by Khloe Wren
Elizabeth
Bastard walked off without answering me, but dammit, I was taking my own car with me the next time I went to Bridgewater. He was taking me back to be interrogated by an FBI agent. I didn’t give a shit she was technically a former agent. I wasn’t looking forward to the experience.
“Elizabeth! Finally.”
My breath whooshed from my lungs as my mother dragged me into the house and hugged me tightly against her. I wriggled an arm free to pat her on the back.
“Little looser, Mom. Can’t breathe.”
Her grip released slightly and I relaxed a fraction. Until I saw Dad over her shoulder.
“I’m okay.”
“Town went to hell last night. Enough bikers rolling in most of us thought we were having a damn earthquake. Then this morning, the FBI is everywhere and Godfrey’s been taken away. Now here you are, wearing the same clothes you were yesterday, except for the fact you’re missing your shoes. When you didn’t answer your damn phone, I took the spare key to go check on you, only to find that while your car was there, you were not. Got inside to find a mess in your kitchen, your bag by the front door and your keys and phone on the table. Scared the life out of your mother and me.”
Not nearly as much as it had scared me I was sure, but I refrained from saying that out loud.
“I didn’t exactly have a say in what happened, Dad. How about we all sit down and I’ll explain what I can.”
I knew he was simply coming down from being scared, but seriously? He couldn’t be a little grateful I was still alive?
Mom let me go and grabbed my hand, tugging me into the kitchen, where she forced me into a seat.
“I’ll get you a cup of tea.” She turned to my father. “Just sit down, already. She’s alive to tell us about whatever happened, let’s count our blessings.”
With a heavy sigh, Dad collapsed into the chair opposite me, leaving the one next to me open for Mom. I chewed on my lip while I watched Dad stare at his hands. He looked tired.
“I’m sorry, Dad. Last night all happened so fast. I called as soon as I woke up this morning.”
Well, soon after I woke up, anyway.
Mom set a steaming cup down in front of me, then patted my hand. “How about you start from the beginning, dear? You got home from work okay, yes?”
I wrapped my hands around the warm porcelain of the cup. “I got home, kicked off my shoes and headed to the kitchen for a drink. I was standing at the fridge when a man grabbed me from behind. He knocked me out before I could really even react.” I lifted the tea and blew on it a moment before taking a sip, putting off having to tell them the rest. “I woke up shackled to a basement wall and Pastor Godfrey was standing in front of me.”
Mom’s cup rattled as she roughly put it down on the saucer. Dad reached out and took her hand in his. I gently ran a finger over the edge of my jaw, where I was sure there were bruises.
“He gripped my face hard, but that was the only injury he gave me. He had a young man, a teenager, down there that he forced me to watch as he—” Bile rose up my throat but I swallowed it down. “He did things to him. The threat was clear that I would be next.”
Mom reached her free hand out to touch my bandaged wrist. “How did this happen?”
“I tried to break free, to help that teen. To stop him.” I blinked, but couldn’t stop the tears. “Then the door to the basement burst open and Ryan, along with a few other men, came in. He came to me and got me out of there.”
“Ryan. You telling me that club of his came to the rescue all the way from New York?”
I shook my head. Dad was angry. He was piecing it together. The things I wasn’t saying. I knew he was. It was what made him a great lawyer, being able to read between the lines. Sucked when he used it on me, though.
“He’s moved back. Well, he’s in the process of moving back. He’s joined a club over in Bridgewater. The Charon MC. They came last night, backing up an undercover FBI team, to take down Godfrey.”
He huffed. “Sure they did. That might be the public story, but I’m not buying it. Clubs like that don’t work with law enforcement. They’re vigilantes. Everyone knows what the Charon MC is capable of. I would put money on the fact that no FBI agents were there last night.”
“The Charon MC isn’t a one-percenter club, Dad. They’re not outlaws. And it’s complicated. They jumped the gun to save me. One of the men in the club, his wife was an FBI agent, she still has contacts in the bureau. When they heard about Godfrey, they called in her old boss to look into it.”
