by Jamie Begley
Not long after his thoughts began to run haywire, he felt the bed sink beside him as Broni sat down next to him.
“Do you have a brush I can borrow? I’m tired of yanking my hair out with your comb.” When he pointed to the nightstand next to the bed, Broni opened the drawer, picking up the brush. She saw the picture inside the drawer, studying it for several moments before closing the drawer.
“You still keep her picture beside your bed?” Broni nodded at the nightstand.
“Yes.”
“She was very beautiful.”
“Yes, she was. Deena was the most beautiful woman I ever knew, on the inside and out. She was killed five years ago.”
“You loved her very much,” Broni spoke softly.
Rhys avoided her sympathetic gaze.
“I still do,” he stated, giving her fair warning that his heart would never be involved, regardless of what happened in his bed.
“Is that why you have tried every conceivable way in the last few years to kill yourself?”
Chapter 8
Broni knew she had said the wrong thing as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Rhys didn’t want to discuss Deena with a woman, certainly not with one he had just fucked.
“It’s time for you to go to sleep.” Rhys stood up from the bed, moving away from her touch.
Broni stared at his muscular body. He had strove for the last five years to end his life other than put a gun to his own head. Between the dangerous deals with drug cartels and the liquor he consumed in large quantities, she was surprised his body didn’t show the affects other than a knife wound and a scar where he had been shot two years ago.
“Go take a shower, Rhys.” She ignored his angry glare, returning it with an impassive one of her own. His heavy sigh sounded loud in the room, but he went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Broni stifled her smile at his arrogant attitude. She lay down on the mattress, waiting for his return. Her body felt tender, tendrils of arousal tightening her nipples as she remembered Rhys taking her. It had been raunchy sex, and she had enjoyed every second of it. She wasn’t ashamed to admit it to herself.
“I need to get some sleep.” Rhys stated reentering the room. Broni looked at him, seeing that she had touched him deeper than he was willing to admit to himself.
She scooted under the covers, aware of his gaze on her body. He lay down next to her, making sure his body didn’t touch hers. Broni didn’t try to close the distance between them, giving him the space he needed. She was good at giving him what he needed without him knowing she was doing it.
She fell asleep, despite wanting to reach out and tempt him into taking her again. She dreamt of getting separated from her sisters in the Hallway of Death, her fears making her dreams into nightmares that had her waking early, unable to get back to sleep.
Dressing, she didn’t wait for Dee to come and get her, instead she went to the clubroom to get started without her. She plugged the coffee maker in, starting a fresh pot. Usually, Dee went out and bought it, but Broni didn’t want to wait when it was simple to make. She was pouring herself a cup when Dee came out of one of the bedrooms.
“You’re up early today. It couldn’t have been that good if you’re not still sleeping,” she teased.
Broni liked Dee. She was helpful and sought to protect her when she could, when it was actually her that needed protection from those that were using her.
Broni shut down her judgmental mind. She had enjoyed her night with Rhys. She wasn’t about to judge Dee for enjoying the same with other men.
She was doing the dishes when Jace came in, carrying a young woman that had been beaten badly.
“Dee, get Adam. Send him to my room.” He carried her down the back hallway and Broni followed, hoping to help.
Jace lay the tiny woman on the bed, reaching down to cover her with a thick blanket. Broni gasped when Jace stepped back and she could see the bruises on her fine features.
“What happened?” Adam asked, coming into the bedroom with Dee.
“Tank,” Jace said grimly. “He was furious when he left here.” He nodded to the woman lying on the bed. “They rode their bikes to Pleasant Hill.” Broni had been in the city several months ago and recognized the name of the exclusive neighborhood.
“They grabbed her as she got out of her car and was going into her house. I tried to follow them, but I lost them. I went to all their usual spots, but it was too late. I didn’t know what else to do other than bring her here. I called Bones and he brought his car, picking us up. He’ll be here in a minute. I dropped him off at the drugstore down the street.”
Broni wanted to kill Tank. This innocent girl had been taken to replace her when Tank had lost out on the auction.
“She needs to go to the hospital.” She wanted to scream at them when Adam shook his head.
“Tank and his friends were all wearing their cut. She’ll have seen it and will be able to tell the cops. They won’t be able to ignore this from someone that’s from the Hills.”
“Everyone, go in the other room. I’ll check her out, then you can decide what needs to be done,” Bones said, rushing into the room with a bag in his hand.
Broni started to argue, but it would only delay her getting the attention she needed. Leaving the room, she held back her tears. She had been so happy when Rhys had bought her, not realizing it would arouse this kind of fury inside of Tank.
To kidnap and brutalize a woman for no other reason than to hurt her meant Adam was losing control of Tank, and from his worried expression, he knew it, too.
Broni went back to cleaning the clubroom to keep her mind occupied at what was going on in the other room. When she heard the bedroom door open, she dried her hands as she stood behind the counter closest to where Adam was sitting so she could overhear.
“She’ll heal. Tank beat her pretty bad, but the asshole didn’t rape her. He probably couldn’t get it up. That’s why I think he’s beating the women so badly, and he didn’t want the others to know, so he left her. She’s busted up, but she’ll be fine.”
