Wayward Angel

by K. Renee

  “Oh, you're awake,” she murmurs, while checking the machines around me.

  I look up at her, confused. “My babies. Are they okay?” I choke out.

  “Yeah, sweetheart, they're in the nursery. I'll bring them in soon.”

  I sigh in relief.

  “Do you have names picked out for the boys yet?” she questions with a smile.

  I nod my head yes.

  “Okay, we will fill out the birth certificates and then I'll bring them in. They really are beautiful, Mrs. Bennett,” she says cheerily.

  “Thank you.” I smile.

  “We called your husband, but he hasn't arrived yet. There's a phone next to your bed if you want to make any calls.”

  I smile and nod my head. Once we're done filling out the paperwork, the nurse goes to get the babies. I pick up the phone and call Casey.

  Ten minutes later, the babies are brought into my room. They're so beautiful, they take my breath away. They look just like mini Brantley replicas.

  Casey comes into the room and stops dead in her tracks. “Holy fuck! They look just like him,” she whispers. “They're beautiful, Ans! What did you name them?”

  I smile. “Remington Brant and Severye Tate.”

  She smiles and reaches out for Remington. His beautiful face looks so small as he yawns and cuddles into Casey.

  “Where's Charlie?” she questions.

  “Oh, you know, he had something he couldn't miss at work,” I lie.

  She just shakes her head at me. She can always tell when I'm lying. “The boys are early. You still had a month to go. What happened? Was something wrong?”

  “I woke up to this crazy bad pain and blood all over the sheets and called 911. They rushed me here and that's all I remember. When I woke up, the boys were already delivered and in the nursery.

  “The nurse said they were in distress, so they performed an emergency C-Section. I had some internal bleeding, but now I'm okay. I'll be fine and so will they.” What I don't tell her is how scared I was that something had happened to them.

  “I can't believe he's not here,” she fumes. I know he's not here because he’s probably out screwing one his many mistresses, but I don't tell her that or really care.

  The truth is, I don't love him. I never will. When he touches me I cringe. I'm glad he stayed away - these boys are not his and never will be.

  Chapter Twenty

  I've been sitting at the bar of the clubhouse all day. Something just feels off, like I'm meant to be somewhere else. Fuck.

  I watch Kendall dancing around and flirting with all of my brothers. I only made her my girl so I wouldn't have to worry about who she was sleeping with, but it looks like that isn't working out to my benefit. I still don't know why I keep that bitch around.

  Dom walks up as he's leaving someone a voicemail. I only hear the last second of it.

  "...call me back, baby girl, I'm worried about you."

  He looks at me with a dark expression. He's still pissed that I walked out on her when she needed me.

  Fuck, if I'm honest, I'm pissed at myself. I want that girl back in my life so fucking bad. It's like a piece of me is missing.

  Kendall comes stumbling towards me. Once she's standing in front of me, she drops to her knees and begins to unbuckle my jeans. She pulls my flaccid dick out and begins to stroke me. After a few minutes of her trying, I help her out by thinking of Anslie wrapping her mouth around me. Instantly, I'm hard.

  Dom sits down beside me on the couch and lights up a cigarette. He blows the smoke in Kendall's direction and she starts to cough. She glares at him, but he just ignores her.

  "B, you know I hate smoke in my face," she whines.

  I look at her and shake my head. "I don't give a fuck." I push her head back down to my dick. She leans down and wraps her lips around my erection.

  Dom breaks me out of my thoughts of Anslie. "B, you hear from my sister lately?"

  I choke on my beer. "Naw, man. She sent me a text a few days ago, but I didn't respond. Why?" He gives me a dirty look.

  My curiosity is getting the best of me.

  "She's not answering any of our calls or texts. I have a feeling something's wrong. We've never gone this long without talking to her, but she hasn't been the same since that night."

  Fuck. That shit must have really fucked her up more than we all realized.

  “I’ll tell her to call you. Or better yet, call her from my phone. maybe she’ll answer if she thinks it's me.

