"Where's my mom, Craig?" I ask, pushing down my fear and my own desperate need to escape to make sure Mom is ok. I hate the woman, but I don’t see her.
"Little bitch talked back to me, so she's sleeping it off in the car. Why? Aren't you happy to see Daddy? I'm happy to see you, so why don't you come give me a hug, hmm?"
I'm backing away, leaving my things wherever the fuck they landed and trying to put distance between myself and this monster. My pulse is erratic, and the pounding in my head threatens to overwhelm me as my body is coated in the cold sweat of fear.
"I-I can't, Craig."
"Don't call me that! Call me Daddy!" he roars, reaching for my arm, I stumble out onto the sidewalk and land on my ass, hands behind me to break my fall. In my head, I'm sixteen again, and the dark figure is coming to hurt me. I always thought I'd fight if I saw this man again, but I guess I was wrong.
Craig is steps away when the front door to work opens, and Drake's loud voice barks, "Back the fuck off."
Still, I'm trapped. The scene repeats, over and over, of loud voices, bruising hands, and screams from me, trapped beneath it all. I'm curled on my side, hands wrapped around my legs, trying to stay afloat in the ocean of my memories. I'm sinking fast, and the waves are starting to crash over my head. I know if I sink, I'll never leave the depths of this moment.
"Shh, Blake, it's ok, it's me, Presley. Shh..." A soft voice penetrates my thoughts, drawing me from the fog. A gentle hand touches my shoulder, and a touch of honeysuckle tickles my nose. Presley. Work. Drake. Landon. Safe.
When my consciousness drops back into my body, I'm shaking. I've sweated through my clothes, and I can feel the wet tracks down my face. Presley is still there, kneeling next to me on the pavement, as feet move around us and beyond.
My hearing comes back, and Drake's voice slices through the fog, promising, "―never set foot on this property again, or I will bring the full body of the law down upon your head," just as an engine starts and tires peel out of the area.
Large warm hands touch me, searching my body, and I recognize Landon's fingers.
"Who was that, Sweetness? What did he want?"
I glance up to look at Landon and find that every single Santa is out there. They've formed a protective circle around me, Presley, and Landon, and they look angry.
As I'm looking, Drake pushes his way past the ring of Santas, striding towards me. In one swift move, I'm up in his arms, and he is pushing into the building. He goes straight to his office, shoving everything but the laptop off the desk and setting me there. I see a red handprint on his shirt and panic, wondering where he's bleeding from.
Whimpering, I clutch desperately at his body, feeling and touching, then finding more bloody spots. Finally, Drake takes my hands in his, shakes me, and his voice reaches me.
"Blake, I'm fine. You're not, so let me care for you."
"You mean let us care for you," Landon says, striding in with a duffle-sized first aid kit. "I called Xav and messaged the boys, and they're all on their way over here. Sweetheart, let me see your hands."
My hands are still tightly wrapped in Drake's shirt, and I only now realize that I'm the one bleeding on him. Tears streak down my face, and I'm helpless to stop them, the trembling and shaking still running through me.
It takes Landon several tries and a lot of gentle coaxing to get a hand free from Drake’s shirt. I've tugged him closer and have my head rested on his stomach, trying to calm my body and mind.
Landon works on one hand, pulling small pieces of gravel from my palm, and even a piece of glass. He says that's where most of the blood is coming from, but I hardly hear him. Soon, my hand is released, and I've got bandages on all of my cuts.
Slowly, Landon returns that hand to Drake's shirt, and I grasp it again. Male voices murmur, and Drake shifts his body to the other side of me. I whimper and follow, burying my face back into his body.
Landon pulls the other hand away and starts working on it. Moments later, a loud voice bellows my name.
"Blake!" It's Xav. And finally, finally my body relaxes. My body's shivers and tremors slow, and as soon as I see him, I burst back into tears and reach for him with my free hand. Drake moves aside, and Xav comes closer, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight, my tears soaking his dress shirt.
