by K. J. Dahlen
Paige was weeping openly now, as she felt sick to her stomach. She looked around at all the faces of the people who loved Cassie and they were all crying too.
“I saw what Robbie did to you,” Peaches continued. “How he carved that ugly word on your shoulders. I saw the cuts and cleaned them up the best I could. I hoped the scars would fade with time but by then the cuts were too far gone. I didn’t know much about healing but what ten year old kid does? But we learned didn’t we? We learned how to survive living on the streets. We had our troubles but we both survived. You were always there for me, you took care of me. You even got me home to my Dad didn’t you? Despite the odds of ever finding him again, you took me home. Now let me be there for you.” Peaches laid down next to Cassie on the bed. “Remember that first winter in Boston? It got so cold and living in that cave was no fun at all. We stole that blanket and we would huddle together to keep from freezing. You said we were sisters, maybe not by birth but by necessity. You told me it was you and me against the rest of the world. You made me believe it. You gave me the hope to survive when I wanted to give in to despair. I think I would have died that first winter if you weren’t there pushing me to get through it.”
Paige watched as Deke stepped closer his face tense, his hands were fists at his sides.
“I maybe never told you this but when you dragged me to that fucking library every day, I almost hated you. You were bound and determined that you and me weren’t gonna be dummies. You made us both take those classes online. Remember when you taught us both to read? I used to love listening to you make up stories. I could listen to you all night long. We shared our dreams and desires sitting there in the dark. You wouldn’t give up on me then and I’m not gonna give up on you now,” Peaches vowed. She ran her hands up and down Cassie’s arms. She looked more than a little concerned when Cassie allowed it without pushing her away. Peaches had to dig deeper into her memories to bring her back. “Remember the day we graduated and got our diplomas? You were so jacked about that you took me out to dinner. Remember where we went that day? We went down to the docks and swiped a big old fish from that tuna boat. We took it back to our cave and tried to cook it. We were so dumb back then. That fish tasted terrible. You took it because it was big thinking it would be good for more than one meal but we found neither of us liked it. Then we found out it was a catfish. It was burnt on one side and not cooked on the other. Remember it almost made us both sick but that was our celebration?” Peaches laughed as she wiped her tears away.
No one moved as a nurse walked by. Paige shook her head at her, so she would know not to interrupt this.
Peaches placed her hand on Cassie’s belly. “Oh, Cassie you have to come back. Make Rufus step aside. I know he’s there protecting you but he has to let you go. Tell him to let you come back to me. You did what no one else ever did for me. We were together all the way. You held my hand when it was so dark we couldn’t see any light. You gave me hope when I would have given up. You brought me home to my dad and granddad when others would have forced me to go away. They didn’t care if I found my family or not, but you did.” Peaches’ hand reached down to her belly. “Can I tell you a secret? I haven’t even told Iceman but I think I’m gonna have a baby. I love him so much. I never knew what love was before I met him, not that kind of love anyway. No one ever touched me the way he does. I’m afraid of what he’ll say when I tell him about the baby though. What the hell do I know about babies? I was sort of hoping to learn with your babies before I had one. Do you think he’ll be as happy about my baby as Deke is with yours? I hope he is because I love him so much. I can’t imagine living without him.”
Paige gasped and then she looked away, feeling like she was intruding, but this was her twin and she refused to leave her, now that she finally had her back.
“You were the strong one, you were so happy about the babies.” Peaches’ voice sounded a bit louder now. “You have Deke now and your real sister Paige and your uncle Deacon. You still got me too though. You once told me no matter what we’d always be sisters. I know you’re hurting and I realize you don’t want the pain anymore but girl, you gotta fight to live. Those babies in your belly need you. I need you. I love you Cassie. Please come back to me.”
Cassie’s lips began to move.
Peaches leaned closer.
“But I don’t want the pain anymore. I’m tired.”
“You told me once that you welcomed the pain because it meant you were still alive and you would fight to stay alive rather than give up,” Peaches whispered. “You need to fight again to live.” Peaches laid her hand on Cassie’s big belly. “See? The babies are moving around. I know it’s hard but you have to try. I know you just want the world to go away but you have to fight. Your babies want the chance to be born. They want the chance to know their mother.” She licked her dry lips. “You have a chance to be happy with Deke and the babies and you have to reach out and take that chance. Grab that brass ring and hang on to it.”
“What the hell do I know about babies?” Cassie whined slightly. “I don’t know how to be a mother.”
Everyone gasped.
Paige held her hands over her mouth as she wept.
Deke stepped closer to the bed. “You won’t be alone baby, I’ll be here right beside you all the way,” he vowed. “Everyone will help you.”
Paige tightened her grip on Cassie’s hand. “I can help you too. Cassie, please come back, I missed out on having a sister most of my life. I want that chance again, with you. And maybe I can be a sister with Peaches too, if she’ll allow me in.”
