When Shadows Fracture (Cherry Creek Book 2)

by Callie Rae

  “Jesse, can you stop raging for one damn moment and help me get him inside?” Jade yells at me. The panic reverberates in her voice.

  I move towards Jade and Cason as she slowly tries to lift him onto his feet. He’s awake and moaning, but he’s beat the hell up. His head lolls as she struggles to hold him upright. I brace his other side but eye Narni. This bitch has showed up too many times in last few days to be a coincidence. And each time, it’s been with even worse news.

  I can’t figure out how she fits into all of this, but she has a place in it somewhere.

  Narni holds the door open for us as we carry Cason inside the house. He’s barely able to support his own weight so I shoulder most of it. I let Jade think she’s helping because I know she needs to feel involved in some way.

  “Let’s put him on the couch for now,” I tell Jade. We gently lay him down across the suede cushions and, despite our efforts not to jostle him too much, he moans in pain.

  “Jade, why don’t you get a wet towel to wipe the blood off so we can see what we are dealing with here?” I suggest. She nods and quickly disappears around the corner into the kitchen—and out of ear shot of what I’m about to say next.

  As soon as Jade is out of sight, I turn on Narni.

  “Who the fuck did this to him?” I ask her as I step towards her and get right in her face. Narni isn’t dumb; she’s street smart. She knows she’s prey until she gives me a reason to believe otherwise. And right now, I’ll treat her just like that—like I’m a hunter with her locked in my sights.

  “How the hell should I know? He showed up on my doorstep like this,” she says, “One minute I’m eating breakfast, the next minute Cason’s bleeding all over my front step, freaking my mom the fuck out.”

  “Why the fuck would I believe that? You show up with him looking like he got ran over and you expect me to believe he showed up at your fucking house needing help instead of just calling me? His best friend, his brother?” I’ve got her backed against the door now; we’re nose to nose. I don’t see any signs she’s lying but the part of me that knows my brother doesn’t trust people easily, especially women, doesn’t believe a damn thing she is saying. She steps back away from me, but doesn’t cower against my advance. She hasn’t dropped her eyes, shoulders, or head like most people on the receiving end of my anger tend to do.

  “Leave her alone, Jess.” Cason’s rough voice surprises us both, and we turn to look at him.

  He is standing and using the arm of the couch as support, but I’m not sure he’s going to get any further than he already has given the way his body is swaying back and forth. I hurry over to him and support him by putting his arm around my neck and wrapping an arm around his waist.

  “What are you doing, dude? You got wrecked. You shouldn’t be standing up,” I say with a frustrated growl as I try to ease him back towards the couch.

  “Narni, thanks. But you can go home,” he says.

  As I help him lower onto the cushions, I can’t help but ask, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Cason, why are you up?” Jade reappears and reaches for Cason as I get him settled in a seated position. His head his tipped back, and I see him wince as he tries to take a deep breath.

  “Narni. Go. Home,” he says again. He’s talking to her but his eye that isn’t swollen shut is looking at me. He doesn’t want me to push it, so I look to Narni and nod. She turns and quietly slips out through the door she came in without a word.

  I direct my attention back to Cason. “You gonna tell me what the fuck happened?”

  “Jesse, Jesus. Give him a damn minute. Can’t you see the state he’s in?” Jade hisses at me.

  I know she’s worried about Cason, but my rage is building. I try to keep my anger in check because she’s my twin, and I know she’s worried. “I can see him, which is exactly why I need to find out what the fuck went down right now.”

  “To what? Go after whoever did this to him, so you can be the next one to show up beat to hell and back? Don’t you think we’ve been through enough in the last few weeks? Can we at least make sure he’s okay before we start bashing in people’s heads?” Jade’s voice has risen with each question, and by the end of her rant, she’s practically shrieking.

  “It’s fine, Jade.” Cason coughs and then clenches his side. I know that look—he probably has a broken rib or two. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

  He slowly adjusts himself on the couch to find a more comfortable position, and Jade helps him get situated. She grabs a pillow for him to lean on, and he’s already swatting her away. He hates it when people fuss over him.

