by Trejo, Erin
“Why?” I ask. His eyes move to mine.
“We need to be seen. Even briefly. The cops are in our pockets, but we are playing with fire. Literally.” I open my mouth to respond when Callan laughs.
“Gas stoves. They cause such a problem.” The way he says it, so casually as if the words meant nothing to him. I never saw this side of Callan. The deadly side. The side that is more and more like Steele every single day. It unnerves me to a point.
“That they are. You ready?” Knox asks Callan. He nods his head, rests his hand on my back and ushers me into the car. We all climb in, me, Callan and Knox in one, Steele and Whisper in the other. My heart starts racing as we drive toward my house. The home that ripped me apart. The home that they live in. I never felt like that place was home. It was a house. A place to live and sleep but that was it.
It takes minutes before we pull up to Mason’s. I know him as one of the Alder’s friends. That’s about all I know about him. Callan leaps out like a man on a mission and I suppose he is. He grabs my hand when we climb out and walks to the trunk, popping it open. There he grabs a duffle bag and shrugs it over his shoulder.
“You had this ready?” I ask glancing up at him.
“I’m always ready.”
“You got everything?” Steele calls out. Callan turns toward him and nods, slamming the trunk closed.
“Is there anything in that house you want?” Callan asks as we walk between the houses, right through their yards. Not that anyone would say a word to the Alder’s.
“A few things in my room, if that’s okay?” Callan stops walking just to turn and face me. His fingers come to my cheek and run over the healing cut like he always tends to do.
“Anything you want is okay, Shane. Anything.” I don’t stop to ask the meaning behind that because I don’t know that I really want the answer. Instead, I turn and take a deep cleansing breath and follow the others toward the house. When we get closer, Steele raises his fingers pointing two around front, one around back. I know those directions are for the guys so when Callan grabs my hand and drags me around front, I know I’m with him.
“You have a key?”
“They never lock it,” I tell him. He chuckles and shakes his head before looking at the door. I take a step, ready to go in when he pulls me back shaking his head. He stares at the knob, seconds ticking past before he finally nods his head. I turn the handle and walk in with him and Knox right behind me.
“What the hell are you doing back here?” Matt’s angry tone is directed at me; I know it is. I almost cower when I remember the two men backing me.
“What? You didn’t miss me?” I snarl. He stands from the couch and starts toward me when Callan and Knox step up next to me. His eyes widen before he starts to turn around only to find Steele and Whisper.
“What the fuck is this?” he asks, turning back to me. Callan leans down and whispers in my ear, telling me to go and get what I want to keep. I shake my head.
“Not yet.” He chuckles and stands up straight looking at my drunken mother half-awake on the couch.
“This is… well it’s a little payback,” Callan says stepping closer to Matt.
“You’re going to jail this time!” Matt roars but Callan is fast. He drops the bag and swings, knocking Matt to the floor before Whisper leaves the room. She comes back with two kitchen chairs, setting them in the middle of the room.
“Shane?” my mom says through her drunken haze.
“Shane what the hell did you do now? Being a little whore again I see,” she laughs. I can’t move. I’m stuck in place wondering what the hell I’m doing here. Whisper moves though. She grabs the front of my mom’s shirt and rips her off the couch before punching her much the same as Callan did Matt. Steele and Knox move to grab them as Whisper comes to me.
“Come on. Let’s get your stuff,” she says, grabbing my wrist and leading me to the steps. I follow her up, a hollow feeling inside of me. I step into my old room and bile rises in my throat. I hate it here. I hate everything about it. Moving to the closet, I grab my bag and the box off the shelf before moving to sit on the bed. I can hear the guys laughing downstairs but when I pull the lid off the box, Whisper gasps.
“Is that her?” she asks softly.
“Yeah. I wasn’t supposed to take pictures, but they left her with me for a few minutes. I snuck a few. And the hospital gave me this,” I say, passing the little hat she wore to Whisper. She takes it in her hands and smiles.
“It’s so small. I can’t imagine a tiny human in there,” she says. The reminder hurts. It’s not like I was ready to have a child at sixteen years old. I wasn’t but she was a part of me. She was a piece of me that I will never get back.
“I know. She was only six pounds. They said it was because I was so young.” I share what the doctor told me.
“She’s beautiful, Shane.”
“She is.” Taking a deep breath, I grab the hat and the photos and stuff them into my bag before standing from the bed. I swipe the tear off my cheek and keep my head held high. “I probably shouldn’t keep these.”
“Yes, you should. There’s nothing wrong with remembering her,” Whisper says, grabbing my hand in hers. She squeezes tightly before we both leave the room and head down the steps. When we walk back in the living room, I see them both tied to the chairs with gags in their mouths and Knox pinning Callan to the wall.
23
Callan
What he said to me made my skin crawl. My stomach lurched and I thought I was going to kill him with my bare hands. The thought has crossed my mind more than once in the last few minutes. Knox keeps both hands on my chest as I heave in breaths. That’s when I see her.
“What’s going on?” Shane asks, looking at me and Knox.
“A minor issue,” Steele replies, keeping his eyes on Matt. The tension in the room is thick as her mom wriggles in her chair. She’s trying to get free as if we would allow that.
