by Sam Crescent
“That mattress is a dream compared to the one in my apartment. My one has springs coming out, and it digs into your back.” She rubbed her back, remembering the scratches that she’d gotten many mornings, and throughout the night.
“I have a feeling I’m going to hate your apartment.”
“You’ll hate it. There’re cockroaches, and even rats.” She giggled at the look of horror on his face. “Yeah, if you’re planning to visit with me, you might want to bring a gun, and some bug spray if you don’t like to risk it.”
He visibly shivered.
She chuckled. “I’m going to invite you over for coffee.”
Oliver ignored her, and opened up the door to a new bedroom.
“How many bedrooms do you have in a place like this?” she asked.
“There’s three. This one, my room, and the torture room.”
“What makes that room torture?” she asked.
“It’s so small, and there’s no window.”
She laughed. He must be used to a world of getting whatever the hell he wanted. Did he even know what it was like to have a spider or a roach crawling all over you? She did.
Entering the new room, she let out a whistle. There were floor to ceiling windows, with white curtains pulled back to see the city. The room was the exact same size as her entire apartment. It made her realize she’d been paying for something really shitty.
“You Denton guys really know how to live it up.”
“You once had a life like this. Your parents and brother were rich. That wealth is waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?”
“Yeah, no body for Ruby Santos, my mother made sure that the money was put aside in a trust for when we found you.”
“Your mother really believes the best of the world, doesn’t she?” Ruby sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at him.
This was the first time she’d been alone with a guy. Sure, there had been men over the years. Many had attempted to take what she wasn’t willing to give.
“She likes to believe that she can help change lives. I think she already knows she can’t change the world.”
“And yet she married a Denton.”
“Yeah, Dad wouldn’t let her get away that easily.”
“I’m not surprised.” She ran her hands down her thighs, suddenly feeling nervous. “Are you staying?” she asked, forcing a laugh.
“Would you like me to stay?”
Her heart was racing, and she didn’t know what to do. Everything was moving so fast, and yet it didn’t even seem fast enough. Licking her dry lips, she took a deep breath.
“No, I wouldn’t.”
The smile on his face disappeared, and he looked so sad. She didn’t understand. They didn’t even know each other.
“I will leave you to your beauty sleep.”
“It has been a long day.”
“It’ll be a longer one tomorrow. Lots of questions.”
“About that, you could just drop me off at my apartment. There’s no reason for me to crash you guys’ breakfast.”
“We want you to crash it. So don’t worry about that. Besides, Landon always has all the fun, and it’s time for him to grow up a little.”
Locking her hands together, she blew out a breath, trying to calm her nerves. She was facing off with him less than twenty-four hours ago, and now she was nervous. A lot had happened in the past few hours though. She loved her brother, and she trusted him. When she thought about him lying in her arms, knowing what she knew, everything he said took on a whole new meaning.
“Sleep tight, Ruby. I’m across the hall.”
He closed the door behind her, and she grabbed the chair, pressing it against the door knob, stopping him from getting inside. Her brother may have told her to trust the Dentons but she’d been living like this for years, and she wasn’t about to stop now.
Chapter Five
“She’s just so perfect,” Damian said, looking down at his little girl.
“You don’t have to take me with you, you know. I know this is a family event,” Betty said, tucking her hair back up into a ponytail.
Damian frowned, and looked toward the mother of his baby girl. Martha they had decided to call her. He liked the name, and of course he loved his daughter. Martha Denton.
“You’re family, baby. You know I offered to marry you,” he said.
Betty smiled. “You offered to marry me after you told me about that curse you claim to have. I’ve watched Jacob, Abel, and Maddox, and I know that curse is real.”
“I’ll treat you good.”
She sighed. “You’ll never guarantee that you’ll stay with me though.” She cooed at their baby, and continued to talk. “I don’t have any control over my feelings either, Damian. I love with all my heart, and even if you could care about me, I know I’d always love you. I don’t want to risk watching you leave. I talked to Stuart about his feelings, and no matter how much you fight it, you’d never be able to stop how you feel.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Betty had been so damn loving and forgiving.
“You don’t have to be sorry. All I ask is if I find the right guy, you’ll give me your blessing to go and find love myself. It’s what I want.”
“I’ll do it. I don’t necessarily like it, but I’ll do it.” He grabbed her hand, locking their fingers together. “I want you to promise me that you’ll never treat me or my family like strangers. We’re part of your life now, and I don’t want you to feel that you have to get rid of us.”
“I won’t. I happen to like you guys. Weird I know. How can I like a bunch of tough men?” She chuckled. “Our baby girl is going to be so loved. You hear that, Martha? You’re going to be so loved, and taken care of. Mwah, mwah, mwah.” She made the kissing sounds, which made Damian’s heart tighten.
Betty was such a sweet woman. So cute and loving.
Stop it.
You can’t take her for yourself.
It’s not fair.
“Is Landon back yet?” Betty asked.