"Shh, Firecracker, we're here, we've got you." For the next ten minutes, Xav holds me, keeping me safe from the memories and that monster of a man. Landon finishes with my other hand, pulling more gravel from it, but no glass. When he finishes the cleaning and bandaging, I grab him with that hand and hold onto both of my men.
Frantic footsteps sound, and then the rest of the boys are all here. Johnny and Ethan come rushing up, and I instantly tense and flinch. Drake stops them midway, hushing them and motioning to slow down. Calmly and gently, they move closer to me, hands out. Drake closes the blinds in his office, and we are finally left in privacy.
When all five of my men are gathered close to me, I finally speak.
"Craig."
One word, and there are instant emotions going around the room.
"Are you telling me your step-father was here?"
"How the hell did he find you?"
"Where did he go?"
"Was your mother with him?"
"You let him touch her?"
"Stop," I whisper, bringing my arms in to hug myself.
The fighting and loud voices continue, and I'm louder when I almost yell, "Stop!"
All five of them turn to look at me, shock on their faces.
"That was Craig. I don't know how he found me, but he did. I'm sure it wasn't hard since my face is plastered all over in advertisements."
"Well, we will put in safety measures, and you'll go home with the boys today while the rest of us work. Drake, clear her schedule, and―"
"Please don’t touch my schedule," I plead. “I just need some normalcy after that shit. I- I still need to be me.”
“Blake, I really think that you need to rest today, to take some time off and cope with this.
"Those are my clients, and I'm not about to let him run my life anymore. I don’t want to be that scared little girl."
"Blake, I think until―"
"Stop, Xav. My answer is no. And that is final." I stand from the desk, suddenly filled with a high of nervous energy, and push through them to start pacing.
"They had to have known I was still in the area. Hell, if they spoke with Danielle's mom, they'd know I wasn't working as a law assistant anymore, and that I was still around here. All he had to do was get here, and it would be easy to find me."
I pace. I pace, and I think. Then I look at the time and swear. "Fuck, I have my first 'gram in an hour, and we never had the meeting. Drake, we didn't have the meeting."
"I postponed ‘til after Christmas and sent the guys out to go 'gramming. It's fine. And I can have Presley cancel your first 'gram if you think you'll be late."
"Hell no, I have clients, and I want the money to pay off Cherry's last bill. I will be working today. I just need to go get my agenda, find Dennis, and get started. Fuck this shit, and fuck this fucker."
Xav grabs my arm as I spin to leave.
"Blake, wait. If you insist on going out on 'grams, then I insist we put a security code into play. Turn on the Find My Phone app and leave it on. I want any of us to be able to find you at any time. You also call or send a text with the word ‘red’ in it if you're in danger. We will respond, and if ‘blue’ is anywhere in there, that means we are bringing police. If you think that's unsafe, you answer back ‘black’, and we will know to do a soft and swift entrance. If we get no response from you after your ‘red’, that means you're in immediate danger and your phone has been taken away. Do you understand all of this?" he demands, shaking me a little.
"Got it. Keep Find My Phone app on. Red is danger, blue is the cops, black is soft entrance, no reply means immediate danger. I'll be fine."
"I don't know about this, guys. I don't want Lo
ve hurt anymore," Johnny cries, tears starting in his eyes.
"I'll be fine. I know he's here now, so it won't be such a shock if I happen to see him, and I doubt I will. This is a huge city. And if I do, I'll be safe. Bring it on, motherfucker.”
I circle the block a few times that night, making sure nothing looks suspicious, and that there are no Kansas plates anywhere nearby. I finally put Cherry in park and sit there, knuckles white on the steering wheel. My heart beat picks up speed, and I start gasping for breath.
Fumbling, I grab my phone and dial Xav. I know he's still up, he always is after ten.
"Firecracker, are you ok? What's wrong?"
"Hey, I'm sorry, I just, I needed― I can't..." I trail off, clutching the phone to my ear and letting the tears fall as they will.
"I get it, Fire. How about you keep me on the phone until you get in your apartment, ok? Then you can lock up and turn on all the lights and make sure you're good for the rest of the night."
I gulp, trying to stifle the scared sobs that are coming out of me.