  When he finally settles, he turns to me with an intense stare. “It was Marcus.”

  My veins instantly turn to ice. Fucking Marcus. How can one man drive me to the point of insanity?

  “You saw him?” I asked.

  Cason shakes his head but looks at me with pain in his eyes, and instinctively I know the pain I’m seeing right now has nothing to do with his injuries. He’s scared to tell me something. Whatever it is, it can’t be good—not if Cason is afraid to tell me.

  “He gave me a message to pass on to you,” Cason says.

  I breathe through my nose trying to calm myself. I grind my teeth together and reach for the door. I splay my hands on the frame and just breathe. I close my eyes and brace myself for the words to come.

  “What did he say?” My shoulders are tense, and my body is rigid. I hold my breath in anticipation for what Cason will say next.

  I can hear the hitch in his voice as he says, “Her pain grows with every step you take to find her.”

  “Come on.” I laugh and grab Jesse’s hand. I can’t wait to be in the water, and I pull him toward the swing that he introduced me to only a few months ago. “The last one in has to tell Cason it’s his turn to wash dishes.”

  I let go of his hand and start stripping off each piece of clothing until I’m down to my swimsuit. I climb down the ledge and stick my toes into the chilly water. I close my eyes and savor the contrast between the heat from the sun and the cool water wafting over my toes. I’m surprised my thoughts haven’t been interrupted by the sound of Jesse splashing in the water.

  I open my eyes and look up to the top of the ledge to find Jesse standing there looking down at me, watching me. This is not the first time I’ve caught him staring. I turn and take a few steps into the water and look back at him over my shoulder. I call out, “You lose!”

  Jesse laughs at me before responding. “It’s worth it.”

  He removes his shirt and shoes and disappears. I sink into the water and let the cool temperature erase the heat of the sun from my skin and swim out to the deeper area. I dip down, submerging my head for a moment to adjust to the cold water. As I come up, Jesse reappears with the swing in his hand.

  “One . . . two . . .” I start to count him down, but he doesn’t wait. He pulls back and jumps into the air so he swings over the ledge and out over the water before letting go with a whoop and backflip. He lands almost a yard from me, and the plume of water that flies into the air as he sinks below the surface splashes me in the face. I can’t stop the laugh from escaping.

  I scan the water until he reappears with a grin on his face. It’s a playful look I’ve come to love in the rare moments when I get to experience it. Jesse doesn’t let his guard down much, but sometimes when we’re alone I get to see this side of him. We’ve come out here a few times during school hours just for a break from the messiness of our lives. It’s our escape, just for the two of us. We don’t ever plan it, but on certain days we can look at each other and tell we need it.

  “What’s worth it?” I ask as Jesse swims up to me. I wrap my legs around his waist and drape my arms across his shoulders as soon as he’s within reach. He treads water, holding us both up as he smirks at me.

  “Every dish I’m going to end up doing for Cason is worth being last so I could watch you strip down to this swimsuit.” Jesse s
ays this as he brings his mouth to my shoulder, slowly kissing me along the strap leading up to the back of my neck.

  “You know what is better than this swimsuit?” I ask him as a grin. Two can play this game.

  “What’s that?” he says with a smirk.

  I reach behind my neck and pull the string out of the knot that is holding my top in place. I feel it loosen and slip apart, and my swimsuit falls. Jesse is momentarily stunned, his eyes on my suit floating on the top of the water. “No swimsuit at all.”

  Jesse’s mouth is on mine before I can finish the words. And then on my chin, throat, shoulder. His mouth eventually finds my taught nipple. I tip my head back and moan his name. “Jesse . . .”

  “Jesse . . .” I mumble as I open my eyes.