“He is. He arrived last night with a girl. Get this, Rick thinks this English girl is the one.”
Over the past year Damian had gotten close to Betty, and had told her all of his secrets.
“Really? Isn’t that a big deal?”
“At such a young age, hell yeah. I don’t think in the history of a Denton we’ve ever had a couple get together so young. Poor Landon, he’s going to have to wait.”
“Why?” Betty asked.
“Well this girl is young, and I doubt she’s ready to deal with an asshole like my brother.”
“Landon’s sweet.”
Damian snorted. “Are you kidding me? Do you even realize who you’re talking about? The guy has serious problems with his anger.”
She chuckled. “So? And you think you don’t?”
“I handle it better than he does.”
Again, she laughed. “If you say so.” She reached in picking Martha up. “Come on, sweet girl, let’s get you ready to meet the grandparents.”
He watched as the two left the room, and Damian wished with all of his heart that Betty was the one.
She wasn’t, and he hated that more than anything.
****
Oliver drove them toward his parents’ house, wondering what the hell to say. No one had ever accompanied him on the drive back home. The stupid curse, or the legacy as his dad and uncle liked to talk about, meant he didn’t entertain women willingly. Sure, he used them to get his rocks off, but that was it.
Ruby’s window was down, and she was staring out of the window, not saying anything. What kind of woman didn’t say a thing? He didn’t get it. Was she comfortable? Did she want anything? He was having a hard time actually dealing with the silence.
“The weather is good,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s a little cold, which I like. I’ve always loved the winter.”
“Why?” he asked.
“It was always a fun time. I got
to wrap up warm, go out into the cold, make snowmen. Lionel would take time out of work to have a snowball fight.”
“Lou lost her brother as well. Riley. He was a good guy.”
“I know. I met him.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I watched a couple of the fights that the Moores set up. It was bad business.”
Oliver didn’t like the twist he felt in his gut. “You ever fight there?”
“A couple of times. I got my ribs cracked a few times.” She winced. “That hurt.”
“You didn’t tell anyone.”
“I know a bent doctor. He helped fix me up without anyone knowing. Like I said, you come to know the right people if you’re willing to find them.”
“And you were?”
“Hell yeah. I’d lost my family, the only life I ever really knew. I wasn’t really thinking about anyone or anything, Oliver.”
“Now?”
“Now I don’t know. I can’t regret what I’ve done. It’s not in my nature to do that. I wished I’d known what Lionel wanted.”
Oliver wished she was a little more vulnerable. She was so strong, mentally, physically. He’d never known a woman like her in his world.
“Speaking of growing up, and having to change who you are, you went into the foster system?”
“Yeah, I got picked up from the street about three weeks afterward. Got thrust into the system, and I had that ID on me. I remembered everything my brother taught me, and how secrecy is important. I never let them know who I really was.”
“Did any of those foster homes have trouble?”
She was silent for so long that he had no choice but to look at her. Ruby was staring right at him.
“Are you asking me if I was abused? Raped?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“No on all accounts. I told you, I was training from the moment I found his body. Anyone tried anything, and I wasn’t afraid to use my fists, or my knife.”
He released a breath and frowned. “So someone tried it.”
“They tried, and ended up in the hospital for it. Believe me, I don’t take threats like that without being willing to dole out some serious punishment. Nope, I’m still a virgin over here.” She gasped and slapped her hand across her mouth.
“You’re a virgin?”
“Shit, just forget I said anything, okay. I really don’t want to deal with this, and it was a mistake saying anything.”
“You’re a virgin?” he asked again.
She remained silent, and when he looked over at her again, he saw she was sucking in her lips.
“You are. I won’t tell anyone. I’m just amazed that someone as beautiful as you hasn’t been snapped up yet.”
Oliver could have groaned.
When did he get all sappy with sweet words and shit? Fuck. She was going to think he was a total loser, which was exactly what he didn’t want.
“You think I’m beautiful?”
He looked toward her, seeing her smile. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“I bet you say that to all of the women.”
“No. I don’t. Really. Ask all of them. I’m a total asshole, and I have no regard for anyone’s feelings.”
“I know. A lot I talked with a lot of the women you’ve been with. Other than to say how good you are in bed, they don’t have anything nice to say at all.”
“I know,” he said, pleased that she’d talked with his old women. It meant he didn’t have to hide anything from her.
She sighed, rubbing her head.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Didn’t you sleep well?”
“Actually, I slept really well. It’s just everything else I’m having a hard time dealing with. I’m not really used to being out of my depth with this.”
“You’ve got us. We’re your family now, and you’re not alone or out of your depth.”
“Do you think the men that killed my family are still alive?”
“I don’t know. We were never able to make solid connections. Lionel often worked in secret. It’s what made him so good at finding rats.”
“You think he found a rat.”
“Had to. It’s the reason he ended up dead.”
