Relinquished

by K. A. Hunter

She pointed to the large armchair next to the couch. “Mind if I sit?”

  I swallowed my drink. “Sure.”

  She took a seat, slipping her feet under her body and adjusting her robe to make sure she was completely covered. Propping her elbow on the armrest, she bit her thumb nail as she stared at the lights below.

  Tired, I squinted at her, waiting to see if she would speak first. When the silence became uncomfortable, I asked, “How are you holding up?”

  She gave me a tight smile. “Okay, I guess. Under the circumstances.”

  “How did the meeting go?” DeSoto had already told me she refused the money, and I honestly can’t say that I was surprised.

  She fidgeted and pulled her knees up to her chest. “April’s uncle was defensive at first. He said I had some nerve asking for money.”

  I shook my head. “Are you serious? What a fucker.”

  She sighed. “I can’t blame him. I’m just lucky he didn’t press charges. April was upset that I lied. Said she wished I would’ve asked her for help. She understood though, and got her uncle to calm down. I feel bad for her. Not only did her business burn, but her own husband was responsible.” Glancing at the glass door, she continued, “Everything’s settled now. I turned them down. It felt wrong.”

  My shrug probably told her that I already knew that. “The insurance company would’ve rather paid you a little to release liability immediately than risk being sued later for a shitload.”

  She huffed and rested her cheek on her bent knees. “I would never sue.”

  I took another sip, swishing the spicy liquid around in my mouth, then hissing when it made its way down my throat. “Doesn’t matter, it’s business. And the whole reason DeSoto advised you to get it over with right away.”

  She bit her bottom lip, looking at me with her doe eyes. “I guess I should’ve accepted it so I could pay you guys back for the medical bills.”

  My hand came up to stop her. “That’s already been taken care of.”

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “That’s what Holden said, too.” She started biting her thumb nail again.

  I sat back and jerked my chin up. “What’s up? You seem nervous about something.”

  She licked her lips and leaned in, speaking softly. “I need your help with something.” She looked over her shoulder toward the hallway. Probably making sure Holden wasn’t coming.

  My eyebrow shot up. “Shoot.”

  “I need to be trained harder. Holden is too easy on me, and everyone he has me working with handles me with kid gloves. What if something happens? I need to know how to fight back, but he keeps saying I won’t ever be alone long enough to have to fight.”

  I snickered. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. We’ve had…discussions about it already.” More like a few shouting matches. “He’s adamant about you not getting hurt. I, on the other hand, think you need combat training, since we don’t know how long this’ll go on.”

  “Will you teach me?” she asked, hopefully.

  Little did she know I’d already been thinking about pushing her on this. I nodded, thankful that she was asking for it instead. “Yeah. I’m sure Christina and Vince will help too.”

  Her confidence seemed to have increased when she asked her next question. “I need another favor.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s good to see you going after what you want.”

  The determined tone in her voice made it clear that she wasn’t holding anything back. “Can you give me a job?”

  “What do you need a job for? Like I said, everything’s taken care of for you.” I had my suspicions, but wanted to hear what she had to say.

  “I’ve always worked. It was hard accepting help while I was healing, but I understood and gave in. I’m fine now, and this is something I need to do.”

  I thought about the fact that she may be healed now, but she was still in danger. I respected the hell out of her for not wanting to sit back and take advantage of us though. I imagined she could also use a little breathing room away from my overprotective brother.

  “I know I’m not qualified for much, but there’s gotta be something I can do for you guys.” The look on her face said that she’d practiced this speech over and over in her head and if given a chance, she might even bust out a PowerPoint presentation.

  I settled into the soft leather covering my couch. “And you’ve talked to Holden about this?”

  She huffed out a breath. “He keeps telling me to concentrate on the online courses I’m taking.”

  “I have to say that I agree with him.” I’m sure she thought I’d see her point right away, but she hadn’t convinced me yet. “School is very important, Jules. All of your needs are being met so why don’t you focus on your classes, then worry about a job once you have your diploma?”

  Her face and shoulders fell. “Because I feel useless, like I don’t have a purpose.”

  “Now that I can understand. How about this, let me see what I’ve got, and we can call it a paid internship.” Her face lit up, and it felt good being the one to put that smile there. I’d been such a dick to her, purely out of protectiveness, but it hadn’t been fair.

  Now for my conditions. “Hold on, don’t get too excited. You can fulfill your intern hours after you finish with your school work and only if you’re already scheduled to be at the gym.”

  “Seriously?” she asked exasperated.

  “Hey, take it or leave it. I’ll always push school before work.”

  “Fine. I’ll take it.” It may not have been exactly what she was looking for, but the pride on her face couldn’t hide the fact that she was going to celebrate her small victory. She stood her ground and ended up with an internship I hadn’t ever thought to give her.

  I contemplated even asking for the next thing, but if anyone could convince my brother to do something, it would be her. “My turn. I’ve got a favor to ask you.”

  She sat up straighter. “Anything.”

  I ran my fingertips along the stubble on my chin. “Holden doesn’t want to go to the fundraiser this year, but everyone expects both of us to make speeches, and I’m afraid donations will be affected if attendees think he’s just blowing it off.”

