by K. J. Dahlen
Reva turned haunted eyes to him. “No I don’t think I am. I may never be all right again. Please don’t touch me. If you touch me I might flinch and I don’t want to do that, not to you. I know you would never hurt me but I’ve seen the look on your face when I flinch and I can’t bear it. Not today.”
“Reva honey, please don’t do this.” He begged her. “I love you so much and I need you even more. Please don’t leave me like this.” Gator recognized the terror in her eyes. He’d seen it before but not for some time lately. She was slipping back to seventeen years ago when Bulldog ruled her. “Please stay with me. I can’t lose you to him again, not like this.”
He watched as she struggled to stay in the present. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she began rocking back and forth. She turned her head and stared at him. He could see the terror in her eyes and before she would always look away, but he could see her struggling to stay focused on him. He so wanted to touch her, to frame her face with his hands but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t bear to see her shatter. She had to come back to him on her own.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I need you like I need the air to breathe. I need you to complete me. If you left me, I would never be whole again. Please stay with me. Together, we can get through this, together we can beat this.” He didn’t want to scare her with the need crashing through him. He knew she was holding on to reality by a mere thread.
~* * * *~
Reva took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. They were her anchor, whenever the fear from her past became too much for her to bear. Those beautiful blue eyes showed her the promise he made to her when she opened her own eyes in the hospital seventeen years ago. He had promised her she wasn’t alone anymore and that he would always be there to protect her from that time on. For some reason, she felt safe with him. She didn’t know it then, but she gave her soul to this man on that promise and he’d kept it for seventeen years. She had to think he’d keep her safe. Safe from Bulldog, safe from everything and anything coming for her.
Reva lifted a hand and reached out to touch him. Her hand was trembling so bad she almost missed him. Then her fingertips touched his face and that simple connection with him rode over her like a wave of water crashing in the ocean. Reva felt her soul calm and she could feel the fear dissipating deep inside her.
She leaned toward him and when her forehead touched his, she drew a cleansing breath. Her fingertips touch his jaw and soon, her hand cupped his face. “I love you too.”
Gator closed his eyes. “I love you so much,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right here beside you until you don’t need me anymore.”
“I’ll always need you beside me, you silly man,” she whispered back. “The day I stop needing you will be the day I die.”
Suddenly, the main door was thrown open and Wiley rushed inside. He went to Deke and Sam and whispered something to them.
Deke nodded then turned to look at Reva and Gator. When Wiley disappeared through the door again, Deke came over to where Reva was sitting and gazing into her eyes he told them both, “Georgio just arrived. Are you ready?”
Reva reached out and took Gator’s hand. She felt the fears of her past returning but as long as she held onto him, the fears stayed controllable.
When she nodded at Deke, he stood and moved behind her. The others did the same.
When the tall dark haired man came into the clubhouse quickly followed by three other men Reva stood and faced him.
He was an older man. His dark hair was touched with gray. It was his eyes that caught her vision. They were dark and at first, very cold but after a moment or so, they warmed as they studied her. His body was lean and he wore a very nice suit. The dark blue of his suit went well with his dark coloring, and his bright red tie seemed to pop.
~* * * *~
Georgio approached the group and looked beyond her to the six men behind her. He found Deke’s eyes first, then he stared at Gator. He recognized this man as the one who sat beside the young woman in the hospital all those years ago. “I’m here to meet with Deke Tory about a business matter from seventeen years ago,” Georgio finally broke the silence.
Deke stepped forward and when he did, the three men or rather…Hulks with Georgio moved forward as well. Their hands went to the weapons they carried.
Georgio held up his hand to his men.
Finally, Reva moved closer toward him and motioned for him to sit. “Please, I think I’m the one you want to talk to. Can we all sit down and talk?”
Georgio nodded. “I think we can do that.” He sat down across from her and waited while everyone sat down around them.
Reva took Gator’s hand in hers and slid their hands to her lap. “You are from the Canton Cartel aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. But you and I have met before. You may or may not remember but I came to Maine seventeen years ago. My visit then was the same as it is today. To collect on a debt owed by your husband.”
Reva nodded. “I remember. My husband Bulldog used to work for your cartel. He moved your product from New York to Maine.”
“Yes, he did.” Georgio admitted.
Reva took a deep breath and went on, “He never told his club what he was doing. He knew they wouldn’t approve of his actions. He betrayed them.”
“So, we understood later when we came to collect what he took from us.”
Reva raised her eyes and stared at him. “He also betrayed your cartel.”
Georgio could see the truth in her eyes, he could also see a very real fear. This fear wasn’t new to him, he’d seen it often in the eyes of the men who betrayed his family. But this fear wasn’t from betrayal, this fear was for a man who had abused her. “What did your husband do to betray the cartel?” he finally asked. He knew the truth but he wanted to hear it from her mouth. He wanted her to admit what her husband had done.
