“I told her that she could raise the baby alone, that Hawk and I would help her. She'd always have a home with us. You know what she said?”
“No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me,” I say with a sigh while folding my arms around my body.
‘Thank you for being here for me, I really do appreciate it, but Draven wants to take care of us. I know this might seem like he's bullying me into something I don't want to do, but it's not as bad as you may think. I don't hate the man; he won't hit me or cheat on me. He'll love our baby, and that's why I'm doing this, for my baby. He or she deserves the father we never had. The father your children have.’
“That's what she said, and that’s why I supported her in this because it's what she wanted, but you promised me that she would never be hurt and look what's...” Her face is suddenly ashen as she looks at something over my shoulder.
Everyone turns to look in that direction, even me. A tall, stocky guy, dark-haired, looks like he's been in more fights than a boxer, is walking towards us, totally ignoring my security guy.
“You ain't going no further,” Lorenzo tells him. After everything, that man went through after my father shot him and he's still one of the most loyal men I've ever met.
“Your kind don't get to tell me what to do!”
“What the fuck did you just say?!”
“Lorenzo?” He looks at me, still with one eye on the fat shit in front of him. “Let him through.” Prick smirks, but I block him from going any further. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Brooke, come here!” He waves her over. I turn my head. She looks like she's about to crap herself. I've seen fear in a person’s eyes many times before, but Brooke's are filled with terror. Nevertheless, she comes walking over, slowly. “This is what you and that other little bitch associate yourselves with?”
“What the fuck did you just say to my wife?!” Brooke leans back against Hawk, her rock, I can see.
Hawk, from what I know of him, is a good man, loyal as they come. Brooke and Marnie's family had a problem with him because his mother is biracial. Brooke gave birth to their first child, not even knowing before the moment she pushed him into the world that she was expecting him. Her father beat the crap out of her, told her that he was having the kid adopted.
Brooke waited for everyone to fall asleep before leaving that place and walking miles in the middle of the night to get back to the man she'd been forced away from in order to ask for his help in keeping their baby safe. Brooke loved Hawk and wanted to be with him. They wanted to be a family. She cut off her racist family for the man she loves, and that takes some damn courage.
I can't even begin to imagine what it was like being raised by that family.
Racist cunt’s, the lot of them.
It hits me in the face like a sledgehammer as I look at this man, he's either their brother or an uncle. He doesn't look like Marnie and Brooke as such, but I can see hints of Brooke around his eyes. He looks quite a bit older than them though.
“Keep your monkey on its leash, Brooke.”
Smack.
Brooke smacked him so hard across the face that I felt it. “You wanna be here, Peter, then you show some respect to my husband. He is a hundred times the man you will ever be!”
Peter, as she called him, rubs the very red mark on his face as he stares at Brooke in anger. Hawk clasps the back of her neck with pride.
“This man here is Marnie's fiancé, Draven Vidal.”
“I know who he is! And Marnie will not be marrying anyone. She's already married, and she is going back to her husband, or she'll lose the one thing she would rather die than lose. I just came to check the kid was gone before I take her home. Paul ain't gonna want to take on a half-breed.”
“What the fuck did you just say?” I stand in front of him, chest to chest. Who the fuck is this cunt?! He's damn brave talking like this in front of me.
“Peter,” Brooke doesn't give him the chance to answer me, even though he hasn't taken his eyes off me yet. Good. He's in the best place for treatment should I cap the cunt right now. “Did you hurt Marnie? Tell me! Did you hurt our sister?” Brother. I knew it.
“I didn't intend to hurt...” That's all I needed to hear. One look to Lorenzo and the other two men guarding Marnie's room and the prick is taking the long walk to... Never mind that. I'll deal with him later. Sonofabitch isn't even protesting as they lead him away!
“Draven, I'm so sorry,” Brooke looks at me with pleading eyes; this is in no way her fault, and fuck, I blamed Paul when it wasn't him. Why the fuck should I care? I still want the pricks head mounted on a plaque.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. However, that racist piece of shit will be dead before the nights out. No one will ever get away with hurting my girl. No one!”
Brooke closes her eyes before turning her head into Hawk's chest. She shouldn't be upset over that piece of scum. I suppose the guy is still her brother, but it's time the girl learned to cut off the dead weight and cast it out.
“Baby, he's nothing to you. He stood by and watched your father beat the hell out of you for being with me. He could've killed you. Peter could've killed Marnie. She fought so hard to get away from those people, just as you did. You're both happy here with Draven and me, right?”
“Of course. I love you, Hawk, more than anything in this world. I know Marine has fallen for Draven. I see it in her eyes.”
I breathe deeply. Marnie has never said anything of the sort, but if Brooke sees it, maybe what I feel isn't one-sided after all. Maybe when I get her home, I'll tell her how I feel. Perhaps then she'll find the courage to tell me how she feels in return.
“Then you know why we can't let men like him hurt you anymore.”
“Brooke,” Maria strokes Brooke's back. I'm not a complete monster, not these days at least, Maria softened my heart, Jessica melted it, and Marnie took the last piece I had. Between them, they've shown me that I am the man they believe me to be. In some ways, at least. “No matter what people believe, I know Dray loves Marine. It may not have started out that way, but he's fallen for her. They've fallen for each other, and he meant what he said when he told you he would never allow anybody to hurt her again. Please trust that he'll protect her.”
