“Never mind, I’ll just go out,” he mutters. “You need to get your shit together, Ralynn.”
Wait, what? What the fuck is he talking about? “I’m not sure I understand, Marcus,” I answer.
“You’ve been laying around for nearly a week now. The house is a mess and I’ve been forced to bring stuff home to eat.” Well, excuse the fuck outta me! It’s not like it’s my mess that’s sprawled out through the house, I’ve been stuck in one place. I wish I could call my daddy and have him come beat Marcus to a corpse. I’ve moved past hate where it concerns him and am now on the loathing part of my feelings.
“I’ll get it taken care of, Marcus.” No clue how because every breath hurts and I’ve got a bruise on my lower back that spasms every time I move, but I’ll do it if it means he won’t hit me again. I move to the bathroom hoping that a warm shower will help loosen some of these sore muscles. I’m out of over the counter pain meds, and am tempted to take the little white pills he brought for me, just to escape the pain. But I’m afraid of what they are and have steered clear, but maybe if his intention is for me to take and lose my life, I should consider it. Anything would be better than this hell I’m stuck living in. No! Don’t go there, you will find a way out of this and lead a normal life...someday.
Just as I push those thoughts away, I step into the steaming shower and nearly groan at the warmth of the water as it flows over me. I will not become a domestic violence victim, I will be a survivor, just as soon as I find a way to get my family off of his family’s radar. I stand here for several minutes before deciding I need to once again try and scrub my skin clean. I can still feel his hands as they strike me and feel his fingers wrapped around my throat. The disgust sits buried in my skin and I need to get it off.
By the time I’m done, my body is red and raw where I ran my loofah again and again. Getting out, I throw my wet strands up into a messy bun and dress in an oversized t-shirt and jogging pants that I cut off at the knees. These are my cleaning clothes, so I couldn’t care less what I look like. I hope I’m messy enough looking that he won’t look twice at me when he finally graces me with his unwanted presence.
Hours later, the house is clean, and the laundry has been washed, dried, folded and put away. I’m reconsidering taking one of those pills he brought home because I hurt so bad that every movement causes agony to fly through my body. A second hot shower does little to ease the pain, but it’s now bearable enough for me to fix a strong drink. He hates it when I drink, so I use vodka as my mixer since there’s no smell, even though I prefer tequila. I mix the vodka with a sprite so that the liquid blends in and take a healthy gulp. If there was ever a pain killer that works, it’s a good old-fashioned mixed drink. When the first one is gone, I pour a second and feel my body begin to relax.
Now, dinner, something quick and easy so I’m not putting more strain on my body. Looking in the pantry I see we have noodles; spaghetti sauce and I distinctly remember when the groceries were delivered seeing a bag of meatballs. There, easy peasy and he hopefully won’t bitch too much. I know he said he was going out to grab a bite, but with my luck he’ll still want a freshly prepared meal when he walks through the front door. Asshole, I swear I should put some rat killer in his meal. I could always eat before he arrives, that way I don’t consume the poison meant for him. With my luck, his father would have a thorough autopsy done and he’d come after me so I keep that wish as a fantasy instead of following through with it.
Getting lost in my own thoughts I almost miss the pounding at the front door. “Open this door, you bitch!” Holy fucking shit, it’s Lily. What the hell is she doing here? It’s not safe, I’ve got to get her out of here before he makes his way home. Think, Rae. How can I get rid of her without any further drama? I’ll have to have a good excuse because she’s like a leech when she sets her mind to something.
Taking a deep breath, I head to the door and open it. “Hey, Lily, what brings you here?” I ask casually as if nothing's wrong in my world.
“Don’t give me that ‘hey Lily’ bullshit, Rae! What the fuck is going on? Why are you avoiding all of us?” she asks, glaring at me. When her face changes to one of horror, I belatedly realize that she’s seen some of my many bruises. “Oh, Rae, what is going on?” she whispers, reaching out to me.
