coffee with my mother, I’d called Jemma and gone for dinner with her. Both Mason and Dane had texted me, and while I was tempted to be a total child and completely ignore their texts, I hadn’t.
As much as they pissed me off by following me to the coffee shop, I still loved them both and I wouldn’t deliberately worry them. I’d replied with a quick text letting them know that I had dinner plans and would be home later before turning my phone to mute and shoving it into my purse.
I kicked off my shoes and headed to the living room. Dane and Mason were sitting on the couch with mutual pissed off looks on their faces.
“Where have you been?” Dane said.
“I told you. I had dinner plans.”
“With your mother?” Mason said.
“What does it matter who I had dinner with?”
Dane snorted like an angry bull and Mason glared at me. “It matters because we can’t keep you safe if we have no fucking idea where you are or who you’re with.”
“I appreciate that you want to keep me safe,” I tried to keep my voice calm even though I was a little pissed off myself, “but you also need to trust me when I say I’m not in any danger.”
“Please,” Dane’s voice practically dripped with sarcasm, “you have no idea how dangerous it is out there. You’ve lived your entire life in a goddamn bubble, Naomi.”
“I’m aware of that, but I’m also not stupid,” I said.
“You need to let us know in the future who you’re having dinner with,” Mason said. “This isn’t negotiable.”
Red hot fire seared my veins. “You did not just say that, Mason.”
He flushed but crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, I did. Dane and I spoke while you were gone and we both agree that until you understand a little more how the world works, and how much danger your family poses to you, you need to let us accompany you to anything you do with your mother.”
“Is that right,” I said.
“Yes.” Dane mimicked Mason and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s for your safety, baby.”
“Look, I love you both for wanting to take care of me and keep me safe, but you promised me you wouldn’t try and control me. I am more than happy to do what you say in the bedroom, but outside of it, I do what I want.”
“You’re deliberately putting yourself in danger!” Dane said.
“I’m not. My mother isn’t a monster,” I said.
“She sold you to a perverted old man!” Mason shouted.
I jammed my fists on my hips. “And I told you I’ve forgiven her for that. Look, it’s not just that she’s my mom. She’s also my only chance of getting my sister back, okay? I don’t want to destroy this relationship if it means I have any chance of saving Joy. Why can’t you understand that?”
“We do understand,” Dane said. “We want you to get Joy back. All we’re asking is that you talk to us first about visiting with your mother. If we think it’s a good idea, then you can visit her while we’re with you and -”
“If you think it’s a good idea,” I repeated.
Dane flushed. “If we think it’s safe, then we’ll let you -”
“You need to stop right there,” I said. “Before you say something that you can’t walk back.”
“Naomi, you need -”
“No.” I glared at Mason. “You be quiet as well, please.”
I took two deep breaths. “I am not a child and while I appreciate everything you have done and are doing for me, I won’t be controlled. Not anymore.”
“That’s not what we’re doing,” Mason said.
“It is,” I said. “We all know it.”
“There’s a difference between trying to control you and caring for you,” Dane said. “It’s not our fault you can’t see that difference. We don’t want to tell you what to do, we just want -”
“To tell me what to do when it comes to my mother. That is the very definition of controlling, Dane. If the two of you can’t see that, then I’m not sure that a relationship is the best thing for any of us.”
Dane’s face paled and so did Mason’s. I hated that I was hurting them but at the same time, anger still flowed through my veins like thick and fiery lava. Their inability to admit that they were trying to control me, hurt me to my core. I wanted – needed – them to be different from my father.
We stared silently at each other for close to a minute before I took a step back. “I’m going to sleep in my own room tonight. I need some space.”
“We love you,” Dane said. “Naomi, try to see it from our point of view. If something were to happen to you…”
“I love you too,” I said. “But I need space and time to figure out what’s best for us. I won’t be controlled ever again and right now, I’m not sure that you two truly understand that.”
Chapter Fifteen
Naomi
“Seriously, you look like your best friend has died,” Jemma said as we headed back to the office. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “I’m just tired and feeling emotional.”
“Are you sure?” Jemma took my arm before I could open the lobby door of our office building. “I thought maybe taking you for lunch would cheer you up, but you don’t look any happier, honey.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you for lunch by the way. It was really lovely of you.”
“Hey, it’s what friends do. Besides, it was Taco Tuesday at Alberto’s, and you know how I love my tacos.”
“They are pretty good,” I said.
Jemma was still holding my arm and she gave it a squeeze. “You know if there’s something you want to talk about, I’m a pretty good listener.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s complicated.”
“I get it,” she said.
She didn’t, but that wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t exactly tell her that I was in love with two men but for the last two days I’d been basically avoiding both of them because I didn’t know what the hell to do. Avoiding them at home and at work took herculean effort, especially since I sat right outside Dane’s damn office, but I was making it happen.
