by MLJ Quigg
I looked at Dave, and he gave me a smile that lit up his whole face so I couldn’t resist. I leant in and kissed him softly. When I deepened the kiss, we got whistles and clapping from the guys.
I smiled into his mouth, and he returned it.
Fuck, I’m falling hard for this man. I couldn’t help it. He’s fucking gorgeous.
We arrived back at the house, and after quietly walking upstairs, we changed for bed. Tiny, once again, climbed in with her kids, and Dave and I settled into the bed. I pulled him close and kissed him then he settled into my arms and soon enough I was asleep.
Mike
I woke up once again to a furnace. Dave was wrapped around me tightly. I kissed his forehead and held him tight around the waist. He looked up at me and smiled sleepily.
“Morning, babe,” I whispered.
“Morning,” he murmured back.
I looked over to the mattress, and Tiny and the kids were still fast asleep. I gazed at Dave and smiled at the contented look on his face. He watched them and sighed.
“What’s up, babe?”
“Nothing. Just glad she’s back for a while. We all miss her. I know the kids can’t wait to have her full-time.”
“I think she feels the same way.”
A noise distracted us from the floor, and we turn to watch Tiny and the kids wake. She grabbed and hugged them tightly, and they snuggled even further into her embrace. She whispered something to them, and they all got up from the bed and turned to us. I glanced at them, and before I could figure out what’s going on, they jumped on the bed and on top of Dave and me.
He grabbed one and started tickling him, and I did the same. We laughed for a while and settled down with them in between us. Dave hugged Madilyn and Connor, while I had Jackson and Tiny.
I liked this.
I loved Tiny and the kids so much already.
Dave was right up there as well. I couldn’t help it. I loved him. He’d woven himself so tightly inside my heart. I knew it was too quick, but when you’re in love with someone, you grabbed them and held on tight. I knew what I felt, so I was going to tell him and leave the ball in his court. I would wait for him forever if that were his choice.
“We’re going to classes today, kids. You wanna join us or stay here with Nana?”
“Go with you,” they all shouted in unison.
“Well, okay then… what do you want to do afterwards? This weekend is all about you guys. We can do whatever you want,” she asked them.
“I want to train with Pop. He’s been teaching us floor work. I can almost bring him down. But he’s so much bigger than me. Still, I’m not going to stop until I can take him down one day,” Connor gushed.
“Took me a good while to do it, too. I was seventeen before I could take him down. Just don’t give up. He’s teaching you some valuable lessons while you’re growing. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them,” Tiny mentioned.
“What do you mean?” Jackson inquired.
“Pop teaches you to think before you act, right?” At their nod, she continued, “Well, you can’t rush into a situation. You protect yourself, but violence and hurting someone is only used in self-defence. You can easily let it get the best of you and hit first, but if you’re trained, you’ll be the one in trouble. You defend yourself and only hit back when there’s no other choice.”
“That makes sense. I want to hurt kids at school that pick on me or others, but I will never hit someone first,” Jackson promised.
“Good boy. See it’s already starting to sink in. I know you boys have a temper at times and want to finish it quickly, but you have to sit back and assess the situation. Make sure you or others won’t be hurt by your actions, and then step in if it gets to the point where someone might get hurt. I know it doesn’t make sense at the moment, but with more training and guidance, you’ll understand all this later in life. Now, how about we go and have some breakfast, get ready for classes and training with Pop, and spend the rest of my leave together?”
“Okay, Mum,” they all replied.
We got up and made our way downstairs, had a full breakfast, and by ten, everyone else was up and ready to start the day.
“We’re off to dance classes and then training at Henderson Security. You’re all welcome to join us if you’d like?” Tiny told everyone.
“I’m going to go and train. Richard already invited us,” Tweety commented.
“Great, no problem at all. You guys have fun, and if I don’t see you later today, I’ll see you tonight.”
Dave, Tiny, the kids, and I walked upstairs and got ready for our day. Half an hour later, we were walking out the door. Dave handed his keys to me, and I drove to the studio under his directions.
I watched as Tiny and Dave stretched out their muscles and warmed up to dance. They took a position on the dance floor, and the beat of a song I loved came on—Santana and Chad Kroeger sang about dancing into the night. As they started to dance, I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They looked so good together—it was a sensual dance. If I didn’t know them well, I’d say they were about to fuck right in the middle of the dance floor. I knew for a fact they wouldn’t nor had any desire to, but holy shit, they looked fucking good together. The way Dave moved was making me hard, and I wanted to fuck him so badly. The song finished, and Tiny ended up over Dave’s knee bending backward.
I immediately got up and clapped. “Holy shit! That was fucking awesome. You guys are so good together. Man, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were going to fuck right there in the middle of the dance floor. I’m kinda jealous right now,” I related with a laugh.
Dave walked over to me, and I opened my arms and hugged him tightly then whispered in his ear that I wanted to fuck him, and how hard I was. He blushed and looked at me, leaning in then kissing me softly on the lips. I pushed my pelvis into him, and he shuddered when he felt how hard I was.