I step back to avoid her touch, a conditioned reaction at this point, and her eyes well up with tears. “I... I can’t talk about this, Lily. You need to go.” I try to close the door but she’s quicker and stronger than I am right now, and she pushes her way into the foyer. “Lily, it’s not safe for you here,” I murmur. No, he’s not home right now, but he tends to come and go at his own leisure and the last thing I want is one of my best friends to find herself in his crosshairs.
“This...no, I won’t believe this is happening to you,” she replies, pulling out her phone.
“What are you doing?” I screech, as I grab at the phone.
“What you should have done when this bullshit started, Rae,” she replies. “Dad? I need you.”
“Fuck, what have you done, Lily?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. My imagination is going wild and I envision my family dead by Marcus’ father’s hands. She ignores me and continues to talk.
“I’m at Rae’s. Yes, I know I didn’t tell anyone and no, I don’t have a prospect with me, Dad,” she states. “She needs us, Dad.” By now she’s quietly sobbing, and I’m slumped on the floor, lost in what is going to happen. “Okay, got it. Thanks, Dad. Love you, too.” She hangs up the phone and drops to her knees and pulls me into her arms. “We’ve got you, Rae, you’re safe again.”
I’ll never be safe again. And neither will anyone I love. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s just brought on a shit storm and there’s no umbrella in the world that can cover us and keep us dry.
Three
Jaxson
I’m sitting and watching the house when I see a car pull up. My eyebrows raise when I see Lily walk to the front door. What the fuck is she doing here? Grabbing my phone, I shoot off a text to Maxum. I know there’s no way in hell he won’t show up knowing the girl he’s in love with has just placed herself in imminent danger.
* * *
Me: Hey, get your ass here. Lily just showed up.
Maxum: What the fuck? On my way.
* * *
I’m nervous as fuck that Lily has shown up, especially since we don’t know what’s going on. Deciding that I need Tig as well, I shoot him a text too. He shouldn’t be too far away since he left a few hours ago.
* * *
Me: Hey, not sure where you’re at, but Lily just showed up at the house.
Tig: Holy fuck. Okay, he’s with some woman and should be awhile because the lights went off so I’m on my way.
* * *
I’m debating whether or not I should go up to the house as well when my phone rings. Seeing that it’s Axe, I answer. “Hello?”
“Lily’s at Rae’s house right now.”
“Just saw her pull up and go inside. What the hell’s going on, Axe? Why did she show up?” I know I’m pushing it with my president, but every sense I’ve got says that shit’s about to hit the fan in some way and there are two of our girls inside.
“Lily didn’t say what was going on, just that Rae needs us. You, Maxum and Tig get her and bring her home, we’ll sort shit out when you get here. And, just for the record, I’m letting your tone slide this time because I know how you feel about her, but don’t make it a habit.” Fuck, if Axe noticed, then I bet Hatch has as well. Probably all of my brothers.
Part of me wants to rush into the house and grab her in my arms and carry her to safety. The sane part reminds me to wait for my brothers. Fuck that shit, I need to make sure she’s safe and Lily as well. Especially since I haven't had eyes on her since the day I arrived. Something’s up, and I’m fixing to find out what the hell it is.
I barely restrain myself from running across the street and police knock the front door, but nothing could have
prepared me for what I saw when I opened the door. Rae’s on the floor in Lily’s arms and all I can see is purple, black and blue. Everywhere. I can even tell there are some older bruises that are green in color which means they’re healing. What the fuck? I’m feeling murderous at the sight of her and feeling every ounce of her pain.
“I’m gonna kill that motherfucker,” I seethe, bending down and gently moving some of her hair behind her ear. “Rae, we’ve gotta get you outta here, honey,” I murmur. She seems so frail right now, unlike the Ralynn I’ve watched grow up.
“Jaxson? What are you doing here?” The fear is evident in her tone. Her beautiful eyes, which are normally sparkling with mischief of some sort, are dull and lifeless, but I can see the anxiety in them. The same worry that used to be in my mom’s eyes. Oh, he’s so fucking dead!