  Dom nods and takes my phone. Kendall is still sucking my cock, but it's doing nothing for me, so I push her off and tuck myself back into my jeans. I see Dom smirk out of the corner of my eye. He knows I still want his sister. Watching Dom dial Anslie’s number puts me on edge.

  Kendall whines and I push her away from me.

  “No little girl, it's me.” Dom pauses a minute, listening to her on the other end.

  “Just checking in on you. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. Wanted to see if you're good.” He gets quiet again, staring at the wall. “Yeah, love you kid.”

  He looks over to me and mouths “She wants to talk to you, yeah?”

  I nod and take a deep breath.

  “Yeah, hold on, here he is.”

  He passes the phone to me and I rasp out, “Doll.”

  I hear her intake of breath. I affect her the same way she affects me. Still. Even after everything I’ve done to her.

  “Brant,” she whispers into the phone.

  I smile. Fuck, I miss this girl. She is my everything. I need to get my head out of my ass and get her back.

  “How you doing, gorgeous?”

  “I’m okay, but I need to talk to you about something.” She pauses for a few moments before she starts again.

  Kendall comes crawling up my body again and talks right next to the phone. “Baby, take me to bed and fuck me hard. Brant, I want your cock so fucking bad.” She grinds on me and I push her off.

  I hear Anslie gasp.

  “Brant, I've got to go.” She sniffles and then I hear nothing but silence.

  “Fuck!” I roar. I want to know what she was going to tell me. It felt so fucking good to talk to her. I miss the days when we would talk for hours about anything and everything. She was my best-friend-turned-lover for one amazing weekend.

  I slip my phone into my pocket and nod my head at Dom. Grabbing a bottle of Jack off the bar, I make my way to my room

  Chapter Twenty One

  2 Years Later

  Severye is crying because he’s had a fever for the last few days. His little voice squeaks out, “Momma, I weel icky."

  Remy is playing with his toys on the living room floor, not saying a word. They're afraid to make any noises.

  The front door slams and Charlie storms into the house, going straight for Sev. I throw myself in front of him before he can touch my son. He grabs me by the hair and both Sev and Remy whimper as they watch him punch me in the face. I want to protect them from seeing this. I don't want them to be afraid of men or think that this is okay.

  "Boys, go to your room," I manage, right before Charlie kicks me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I cry out from the impact of his foot connecting with my ribs. They're throbbing and I can hardly breathe as I hear the boys scurry to their room and shut the door as quietly as they can.

  Charlie pulls me up off the floor, twisting his fingers into my long hair. He hits me again in the face and I feel my cheek split open this time. Blood is spilling down my face. He grabs me by the neck and squeezes until I kick and struggle for breath. "Keep those fucking bastards quiet, you stupid fucking whore!" he screams in my face. I flinch and he continues to crush my windpipe until I black out.

  When I finally come to, the boys are hovering over me.

  "Momma, are yew otay?" Remy whispers with tears in his eyes. The look on his face breaks my heart. They deserve to be living in a happy home, not this place.

  "Yeah, baby, I'm okay. You boys hungry?" I try to smile as I s
it up. Despite the excruciating pain in my ribs, I slowly stand up and walk to the kitchen to make them breakfast.

  While the boys are happily munching on pancakes, I walk into the bedroom to change clothes. Looking in the bathroom mirror, I flinch at sight of my swollen face. I clean the dried blood off and put on a little cover up to hid the cut and bruises. When I finish cleaning up, I find my phone and check my messages.

  Casey: Ans, call me

  Dominic: little girl I wanna make a trip out to see you. Call me.

  Macy: Hey love, just checking in with you. Hope all is well with you. :)

  I make it back to the kitchen just in time to hear the doorbell ring. I walk to the front door and pull it open, coming face-to-face with my best friend.

  "Hey, whore!" she screeches excitedly.

  I smile my best fake smile. "Hey, Case."

  Her eyes widen as she looks over my bruised and cut face.