“You’re so bad. But I like it. We’ll make time to get this problem sorted out very soon,” Dave whispered into my mouth.
“We certainly will, babe. Your arse is mine,” I replied smiling.
“Only yours.”
We stepped out of the room, and I walked straight into a young girl. She was about five foot eight inches tall, and skinny with long, blonde hair. And when she looked up at me, bright blue eyes shone full of fear, and not just any fear but complete and utter terror. She noticed Dave and stepped back shaking. Tiny moved to her slowly like she was trying to calm a frightened animal. You could certainly describe it as that because she was petrified of us.
“Hey, it’s okay. Are you alright?” Tiny questioned the frightened girl.
She nodded her head and took another step back.
“What’s your name, honey?” Tiny inquired.
“C-C-C-Claire,” she stuttered quietly looking at Tiny then her gaze came back to us.
“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you. I’d never hurt a woman. You’re safe, Claire. Don’t be frightened,” I explained quietly.
She nodded her head but was still looking at us warily. Someone had hurt this girl, bad. She was so scared.
“How old are you, Claire?” Dave asked.
“Twenty-one,” she whispered.
“My name’s Dave, this is my boyfriend, Mike, and my best friend, Monique.”
“Hello,” she mumbled quietly.
“Aren’t you gorgeous… do you have any family around here, honey?”
“No, I don’t. I originally came from Queensland. I moved here last year to be in the Sydney Ballet Company, but I got injured, and they dropped me. Now I just dance for fun,” she related.
She was so quietly spoken you had to really listen. The kids came over, and she was introduced to them, and we noticed a change. She came out of her shell and stayed close to the kids. She laughed and joked with them. When she smiled, her whole face lit up and you could tell she adored them.
“Holy shit. Do you see that? She’s completely different with the kids. Her smile l
ights up her whole face,” Dave murmured amazed at what we were seeing.
“Someone’s hurt that girl so badly that she’s petrified of males,” I surmised.
“We need to help her, she’s in trouble. She’s alone and afraid. You can see it in her eyes,” Tiny commented.
“I agree. She needs our help,” Dave whispered.
We continued to watch Claire and the kids talking and playing.
After the class, we all walked up to Claire, and Tiny spoke to her. “Are you in trouble, Claire?”
“No,” she murmured shaking her head slightly.
“How about we meet somewhere just you and me, and we’ll have a chat. Get to know each other. Does that sound okay?” Tiny asked.
“Yes. I would like that,” Claire agreed.
“Okay. Dave, could you take the kids with you from the mall? I’ll leave from there and catch up with you guys later at training,” Tiny proposed.
“Of course. Come on kids. Let’s go and get ice cream.” Dave ushered the kids to the car.
We drove to the nearest mall, and Tiny discretely disappeared for about ten minutes on the guise she was going to the bathroom. She came back and had a small smile on her face. When the kids weren’t looking, she nodded at us and smiled hugely. Sneaky bitch.
I did the same thing and went to the nearest music store and got a voucher for each of them. I knew it was impersonal but at least this way they could buy what they wanted.
We bought the kids ice cream, and headed to the house and waited for Tiny to show up.
When she arrived two hours later, she appeared rattled and emotionally drained. She sat down heavily on the lounge and looked at us shaking her head sadly. “It’s not pretty. She has amnesia and can’t remember her past. She was told last year when she woke up in Brisbane hospital that she had been left bloody and broken on the side of the road. Apparently, she was seven months pregnant and lost the baby. The police did DNA testing on the baby but no results are in any system. They told her that if the father’s DNA showed up for any reason, it would flag the results on her case. She’s in limbo and has no idea what happened or who she is. She has no idea who her family is, or even if she has one. Her fingerprints and DNA have not shown up anywhere either. The only reason she knows her name is she had her ID on her when she was found on the side of the road. It’s classed as a cold case by the police now, but if something comes up, the police will let her know,” she explained.
The poor girl had been through hell. We would all be there for her from then on.
We decided to go and see what was happening at Henderson Security and made our way over there. When we arrived, the guys were fully into it, laughing and stirring each other up. I smiled at the scene in front of me. The guys were paired off and sparring, concentrating on taking the each other out. They were stirring each other so bad that they were laughing more than actually sparring. We watched and then joined in. I sparred with Richard, and for an older guy, he had mad skills. I actually learnt a lot from him. I took him down a lot more than he did me, and then Tiny and I sparred. We were pretty equal. We played first to ten, and we tied at five each before giving up. I was wrecked but had a great time, though.
“That was great. You’re a tough guy to beat, Richard. I can see where Tiny gets it from,” I said to him.
“Yep, she’s good. Had a chance to go into dancing or martial arts, and she picks the military. Never done anything easy, this girl of mine. Once she sets her sights on something, though, she gives it a hundred percent.”
We made our way back to the house, had dinner and the party for the kids. They were so surprised and happy, smiling and hugging us all. They didn’t tally all their gifts, but the rest of the guys had the same idea as I did—vouchers. And, of course, the phones Tiny gifted them.