“Here to get you, Rae. What do you absolutely have to get?” I give the subtle demand in the form of a question. There’s no way I wanna still be here when that asshole gets home because I’ll definitely end up in prison. But it’s not me I’m worried about, it’s the girls. They don’t need to be a witness to what I’m going to do to the son-of-a-bitch.
“I can’t...I can’t leave, Jaxson,” she whispers, her eyes now downcast. This broken woman in front of me is not the one who sassed me when I danced with her at Maysen’s wedding. I can feel the ice around my heart melting a little bit and want to fix everything, much like I did when she was a little girl and I was a prospect. She, Lily, Luca, Maysen and Tig were mine and Maxum’s responsibility. Jesus, did those kids get into some shit! I’ve watched them grow and mature into the young adults they’ve become. I no longer look at them with the eyes of an adult who’s their keeper and guardian, now I look at them with the respect they deserve and have earned.
“You can and you will,” I proclaim. I’m keeping my tone as low-key as possible because she reminds me of a wounded deer right now. Bambi without his mom, it makes me want to rescue and affirm her safety. And unless my eyes have deceived me, she’s lost far too much weight as well. Her collarbones are prominent and so are the bones in her wrists. “Rae, whatever’s going on, we’ll take care of it, I promise.” Fuck, I hope Axe has called Hatch. Or, that Axe has told his old lady who has filled DJ in. Dealing with either of them isn’t on my radar. My one and only priority right now is getting everyone to safety and begin helping her heal. I have a feeling her wounds are more than skin deep.
The door opens before I can say anything else and both Maxum and Tig rush into the house. Tig stops dead in his tracks when he sees Rae and drops to his knees. He can’t control his reaction as he pulls her close and cries. I watch as Tig’s body shivers, only knowing him the way I do, I know it’s not from weakness, but comes from a place of love and concern. “What has he done to you?” I hear him ask and can tell his throat is clogged, full of his emotions releasing from his years of devoted friendship and loyalty where Rae is concerned.
As much as I want to do it, I know that even if we change the locks it won’t do any good. He’d just find another way to enter the residence. I know men like him, I grew up with a man just like him. All he’ll be thinking about is that she’s keeping him from his place where he lays his head at night and thinks he’s king of the castle. Keeping him away from what he deems his...her. To him and his overinflated ego, he’s going to rage and rant over losing the one thing he has utter and complete control over.
“Lily, you go find her room and grab a suitcase and pack whatever you think is important that she’ll need and can’t live without. Don’t forget any chargers for her laptop and shit if she’s got them. We don’t want him getting his hands on any of her important information. Maxum, check out the house, we need to secure it the best way we can. Tig, keep a watch on Rae, don’t let her out of your site for even a minute,” I state, trying to get us out of here. Me? I’m going to be searching for whatever I can to nail this fucker to the wall. Any little thing I can find, I’ll give to Bandit to work his magic. He has to have something here, some paper trail, anything that will help with his downfall.
While I’m searching the house, I call Axe to find out what else he wants us to do. “Hello?”
“Axe, I’m searching the house for anything on this fucker that we can use. Got Lily packing Rae up, Maxum checking out the house, and Tig watching Rae. She’s in bad shape but I’d rather not discuss it over the phone. Do you wanna leave Tig here to keep an eye on him?” That’s my biggest concern is him coming after her. Not like we can’t protect her because every last one of my brothers would lay down his life for any one of the women or each other, but we need answers before we deal with him.
I can hear him seething and when he finally calms slightly, he grinds out, “I know you don’t want to discuss it, but I’m giving you an order to give me something. I have an irate father here; a distressed mother bear and you don’t want to tell me anything!” Fuck.
“The bottom line? She’s been beaten. A lot. She needs to go to the hospital, but I’d feel better if we went to the one in Corinth since we can have eyes on her.”
“Can she travel?” Axe chokingly inquires.
