by Lila Rose
“We meet again, pretty girl.”
A weak whimper fell from my lips. It was the man who attacked me in the car weeks before…Henry? He picked me up into his arms. The shadows told me I was headed toward a window. As he tried to fold me through it, I reached out and scraped my left hand on jagged glass. Flinching back, I gasped, but then I landed on my feet, stumbling forward as he pushed me the rest of the way and dropped his grip from me.
“Clary, run!” Julian screamed. Noises broke out from within the room behind me. Too scared and frustrated, I couldn’t see to help. I did as I was told and started running, my hand out in front of me to block my face from anything I couldn’t see the outline of. I tripped over something on the ground and fell to my hands and knees, and in the next second, a weight landed on top of me. I struggled blindly to get it off, and whoever it was grunted and swore.
“You stupid bitch, stay still,” Henry snapped. He hit me in the side of the head and my body went sideways. He rolled me to my back and laid on top of me. “You make me hot with all the fighting, sweet girl, but now ain’t the time. But before we get rid of you, I’ll have my way, and you’ll be taking my dick inside you.” He thrust his hips forward.
I wanted to throw up, my stomach recoiling from his scent surrounding me. Tears pooled in my eyes. However, I wasn’t ready to give up, and Henry wasn’t expecting it either. I reached up and started punching anything above me. He moaned and grunted. “Fuck this, you don’t have to look pretty to be gotten rid of.” He pushed my hands away and pounded on my face, hit after hit as I tried to fight his hands, his fists, but I didn’t know which way they were coming from. He kept changing his movements. A punch to the stomach took my breath away.
This is it. This is how I am going to die.
“Get the fuck off her, now!” a vicious snarl came from somewhere. Henry paused his movements as I tried to fight a breath back into my body. Then, his weight was off me. “Shit. Pick, Stoke, after him now.”
Finally, my breath eased in and I closed my sore eyes. It hurt; everything hurt.
Heat at my side caused me to struggle, to move away. A hand rested on my shoulder. “Shh, easy, it’s Talon. Christ, woman, we’ve got to get you to the hospital.”
“No!” I screamed. My eyes went wide. “No, please, they’ll find me there. I won’t go. I won’t.”
“S’okay, we’ll figure something out.”
Relaxing back onto the cold ground, and before I closed my eyes, I asked, “Julian? Mattie?”
“They’re fine, but you’re not.”
“Fuck,” someone new hissed. My eyes popped open again, staring up at the blurry, early-morning sky. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” the person yelled.
“Griz, calm the hell down. We gotta get her to the compound.” Talon gently squeezed my shoulder. “No one will get in there to you, Clarinda,” he reassured. I nodded, grimacing with pain.
“She needs a hospital,” Griz growled.
“No,” both Talon and I said, and then Talon continued with, “Let’s get her safe first, and then we’ll get Kitten’s mum to come look. She used to be a nurse.”
They shuffled around me. “Christ, this is gonna hurt her no matter how we do this,” Griz said grimly.
“Just do it,” I said. All I wanted was to be alone, to be somewhere safe. Then, no one else would be in danger and…I could fall apart once again.
Two strong, large arms slipped under me slowly. I bit my bottom lip to keep my cries of pain at bay.
“Talon?” I heard Julian yell. “Oh, God, oh, sweet Jesus. My Clary girl, what did they do?” I felt his hand take mine as Talon walked off at a swift speed with me in his arms…or was it Griz, or someone new? I didn’t know. I didn’t care as long as I was laid down soon.
“I’ll be back,” Talon said. I heard his retreating footsteps going the same way Pick and Stoke, whoever they were, had gone.
“Clary?” Julian sobbed.
“She’s awake, but doesn’t want to talk to show us her pain,” Griz said from above me. So it was him carrying me, and how did he know?
Doors opened and closed around me, and more heavy footsteps sounded, as well. I kept my eyes closed tightly and held my lips between my teeth. I didn’t know where I was, but a scent which was familiar in some way caused me to shout, “Stop!”
“What?” Griz asked.
“What is it, honey?” Julian asked.