“Which is?” Whisper asks this time.
“Which is none of your business. Go turn the stove and oven on,” Steele orders her. I wait for her to protest but she doesn’t. She turns and walks into the kitchen.
“This is it, Shane. Anything you want to say to them?” Steele asks, resting his hand on my shoulder. I slap Knox’s hands away from me and walk toward them, then I grab her hand and jerk her body into mine. My lips hover near hers and I can feel the heat of her skin even through her clothes.
“There’s no going back. No second chance,” I say softly, her tongue slowly running across her bottom lip. My insides tremble and not from what’s about to happen here. I lean in and kiss her gently before pulling back and turning toward them. My eyes bounce from his to her moms and back when she finally speaks.
“You two made my life hell. I thought I could get away from it all, from you but I couldn’t. Even in my nightmares you were there. I can’t wait to see you both rest in hell.” With that, she steps back into my arms. I wrap them around her, holding her tight as I breathe in the scent of her hair.
“Go wait out back. Away from the house,” I tell her before pressing my lips to the top of her head. She nods and turns to walk out with Whisper. Me? I step closer to Matt and smirk as I lean down into his space.
“You stole from her. You took a piece of her that she can never get back and you threw it all away. For that, you will rot in hell,” I tell him before pulling my lighter free. His eyes widen as he thrashes in his chair. I look to my brothers and they both nod before we turn and walk out the front door.
“Last chance to change your mind,” Knox says. I shake my head, light the paper and toss it into the house before we turn and take off. We run around to the back as the fire slowly courses through the house. I hear the boom from the gas and duck as we run farther away. That’s when I see her.
“What the fuck?” I roar as I rush toward Shane. She’s pulling herself off the ground when I get to her, pulling her to her feet. She’s unsteady as I hold onto her.
“You
shouldn’t have done that!” Carol screams as she looks at the house in front of her. What does she care? I swallow hard and look at the other guys with her, none of them familiar to me but they all look as deadly as I feel right now.
“You stupid bitch!” Steele growls.
“You three will pay for this. For all of this!”
“You aren’t making any sense, Carol,” Knox states stepping closer to her. His arms are corded tightly, ready for a fight as I keep Shane on her feet. The little girl, Bella stands in front of Carol with tears falling down her cheeks. Her wide eyes are haunted as she looks between us. Carol presses the gun harder against Bella’s temple as my stomach drops.
“You don’t deserve any of this! Your father built those businesses not you! If anyone should have them, it’s me. The wealth, the fame, all of it is mine,” she yells. Steele chuckles darkly before stepping toward her too.
“Are you kidding me? That son of a bitch tried to kill me. He tried to kill my brothers and you think you deserve everything?”
“We’ve fought. We’ve done all the dirty deeds that have kept this family afloat since the day we were born. We were the pawns that no one wanted and the strength that everyone needed,” I say through a clenched jaw. Every fiber in my being is begging to choke her, to take her life the way she is trying to take ours. How dare she after all these years?
“You’re right. You were a pawn to him but not to me! You were my kids, my sweet little boys that he turned into monsters.” My eyes move from Carol’s to Bella’s and back. I don’t know how it happened or what sense it makes but I see it now. It’s all clear as day.
“How did you get her?” I ask Carol, nodding at Bella. She drags her focus back to me and shakes her head.
“She was a useful tool. When I heard about the baby, I knew my way back in.” It must hit Shane at this very moment. She gasps, a sob that sticks in her throat.
“You’re making a huge mistake.”
“The only mistake I made was letting your father have you three. You’ve turned into such evil,” she sneers.
“Says the woman holding a gun to a child’s head,” Knox says casually. So casually that I almost question his sanity right now.
“Well, now you’ve messed up. You ruined my plans and now I will ruin her,” she says, eyeing Shane. I let her go, watching as she falls to the ground before I step around her.
“You know us, Carol. You know what we’re capable of and you are testing the patience of a man that has very little at the moment.” My words ring through the air as the sirens come closer. I have no doubt Blake will be on his way as well and that may just work in my favor. As long as I can keep Carol focused on me and not the gun in her hand, we might have a chance.
“I know what you can do. But do you know what I am capable of?” she sneers, thrusting the gun harder into Bella’s temple. The soft cries that escape her break me in half. Before I can think about it, I’m moving. I don’t hear anything aside from the rapid beating of my heart in my ears. I knock the gun from Carol’s hand tackling her to the ground. Slamming my fist into her face, her head snaps to the side. The guys are moving around me, fighting the men that Carol brought with her. Me? I grab Bella and rush away from Carol and straight to Shane.
“Take her,” I roar.
“No, I can’t.” she says, shaking her head rapidly. With my free hand, I grab her chin and force her to look at me.
“You can. She needs you now, Shane. Take her.” It takes seconds for her to pull Bella from my arms and into hers. She holds her tightly against her chest as she cries. Whisper steps up out of seemingly nowhere and wraps them both in her arms. The sight in front of me is the most devastating and beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
24
Shane
My hands are trembling as I sit in the emergency room waiting room. Blake brought me, Whisper, and Bella here. He basically knew most of the details of what happened, but Whisper filled him in on the rest. He didn’t question us like I thought he would. Instead, he brought us here and said that Bella needed to be looked over. Now we wait and I can’t stop shaking.