She sighed again. “It still hurts, you know.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen Lou when she’s alone. The pain lessens, but it never goes away. She lost her brother two, no, I think it’s three years now. She named her son after him.”
“Riley was a good guy,” she said. “After the fight I got into that resulted in the broken ribs, he helped me. He helped me get out of there before I was killed by the damn crowd. They were thirsty for blood, and sometimes the Moores wouldn’t allow a fight to end unless someone wasn’t breathing.”
“I know.” The Dentons had dealt with the Moores, and in doing so had learned of the Coltons’ return.
“I didn’t return after that. Riley warned me. He told me if I wasn’t careful I’d get killed. He didn’t want my death on his conscience, so I listened to him.”
“Even though it interfered with your training.”
“I promised myself I was never going to kill anyone else. The men who killed my brother were the ones that were on my list.”
“You know, a killer in heart and mind wouldn’t care. They kill whoever gets in their way.”
“I guess I’m not a real killer then. Killing for the sake of killing never interested me.”
“Then you’re not really a killer, Ruby.”
“What about you? Are you a killer?”
“You know I am, and yet you’re not frightened.”
“I’ve hurt people before, Oliver. If you look into my past, or at least my other past with the fake name, you’ll see that I don’t have the best record at all. I’ve hurt men and women, boys and girls my own age. I refused to take shit from anyone.”
“I’m not going to look into your past, Ruby. I know who you are, even if you don’t see it.”
“Then who am I?”
“You’re a fighter.” He pulled into his parents’ home, typing in the secure password, waiting for the gates to open.
“Wow, security really means a lot to them.”
“They have to. There’s a lot of people who’d like to see the Denton line fall.”
“I was one of them. Will you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You’ve not tried to kill me since you found out the truth.”
“Very true.” She chuckled.
He parked the car, and saw all of his family was present. “Are you ready for this freak show?”
The main door opened, and his mother was already out of the house, rushing down the steps.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Climbing out of the car, he watched as Charlotte rushed to embrace Ruby. “I’m so pleased you brought her home for breakfast.” She held her tightly. “How are you feeling, dear? Has Oliver been behaving himself?”
“Yes, yes, he’s been an absolute gentleman.”
“Good, good, that’s what I like to hear.” She kissed Ruby’s head, and rushed round to his side, grabbing his face, and pressing a kiss against it.
Aware of Ruby’s gaze, Oliver struggled not to shrug his mother away. Damn, he was a thirty-one year old. He didn’t need kisses anymore.
“Come on, Landon and his girl, Sarah, are inside. Your uncle Rick is here as well, and Mandy.”
Charlotte marched them back toward the house, and before they even got there, all of his siblings were out to greet them. Lou was there with Harper, Tamsin, and Michelle. Mandy and Rick were in the background. His baby brother, Landon was with the girl Oliver guessed was Sarah. All of his family each took a turn hugging Ruby, and he saw the fear, the panic start to build inside her.
“Come on, people, you’re crowding her. Give her chance to breathe already,” he said.
They all laughed, and soon they were back inside.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Anytime.
”
****
Standing at the edge of the backyard, Ruby couldn’t help the overwhelming feelings surrounding her as the sound of the Dentons grew louder. Her family had once been the kind that got together for family events, the kind that pulsed with energy and love. Ten years she’d been without any kind of affection, always fighting, always depending on herself for everything. She didn’t know how to let down her guard, how to be part of it once again.
She wasn’t the same girl that could smile, and allow herself to be open. Oliver was different. He wasn’t like his brothers or sister, or his parents. There was a darkness inside of him that she could easily relate to, and understand.
“You okay?” Landon asked, startling her.
“Yeah, you?”
“I’m good.”
“Do you remember me?” he asked.
“Vaguely.”
“I remembered you. I just wanted to say that I’m pleased you’re alive, and that no one killed you.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”
“I thought about you a lot over the years. When my parents said they couldn’t find a body, we never gave up hope.”
“Thank you, I guess. I doubt I remained a topic of conversation for long.”
“It was a long time. After a while though, my parents stopped mentioning it. I think they were worried about me, about Tamsin, so they didn’t want to keep dwelling.”
“I get that.”
“They never stopped looking though. Your brother didn’t even have time to alert us to your change in identity.”
“I’m not mad, nor am I upset. I’m fine, Landon. Really.”
He nodded, staring across the garden.
Summer was fading fast, and with it, the beauty of the garden.
“Your mother is nice, and she knows how to feed a crowd.”
Ruby couldn’t remember a time she’d eaten so much that it was hard for her to walk afterward.
She rubbed her full stomach, happy, content.
“Sarah seems nice,” she said, trying to fill the silence.
To Ruby, silence was fun. It was a time to reflect, to have peace. With people in her company, she was reminded that she had a role to play.
“She really is.”
“She’s young, and her accent is really weird. How have you been able to cope with all the different talk? She calls the trash can a rubbish bin.” She tried her hardest to speak in an English accent.