Opening my eyes—well, one actually, because the other was swollen shut—I blinked through my permanent haze and made out the outlines. From what it looked like, we were going down a hall, and the space to my left behind my head was where the familiar smell was coming from. I reached out my hand slowly, flinching and gasping when a pain shot through me. “I want to stay in there,” I uttered.
“That room ain’t free,” Griz said.
“Please. Please, I want to stay in there. Please.” I couldn’t be a freak and tell them the scent comforted me.
“He’s not here,” Julian said. “We can move her when he comes back.”
“Fuck, all right.”
The door opened. I knew it, not only by the noise, but when the scent filled me to the brim. I took a deep breath in and my body relaxed a bit. Exhaustion took over, and my body eased from its tension.
“Did you see that?” Griz asked as he gently laid me down. My eyes were closed, and I was too tired to reply.
“What?” Julian asked. His body was behind mine and something soft lay across me, bringing the wonderful, intoxicating scent with it.
“She took a breath in and her whole body just relaxed.”
“She must be comforted by the smell in here.”
I was, because I knew who that smell belonged to at that point.
Blue.
Gasping awake was nothing new. Only that time, it wasn’t because of a bad dream; it was because someone had poked a sore spot.
“W-what?” I asked disoriented. My hands slapped out and collided with other, softer hands. “What’s going on?”
“It’s okay, Clary,” Julian said from beside me on the bed. Had he slept the whole time with me? “Mrs. Alexander is checking over your wounds. She’s a nurse—”
“Used to be, and call me Nancy,” a tender, older woman’s voice said. “Now, child, you have a fractured rib and some cuts and bruises on your face. They’ll heal in time, but they’ll be tender. I’m going to have to wash them.”
Licking my dry lips, I asked, “Can’t I just have a shower?”
“Of course you can,” Nancy said. I felt her move…standing maybe. “Do you want me to help, or should I get my daughter?”
“Your daughter?” Why would her daughter be here?
Julian cleared his throat. “That’s Zara, Talon’s woman. Nancy is also Mattie’s mum,” he explained.
“I, um, I don’t mind who. I would just love a shower, please,” I uttered. Julian must have seen my struggle to sit up because he placed one arm around my back and one hand under my arm, slowly helping me rise. I sucked in a jagged breath when it stung. Once I was sitting, I let that breath out through clenched teeth. I found myself again wishing I had proper sight, so I could see the man who clung to my side and the woman whose gentle voice soothed me. I leaned my head back against the wall and sighed. “Maybe I should just go, disappear,” I thought out loud.
“No, sweetheart,” Nancy said. She must have sat in a chair next to the bed, because I heard the sound of the wood giving way under her weight. “You’re at your safest here. Come on, take these for the pain while you’re sitting up.” I felt her hand at mine on the blanket. She placed some pills in it, and then Julian held a cup to my lips as I swallowed down the two tablets.
After I rested my head back against the wall, I tilted it toward Nancy and opened the eye which wasn’t swollen shut. “But then I’m bringing trouble to Talon’s doorstep. Julian and Mattie’s windows have already been broken. God knows what else they’ll try.”
“It doesn’t matter what or if they’ll try an
ything. My son-in-law will keep you safe. He has many men who will also do the same.”
Just then, there was loud thumping coming down the hall, and then swearing.
“Hell Mouth, now ain’t a good time. She’s gettin’ checked over,” a strange, light male voice said.
“I don’t give a fuck what’s going on, Pick. I’m going in there, now move.”
If I wasn’t sore, I would have smiled. Hell Mouth. That definitely suited Deanna. I swore that woman wasn’t scared of anything or anyone, especially the men around the compound, who I was sure someone had said were bikers.
Did that mean my Blue was a part of a biker club?
There was a knock on the door and then it opened; my head was already turned that way from talking to Nancy. I saw a larger shadow of someone, presumably Pick.
“All right if Hell Mouth comes in?” he asked.
Julian snorted. “Not like we have a choice.”
“I heard that, and no, you don’t,” Deanna called out from the hall. The manly shadow moved and in came Deanna’s smaller frame. She got to the edge of the bed and hissed, “Fucking hell.” I heard her shift; she must have looked back toward the door, because she asked Pick, “Tell me you got these fuckers?”