  "Oh my god, what happened to your face. Did that asshole do this to you?" She's fuming. "Where the fuck is he, Ans. Did he do this in front of the boys?"

  I shake my head and tears well up in my eyes. She walks into the house and shuts the door behind her, pulling me into her arms. I sob into her shoulder as she strokes my back and whispers that it's going to be all right.

  The boys hear her voice and come running straight for Casey.

  "Antie Caswee!"

  They both squeal and giggle when she scoops them up and plants a dozen kisses on each of their chubby faces.

  Casey spends a few hours with me and the boys before she says she has to go to work. With a kiss on the cheek and a hug, she promises me that things will get better and tells me she is here if I need her.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Leaving Anslie and the boys at the house just about killed me. I can't believe that bastard is hurting her and she hasn't said anything to me. We're like sisters - I would do anything for her and the twins.

  Stopping at Black before my diner shift, I hit the back door delivery buzzer and one of the bartenders comes to the door and asks, "What can I help you with?"

  I tell him I need to talk to Gunner and he lets me in. I follow him back to Gunner’s office,

  I knock on the door and hear him yell to come in. I feel his eyes on me as soon as I walk through the door.

  "Hi, beautiful." He looks me up and down before he asks, "What can I do for you?"

  I smirk. He thinks I'm here for him. "I need to get a hold of your cousin and Dominic." The smile falls from his beautiful face. "What do you want with them, Case?" he demands.

  “Anslie's in trouble and I know Brant would want to know. Regardless of his shittiness towards her the last few years, I know he’s in love with her."

  He stares at me with his mouth open for a minute before he grabs his phone off the desk and hits the call button.

  "Hey, man. I got Casey here and she says your girl is in trouble." He gets quiet as he listens to Brantley respond. "Yeah, hold up," he says as he hands the phone over to me.

  "Hello," I say hesitantly.

  "Casey, what's going on?" I can hear the anger dripping in his voice with every word he says.

  My voice quivers as I say, "Anslie's in trouble. He's hurting her and I think it's been happening for a while."

  I hear the rough breathing over the phone and I can tell he's getting pissed, but I have to continue. "I stopped by this morning unannounced after she didn't write me back last night. She had a cut on her cheek and a bruise along her jaw that she tried to cover with makeup. We both know she doesn’t wear it, ever."

  I hear him take a deep breath as he lets what I just said process.

  "Fuck!" he finally yells, just as a girl whines at him for not paying attention to her in the background.

  "Brant, I know you love her. And I know you don't want her to get hurt. Please help me get her out of there," I plead with tears in my eyes.

  Gunner comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist as I start to cry harder. He pulls me into his lap and I melt into his embrace. I haven't felt safe since the last time I was in his arms.

  On the phone, I hear Brantley call out for Dominic. He tells him that Anslie is in trouble and they need to go. “Case, we are on our way," he grounds out. "She still at the apartment?"

  "No," I reply quietly. I can hear him grind his teeth.

  "She lives with him. Meet me at the apartment and I'll take you over there."

  I sigh and sink further into Gunner’s body. Brantley hangs up without any other words being spoken.

  Gunner takes the phone from my trembling hand and sets it on the desk, turning me around in his lap so that I'm straddling him. He wipes the tears from my eyes and kisses my forehead gently. His phone beeps and I jump out of his lap and embrace. I look at the screen as he opens a text.

  Brantley: keep an eye on Casey and Anslie.

  Gunner: will do brother. Let me know if you need me

  "Is Charlie working tomorrow?" I ask quietly, and Gunner's face changes instantly.

  "Is he the fucker that’s hurting her?" He gets up from the chair.

  "Please don't do anything!" I beg. "I don't want him knowing that we know. I want to get her away from him first, please."

  He nods, grabs my hand and raises it to his mouth. When he kisses my knuckles, I melt. I’ve missed his touch, but I know he’s not the relationship type.

  "I have to go to work today and tomorrow, but I get off at two A.M. Call me if they get here earlier and I’ll do what I can to leave early,” I say, in case Dom and Brant get here before I get home.