I needed to. I was still angry and upset that they were trying to control me after promising they wouldn’t, and I hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out if I could trust that this was a one time thing or if it was setting a precedent for our relationship.
They made a mistake, Naomi. Give them the chance to prove to you they won’t do it again.
I wanted to, but I needed to be very careful. They were right in that I was on the naïve side and I didn’t know much about the outside world. But maybe Dane and Mason didn’t have my best interests at heart, despite loving me.
They do. For God’s sake, they are nothing like your father and if you would just look at this logically for a damn second, you’d see that they deserve a second chance.
They liked control though, that was obvious, and they could tell me all they wanted that they were only looking for it in the bedroom, but their reactions and what they’d said on Sunday proved otherwise.
“Naomi?” Jemma was shaking my arm gently. “Your phone is buzzing.”
I stared blankly at her before grabbing my phone out of my purse. I stared at the text message and accompanying picture, my mouth dropping open as hope and confusion soared through me at once.
“What’s wrong?” Jemma looked over my shoulder. “She’s pretty. Who is that?”
“My sister,” I said.
“I didn’t know you have a sister.”
“I have to go,” I said. “Can you do me a favour and tell Dane that I had a personal emergency and I need to take the afternoon off.”
“Uh, okay,” Jemma said. “Is everything all right?”
“I think it might be,” I said as a smile spread across my face. “I have to go.”
I turned and sprinted for my car in the parking lot.
* * *
Mason
“We fucked up.”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” Dane paced back and forth in his office. “I know, Mason. I goddamn know.”
“She hasn’t said a word to me since Sunday. I miss her.”
“I miss her too,” Dane said.
“You get to at least talk to her at work.” I sounded like a sulky little kid and Dane glared impatiently at me.
“Only work-related stuff and, believe me, she keeps it as short as possible. She barely looks at me.”
“What are we going to do?” I said.
“Give her more time and space.”
I slammed my fist down on Dane’s desk. “I can’t do this for much longer.”
“Too fucking bad. We have to prepare ourselves that she may never forgive us. Like you said – we fucked up.”
“What were we thinking?” I wanted to smash my fist into Dane’s desk again but resisted.
“We weren’t. We let our emotions get the best of us. I didn’t mean to try and control her, and I know you didn’t either, but that’s exactly what we did. And refusing to admit it, trying to conceal it as some kind of fucked up way of caring for her, was the exact wrong fucking thing to do.”
“I’ll go crazy if she leaves us,” I said.
Dane stared grimly at me. “If it comes to that, if she says she’s leaving, the two of us will get down on our fucking knees and beg her to stay.”
“Goddamn right we will,” I said.
There was a knock on his office door and Dane said, “Come in.”
“Mr. Wilson?” Jemma poked her head into the office. “I just got back from lunch with Naomi, and she asked me to tell you that she had a personal emergency and she needed to take the rest of the day off.”
Dane’s big body stiffened. “What? Where is she?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know,” Jemma said. “She just got a text and then she -”
“Who was the text from?” I could hear the anxiety in my voice and evidently Jemma could too because she stared curiously at me.
“She didn’t say.”
“She didn’t say,” Dane repeated. He looked at me and I could see my anxiety reflected in his face.
“What’s going on?” Jemma said slowly. “Why are you both acting so freaked out?”
“We’re fine,” Dane said. “We’re just worried about her. A personal emergency doesn’t sound good.”
“Well, I’m sure it isn’t anything bad,” Jemma said. “She seemed kind of happy when she got the picture.”
“What picture?” I said.
“Of her sister.”
My stomach dropped and my anxiety turned to full-blown panic. Dane was already reaching for his phone and he smiled distractedly at Jemma. “Thanks for letting us know. Leave now.”
Jemma blinked in surprise before closing the door. I turned to Dane, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “Her sister? What the fuck, Dane?”
He was checking his phone. “She hasn’t texted me. Has she texted you?”
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. “No.”
“Fuck.”
“I’m calling her,” I said. I scrolled through my contacts and was about to press Naomi’s number when Dane scooped my phone out of my hand.
I glared at him. “Give me my phone, asshole.”
“We can’t call her,” he said.
“If it’s something to do with her sister, then she’s in danger,” I said.
“We don’t know that. Maybe Naomi’s right. Maybe her mother isn’t the monster we think she is and has somehow gotten her sister back.”
“You don’t really believe that,” I said.
“I don’t know what to believe.” Dane’s mouth was a hard slash. “But I do know if we call her or chase after her, we will fucking lose her, Mason.”
“But -”
“We will,” he said. “We’re close to losing her now.”
All the air oozed out of me and I sat on the corner of his desk, my head in my hands. “I fucking hate this. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“I know,” Dane said. “But we have to trust that Naomi knows what she’s doing and that if she needs us, she’ll call us.”