Peaches nodded. “I know its bad right now and it would be so easy to just let go, but you’ve never been one to take the easy way out. If Deke’s dad were here right now, I’d kick his stupid ass up down the hall for what he did to you. Will Rufus step aside and let you come back to us?”
Cassie closed her eyes briefly. She turned her head and stared at Peaches. “He told me you better keep your promise to me or he’s coming after you.”
Peaches grinned and kissed her cheek. “I promise. We can do this baby thing together. Together, we can still kick some serious ass.”
Cassie smiled and turned to Deke. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. The poor man looked like he’d just gone through hell as he placed his hands on her belly and felt his babies move for the first time since he’d gotten here. He grinned though his eyes were full of tears.
~* * * *~
Raine stood in the back of the room and watched the scene unfold. When he heard Peaches talk about what they had gone through, he’d been horrified by her words. He looked at Cassie with more than just respect. She had been a strong girl to survive that and grow to become a hell of a woman.
When he’d seen her in the warehouse he wasn’t sure she would survive. He’d seen it before when soldiers lost the will to live. He’d seen that same look in her eyes a few short hours ago. He knew better than to get too close to her at the moment, so he stayed back, watching.
Wordlessly, he started going toward the door, when three men stood in his way.
They surrounded him and led the way out to the hall as they escorted him to the front door. One of them turned to glare at the other man. “You tell your fucking boss not to come around again.”
Raine stared at them for a moment. “You can’t tell Bones anything. If I told him that he’d come bursting in here and get right in your face.”
One of the other men spoke, “Amos, maybe just let Deke handle—?”
Amos shook his head at the man. “No, Frankie, we gotta protect Spitfire and you know it!” Then he glared at Raine again. “Then you make him understand something. If he comes close to her again, he’s a dead man. I don’t care if he is Deke’s father or not, he’ll be a dead man.” Amos snorted. “I’m not sure Deke will let him get close to her again anyway. If he were here right now, I think Deke would beat the shit out of him. Your boss made a bad mistake
today, actually he made a couple of them. He stopped the wedding and he took Deke’s woman. That’s two strikes against him. I don’t think Deke will let him have another one.” Amos paused then he warned Raine, “Tell your boss, we ain’t an MC, and we ain’t held to your rules.”
Raine looked at each of the three men who had escorted him out of the hospital. Then he could sense someone moving in the shadows beyond the parking lot.
Suddenly, where here were three men there stood seven men, then there were ten men. Each held a look that didn’t bode well.
Raine could feel the menace from these men and it was all around him. He might only be looking at ten men but he knew there were more. He shuffled his feet for a moment, then he stared straight at Amos. “You could be right about that old man.” He paused and tried to explain in his defense, “We had no idea she was that damaged or we never would have taken her.”
“She ain’t damaged.” Frankie growled. “Don’t you ever call her that again, you bastard! She’s had to learn how to survive in an unforgiving world but she’s not damaged.”
Amos laid a hand on his friend’s arm as he stared at Raine. “You just tell Bones he ain’t welcome here. He won’t ever be welcome. Cassie ain’t alone anymore, she’s got friends and those friends will watch her back.”
“Who are you guys?” Raine asked softly.
Amos and the others glared back. “We belong to Redemption House, you tell him that.”
Raine nodded as he turned and walked away. When he got to his bike, he swung his leg over the saddle and looked back at the double glass doors. All ten men stood there creating barrier he knew he wouldn’t get through again. They stood there with their hands clenched into fists and snarls on their hard faces.
He started his bike and listened to the roar of the engine for a moment. Then he let the clutch loose and rode away.
CHAPTER FOUR
When Raine got back to the warehouse, Sam met him outside. The others joined them and when Sam asked about Cassie, Raine shook his head. “She damn near didn’t make it. She went so far into her head, she almost didn’t come back.”
“What the fuck is wrong with her?” Sabbath asked.
“She’s got a severe case of PTSD. One of the worst I’ve ever seen outside of wartime,” Raine explained.
“Where the fuck did she get PTSD?” Sam asked.
“From what I overheard at the hospital, she escaped a hell house and lived on the streets of Boston since she was fucking ten years old.” Raine shook his head.
“What set her off?” Sabbath wanted to know.
“When she woke up she had her hands tied and she was in a small cement block room. The bitch that raised her used to tie her up and throw her in the basement for days. No food, no water the whole time she was down there. Cassie was beaten and abused by that bitch badly.” Raine fisted his hands. “When she woke up here with her hands tied, she flipped back in time. She thought she had to protect her babies from us.”
“We weren’t gonna hurt her or the babies.” Sam growled. “Those are my grandkids for Christ’s sake!”
“Yeah, well you aren’t gonna get close to her again, unless it’s through Deke,” Raine informed him. “And I don’t think he’s in a forgiving mood right now.”
“He’ll have to get over that,” Sam argued.
Raine shook his head. “She’s got more than him watching over her now.”
“What does that mean?” Sam frowned.