  Her brows creased. “We talked about it already. I told him I thought we should all go.”

  “Hmm. He called me a few hours ago and said there was no way he was going to put your life in jeopardy. I tried to convince him it’s no riskier than you going to the gym and back. We’d be traveling with the security team, and I’ve already reserved the entire top floor of the hotel under a fake name.”

  She clenched her teeth and exhaled loudly, “This is getting ridiculous. I’ll talk to him again.”

  I cocked my head. “He’s pretty stubborn when he’s made up his mind about something.”

  She tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile. “That runs in the family.”

  I chuckled darkly to myself. “You have no idea.”

  My talk with Dante a few weeks ago had gone better than I’d thought it would. Both he and Holden were so set in their ways, I figured he’d give me more of a fight. I was grateful he’d already been open to the idea of teaching me more than to escape and run away. It also made me feel like a real part of a team when he asked for my help with Holden. And on top of that, both he and Holden agreed to include me in their weekly employee meetings so I could become familiar with the business side of the gym before they started to give me any work.

  Standing here in the gym and learning how to truly protect myself gave me more confidence than I had expected. Christina took another hard swing at me, not holding anything back, and I managed to jerk away in time to avoid the blow. I hadn’t been so lucky just minutes ago when she’d nailed me in the ribs.

  Dante clapped off to the side. “Good dodge, Jules. Keep it up.” He rested his hands on his hips, closely monitoring us. It was nice to finally see him out of his suit and in gym clothes, even if he was just as focused as ever.

  My body b
uzzed with energy as sweat dripped down my skin, drenching my workout clothes. I was stoked about the moves I’d learned and felt confident I had a chance to take down anyone who came after me. We’d discovered that I moved quickly and was pretty skilled at avoiding strikes while using my legs to attack back. I’d also learned every way to take down an assailant by injuring their weak spots.

  We only had a little more time to work today before Holden would be done with his client, and there was one move I wanted to master. I’d started paying close attention when my opponent was distracted, even just the slightest bit, and figured out ways to strike. I was plotting how to take Christina down the moment her attention was diverted.

  A few punches and kicks later, Dante stopped us. Christina was thankful as she excused herself to go get a snack. I swear that girl ate more than anyone I knew, but she also busted her ass in the gym to burn off those calories.

  “I want to teach you one more thing today.” He scanned the room and smiled when he spotted something behind me. I turned, but only saw some white gym towels and a yoga ball. “Using your body in a fight is always important, but sometimes it’s better to utilize things around you while keeping your wits about you.” He held up his index finger and looked sternly into my eyes. “Always be aware of your surroundings and anything you can use as a weapon.”

  I took my defensive stance and waited to see what he was going to do. As I spun around, I didn’t take my eyes away from him. He sideswiped me and grabbed a towel, and in a split second, he had my hands tied and bound. He pulled my hands straight up above my head, forcing me up on the balls of my feet.

  That didn’t go quite as planned.

  I shouldn’t have, but I started to freak out, picturing Travis in front of me in that same position so many years ago. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my raspy breath, but the harder I tried, the more lightheaded I got. My shoulders and wrists began to ache from the weight of my body.

  “Jules, breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose.” Dante’s soothing voice broke through my panic attack. My eyes popped open, and I stared directly into his. “He knows what you’ve been through and will use it against you. You’re safe right now. Work through this with me and calculate how you can get free.” He was a lot taller than me, so it didn’t take much for him to lift the restraint higher, forcing me up on my tiptoes.

  He opened his mouth to say something when the door opened and Holden appeared. “What the fuck are you doing, Dante?” he yelled.

  Before Dante had a chance to release me, I took advantage of the distraction. Picking up my legs, I hooked my heels around Dante’s knees and yanked his legs open until we both fell on our asses, and he let go of the towel. I jumped up as Holden stalked over.

  I held up my hands. “Wait, I told him to show me that. It’s not his fault.”

  Dante cocked his eyebrow from where he laid. “Please Jules, let me leave here with some dignity. Not only did I get knocked on my ass by a girl, but now you’re sticking up for me?” He let out a loud laugh.

  If the unsympathetic look on Holden’s face was any indicator, he did not think this was funny. “We had an agreement. I was going to handle her training.”

  Dante pushed himself up and dusted off the back of his shorts. “Yeah, well your way is gonna get us all killed. It doesn’t matter if she asked me to help or not, she needs to learn how to fight. There’s no way we can guarantee that any of us will be available if we’re attacked. She needs to be able to fight any motherfucker that goes after her.”

  I rubbed my sore wrists, hoping they weren’t going to bruise. “Wait, what am I missing? Why wouldn’t you guys be available if it’s just Sam?” I thought about it for a second, then my eyes widened as a thought hit me. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Both guys glared at each other, purposely avoiding me, which only confirmed my suspicions.

  “Dammit!” I stomped my foot on the floor. “What the hell are you keeping from me?”

  Holden took a step toward me, his arms stretched out, but I took a few steps back.

  “Nothing you need to worry about,” he insisted. “We’ve got it under control.”