“No,” he growled low, his softer voice turning hard. I saw his form shift to the side of the opened door, the light shining through helping me see three other figures walking into the room.
Julian must have felt me tense. He clutched my hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay. It’s just Talon, Griz and Zara.” I nodded and kept quiet.
“Hello, my gorgeous men,” Nancy began from beside us. “We’re just about to get our girl in the shower. Can’t all this wait until tomorrow, at least?”
“It’s already tomorrow, Nance. Sorry, Clary; we need to ask some questions so we know what we’ve got to deal with,” Talon said.
“O-okay,” I whispered. A sniffle at the end of the bed caught my attention. I looked that way, but of course, I couldn’t see anything except the silhouette of a female body.
“Hi, I’m Zara.” She shifted her arm; she must have waved. “If these guys are being too much, just let Deanna or me know. We’ll deal with them.” There was a smile in her voice.
Reading people, I was used to. I knew from their voices and movements what they really were trying to portray or hide from others. Like Zara, for example. From the way she held her form stiff, I could tell she was worried, and when her shoulders slumped forward, she showed she was sad. And yet, from the smile within her voice, it told me she was nice, caring and concerned. That one still confused me. Why would she be concerned for someone she didn’t know?
After returning a small smile, I replied, “Thank you, I will.”
“Clarinda, can you tell us what your sister is up to? Why you called Julian in the middle of the night?” Talon asked.
“I overheard my sister on the phone with someone, saying she wanted to give me another scare so I would stay with her. She only wanted me with her because I was useful for the money she received from being my caregiver. I-I panicked.” I looked down toward the bed. “There had been a few small accidents I’d been having recently, and I thought it was just me being clumsy, but…now I’m not so sure. Whenever I mentioned I was more than happy to move out, learn to deal with my loss of eyesight on my own, she would get upset with me.” I bit my bottom lip to stop the swell of emotions. “N-now, I understand why.”
“Is there anything else? Why did you want to leave your sister’s house?” Talon asked.
“I-um, I—”
“She was afraid, dipshit. Anyone would have been,” Deanna barked.
“Princess,” came a warning from Griz. So Deanna was with the bigger, wilder man. I could tell they suited each other.
“Clary, I’m sorry, but the more we know, the easier it is to work out,” Talon said.
“No, it’s okay.” I licked my lips. “Deanna’s right. I was afraid. You see, my sister was acting strange that afternoon. She was angry about something, and took it out on me when I wasn’t out front to meet her at the library. She had to come in and get me—”
Deanna scoffed. “Yeah, I’d call hitting her in the back of the head a few times ‘not happy’. She was being a bitch.” She moved from the side of the bed next to Nancy and paced behind Zara’s form. “You should have just come with us then. This wouldn’t have happened; you wouldn’t be hurt,” she mumbled to herself.
“It’s hard to know who to trust or what to do when you’re like this,” I said, pointing to my eyes. “And really, anyone would think they could trust their own sister. Obviously not.” I pounded my fist on the bed. “Shit, fuck, what did I ever do to her? Nothing. Well, I suppose I’ve been a burden after becoming like this, after witnessing our parents die in that fucking fire. All I did was care. All I ever do is manage to be in the wrong situation at the wrong time. And now look at me.” I pounded my chest. Dammit, that hurt. “I’m in a bed, in a place with people I hardly know, because of my fucked-up sister and situation. Why me? Why do I deserve this? What does that bitch want from me?” Suddenly, I stopped. My chest rose and fell with speed as I tried to keep it all together.
“Lemon cake, it’s about time you cracked,” Julian said seriously. No wonder people loved him; everyone needed to have a Julian around in tense moments.
I snorted out a deranged laugh. “Obviously, I just needed a little bit of time.”
“Talon, honey?” Zara said quietly.
“Right,” Talon growled. “Clary, you’re to stay here. We’ll find out what we can, but no matter what you do, do not contact your sister or go near her.”
“It’s certain she’s doing this shit for another reason. It can’t be just for the caregiver money,” Griz added.
I nodded; that thought had also crossed my mind, as well. However, what I wanted to know was what else she could want from me.