“I don’t doubt that’s what happened afterward. Tell me, daughter mine, how exactly did they get wind of Godfrey in the first place? Why was Ryan in town, yet his own mother didn’t have a clue, while you did?”
“Larry. Don’t.”
I watched in shock as Dad turned on Mom, something I’d never seen happen.
“No, Sheila. I can’t let it go! What good is a lawyer if clients can’t trust that he’ll hold his tongue with the information they give him? She not only broke that golden rule, but she gave confidential information to a vigilante motorcycle gang! That was why Godfrey took you, wasn’t it? Why he made you watch him torture someone else. He wanted to know who you brought down on him. Didn’t he?”
Yep, he read between the lines perfectly. I took another mouthful of tea, wondering what the hell I could say, other than the truth. Maybe if he understood how dangerous Godfrey was, he’d forgive me.
“Yes. I was worried for Mrs. Perry’s safety. I didn’t like that he was pushing so hard to get her to sign over her house and the new Will. I called Ryan, told him he needed to come home, that his mom needed him. He wasn’t sure he could make it down so soon after the funeral, so I decided to see if I could find out anything, maybe something that I could take to the police.”
“Oh, honey, if you thought he was dangerous, you should have gone to your father first.”
Anger flashed through me and I glared at him, then Mom. “What he just said is why I couldn’t do that. I knew what he’d say. He’d prize following the damn rules over Mrs. Perry’s life!”
“Oh, I doubt it was that dire.”
Mom’s words had fury rushing through me. I stood in a rush, the chair crashing to the ground behind me as tears ran down my face.
“Not that dire? Remember Mirabelle? How her parents died? I went looking into that since she was the first one in town to sign over her house to him. Her parents changed their Will right before the accident. The new one gave everything to Godfrey’s company, Drake Industries, if Mirabelle didn’t survive them. And that accident? Happened on the road between here and Riverton, the town he was set up in prior to coming here. Still think Mrs. Perry’s life wasn’t in danger?”
I was panting, but I didn’t stop. Now I’d started, it was all just spilling out of me. Things I’d intended on keeping inside.
“They found Mirabelle in her room, naked and drugged. His two men were in there with her. They’d drugged her so they could rape her and she wouldn’t remember it.”
I was doing some reading between the lines myself on that one, but it was the only thing that made sense as to how Mirabelle had been so happy when clearly she was being abused.
“The teen he tortured? He had his two men come in and whip his naked body. Down the front, feet to neck. No mercy. Then he sent his minions away and pulled him down, over a bench. He raped that boy. Know what he told me was the reason for it all? Apparently the boy was gay and his cousin gave him to Godfrey to cure. But here’s the thing, there was another woman in that house. Probably about my age. She was wearing a fucking shock collar. Couldn’t leave the house. When she heard about the boy down in the basement she broke down. It was her brother. I’ll bet you all that young man ever did was try to rescue his sister from that monster, and I bet when the FBI gets done, they’ll discover that just like Mirabelle, their parents died untimely deaths that benefited Drake Industries. Hate me all you like for breaking your precious rules, Dad,
but I did the right thing! Dammit. I saved lives by breaking that rule!”
My last words echoed around the room, making me aware I’d been yelling. My parents both sat, shocked still and mute. With a shake of my head, I dashed the tears away and strode toward the doorway. I grabbed the spare set of keys to my place and paused. I turned back and caught my dad’s shocked gaze.
“I followed the rules nine years ago, Dad. I did all the right things and you know what it got me? Beaten and left for dead. My son murdered.”
His eyes widened even further at my words, and my mom gasped around a sob. But before either of them could utter a word, I bolted for the front door and down the steps. I couldn’t stay there. I ran down the street, heading toward my home, my safe place. Ryan could be mad all he liked, I didn’t give a fuck. Because just like I’d predicted, my life was now in ruins. Again.