"I'm sorry, Xav. It's just been a long-ass day, and I'm so tired of fighting to be ok. I don't want to be alone tonight, and Jenna's gone, but there's just no way I can drive anymore. I'm so worn out."
"Blake, we will come get you. I don't want you home alone either. Do you want some of us to stay with you, or do you want to come to our house tonight?"
"I... I think I want to come to your house," I whisper, tears and snot running down my nose. I use the sleeve of my grungy hoodie to wipe my nose and eyes and clutch the phone tighter to my face.
"Good, I'm finding Drake and Landon, and we will be headed your way. Stay on the phone, ok? I want you locked in the apartment before we let you go. Are you still in the car?"
"Yes," I whisper.
"Ok, Firecracker, I need you to grab your purse and get your keys out. You're going to make a fist around your keys, with the keys out between your fingers, in case you need to punch anyone. Got it?"
"Yeah," I say, the word coming out a little stronger. I tuck my phone between my shoulder and ear and get the car keys out the way Xav instructed. "Ready."
"Good girl." I hear other voices in the background and a car door slamming, then an engine turning over. "Let's get you inside. We're on our way. Go ahead and start toward your place, and tell me what kind of 'grams you did today."
I take a deep breath and open the door, keys clutched in my white-knuckled hand as I slide out of Cherry. I lock the door manually and adjust my hold on my things. Drawing my duffle bag a little closer to my side, I adjust the phone in that hand. I keep my keys spread and deadly, just in case.
"Firecracker, where you at, hun?" Xav asks.
"I-I, just got out of the car. I'm about to walk to the front door."
"Good. Now, what was the weirdest 'gram you did today?"
I focus my attention on putting one foot in front of the other as I move toward the apartment building.
"Umm... I delivered a glitter package to this little old man in a nursing home. His daughter sent it. He’d had a stroke, and it made his eyes light up. Of course, some of the other men there gave a whistle, and one even smacked my butt today."
"Uh oh, do I need to go arrest someone?" Xav teases.
I giggle. "No, I think the nurses chastised them all well enough. Although they did give me some dirty looks at all the glitter they'll never get rid of." I walk up the front steps of the building and pull open the door. Jeff, the evening shift, is tilted back in his chair, dozing away like he always does this time of night.
"I'm inside," I tell him.
"Good, we're only fifteen minutes out now. Go upstairs and check it out while I stay with you."
I take the steps up and go to our apartment, keys in hand still.
I wiggle the door handle, and it doesn't budge. "Door is locked."
"Ok, I want you to chat about something random and head on in," Xav instructs.
I put the key in the lock and start chattering as if I'm talking to Jenna. "Girl, please, I told you I need my hair colored again."
Xav laughs. "No, you don't, Fire. I love it the way it is."
"That's what you think." I turn on the light and drop my bags. A clear CLICK sounds in the room, and I pause.
"Hold on a moment, let me put my stuff down," I say, turning slowly.
There on the couch is Craig, relaxing back and holding a gun pointed at me with his finger held to his lip. He then uses it to give the universal "wrap it up" sign.
I swallow hard, my heartbeat racing. "Yeah, I'm going to have to let you go." I pause, then add, "And buy the red hair color, girl. I'm tired of purple." My hands are sweating, and my grip on the phone is getting iffy.
Craig makes to stand up as Xav says, "We're coming, but I'm sending the blue first. Does he have a weapon on him?"
"Yeah, red. Maybe with some black. I want it to be hot." Please, please know who to send. Please get here soon. Soft swearing comes from the receiver.
"Got you, Sweetheart. Xav is calling this in right now. We love you. Hold him off, but don't fight him,” Landon urges.
"Love you too, bye," I say, hanging up the phone and setting it on the stand by the door.
"Daddy's home, Blake. You should come give me a hug." A deep shudder rolls through me, and my face heats up.
I swallow hard, bile rising in my throat. "I'm not much of a hugging person, Craig, if you don't remember."
"I told you earlier, you will call me DADDY," he roars, swinging the gun around.
"Sorry, Daddy," I whisper, still by the door. I'm fast, maybe I can get the door unlocked and bolt.