Damn straight I will.
Until we find Paul, I think I'll have a little fun with Peter. Show him what happens when you mess with Draven Vidal and what's his.
* * *
I sit beside Marnie's bed alone, just watching her sleep. She's pale, bruised, beautiful. I sent everyone home. It's late, and Marnie's sister and mine needed rest. Brooke is almost ready to pop, and all this stress can't be good for her. She only agreed to go home because the doctor told us Marnie would probably sleep till morning.
I take my girl’s hand in mine and kiss her knuckles. With my fingertip, I move a stray piece of her blonde hair from her face and close my eyes.
What if I'd lost her?
I thought I had made sure Marnie was safe, but this has floored me because it was her own brother who did this. My stomach is still sick with anger. I suppose because I always have a man outside the house watching over Marnie. Where was the guy this time? Where the hell was Tom? Not doing his fucking job, that's for sure.
He won't get away with this. I pay him a fortune to make sure my girl is safe when I'm not with her. Cunt couldn't do his job right, and for that, he'll lose his life.
There are no exceptions in my world. None whatsoever!
Looking at Marnie now, so battered, something inside of me churns.
Anger?
Fear?
Both?
I honestly don't think I'd be able to deal with the pain if anything took her away from me. I never thought I'd love her like I now realize I do. I thought I had my heart locked tightly away. I've heard those three little words more times than I care to remember; women only say them when it benefits them.
Like my ex-wife. She screamed those words over and over before I killed her. I k
ept my hands around her throat as I squeezed the life out of her, looking into those dark eyes of hers and seeing nothing but the lie within them.
Women don't love men like me, they love the money, and the power fear brings. Nothing more.
Knowing Marnie loves me, I just can't explain how it feels. It feels... real. I may have been cocky in telling her that she'd fall for me, I mean, I was right about her falling into my bed, but I didn't actually think it would happen.
“What would I do without you.” It's not really a question, she's fast asleep, but I need to get what I feel out before it consumes me.
I'm not a man who shows his emotions. I'm coldhearted to the outside world. Only three women have ever seen the real me apart from my mother. My beautiful baby sister, my beautiful cousin Avery, who is a sister in my heart, and of course, my Marnie.
They're the only people who need to see me as anything but a monster: them and their children. Of course, my brother knows me, but even he's never seen the real me.
I stroke Marnie's ever-growing baby bump. The fear I felt when I found her lying there won't leave me. I haven't felt fear like that since I saw my baby sister fall over forty-feet and almost die. I didn't even feel that much fear when Avery slit her wrists and almost killed herself, not even the time my father took Maria and threatened to kill her. Don't get me wrong, I was scared that day, but I knew he wouldn't kill her. I knew either my brother or I would kill him first.
However, the fear that I could've lost both Marnie and the baby... Jesus, there are no words to describe it. I have never asked for much for myself in this life. The only thing I have ever asked God for is to keep Maria, her children, Avery, her children, Sam, his children, and Marnie and our baby safe. However, I am asking him now to please keep a watch over her, to help me keep her safe from the scum of this world. I'll do anything he wants of me just as long as he helps me protect my family.
If I had've lost her tonight, I would have gone on living for my brother and sister, my niece and nephews, my cousin, but I would no longer be me, and I would never love again. How does one find love after losing the love of his life?
No. Everyone would become my enemy.
Hell, right now, every fucker is, and I'm not sure I won't burn the world down around us!
Chapter Fifteen
Marnie
My god, my head is pounding. It feels like someone is banging a drum right next to my ear. Like they have been for hours on end.
I open my heavy eyes, the light is dim, but still, it hurts my eyes. I look to my left and smile. Draven is sleeping with his head on my hand. Why the hell isn't he in bed with me?
I look around the room, then down at my right hand. I have an IV! What the hell?
Oh god, I'm starting to panic! I'm in the hospital, in a bed with a blue knitted blanket over my legs, and... Where's my baby?!
“Draven!”
His head shoots up, eyes blinking fast against the sleep he's fighting, and I'm crying hard in fear. “Shh,” He jumps out of his seat, taking my hand and a seat on the edge of the bed. “Hey,”
“Draven. Please tell me my baby is okay. Please!” I think I'm going into a panic attack. I can't breathe properly.
Draven takes my face in his hands, and instantly I feel calmer. He has that power over me, even when I'm terrified. “Marnie, calm down. The baby is fine,” He brings my head toward him a little and kisses my forehead. “I promise.” Oh, thank God. I breathe through a sob of relief. “It's okay; my love, everything is okay.”
“I was so afraid, Draven,”
“I know.” He lets go of my face, lifts off the bed, turns and takes a seat beside me, lifting me a little. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him, holding me so tightly I can hardly breathe, but my god, do I feel safe in his arms. “Everything is okay.” He tells me softly while kissing my head again.