“Griz, let’s hit it. Clary, get some rest, sweetheart,” Talon said. He moved toward Zara, and their forms melded together. Movement on Julian’s side of the bed caught my attention; it was Griz. He touched my shoulder gently and said, “Rest easy, darlin’. We’ll figure it all out.” My eyes filled with tears.
“Griz,” Deanna snapped, “you can’t be sweet. She’ll burst like a dam and blubber tears out everywhere. I can’t handle that shit, baby; you know that. So get the fuck out.”
I choked on a laugh. Deanna was definitely a straight shooter.
“Damn lucky I love you, woman,” Griz growled. I heard a slap and Deanna swore. I smirked, because I knew she’d just been slapped on the arse.
“Later, Boss Man and Boo-Boo,” Julian called.
“Julian, no fucking way. You ever call me that again, we’re gonna have a problem,” Griz barked from the door before it slammed closed.
“Shoot, I liked that one,” Julian said. I could hear the pout in his voice.
Deanna, Zara and Nancy laughed. “Where did you get that one from?” Nancy asked.
“You know, Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo.”
“You should have tried for Yogi Bear first,” I suggested.
“Yeah, I didn’t think of that. I loved Boo-Boo for him.” He sighed.
“I’d even hurt you if you called me that,” Deanna said.
“Okay, folks,” Nancy started, the creaks in the chair signalling that she stood. “Let’s get Clary organised so she can get some rest.”
“Well, sorry, Clary, but I can’t help with that,” Deanna said. “You’re pretty and all, but I’m not ready to see you naked.”
Nancy scoffed. “Come on, child. I’ll help you to the bathroom and get you in the shower. Zara, do you have some loose, comfortable clothes she can get changed into?”
“I’m sure I do in Talon’s room. I’ll be back soon.” She started for the door.
“Hang on; I’ll come. Someone needs to light a fire under the guys’ arses to get this figured out,” Deanna said.
“Wait,” I called. “Thank you. All of you.”
“Oh, hummingbird, it’s our pleasure to help you. Now, you go for a shower and I’ll change the sheets.”
I wanted to tell him not to, because I still wanted the sweet smell of Blue on the sheets. My heart thudded behind my ribs.
Blue.
I was in his room.
Still, I kept quiet; I didn’t want to sound like a fool. Beside, maybe it wasn’t his room anyway. Maybe it just smelled like the man from my dreams.
Three days later, I found out it was indeed Blue’s room I was staying in, and what told me was the hurricane form of Ivy Morrison. I’d been pampered for those three days. If it wasn’t Julian fawning over me by feeding me, talking with me or keeping me company, it was Zara, Deanna or Nancy. Until the day they were all busy and Ivy walked into the room while I was listening to the news on the television.
The door opened, and then it started. “Hi, you must be Clarinda. Beautiful name, by the way. I’m Ivy Morrison. I own a café not far from here. You should come by sometime. Anyway, how I came about being here is because I’m Killer’s woman…or so I’ve been told. Though, I don’t call him Killer. He’s Fox to me. It would be weird calling my man Killer.” She giggled as she sat in the chair next to the bed. “I thought I’d come and introduce myself. I’m still getting to know everyone here as well, so I know sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, especially after something so terrible has happened. I went through my own personal Hell. You see, I started out on a dating site. That’s where I met Fox; he lost a bet and they put him on the site.” She sighed a happy, content sigh at the thought.
“However, not only Fox messaged me about a date. In the end, long story short, I ended up getting a stalker of sorts. He came after me, and all Hell broke loose. It finished with him going to jail, and I now have a scar across my neck where he tried to slice my throat open.” I gasped. “Oh, don’t worry. Fox made sure he got payback for it. Everything is good now. Fox is the best.” She took a breath.
“Hey, do you know this is Blue’s room? I wonder why they put you in here. He’s away at the moment, seeing his mum. He didn’t go beforehand because he stayed to help me and my situation. Nice guy, though.” She laughed. “Very good-looking. A lot of these bikers are handsome, and sometimes I get flustered and talk and talk without thinking about what I’m saying…oh, God, kind of like I am now. Sorry, I have a habit of doing it when I’m nervous, too.”