I ran all the way to my house, ignoring the looks I was sure I was getting as I did. I unlocked my door and made sure to bolt and chain it behind me. Dumping the keys with my others, I limped my way through to my bathroom where I peeled off my clothes and the bandages on my wrists. The cuts weren’t deep, hadn’t needed stitches. Even through my tear-blurred vision, they didn’t look great, but I figured I’d just rebandage them after my shower. I needed to get clean, needed to calm down.
Needed a fucking do-over of this past week.
Chapter 10
Needles
Ashlynn was happily playing with the giant dollhouse Ma had bought her last month, so I guided Ma into the kitchen.
“Why didn’t you call me, Ma? I know I haven’t been the best at keeping in contact and shit, but I would have come home if I’d known you needed me that much.”
She gave me a frown. “Called you about what, Ryan?”
“Pastor Godfrey. He wanted your house and all your assets. You had to know that shit wasn’t right.”
That got me a glare. “Seems Elizabeth broke some mighty big rules. And for what? So you could come all this way in person, bringing my granddaughter along, no doubt, to soften the blow of you wanting to know why I cut you out of my Will? You hurting for money all of a sudden? I thought that club of yours looked after you in that regard.”
I rubbed my face as I sighed. Guess I knew where I got my asshole defense system from, because I was calm enough to see through her bullshit this time. Why hadn’t I seen it before? That we were so fucking similar.
“Ma. Enough. I’ve had a hell of a week and I am not in the mood right now. Yeah, I’ve been an asshole. I know that. Trying to fix shit, but you constantly throwing it back in my face ain’t helping. Ashlynn is here because I’ve decided to move back to Texas. When I heard about what Godfrey had you handing over, I wasn’t worried about my fucking bank balance! I was worried about your life! Especially when I got word he was pushing you to sign everything in such a damn rush. Ma, he was going to kill you.”
Her face paled at my last words and she put her hand out for the table and sat down.
“Oh.”
“What did he tell you? What did he say to get into your head so bad?”
“He wanted to start an out-of-hours school care thing. You know? Give the kids breakfast and dinner? For those that couldn’t afford it. This place was big enough for it. He told me the deed needed to be in his company’s name for insurance purposes. I just wanted to help those kids, Ryan. To give my life some kind of purpose.”
Fucking woman broke my heart. I strode over and pulled her up from her seat, wrapping my arms around her to hold her close.
“You wanna work with under-privileged kids, we’ll find you something. But not with some con man running the show, Ma. Fuck, I love you. I just want you happy and safe. And Bess risked everything to save you. All the commotion around town last night and this morning was because she was trying to dig up information on him. He found out and kidnapped her.”
She forced me back from her so she could look up into my face. “You got her back though, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, Ma. I’ve moved clubs, joined the local guys over in Bridgewater, the Charon MC. They were watching his place and saw when he brought her in so we came and got her. She’s a little banged up but we got her out.”
She ran her hand over the leather I was wearing, for the first time not glaring at it like it was dog shit.
“I wondered when I heard it was a bunch of bikes that had made all that noise last night.” She sighed. “I think maybe we’ve both been unfair to each other in the past. Maybe it’s time to stop looking back and move forward. Are you serious about moving back home?”
I actually teared up a little. Fuck. Blinking rapidly, I took a deep breath. “Yeah, Ma. I’ve moved in with the Charon MC in Bridgewater. Ashlynn and I are in the clubhouse at the moment, but now all this Godfrey shit is settled, I’ll start looking for a place.”
Before I got another word out, Ashlynn came skidding into the kitchen with wide eyes.
“Daddy, Bess just ran off down the street! She looked upset, like really upset.”
In an instant Ashlynn had all my attention.
“Was anyone following her?”
She shook her head no and I held out an arm to her. Poor kid looked completely rattled. She slipped in against me and I lifted her up to cuddle her.