  The pounding in my head is so intense I’m sure my skull is going to split open in the very next second. I lift my hand to bring it to my face but a heavy cold metal wrapped around my wrist stops me. I turn my head to see what is holding me back. My tiny reflection bounces off the metal handcuff engulfing my wrist. I blink a few times to focus. It’s then I realize I’m not laying on the usual hard surface I’ve grown accustomed to in the basement. Instead, it’s soft and fluffy, and actually quite comfortable. I focus my eyes again on the cuff and find the other end attached to an iron rod screwed into a wall next to a wooden headboard. I use my other hand, which is fortunately not attached to the wall, to check my head. The hair on the side of my head is matted together with what I’m sure is blood. My stomach churns at the thought of more blood loss. I feel around until I hit a spot that hurts so badly it sends a shock through me that has me wincing. When I pull my hand back, there’s fresh blood on my fingers.

  I drop my hand back down and just focus on my breathing. I breathe through the pain, the nausea, and this situation. I don’t want to lose myself because of him again, but I’m slipping. I can feel it in my soul. I’m tired of living this life.

  I push with my free hand to sit up a bit and a cold pain rolls up my leg, leaving me biting back a scream I so desperately want to release. I lean against the headboard in surrender. I focus my mind to my toes and try to wiggle them. I need to know if its broken. I wiggle my toes without much effort. Next is my ankle. I stretch my foot out and the pain immediately appears again, shooting up my leg. I figure I probably sprained it on my way down the stairs. If that’s all that happened, then I’m lucky.

  I take in my surroundings and really look at my new room. I’m upstairs now—that, I know for sure. The light is peeking through the blinds. I assume I’m in a spare bedroom. The walls are finished, and I’m in a bed covered with white sheets. There’s a small dresser in the corner big enough to hold a child’s wardrobe and a small night table next to the bed.

  He didn’t put me back in the basement. Why didn’t he put me back in the basement?

  I lean over to try to peek through the slits of the white blinds on the window, but I end up gasping from the shooting pain. I’m not able to see through them from the bed anyway. Straining to try is not worth the extra pain I cause myself.

  The rattle of the doorknob turning gains my attention, and the door slowly creaks open as Marcus comes in. He enters, balancing two small cups in his hand.

  “You’re awake. Good.” He stands nearby but not close enough I can reach for him. I remain silent as I stare at him. My voice, my words, feel broken.

  “You took quite a fall,” he says calmly, like it was an accident. Like he wasn’t the one who pushed me down the stairs.

  He brings the two cups to the bedside table. One is filled with water, and the other looks empty. “I thought you might need something for the pain.”

  He brings his hand up to my hair, and I flinch away, pulling on the handcuffs to get as far away from him as possible. I can’t handle his touch, not after the beating I’ve just suffered because of him. His eyes catch a glimmer of light reflecting off of the cuffs.

  “Oh, yes. Those. Well, they are necessary to keep you from having another . . . mishap again.” He shrugs his shoulders as he stands. “I’m sure you’ll be better behaved from here on out, won’t you?”

  My hatred for this man fuels me as I find my voice and yell, “I’ll never be with you again. I will never love you like I love him!”

  His hand moves so fast the sting doesn’t appear for a few seconds after the crack sounds off as his hand meets my cheek. My head whips to the side, and I clench my eyes shut. The pain bounces through my skull, bringing tears to my eyes. I hold my breath to allow myself something to focus on, but the pulse in my cheek pounds up through my temple. Marcus stands unmoving as he watches me suffer, just as he always has.

  I meet his eyes, showing my rage as I sneer at him. He’s a shitty excuse for a human being. But I already knew that.

  The doorbell rings, interrupting our stare-off. The surprise on Marcus’s face leads me to believe he’s not expecting anyone to show up here. He must not have told anyone where he took me in order to avoid moments like this from happening—from someone finding us.

  Quickly he moves to the table next to the bed and reaches into the small drawer. He pulls out a roll of duct tape and rips off a piece just as fast. Before I can push him away, he slaps the duct tape across my mouth and rips another piece to secure my free hand to the headboard. I squirm and try to scream but the reality is, it’s duct tape. All I’m doing is making myself sweat.