"Come here, Blake, now," Craig says, pointing the gun at me and gesturing with it.
As slowly as I dare, I walk towards him. When I'm in range, he grabs me and pulls me down into his lap.
"There, now Daddy is happy. Aren't you happier now, too?"
I nod my head, trying to stay out of my memories. The same old sweat smell and cheap beer is on him, and I'm flashing between the past and present, struggling to keep the two separate. Craig's mouth goes to my neck, and his breath is hot against me, the feeling like a slimy snake rubbing against my neck.
His hands are at my shirt, tugging it up, and he's got a hand on my breast, squeezing it. I'm lost, lost in the waves of horror that fill my body. I thought I'd fight, but my memories are debilitating once again.
"Mmm, feel how happy you're making Daddy."
I freeze, refusing to put my hand on him.
Cold metal is against my head as he yells in my face, "Fucking touch me, cunt! Put your hand on Daddy's cock!"
I whimper and place my hand on his lap, spiraling out. And then I don't feel anything anymore. It's as if I'm watching this happen to someone else, from their perspective, without any personal involvement.
When Craig moves my body to laying on the couch, I don’t struggle. When he pulls off my pants, I don’t resist. It's only after he gets up to undo his own, and I see the gun on the floor, that my body moves on instinct, detached from my brain.
Balls are kicked, and I watch as my hands grip the gun, my body stumbling to its feet as I watch the man writhe on the floor and howl as he cups his tiny dick and balls. Even I’m amazed at the way my hands don’t shake or quiver, but the numbness has taken the lead, and my nerves can’t penetrate me here.
A loud crash startles my body, but I watch with fascination as it keeps its position, pointing the gun at the man on the floor as people swarm him. Still, I hold my position.
A woman in blue steps into my view, hands held up. From far away, I hear the woman say, "It's over. Give me the gun, you're safe."
Of course, I'm safe. It's my body that isn't. I have to protect it, I think.
The woman gives a small smile of encouragement and replies to my thoughts. "You've protected it well, but I think we need to get some clothes on you, make you warm again, ok? Look over there," she says, pointing behind her to where the man is being tugged to his feet, handcuff
ed.
Slowly, I drop my arms, and when the woman takes the gun, I don't resist. A male in blue comes up, and I tense, ready to hit or run. He backs off, and when she takes me by the hand, I follow, watching as she leads me to a small room with a tiny bed. I sit, and I stare down at my feet. The woman brings a blanket and settles it over my lap, tucking it in. She starts talking to me, but I ignore her, focusing on wiggling my toes beneath the blanket.
A crashing of footsteps and a loud rush of male voices break me from my wiggle game. I turn me head to see five large men at the entrance of the room, and the woman holding them off. One flashes a badge, and there is more talking.
The shortest man, the one with curly hair and glasses, slips through as there is arguing going on. Surprisingly, I don't react badly to him. He comes and kneels before me, and I stare down at my toes again.
"Blake, Love, can you hear me?"
Of course, I can hear you, dumbass.
He chuckles. "Well, that's a good thing, though I think it's the first time you've called me that. Are you feeling ok?"
I immediately think, I don't feel anything.
"Look a little deeper for me, please? Look inside of your body."
It's not my body.
"Just look inside, ok? Find those emotions I know are in there," the man says, placing his hand on my thigh. I tense, then relax, focusing inwards.
A female voice sounds out, but I've found the lock-box deep inside the body with emotions shaking it. The chains are frail, and I tug at them. They groan, and I tug harder, putting a foot on it and pulling with all my might. The chains snap, and wisps of emotions start to come out.
I reach down towards that box, and the emotions come into my hand. Back in the body, I feel wetness on the face. When I throw open the lock-box, my mind and the body merge again, and I'm struggling to breathe.
"There she is," Johnny says, his voice close.
"Johnny?" I open my eyes and look up, and there he is. "Johnny!" I yell, throwing myself into his arms.
"Shh, Love, you're ok, we're here, he didn't hurt you. Shh," he consoles me, tucking my head into the crook of his shoulder as I cling to him, crying and screaming.
A Naughty Santa Gram Page 26