  "Okay,” he rasps. He kisses my hair and I walk out the door.

  I pray that Charlie stays gone until we can get her out of that house.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  The moment I heard Gunner say Anslie was in trouble, my anger got the best of me. I pushed Kendall off me and ordered the club on standby. Fuck! I'm going to kill whoever is putting his hands on my girl.

  Damnit, she's not mine anymore. I ruined that the day I walked away from her three years ago.

  Thinking about what Casey said today makes me want to kill the sorry son of a bitch. I feel Kendall run her hands up and down my arms, but I wave her off. She starts to pout and goes to pull my boxer briefs down. I push her off again and grab my jeans. She whines when I walk out of the room, without a word to her.

  With the phone still to my ear, I call out for Dom in the bar of the clubhouse. He appears to my left like a shadow.

  "Dom, Ans is in trouble. We need to roll out."

  We both walk out the doors and to our bikes. As I explain the situation to Dom, I shoot Gunner a text and crank my bike to life.

  The ride to Seattle is way too fucking long, especially knowing that Anslie is in trouble. It’s making me antsy. We ride sixteen hours straight, only stopping for fuel and to piss.

  It’s three A.M. when we pull into town. I lead us to the apartment that I took Anslie home to the night I took her virginity, and I can still feel her body against mine. Shit. I pull my phone out and dial Gunner. He starts to speak before I can even say anything.

  "Hey brother, Casey's on her way home now." I hear him muttering that he's gonna beat the fuck out of someone as Casey pulls up, looking relieved to see us.

  "B, let me talk to Casey for a sec."

  I hand Casey my phone and watch her as she listens.

  "Yeah, hold up. Are you sure? Okay, I'll call you later.”

  I wonder what the fuck is going on between them. She hangs up and hands the phone back to me.

  Dom wraps Casey in a hug and kisses her hair. "Hey guys," she says as I hug her next. "Where's my sister, Case. Who is this bastard?" Dom presses.

  She looks down as she answers Dom's question. "It’s Charlie. He’s her husband.” She looks up at me before she continues, “You punched him at Black last time we seen you."

  I shake my head in disbelief. "She's married?" I croak out. “To that creep?”

  Casey nods. "Gunner said he's
going home with some slut right now, so we should probably head over there before he gets back."

  Fuck, this bastard is cheating on her and knocking her around. I want to put my fist through his face again. Both Dom and I just nod our heads.

  Casey insists on driving her car, saying that we will need it when we get there. I don't argue, I just want to get to my girl. I need to know she's okay.

  We drive into a rich-looking neighborhood. After a few turns, we pull up to a fancy house with a perfectly manicured lawn. Fuck, I didn't know that asshole had money.

  We walk to the door and Casey pulls out her phone to call my girl. When Anslie finally answers, Casey tells her to come to the door. After a few minutes, the lights come on and she slowly opens the front door. I see her beautiful face appear and she still takes my breath away. She's stunning with her messy ponytail, tight tank top and short sleep shorts.

  I instantly get hard thinking about her being in bed. Damn. Not now.

  I watch her gasp as she realizes that we're here with Casey. Tears fill her eyes when she finally looks in my direction. I see love, hurt, confusion and regret flash in her eyes as we stare at each other.

  Dom pulls her into a hug. 'Little girl," he whispers.

  She looks over Dom's shoulder at me and asks, "What are you guys doing here?"

  Casey speaks up first. "Anslie, you need to think about the future and get away from Charlie. He could kill you next time."

  I see the tears start to fall. "Okay," she whispers as she leads us into the house.

  "Grab everything you need, Ans,” Dom says as he looks around the room.

  Holy shit, this place is nice. The living room is an open floor plan, with big, black, leather couches and a big, grey throw rug in the center of the room. The kitchen has dark granite counters and stainless steel appliances. I would never be able to afford something like this.

  "Momma," a small voice whispers as a little boy walks out of the hallway, rubbing his eyes with his tiny fists.