  “Shut up. You need to shut up. I don’t want to hear a peep from that pretty mouth of yours.” He grabs my chin from underneath as he tips my face up towards his and bends slightly to look me in the eye. He smiles at me, and he appears so evil. “Do you understand me?”

  My pretty little mouth wants to bite his fucking head off for causing all the pain coursing through me.

  He tugs my chin again, the smile disappearing from his face. “Do you?”

  Tears threaten to spill as I nod my head, unable to speak or do anything besides count my heavy breaths. He walks out, closing the door behind him, and leaving me in this room alone with my thoughts. I drop my head back to the headboard and wince as a dull ache snakes its way around to my temples.

  I hear the squeak of a door opening and it’s not long after that the shouting comes. I can’t make out the words, but the shouting doesn’t last long before the door slams, rattling the walls.

  The door to my room flies open so hard it slams into the wall. I’m pretty sure the doorknob went through the drywall and left a nice sized hole.

  Marcus comes bursting in with his hands laced on top his head and paces the end of the bed. “He wants to come for you? He can come. I won’t let him have you. You’re mine.”

  Marcus’s wild eyes practically bug out of his head as he continues his pacing. There’s only one person I know of that could make Marcus lose it like this. “They think they can beat me? No one can beat me. They won’t. I’ll make fucking sure of it.”

  It’s Jesse. It has to be.

  Marcus turns to face me and rips the duct tape from my mouth so fast that my skin is left raw and burning. “Your little gang is looking for you. But they aren’t looking in the right places, the stupid fucks. We’re leaving in an hour. He won’t find you.”

  “What did you think would happen? There are people who care about me, who actually love me!” My yell is full of rage, but I actually find myself laughing.

  Marcus sneers at me through a clenched jaw. He’s not pleased with my laughter and watches me skeptically. “What are you laughing at?”

  “You.” I laugh louder. “You are in so over your head, it’s hilarious. See, what you still don’t seem to understand is that people will do a lot for the ones they love. And fortunately for me, I have a whole family who loves me. You won’t win this one. They will come for me. And when they do, I hope you don’t make it out alive.”

  Marcus’s lip curls up in a snarl as he inches closer to my face. “I’ve already handled his little fucking sidekick. Every time you fight me, one o
f them hurts. Every time he tries to find you, you hurt.”

  He pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps on the screen for a few moments before pushing the screen close to my face. A video is playing. Two guys are holding a guy up by his arms between them as another guy punches his body repeatedly. I watch with every swing as the guy’s face bleeds more and more, until the guy looks up, bares his bloody teeth and spits a mouthful of blood at the guy punching him. The video has me frozen as I watch. The flash of blonde hair, the face, and the body . . . I’d know that person anywhere, even as bloody and bruised as he is.

  It’s Cason. My sweet, sweet Cason. Where’s Jesse? Or anyone? Someone has to help him.

  “What did you do? You son of a bitch! I hate you! I fucking hate you!” I scream as the sobs start wracking my body.

  How can he do this to someone? How can he hurt people for the hell of it? What made him so demented?

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be okay—this time. But if you try to escape again, it’ll be worse. We’ll go for the girl next. I’ll hurt every single person you care about until you cooperate.”

  He grabs my face, but I jerk out of his grasp, turning away from him. The tears continue to flow. “It’ll never be you.”

  He yanks my chin until I’m facing him, but I spit in his face. “Fuck you, Marcus,” I seethe.

  Marcus puts the duct tape back over my mouth as I start my screams again. The moment he disappears through the door panic explodes inside me. The tears stream down my face, and I scream behind the tape until the pain in my head becomes unbearable. Then I turn over and let the tears fall as I wish I was anywhere else but here, as I wish that I had never brought my problems to this town, to these people. If only I had known who I’d find here.

  Where are you Jesse? Please find me before he finds you.

  “Mom is asking for us to come down for dinner,” Jade says as she stands in the doorway to Cason’s room.