Broni wanted to tell the stupid man that the woman would never be the same again. No woman would after being attacked with such viciousness.
Adam didn’t reply until Bones finished. “Thanks, Bones. Jace, get the brothers together. Tank back yet?”
“No, I checked. I stayed with her, but Adam, they could have taken someone else and I wouldn’t know.” Broni saw from Jace’s features that he didn’t like the chances that Tank had hurt someone else.
“Are you sure she doesn’t need to go to the hospital?” Broni interrupted the men, her only concern the woman in the bedroom.
“Yes. Besides, the hospitals have their hands full right now,” Bones replied.
“What do you mean?” Adam asked.
“The police are dealing with a riot downtown. The radio didn’t say what set it off, but it started a couple of hours ago. That’s why I drove the long way around town,” he said at Jace’s questioning look. “You were so occupied with the woman I didn’t think about bringing it up.”
“What did the radio say was going on?” Broni asked, the hair on the back of her neck standing up.
Bones shrugged. “Fires, looting, people being attacked.” Broni stared at the man, unable to believe he was taking it so lightly. “It’s not like it’s the first time a riot has happened here,” he explained. “A couple of years ago, a young boy was killed by the cops. It set off a two day free for all.”
Broni thought the chances of the same incident occurring randomly with her in the nearby vicinity were slim to none at all. She had a much better reason for what was happening in the city, and if they didn’t listen to her, they were all going to die.
“Adam, listen to me carefully.” She walked around the counter, grabbing his arm, trying to make him understand how important it was that they listen to her. “It has begun. They’ll come for me. We have to prepare ourselves.”
“What in the fuck a
re you talking about?” he asked, jerking his arm away.
“My mother’s enemies; they are coming for me.”
When they all stared at her like she had lost her mind, Broni didn’t know how to convince them.
She turned to Dee. “Go to the store next door, grab as much water and food as you can. Jace, you and Bones should go with her. Adam, you should wake your men and prepare the clubhouse to be attacked.”
None of them moved.
“Adam, if I’m wrong, you won’t have to buy groceries for a month, but what if I’m right?”
“Do what she says.”
Broni gave a sigh of relief as Adam moved toward the hallway.
“Layla, close the shutters. Jace, close the gates when you come back with the groceries.” Adam paused. “I don’t believe the shit you’re saying, but I would be stupid not to take precautions with a riot going on.”
“I don’t care why you’re doing it, Adam, only that you are. Thank you.”
Broni went to the doorway, opening the front door and then staring out at the large city. Her eyes widened at the view, and a moan of anguish surfaced that she barely managed to hold back with her hand across her mouth as she witnessed what her mother had warned her and her sisters about since they had been children.
There was smoke billowing from different buildings, the faint shrill of the sirens sounded in the distance. Any doubt she’d had about being wrong disappeared.
The Apocalypse had begun.
Chapter 9
As the men came out of their rooms half asleep, Broni was sure it was the earliest most of them had been out of bed in years. They each shuffled in as she stared out the window, seeing Dee, Jace, and Bones coming back across the compound loaded down with groceries. Each was pushing a buggy that looked like it would topple over as they raced back. Jace only stopped long enough to close the gates. By the time they made it to the doors, Broni could smell the smoke; the fires were drawing closer.
“Adam, if you have any water hoses, I would get them ready,” she advised.
He came to stand in the doorway next to her. “Rucker, get the water hoses. Rhys, go to the kitchen and get the fire extinguisher. Fin, open the door to the gunroom. Everyone get prepared, the riot is getting closer.”
Broni went back behind the counter to help Dee put up the groceries while the men stood in the doorway watching. Fin brought out a radio and plugged it in. The news bulletins sent chills down Broni’s back as they described seemingly normal people suddenly turning violent. They had formed in large groups and were slowly moving from one end of the city to another.
“They’re searching for me,” Broni said softly.
“What in the fuck is going on?” Layla screamed, her frightened eyes were on Adam who was staring back at Broni grimly.
“Do you believe me now?” she asked.
“I don’t know what to believe. Tell me again how you came to be here, and what’s going on out there?”
Broni could tell that, this time, they listened with at least an open mind.
“The Apocalypse,” and then it closed.
“That’s ridiculous.” Adam’s face showed she had confirmed his opinion that she was crazy.
“Is it? What do you think is happening? The whole city is on fire. People are turning on each other. My mother, our family, is very powerful. We can go back and forth between time periods. We are only limited by the future. Because of this, someone is trying to start a war between good and evil, needing us out of the way. Without me, Cara, and Zerina, the balance of life is interrupted, causing chaos. If we were to be killed, the result would be disastrous.”
“What is this bullshit?”
Broni tried to be patient with Layla, but her attitude with her was wearing thin. “Layla, imagine if when you were a child and were riding your bike, you rode out in front of a car, and it stopped just in time. What if it didn’t stop? What if that child was killed? She wouldn’t be standing in front of me now, would she?” Broni turned her attention to Rhys. “I fight the battles that determine the course a life may take. It doesn’t necessarily mean a physical fight, it can also mean drinking too much and walking out into busy traffic. You’ve taken up a lot of my time lately.”