“Those men we saw at the clubhouse today, I got fair warning they would have her back as well. There were many of them too.”
“So? Who the fuck were they?” Thor asked.
“They said they were from Redemption House, whatever the hell that is.” Raine shrugged.
Sam looked around but he could see no one knew what Redemption House stood for.
“So what are you gonna do now?” Raine had to ask.
“I think I’m gonna stick around a while,” Sam told the group.
“Jr. ain’t gonna like that,” Thor told his boss.
“I know,” Sam acknowledged. “But that’s too fucking bad. It isn’t every day I find out I’m gonna be a grandpa either. Besides that, somebody out there threatened our safety. I won’t stand for that. They don’t know who their messing with. I want to know more about this Redemption House.”
“They didn’t threaten you per say,” Raine reminded him. “They only threatened you if you went near Cassie again, and then they claimed they would protect her.”
Sam scoffed. “I only saw a handful of old guys at the clubhouse. How much damage could a handful of them do?”
Raine shook his head. “I had three escort me out of the hospital, those three turned into ten before they were done, but I had a feeling there were a whole lot more waiting in the shadows. They also made it clear they didn’t belong to MC and they didn’t follow anybody else’s rules.”
Sam frowned at him then shrugged. “They looked like harmless old men. They don’t really pose a threat.”
“I don’t think I’d dismiss them that easily,” Raine warned him. “They may be older than us but they had a look in their eyes that didn’t bode well.” He paused for a moment then added. “I think they might have been military at some point.”
“And that worries you?” Sam scoffed. “Ex-GI Joes? Hell, you’re an ex GI Joe.”
“I know.” Raine nodded. “But the military taught me skills, mostly medical, but skills none the less. I just wouldn’t count these guys out, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Fine…you worry about them.” Sam grinned. “I’m gonna worry about that bottle calling my name. I have a lot to celebrate tonight. I’m gonna be a grandpa of twins!”
Raine shook his head and watched as everyone went inside. When the door shut behind them, the silence grew around him. He was about to go inside himself when he felt something shift in the shadows. He didn’t hear anyone, no footsteps echoing in the distance. Turning slowly, he found another man standing behind him. Neither of them said a word, but the man standing there just stared at him.
He was dressed in a dirty old pea coat and he had an old hat on his head. The brim shadowed his face but Raine could feel his stare. He didn’t move and his arms hung down at his sides loosely but Raine could feel him. He was ready for any threat, he knew it, and so did Raine.
Raine was surprised when the other man simply turned and walked back into the shadows as silently as he’d come. One minute he was there visible and the next, he was just gone. Again, Raine didn’t even hear him move. Footsteps usually echoed when a person walked away but his didn’t. He knew how to move softly.
Raine turned and joined the rest of the men inside. He didn’t want to drink, so he went over to the corner and slid down the wall and sat there quietly. If Sam wasn’t careful, he could start a war they wouldn’t win. They had not only the local MC but another one hot after them and then there were the men from Redemption House. Raine didn’t like those odds at all.
~* * * *~
Cassie opened her eyes and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was. She heard a steady beeping noise coming from behind her but everything else was strange to her. She started to sit up but gasped when she felt a pain in her side.
Then Deke was there beside her. “Easy baby, you’re gonna be okay,” he whispered as he wrapped his arm around her. He helped her sit up and placed a hand on her belly. “You and the babies are gonna be fine.”
Her hand covered his and she turned her head to look at him. “Are you sure? The babies are okay?”
“Sam and Jemmia are fine.” Deke chuckled a bit. “You gave me a scare today.” He kissed her temple. “I couldn’t get through to you and that scared me.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I did try. I could hear everything you said but I was too scared. I thought I couldn’t protect the babies—that I had let them down when they needed me the most.”
Deke hugged her close. “I know you were, but you should know something. As
long as I live, I will protect you and our children. I would kill for you and I would die for you. Believe in that. Trust in that because there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you all safe.”
Cassie’s eyes filled with tears. No one had ever said that to her before. She buried her face deep in his neck and sobbed. She felt safe in his arms. “I should have trusted in you.”
“Yes, you should have.” Deke’s voice rumbled in her ear. “You aren’t alone anymore.” He chuckled. “You really, really aren’t alone anymore. The hospital had to kick quite a few people out earlier. Not only was every member of the MC here but all your friends from Redemption House were here too. There must have been close to a hundred people here, waiting to hear about you and the babies.”
Cassie leaned back and gaped at him in astonishment. “A hundred people here? For me? Why?”
“Because they were worried about you.” He scolded her. “I told you, you aren’t alone anymore.”
“Is Peaches all right?”
Deke grinned. “I think Peaches will be just fine.” He chuckled again. “You should have seen the look on Iceman’s face when she told you she was having a baby. The poor guy looked like he’d been hit by lightning.”
“I can imagine,” Cassie told him dryly. “I’ll bet you had the same look on your face when you found out about the baby.”