“Ma, mind looking after Ashlynn for a while? So I can go see what happened next door?”
“Sure, but maybe skip going next door and just go straight after your Bess. I’ll find out from Sheila what happened to send her running.”
“She still didn’t have any shoes on, Daddy. Why didn’t she have shoes?”
I cuddled Ashlynn a little closer. “Some bad men took her from her house last night, honey. She didn’t have shoes on when they grabbed her.”
“So you rescued her? You were her prince, just like in the fairy tales?”
I chuckled at that. “I’m no prince, sweetheart but yeah, the club and I went and got her. Looks like I’m gonna need to go save her again, so can you stay here with Grandma? Keep her company until I get back?”
“Oh, yes. I love spending time with Grandma!”
Ma and I both chuckled and I gave her a kiss to the temple before I returned her feet to the floor.
“Right. Well, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No rush, we have plenty to keep us occupied. I’ve missed my best girl!”
Well, at least this part of things was going well. If Bess ran off from her folks’ place like the hounds of hell were on her heels, I had a feeling things didn’t go quite so well for her next door. I glanced over there for a moment before I slid into the driver’s seat. Ma was right. I didn’t need to go over there to know what happened. I needed to get to Bess.
She didn’t live far away, but she still beat me there. Thankfully her car was still in the driveway. I banged on the door but she didn’t answer. After scrubbing my hand over my head, I decided to check the windows. I needed to get to her. Along the side of her house I saw the screen was off her bedroom window and it had been jimmied open. Must be where the fuckers got in last night to grab her. Slipping inside, I closed it after me the best I could. Her room was empty but I could hear the shower going in the bathroom.
I hesitated for a minute, trying to decide what I should do, but ultimately I couldn’t wait for her to finish. I knew for her to run like she did, she was hurting. I stripped off, and padded down the hallway to the bathroom. Cracking the door open, I entered the steam-filled space. She’d left the fan off and clearly had the heat cranked up, no doubt trying to wash away her day. Opening the shower door, I saw her watching me, letting the water pour over her body. I was certain she was still crying and it broke my fucking heart. Closing the door behind me, I moved to stand in front of her. She didn’t budge, just blinked up at me as the water ran down over her head. Sliding an arm around her waist, I pulled her from under the spray and against me.
I didn’t say a word. Just held her as she sobbed against me, her hands moving up my back until
her palms were pressed against my shoulder blades. I ran my hands over her, down over her hair and back then up her sides. I just kept stroking her as she fell apart in my arms. When the water started to cool, I reached over and flipped off the tap. Then, keeping her with me, I backed out through the door until I had us both on the mat. Grabbing her towel, I started drying her off.
“It was horrible.”
“What’d he say?”
I knew this wasn’t about her mom. This was all her dad. The man had been scared, fearing the worst when he couldn’t find his daughter. Considering some of the shit I’d spouted when I’d been in similar positions, I could imagine he said some pretty nasty shit he was, no doubt, already regretting. Larry loved his daughter. I couldn’t see that ever changing. But underneath all his righteous, professional veneer, he was just a man like the rest of us. Bound to do and say dumb shit on occasion.
“I left out parts of what happened, but he saw through it all. Figured out I’d broken one of his golden rules. He got mad, I completely lost my temper... it wasn’t pretty.”
“Well, it’s over now, Bess. And seeing you like this is breaking my fucking heart.”
She took the towel from me and started to deal with her hair. “How, exactly, did you get in? Not only did I take the spare key from my folks’ place, but I chained the door.”
“Bedroom window was still open. Guess that’s where Godfrey’s men broke in. The screen was out too.”
She paled as her eyes bugged open. “I’d just assumed they’d picked the lock or something. Fuck. Anyone could have come in while I was in the shower!”
“Keys would have called me if they had. You’re safe, Bess. I’ve got you covered.”
While I dried myself off, she braided her hair and tied it off with my daughter’s hair tie before she moved to me and took the towel from me.