  This was the final straw. I refused to be sheltered like a China doll any longer. He’d told me he thought I was strong, but his actions said otherwise. It was time he realized I couldn’t have survived my past if someone had been there coddling me. I had never seen myself as a survivor like he’d said I was, but now I wondered if his views of survivor mingled with his look of pity. I didn’t need pity to overcome my lot in life. I needed strength and determination, and I refused to back down now.

  I looked at Dante just as he rolled his eyes. “Why do you keep telling me not to worry about shit?” I paced back and forth, furious. “I’m not a fucking child. I deserve to know what the hell is going on if it concerns me.”

  Holden’s worry lines deepened around his exasperated expression. He reached for my shoulder, but I shrugged him off. “Stop patronizing me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  He dropped his head. “All we know is that somehow, in the process of everything going down, we all have to keep our eyes out.”

  “What does that even mean?” I ranted. “I already know we’re all keeping our eyes out for Sam. That’s not news.”

  His defeated face and Dante’s knowing look told me there was still more, but they weren’t about to share that with me.

  I stepped closer to Holden, watching his nostrils flare from the quick exhales he was trying to hide. His eyes begged to know if he’d finally pushed me too far. Regardless of what was going down right now, I knew his condescending attitude stemmed from his protective nature, but that didn’t change the fact that I was livid.

  “You asked me to trust you, but you’re proving right now that you don’t trust me.” Tears brimmed around my lids, threatening to fall, but I refused to let them go. If I did, he’d take it as another valid reason why he should put me behind glass doors and not accept me as an equal partner in this relationship.

  “I don’t know what to say to you.” He looked behind me at Dante, then back into my eyes. “Neither of us has the answers.”

  Dante stepped up beside us, placing his hands on both of our shoulders. “Jules, you deserve to know what’s going on. We all do, and the only way to get answers is to see dear old Dad at the benefit.” He looked at us like his plan was the most brilliant thing ever.

  Holden blinked at him like he was crazy, and I just stared.

  When no one said anything, I filled the silence. “Well then, I guess there’s no more arguing about it. We’ll all go to the benefit next week.”

  It was time to go lick my wounds, alone, so I stepped just outside the door where one of Marcus’ men, Abel, was standing.

  Peering back at Holden and Dante, I asked Abel, “Can you take me home? I suddenly have a headache.”

  It’d been a week since my blow out with the guys, and although things had quickly fallen back into place, I still didn’t understand why they’d felt the need to keep secrets from me. On top of that, I was a ball of nerves when I stepped into the town car that was about to take us to the airport. Not only had I never been on a plane before, but supposedly, I was on my way to getting answers from a man I’d never met and who also happened to be my boyfriend’s father.

  Holden tapped my outer thigh, asking me to scoot over to make some room for him as Dante got in on the other side. Both doors closed, the driver got in, then we were off, along with a security team in front and the other behind us. I couldn't wait to see the passengers’ faces as we all entered the plane together.

  We drove down the road, away from the freeway. Even though I hadn’t been there before, I was sure this wasn’t the way to the airport. “Why are we going this way?” I asked curiously.

  “We need to show you something I only recently learned about,” Holden said cautiously, as he leaned forward and eyed Dante. “I don’t want anything else to come as a shock to you because,”
he grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles, “I do want you to trust me as much as I trust you.”

  He hadn’t mentioned my remark from last week until now, but I’d seen the hurt in his eyes.

  Dante spoke while lifting the privacy divider between us and the driver. “We both need your trust, Jules. I’m putting all the cards on the table tonight.”

  Perplexed, I turned to Holden, who looked just as serious as Dante was.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we’ll have to wait for that part then. Tell her about tonight since I just heard about it myself.”

  I slid closer to Holden and gave my attention back to Dante as he sighed and started explaining. “What you are about to learn may change your view on some things.” He straightened his tie, stretching his neck to the side and clearing his throat. “As you know, our father runs a national battered women’s organization, but what you don’t know is, although it does help women effected by domestic abuse, it’s also a front for a human smuggling rescue.”

  Holy. Fucking. Shit.

  My eyes were probably bugging out of my head, but I couldn’t help myself. The thought of people being kidnapped and forced to work, or worse, become sex slaves against their will, had always made me sick to my stomach. Even more so after what I’d gone through, after what had happened to Casey. I understood that it existed, but I’d never come into contact with that world. So how the hell did my guys get involved?

  “We keep that part off the grid, but the money raised for the organization covers all of our services.”

  Okay. I needed a minute. When I glanced out of the window, I realized we were pulling up to the motel I used to live in. “Wh...why are we here?”

  Dante looked almost pained, but he kept his business face on. “Because I found out a few days ago that this was a new scouting location for one of the larger trafficking rings. I’ve already arranged to have all the girls safely removed. We’ll only get a little time with the motherfucker that runs this place before Carr and his troops come arrest his sleazy ass.”

  The car came to a stop as I struggled to process that information. I’d been afraid of so many things in my life, but while I’d been living in this dump, my biggest fear had been that I’d have to take a job with that porn producer. Little had I known that the scuzzbag from this cesspit could’ve easily turned me over to worse predators.