“A life may take?” Rhys ignored her last statement.
“It is not up to me to determine the outcome. Only the soul has that power.”
“I no longer have a soul.” Broni smiled sadly that he believed that about himself.
“Yes, you do. All of you do, and if you’re not ready to defend yourself because you’re waiting for me to convince you that what I say is true, then you will lose. Believe me if you want or not, but they will come here searching for me. I used an old Earth spell to hide myself from any immortal seeking to harm me. They must be searching for me and my sisters.”
“Then let them have her. I’m not going to die over some crazy psycho.”
“Shut up, Layla. We’re as prepared as we can be. The only thing left is to see if you’re telling the truth or if this is just another riot that’ll end,” Adam spoke as he closed the door, locking it. “Jace, take the cell phone, go to the roof, and let me know if anyone comes close to the clubhouse.”
Jace nodded, going out back.
Broni decided to keep herself busy as the others sat nervously listening to the radio while simultaneously watching the television that Dee had packed in from one of the bedrooms.
Rhys stood at the counter with a glass of bourbon in his hand. His eyes were unreadable as they watched the television. The slaughter was unbelievable. People were being killed in the streets. Reporters weren’t even spared. Cameramen ran for their lives, leaving blank air until the reports were switched to newscasters who no longer could give current updates.
“What are those things?” Dee asked shakily.
“They are called Drearien. They were driven insane to obey a God’s commands.” Broni had never seen one before, but her mother had prepared her, describing many things that would happen during the apocalypse.
“You know I’m telling the truth. You saw how those men attacked the people in the streets. There is no other explanation. Only a God has enough power to have the Drearien attack us. To do that, they no longer fear Mother’s rage. They are making a move to gain control of the Universe, which is why they’ve struck against my mother, Fate, to divert her from warning Mother.”
“Mother?” Rhys asked.
“She’s the creator of the Universe,” Broni explained.
“I’ve finally drunk enough that I’ve fried my brain, haven’t I?” he said wryly.
“No, Rhys. What I’m telling you is really happening. The humans on Earth have no idea what is about to happen,” Broni said sadly. She would have been able to help, yet trapped on Earth as she was with no powers, she was useless.
“One thing is for sure, we’re a lot better off than most people with the weapons, food, and water we have,” Dee said, taking Broni’s hand.
“I think it’s best if you take the weapons away,” Broni told Adam.
“I’m not giving up my gun,” Rucker said. The others in the room nodded their agreement.
“We watched them on the television. They turn in a second and try to kill you. The last thing you want is someone to turn when they have a loaded gun,” Broni warned Adam.
“We’re not giving the guns up,” Adam stated. Broni understood; she wasn’t sure if it would be any safer leaving them unarmed anyway.
“If they’re searching for her, give her to them. Maybe they’ll leave us alone and go.” Layla stood behind the counter with a knife in her hand, and Broni kept her eyes trained on her.
“I agree,” Rucker said, pointing his gun at Broni. “I don’t want them to eat me.” Broni’s mouth dropped open. “How do I know you all aren’t going to go crazy and eat me?” His gun swept the crowd threateningly.
“You jackass, no one is going to get eaten,” Rhys said, moving away from the gun pointed at him.
“The
whole country has gone fucking crazy. Are you crazy?”
“If I was crazy, I would have already taken that gun away and shoved it up your ass,” Rhys threatened Rucker who gradually pointed his gun downward. If they didn’t remain calm, then panic could be as dangerous as the Drearien trying to get in the clubhouse.
Rucker looked around the crowded room. “I’m giving everyone fair warning that if you go crazy and try to eat me, I’m going to put a bullet in your brain.”
Rucker gave her a suspicious look when he heard her laugh, however Broni stifled her laughter at Adam’s and Rhys’s irritated expressions.
“I’m not hungry,” she said, looking at the gun in his hand.
Rhys’s sudden laugh brought the first smile to her lips since she had become separated from her family.
“It won’t make a difference if you give me to them or not, the Apocalypse has started. They will come for Rhys regardless.”
“Rhys?” Layla turned her attention to him.
“You said they will have come for me regardless of you, why?” Rhys gave her a worried look.
“Rhys, this isn’t your first life, you’ve had past lives. This makes you a target for Mother’s enemies to prevent her from calling you to battle.”
Rhys laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I never was much of a fighter, even when I was younger and forty pounds heavier.”
“Oh, yes, you were. You were a force to be reckoned with. You still would be if Mother calls for you. Your name used to inspire fear in the Gods—it still does. Do not fool yourself that this is what you were meant to be. This,” she waved her hand at his body, “is what you’ve allowed yourself to become.”
“It’s what I deserve.” When his jaw clenched, Broni could sense his pain was as sharp now as it had been five years ago.
“No, it’s not. It wasn’t your fault that one man did something terrible, driving another to an unforgivable act. You weren’t the one at fault, as much as you want to blame yourself.”