I take a deep breath because I can tell she’s in a lot of pain. “I don’t think it’ll be comfortable, but Lily’s car is here, and we’ll make it as easy on her as possible.”
“Fuck!” I hear Hatch yell and realize that Axe put me on speaker phone. Shit, not the way a father should find out his daughter’s been the victim of domestic violence.
“Jaxson, one of you needs to take Rae’s car to that storage facility we rented up there. They’ve got outside parking available and I’ll get Bandit to set it up. No sense in leaving her car there to be destroyed because I suspect he’s gonna take his rage out on the house and anything that belongs to Rae.”
“Got it, I’ll have Maxum do that since I’m looking for shit on that asshole. Axe?” I wanna relay my inner fear but I’m afraid to do it on speaker phone with Hatch already freaking out and DJ not far behind. I hear the click that indicates the phone is now just us.
“Figured you didn’t want them to hear it but I need to know.”
“There are a lot of old bruises and she’s lost a lot of weight. I don’t understand, Axe, because we taught the girls how to fight back.”
“I’m gonna call Trinity and get the name of a good counselor, one who deals with this kind of thing. I’ll also see if she knows a doctor who will come and treat her here and keep it confidential,” he replies. “Chuck her phone and electronics, we’ll get her new ones. There’s no telling if he’s put a trace on anything or has downloaded apps to track her. I want to go after him when we have all of the information we need before we go in guns blazing. When we take him down, it needs to be with all the intel we can get. I want nothing left unturned, every rock, boulder and mountain needs to be looked under.”
I nod even though he can’t see me because I think it’s gonna take every resource we’ve got to get Rae back. “Got it, we’ll let you know when we’re on the way. I’ll have her print anything that’s personal so he can’t find her that way. Axe? Do you think he has a tracker on her car?”
“Probably. Tell Maxum to check it over and if he finds it, ditch it somewhere far from the storage facility.” I should place the tracker on someone else’s car and have him chasing the wrong thing until we have her in a secured location.
* * *
Ralynn
* * *
My mind is whirling a mile a minute and I can’t process what’s happening. I know Marcus is going to lose his mind when he comes home and I’m not here, but right now, all I can feel is thankful and relieved that I’m no longer hiding my darkest secret from my family. I’m going home. I know hell is going to pour down on all of us, but my family will figure it all out. I curl into Tig’s arms and cry, my relief so overpowering that I can barely breath. The hiccups are breath stealing, but it feels good to be comforted by one of my best friends.
“Rae, can you and Tig go and print out
any of your personal stuff from your laptop?” Jaxson questions. “We’re not taking any of your electronics in case he’s got a tracker on them.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. I don’t have much on there. I do know that he’s somehow been able to see my text messages and knows what I do throughout the day when I leave the house. I don’t know how he’s done it, but he seems to know my every move and thought. I sometimes wonder if he has someone watching me. Wait, oh no, what about my pictures?” When I stop and think about it, I remember that I have a sim card in my wallet. I also have a flash drive that I’ve used to download documents and papers for school.
I can erase those things because I no longer need them and upload the things that I do. I slowly march to my room and see Lily throwing my clothes into the only suitcase I own, and several trash bags are lined up with my belongings as well. If this wasn’t such a bad time, I’d laugh at the picture she makes. I never thought I’d see my things shoved into bags that are normally used to dump unwanted items in my home. But, for some reason this feels like a life-changing moment and I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.
I grab the sim card from my wallet and quickly download all my pictures before I take the flash drive and erase it and then transfer the important things to it. I’ll give them to Bandit to check to make sure there’s no way to track me. He already deactivated my social media accounts so I don’t have to worry about those and if I do start new ones, I’ll just come up with a new name. Someday. Right now, I’m in survival mode.
When Jaxson comes in and grabs the pillows and comforter, I give him a look. “Getting Lily’s car ready for you to travel, babe. We need you comfortable. Do you have anything you can take?”
“Um, no. He brought me some pills, but I was scared to take them and I’ve used all the Tylenol already.”
Jaxson & Ralynn Page 3