“He skimmed from the money he returned to you after he sold the drugs.” Her whole body began to tremble. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper as she admitted what Bulldog had done. “He would laugh after the courier left. He said the man was so stupid he could take what he wanted and you would never know the difference. He kept taking more and more money. That was about the time he began using the drugs he was selling. He thought no one knew he was using but he was getting cocky and wild. And mean.” She felt the tears burning her eyes.
Shaking her head, she raised her eyes to Georgio. “Bulldog thought he could do whatever he wanted. He thought the money was his and he lived like a king.”
“What did he do with the money?” Georgio asked.
“He turned it into diamonds. Then he told me I had to hide them and keep them safe. He told me to divide the stones in two different places, he said if he lost one set, he didn’t want to lose it all. He didn’t want to know where I hid them. He told me that if someone came to ask about the money he wouldn’t have to lie if he didn’t truly know where it was.” She closed her eyes and felt the tears roll down her cheeks. “He told me if anyone should ask that I should lie. He knew I couldn’t lie very well. He knew that I would be caught in the lies. He knew I would die because I couldn’t lie.”
“Do you know where the diamonds are right now?” Georgio asked.
Reva nodded. “When he went to prison, Gator and I left Maine and came here. I took the diamonds from their hiding place and I brought them with me. Then I hid them here. NO one here knew about the diamonds until today, I swear.”
Georgio stared at her for a long time before he asked, “Why didn’t you turn them over before when we came to collect the rest of it?”
Reva trembled. “I’d been married to Bulldog for seven years at that time. I knew within a week after we married, it was a mistake. I tried to leave him and start over but he wouldn’t let me go. He found me and dragged me back kicking and screaming, then he would beat me for daring to leave him.” She took a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh of words, “After the fifth year, I was barely allowed to speak
. I’d learned by that time to keep my mouth shut and just follow his orders. He told me to hide the diamonds, I hid the damn diamonds. He told me to never bring them up, I forced myself to forget them. I couldn’t tell anyone about the stones without permission. Before he left for prison, Bulldog told me to guard the stones with my life. He would need them when he got out and if I betrayed him in this, he would kill me.”
Georgio studied her as she talked.
She looked directly at him. “You have to understand something. I lived in fear of this man for seven years. I know it doesn’t make sense to you, you are a man, but I couldn’t help it. He never told me to guard the money and the drugs but he did tell me to guard the diamonds. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about them before but I was so very afraid.” She shook her head. “Bulldog betrayed everyone and everything he’s ever known. His family, his club and you. He’s so much bigger than I am, and stronger and he was never one to let me forget it.”
“When we came here before, his club was surprised when they found out he’d been dealing with us,” Georgio told her. He looked up at Sam and nodded. “I believe you told us you would do whatever it took to make this right.”
“I did and I stood by my word,” Sam informed the other man. “I truly did not know about the diamonds before today. As soon as I found out, I called Hawkeye to let him know. As President, it was his job to inform you of this development. We are still trying to make this right.”
Georgio nodded. “I get that and I think I understood your actions of years ago. You did not know Bulldog was keeping money back. We could tell you were as honest as you could be back then too. So, we waited for the day he got out of prison. And the wait was worth it. Now, we know where the missing money is.” Looking back to Reva, he could still see the fear in her eyes. “You have been very honest with me here and I hope that honesty continues. Do you have all the diamonds?”
“Yes, I do.” She admitted shakily. “When I woke up in the hospital and learned what Bulldog had done to me and that he was going to jail I knew I couldn’t leave any of the stones behind. Not for him. He didn’t deserve anything. I dug up the stones and I brought them with me when we left Maine. Gator and Deke never knew what I carried away with me. In fact, no one knew until today the stones ever existed. I felt it would be better for them not to know.”
“Where are the stones now?” he asked.
“Can I take you to them?” Reva asked. “We have to walk a bit to get to them.”
Georgio got to his feet and reached out his hand to assist her. Gator also got to his feet. Reva glanced at him then turned to Georgio. “Can Gator come with us?”
Georgio nodded and when the three of them went to the back door one of his men stepped in behind them.
As they walked toward the wood line, Georgio noticed Reva held onto Gator’s hand. He recognized the other man as the one who sat beside her in the hospital and the man who sat in the courtroom every day of Bulldog’s trial. He had kept track of the event as it unfolded all those years ago. He’d also kept track of Bulldog in prison. Bulldog was alive only because he still owed them a large amount of money. When he’d gotten the call from the president of the MC, he’d been surprised.
Georgio knew Bulldog had gotten out of prison earlier in the day. He had someone following the other man and even now, he knew Bulldog was on his way here. To his wife and the diamonds. So when he found out she was willing to return the stones Georgio had been surprised.
“Tell me something if you will,” he broke the silence around them.
Reva turned toward him. “What would you like to know?”
“You appear the still be married to one man while it’s clear you are in love with someone else. Why is that?”
Reva glanced over at Gator and smiled. “I do love this man and he loves me too. I tried to divorce Bulldog while he was in prison but he wouldn’t sign the papers. He told me he would rather see me dead than see me free to love with another man. I know he’s coming here to kill me and get his revenge on Gator. You see, seventeen years ago before he was arrested Gator put two bullets into him hoping to stop him from beating me to death.”