“What happened to me?” I ask because it now that I've calmed a little knowing my baby is okay. I know, well, I think I remember my brother coming around and demanding I leave Draven, and that he wanted to kill my baby. I refused, and so he hit me hard.
“It seems the person...”
“My brother.” I cut him off with a whisper. I wrap my arm around his waist tighter. I just need to feel him against me.
“Hmm. I know,”
I close my eyes.
Of course, he knows, even if I hadn't told him, once the panic of me being hurt had settled, he would've checked the security footage from outside the house and seen who was last to knock the door. He would have then tracked them down and killed them. Which I have no doubt Draven has ordered his men to do, kill my brother. Unless he wants to do it himself. He strikes me as that kind of man. Hurt what's his, and he'll kill you.
“He attacked you. He wanted you to lose the baby and go back to Paul.” I swallow hard, the thought of that is scary to me right now. “He will not get away with what he did to you, Marnie. When I walked in that house and saw you lying there, God my fucking heart stopped for a moment. Goddammit, he cracked your fucking skull, Marnie!” So that explains the thumping headache. “Your wrist is fractured.”
Again, it explains the bandages. I'm sure Peter did that when he grabbed me right before he hit me. I'm not sure he hit me hard enough to crack my skull; I'm guessing I did that by hitting my head on the way down. It would explain the bleed above my eye too.
Yeah, it's all coming back to me now.
“There isn't a person alive who will live another day should they hurt you.”
“I don't want you to do anything if it means you getting in trouble. I don't want to sound clingy, but I need you, Draven. I don't know who I am anymore without you.”
Sounds pathetic, I know, but I've come to love this man, and I need him with me. I've never been with anyone who treats me the way Draven does. This big, bad, scary man that everyone seems to be afraid of. A man who commands respect from everyone around him, including me, and I give it to him because he deserves it. A man who has stolen my heart in a way I'm not sure anyone ever has before or will again.
He pulls me closer and kisses my head tenderly. “You have nothing to worry about. I'm going nowhere. You're stuck with me.” I giggle and kiss his cheek, making him smile, before snuggling into his chest. “But I have to deal with your brother. You understand that, right?”
I nod my head. “Just be careful.” I know he has the police in his pocket along with whoever else, but it doesn't stop me worrying that someone will turn on him at some point and I'll end up losing him.
How can I not be scared when there are no doubt hundreds of people out there just dying to end this man? The five minutes of fame it would bring that person, the glory, the pride. Who wouldn't feel those things after ending one of the most dangerous mob bosses of our time?
I know he says that nothing will happen to him, he's too smart, too well-protected. Didn't he tell me that I was well-protected also?
All the top-notch gadgets, all the bodyguards, all the men in the world can't protect a person one hundred percent. Assassinating presidents is proof of that.
However, I have to put my faith in the fact he'll be all right, that he'll step things up so that our baby and I are never going to have to go through the horrors that people will no doubt put us through just for being related to Draven.
Maria and Avery don't live in fear of what if, but then, they're used to this life, I am not. I'll get used to it, right?
Regardless of how scared I am right now, I so want to tell him how I feel, but I'm afraid to do so. He's told me many times not to expect anything from him, that he will never love me. I've accepted that. I've accepted that I've lost my heart to him and he'll never give me his. However, I know somewhere inside of him; he has feelings for me. I don't know how deep those feelings will ever go. I doubt I ever will.
I am also terrified that if Draven kills my brother, I will never be able to find... I can't go there right now it will drive me insane, but I know I have to tell Draven what I hi
de from the world. I have to if I'm ever to bring to life the part of me that has long since died.
Draven told me once that he would do anything for me, no matter what that was, and I have to believe that he'll do this for me. I just have to.
* * *
It's four days before they sign me out of the hospital, and I am so glad to be back in my own home. Funny how I can say that now without feeling like I'm doing something wrong. I'm comfortable here, but I was a little worried that it wouldn't feel like home anymore after what happened, but it does, nothing is ruined.
Draven had told me that we wouldn't be attending Tony and Amy's wedding because he wants me to rest. I honestly felt crushed; I'd been looking forward to it for weeks. I was honest with Draven and told him that I wanted to go, that he needed to be there for Tony. I promised not to overdo it, and Draven finally caved. I'm really excited about the whole thing, and I'm grateful that I don't have to let Amy down. She's become a good friend to me, and I would have hated to miss out on the biggest day of her life.
“I want you to rest,” Draven tells me as soon as I'm done with the chicken soup he made for me. It was delicious! I could get used to being pampered like this.
“I really want to take a bath.” He kisses me gently and leaves the room. I chuckle to myself because I can hear the bathtub filling in our bathroom.
Not five minutes later, he's lifting me off the bed like an invalid and taking me to the bathroom. He stands me on my feet, and the steam from the water fills my lungs. I always did love that feeling.
“Draven, I can undress myself.” Since he brought me home, he literally will not let me do anything for myself. Toilet, bathing, cooking, changing. Nothing. He literally carries me everywhere. This is going to get old fast!
Draven says nothing as he continues to undress me, and once I'm naked in front of him, he lifts me in his arms and lowers me into the tub and proceeds to bathe me like a child.
Vidal!: Snakes Henchmen MC Page 15