“She’s okay, Shane.”
“She’s a little girl that had a gun to her head. Who knows what else Carol did to her? What if she’s hurt in other ways?” Whisper tenses at my words knowing exactly what I mean. It’s not like she didn’t live that life once before too.
“She is as strong as her mom. She’s got this,” she adds, making me smile a little. It doesn’t take long for the doctor to come back out with Bella walking right next to him. She has a sticker on her shirt and an unsure smile on her face.
“She looks good. You can take her home,” he says. I stand from my seat and move toward her slowly before kneeling in front of her.
“My name is Shane.”
“I know,” she says softly.
“You do?” I ask, cocking my head to study her little face. She nods her head, her hair tumbling over her shoulder. She’s so perfect. So beautiful.
“Yes. Carol told me. You’re my mommy,” she says softly and my heart leaps.
“She… she told you that?” Bella nods and I can’t help the tears that fall down my cheeks. It almost shocks me when Bella reaches up and wipes them with her little fingers.
“Miss Carol said we should only cry if we’re sad.”
“Well, I’m not sad. I’m happy and it’s okay to cry if you’re happy too.”
“It is?” she asks curiously.
“Yeah, it is. Are you ready to leave here?” She nods as I stand and offer my hand to her. She reaches up without hesitation and grabs it in hers. I’ve never felt this kind of love, this kind of happiness in my life. I know it could be taken away at any moment and then I’ll be left to the sadness of losing her again, but for now, I can’t let go. I need this. I need her.
We walk outside when I see the guys leaning against the SUV. Knox elbows Callan who’s looking at the ground by his feet. He slowly raises his head and we lock eyes from across the parking lot. Slowly, I walk toward him with Bella holding tightly to my hand. Whisper moves past us, heading straight for Steele. When Callan stops in front of me, he looks at me for a long second before grabbing the back of my neck and pulling my mouth to his. His kiss is quick and passionate.
“You’re okay?”
“I’m fine. You?” His forehead rests on mine and I sigh.
“Perfect.” He pulls away and looks down at Bella before kneeling in front of her, then he holds his hand out to her.
“I’m Callan. You remember me?” he asks. Bella slowly reaches out and places her small hand in his as she nods.
“Are you my daddy?” Another sob rips from my chest as Callan smiles brightly at her. He moves his gaze to mine for a second before looking back to Bella.
“Yeah. I sure am. You ready to go home?”
“Callan don’t do that. Don’t say things like that when you don’t know what’s going on! How can you do that?” I snap, pissed that he would give her such false hope. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen. The state could take her away. They could put her back into the foster system.
“So, Bella? What do you say? Want to go home and see where you will be living?” She nods her head like she’s a little excited and he stands and tugs her along. I can’t move. He can’t just say those things. I can’t have her little heartbroken the way mine was all those years ago. I watch as he introduces her to the guys and Whisper before he looks over his shoulder at me. His smile falls before he turns and walks back.
“What?” he asks watching me.
“How dare you? How dare you make her comfortable only to have her ripped away?” Anger overtakes me and I lunge at him. My hits connect but they don’t faze him. After a few more, he wraps his arms around me, pinning my own against my body before lowering us to the ground.
“You need to calm down, Shane. All this fighting you’re doing is making me hard,” he hisses against my ear. That bastard. How dare he say that right now?
“False hope. That’s what you gave her, you bastard!” Tears slide down my cheeks and I can’t stop them. It hurts. It all hurts.
“It isn’t false hope. You think I’m stupid, Shane? They are going to see that she belongs to you!”
“What?”
“You think I told Blake to bring you here for nothing? They are running the blood tests. I have the lawyer already on it.” His words choke me. He’s doing all that for me? For her? As I calm, he loosens his grip enough for me to turn around and face him.
“You are doing that for me?” He shakes his head.
“I’m doing it for us. Me, you, Bella. She needs a family and what a better one than us.”
“You’re so young, Cal. You don’t need this on your shoulders. I can do this alone. I know I can. I’m stronger now than I ever was before. All because of you,” I ramble when his hand comes up and grips my face roughly.
“Maybe you forgot the part when I said I wasn’t letting you go. I want you, Shane, and she is yours. Ours. She is ours.” Tears slowly leak down my cheeks as Callan leans in and kisses them away. Callan stands and pulls me with him. He wipes my eyes and we turn to walk toward the car. I see Steele on the ground, kneeling in front of Bella. Her face is lit up, a smile pulling across her face as we walk closer.
“What are you doing?” Callan asks him.
“Talking to my niece. I’m getting in a good word, so I’ll be the favorite uncle.” Seeing Steele even remotely interested in being an uncle is such a surprise. Even Whisper is standing there in shock.
“It won’t happen. I’ll always be the better uncle, ain’t that right, Bella?” Knox asks. She looks over and nods her head having no idea what it is they are really talking about.
“How about we go home before she starts picking best uncles?” Callan says and my heart leaps.
25
Callan