“May I ask why he was beating you?” Georgio asked. He’d read the court transcripts but he wanted to hear her answer.
Reva grabbed Gator’s hand and held it while she answered. “I just found out I was expecting a child and I knew Bulldog would use the child against me. I didn’t want to live like that anymore and I wasn’t going to let him hurt my child. I was leaving him that day but he found out about my plans. He was higher than a kite and he dragged me back to the clubhouse so everyone could watch as he punished me for trying to leave him. I hadn’t told him about the baby yet and I swore I never would. I wanted nothing from him except my freedom but he would never give me that.”
“He told us that day she was nothing more than a whore and that she’d stolen money from the club. We didn’t know what the hell he was talking about and before we could ask, he began beating her,” Gator took up the story. “We were so surprised no one stopped him at first. Then it got bad and his father tried to stop the beating. Bulldog turned on his dad and began beating the hell out of the old man. I grabbed a gun and put one bullet in his shoulder but it didn’t even slow him down. I put the second bullet in him and his brother smacked him upside the head with a 2x4. That’s what stopped him. By the time the cops showed up, the ambulance had taken Reva to the hospital. We checked the books and found out Bulldog lied about the money.”
“What happened then?” Georgio asked.
“When the truth began to come out, his family and the club pressed charges on him,” Gator admitted. “That was just before you came calling the first time. We had no idea he was involved with you guys. As soon as Reva came out of her coma we found what money and drugs were there but we had no idea about the diamonds.” He looked over at his woman. “All these years, she’s never told me about them. There were times when the fear inside her mind would try to take her but I was always there to take her back. I never knew the secrets she held back from everyone.”
Reva hung her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks and finally, she raised her head to face him. “I couldn’t tell you before. Don’t you see that? Don’t you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand,” Gator told her as he framed her face with his hands. “You’re the one who never understood how much I loved you. I would die for you and I would kill for you.”
“I know,” Reva whispered. “But I never wanted that. Bulldog wasn’t worth your life. Not to me.”
“Tell me something,” Georgio asked, “Does your husband still have the divorce papers you asked him to sign?”
Reva turned her head. “I don’t know. I think so but I don’t know for sure.” By then they had gotten to the spot they needed to be. She looked over at Georgio and motioned into the woods. “My place is through here.”
Georgio motioned for her to lead the way.
~* * * *~
A few minutes later, they were in Reva’s secret place. The waterfalls Gator had built for her years ago when they first came here. With the fading daylight of the evening coming on, Reva stepped forward and unplugged the generator that moved the water from the pond to the falls. When the water stopped flowing, she knelt beside the pond and reached into the water. She pulled out one stone then another. Getting to her feet, she took the stones over to the bench and sat down. Turning the first stone over, she opened the hidden door and pulled out a medium size bag. The bag was one of those plush velvet bags that bottles of Crown Royal comes in. Then she turned the second stone over and retrieved a second Crown Royal bag from inside it. Finally, she stood and handed both bags to Georgio.
Georgio looked at her for a moment then opened one of the bags. He could see the sparkle of the diamonds from within the bag. He closed the bag and nodded. He was satisfied the debt had been returned.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t turn them over to you years ago,” Reva whispered. “I’m ashamed
of the fear that ruled my life for so long.”
Georgio slipped the bags in his pocket and reached for her hands. He forced her to look at him. “My dear little one, you have no reason to be afraid. Not of me, I would never hurt an innocent and that’s what you are. An innocent. This betrayal is not yours to bear. This is on Bulldog and he will pay for what he has done. He set you up to take his own blame and that is the mark of a coward. You did the right thing today. You satisfied a debt no one else knew about. You overcame the fears deep within you and brought the truth to light. That is the mark of real courage.” He paused then asked, “You had the stones all this time, did you ever think about spending them?”
Reva shivered. “God no, they had blood on them. My blood and the blood of my child. I wanted nothing to do with them. I could barely stand to touch them.” She turned to stare at the pond. “I put them in the pond years ago and I’ve never touched them since that day.”
Georgio nodded then looked over at Gator. He’d heard the other man growl under his breath when he took Reva’s hands and now he could see the anger in his eyes. Georgio let go of her hands and stepped away from his woman.
No one said a word as they made their way back to the clubhouse.
Everyone turned to watch them as they walked inside.
Georgio walked over to Deke and reached out his hand. When Deke grasped it, he turned to Sam and shook his hand. “Our business is finally finished. The debt is satisfied.”
“Thank god,” Sam murmured.
“What now?’ Deke asked.
Georgio sat down and crossed his legs. His suit looking smooth and crisp just as it had when he first arrived. “Now, we wait for Bulldog to arrive. I understand he’s on his way.” He glanced up at Deke his eyes like cold obsidian and said ever so softly, “I’d like a word with that man.”