“What if she doesn’t call?” I said hoarsely. “What if we really have lost her?”
“We just have to hope like fucking hell that we haven’t, Mason.”
* * *
Naomi
I didn’t bother knocking on the door of my parents’ home. I threw open the door and barrelled in like an out of control train. I didn’t give a second thought to whether my father would be there, I didn’t care. All I cared about was Joy.
“Mom!” My voice was shrill with excitement. “Mom, where are you?”
I ran into the kitchen without waiting for her reply, skidding to a stop just beyond the doorway with my heart in my throat and tears already starting to leak down my face. “Joy?”
My sister ran toward me and I met her halfway, flinging my arms around her and hugging her so hard, she made a small groan of pain. “Joy, oh, honey. I can’t believe you’re here.”
Laughing and crying, I cupped her face and stared at her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m okay, Naomi. Really glad to see you.”
“Me too.” I stepped back and looked her over. She was wearing a long skirt, her shirt was buttoned to her throat, and her dark hair was covered by a scarf. Her face was make-up free and there were a few more small lines around her eyes and mouth, but otherwise she looked the same.
“You look good,” I said.
She half-shrugged before studying me. “You look better.”
“How did this happen?” I said.
Joy stared at our mother who was leaning against the counter. “I don’t know. This morning Robert told me I was free to go, and he had two of his,” she grimaced, “followers drive me here.”
“Mom,” I said, “did you do this? Did you convince Dad to bring Joy home?”
My mother swallowed hard. Weirdly, she didn’t seem happy or relieved. She was pale and she was biting compulsively at the hangnails on her fingers, a sure sign of her anxiety.
“Mom,” I said, “how did you make this happen?”
“She didn’t. I did.”
I whirled, automatically tucking Joy behind me as I stared with loathing at Deacon Dennison.
“Get out,” I said. “Get out of my house, right now.”
“It’s not your house,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “And you should be thanking me, Naomi. I brought your precious sister home.”
“What’s he talking about?” Joy said.
“Hello, Joy. It’s good to see you again,” Dennison said. “You’re looking well. Was your time with Robert a productive one?”
“Don’t talk to her!” I spat at him. “Don’t talk to her and don’t look at her.”
“Do you think because you’re wearing whore clothing and whore makeup, you can speak to me in that tone?” he said. “Because I can assure you, when we’re married, you’ll learn quickly what happens when you’re disrespectful.”
I barked jagged laughter. “I’m not marrying you, asshole. I don’t care what my father said or promised you, I’m not -”
“Oh, it wasn’t your father,” Dennison said.
I could feel the blood draining from my face. I stared at my mother. “Where’s Dad?”
Dennison laughed. “The last I heard, he was at the casino, spending his paycheques and leaving your poor mother destitute and almost homeless. That money your heathen friends gave him didn’t last very long, did it, Alice? Not with his gambling habit. Luckily, I’m here to bail you out, again.”
“Mom,” I whispered, “what have you done?”
“I had no choice,” she said. “Naomi, we’re behind on paying everything, including the mortgage. We’re going to lose the house.”
“So, you sold me, just like D
ad did?” Hurt roared through me and my throat closed up to a pinhole. I dragged in a whistling breath. “You’re my mother. How could you?”
“Sold is such a nasty word,” Dennison said. “It’s really more of a negotiation. Isn’t that right, Alice?”
“I don’t care how much money you give her,” I said. “I’m not going with you. She and my father can live on the goddamn streets for all I fucking care.”
“Such a filthy mouth.” Dennison’s brow furrowed into a scowl. “What did those wretched beasts of men teach you?”
“Cursing isn’t all they taught me,” I said. “I’m not your sweet little virgin anymore, asshole.”
His face went red and his hands clenched into fists. “You little slut. You couldn’t wait to give it away, could you?”
I just grinned at him, but the grin faded when he shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure you’re cleansed before I lay with you.”
“I’m not letting you touch me,” I said.
“Of course, you are,” he said. “I’ll be your husband and it’s the wife’s duty to lay with her husband.”
“Fuck you!” I was terrified but doing my best to hide it behind a mask of scorn and anger. “I’m not going anywhere with you. In fact, you have ten seconds to get out of this house before I call the cops.”
“Call them and you’ll never see your sister again.”
I automatically clutched Joy a little closer to me. “Just try and take her from me, asshole.”
He chuckled and fear tingled down my spine when he said, “I don’t have to do it. The men who brought her here will do it for me.”
He snapped his fingers and two men wearing dark suits walked into the kitchen. I backed away with Joy still tucked behind me, hot fear making my lungs seize up. The men weren’t on the large side but there would be no way I could stop them if they tried to take Joy from me.
“These gentlemen will be more that happy to return Joy to her husband,” Dennison said.
“He’s not my husband,” Joy said.