After the party, I dragged Dave upstairs to have a shower and some alone time with me before bedtime. We made the most of our time together, and I made him come twice before I came so hard that we crashed and slept until morning.
I stood by the bus to say goodbye to him the next day as we all prepared to leave.
“I’m going to miss you so much, Mike,” Dave sighed sadly.
“It’s gonna be fine. We’ll call all the time and see each other on my leave. I’m going to miss you, too, but it won’t be for long. You’ll see me before you know it,” I reasoned kissing him softly on the lips and hugging him tightly.
I hopped on the bus as Tiny finished saying goodbye to her kids and parents, and we all waved as we drove off.
I blew a kiss at Dave, he caught it, and blew one back.
Fucking hell, I miss him already.
Monique
Eight Months Later…
We had been assigned to track and gain intel on a drug lord, but little did we know we had a rat in our department, and we were discovered. I got Tasered from behind, and while I was knocked out and couldn’t move, they injected something into me. I woke up naked, in pain, and knew I had been raped. I was still sluggish from whatever drug they had given me, but I was slowly coming out of it.
They had loosened the ropes tying my wrists to the bed, and I was able to get them off. As I sat up, I could hear the door rattling and knew someone was going to come in. I laid down again and put my hands back into the rope loops. I pulled a bit so it looked like they were tight.
Someone came into the room, and I pretended to be knocked out. I couldn’t see from my position but could hear him as he undid his pants and the bed dipped where he climbed on behind me.
Somehow my brain filtered everything out, and I blacked out so I didn’t recall what happened. But after he was finished, he hit my back hard with something—maybe it was a cane or a stick or a whip, I have no idea, but it brought me back to reality. As he stood with his back to me, I lost the bindings and crawled quietly off the bed and crept behind him. He wasn’t that much taller than me so I kicked his knees out from under him and followed him to the floor. He yelled out, and I grabbed his head and twisted as hard as I could. As soon as I heard the cracking of his neck, I dropped his dead body to the ground.
Unfortunately, that yell from him alerted the others, and they came running into the room. I was surrounded and subdued quickly. There were too many of them to fight off at once. I felt the prick of a needle in my neck and soon lost the ability to stand. I lost consciousness and came to with so much agony running through me I wanted to pass out again.
They kept up the drugs, and when I started fighting back again, they broke my left arm. I would kick as hard as I could, and they broke first one leg then the other.
They wanted information from me and were constantly yelling questions that I would not answer. They even brought in the others who were with me and tortured them in front of me in an attempt to get the answers they wanted.
When we told them to get fucked, they raped me in front of the men, and when they still didn’t get an answer, they shot them and left their dead bodies on the floor. The smell of death and decay was something that would stay with me for life. It was disgusting and made me vomit constantly. They would all laugh and not do a thing about it.
Finally, they removed the bodies when they couldn’t stand the smell, and I had no idea what became of the men. I cried for them and the lives that were wasted.
Lifting my head slightly through the incredible pain, I focused my blurry vision on the tattoo engraved on my right wrist.
M C J
My kids
My life
They were what got me through the nightmare I was stuck in. I had no idea how long I’d been there. Time seemed to drag on, and it was filled with agonising pain and terror, and then, even more pain. My legs and arms were sore, pain seemed to radiate through them whenever I moved. I couldn’t feel my back, but I knew it was cut up pretty badly. I was burning up. I knew I had a fever and the bed was wet from the sweat coming off me. I was not going to make it for much longer. I knew this, but I would fight until my last breath. My kids would see
me again if I had anything to do with it. I just hoped it was soon. My mind may have agreed, but my body was shutting down. There was so much pain to deal with, too much damage done to me.
I was tied to the bed by my hands and wrists even though I couldn’t move anyway. They had a fantastic time taunting me saying they were not moving them. Sadistic fucking arseholes. If only I could see them massacred in the most horrific way before I died. I hoped karma was vengeful and took out her wrath on these arseholes like she never had before.
I prayed and prayed for someone, anyone to save me, and help me keep my promise to the kids that I would come home and be with them full-time. Ironically, this was to be my last mission before I retired, and I didn’t even know if I would make it home this time.
I knew I was in bad shape when I started hallucinating. I could see and hear my loved ones talking to me, telling me not to give up, to fight. I wish it were that easy, though. I was going to die in this cesspool, and my kids, Mum, Dad, Dave, and Mike weren’t going to know what happened to me.
I would never see my kids grow up and become the amazing adults I knew they’d become, never see them find love and get married and have children of their own.
I knew Mum and Dad would be there for them, but fuck, I wanted to be there.
I would not give up.
I would fight with what little I had left.
Mike
Three Months Later…
I’d been at this part of the course for a year now, and I loved it. So far, we had done explosive training, first-aid, signalling to air troops, parachuting, special weapons, hand-to-hand training and a roping course. Now, I had one month left of this before I could take it easy and join the next one which was three years.
I had three options, well, four really. I could train to become a medic, explosive specialist, or a signaller. Or I could give it all up and be with Dave. I’d spent every leave and spoken to him at least twice a week since I’d met him. He still lived with Richard and Mary, and they had welcomed me with open arms.