“Children can be lost all the time,” he said softly, trying not to scare me. “But you’ve been gone out of that facility for a week now. How long do you think it’ll be before they try to take her to make you come out of hiding?”
I swallowed hard.
“I was hoping that they’d think I was dead,” I said softly. “They had four people disappear that night. Two still unaccounted for. I was hoping that they would think I’m just one of them that was lost and will never be found.”
He made a sound in the back of his throat.
“Or they’re thinking that you’re waiting. Hiding. Using the tornado as a front.” He paused. “Which you are.”
I looked down at my hands and said, “What do you suggest?”
“I suggest you take her. Before they can.”
Chapter 10
Bayou: Do you run?
Liner: My mouth
-group text
Liner
I knew she was scared.
Hell, I could practically feel her shaking all around me.
The meeting with the men of Free, an organization that was experienced in helping battered women escape from abusive situations, was something that scared the absolute crap out of her.
I could tell without a shadow of a doubt that she was scared to hope. Scared to think that maybe this could all work out.
I’d told her that it would, yet she was still refusing to budge. Refusing to think that maybe I was right. Maybe everything could work out.
“How does your ankle feel?” I asked, trying to take her mind off of what was about to go down.
“Much better after the Motrin and rest.” She admitted, biting her lip in worry.
“It’ll be okay, I promise,” I said softly. “Nothing will happen.”
“What if they say that they can’t help me?” she whispered, sounding fearful. “What if they say that I’m dumb and I should’ve left a long time ago?”
I scoffed. “They’re not going to say that. They know the deal. They’re more than aware of your situation, and they’re going to be understanding and kind. I highly doubt anything negative comes out of their mouths at all.”
And I was right.
Mostly.
The moment that Hoax came in the room and saw who I was trying to find help for, he’d frozen solid.
Hoax was married to Pru, the daughter of Sam, one of the men that had started Free. When Hoax had gotten out of the military, he’d started working for Free, and was slowly starting to take on more than just a supporting role as the time passed. I was sure that in a couple of years, Sam would just be a helping hand instead of the entire program like he was now.
Hoax was also a member of my MC and hadn’t known who it was I was trying to get help for, only that I needed help for a friend.
And I saw the moment that he almost said no.
“Theo, honey. Go have a seat at the table,” I urged as I stood up. “I have to talk to Hoax for a second.”
Hoax’s jaw set and he looked like he’d rather throw Theo out than help her at all.
Sam, Pru’s father and Hoax’s father-in-law, seeing that something was wrong, followed us out.
The second the door closed behind us, Hoax turned on me with a ferocious growl.
“What the fuck, Liner?” Hoax hissed. “What in the absolute fuck are you doing with Tara?”
I was already shaking my head. “Not Tara.” I turned to Sam. “I asked for you to do this without him.”
Sam shrugged.
“I got suspicious when he was having this meeting without me, so I came despite being asked not to,” Hoax scoffed. “By the way, that sure the fuck looks like Tara.”
I tilted my head slightly and then looked at him like he was goddamn dumb.
“Did she look like she knew you at all?” I pushed.
Hoax opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again with a frustrated growl.
“No,” he finally admitted.
Tara knew all of the club seeing as most of them had taken a few rounds with Rome, taking turns sitting there with him so that he didn’t have to face Tara’s wrath by himself.
And Tara wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to shoot a couple of scathing words in Hoax’s direction. Even if he was about to find her help—help in which she desperately needed.
Hoax’s lips thinned. “Just…listen to her entire story. Okay?”
Hoax gritted his teeth and walked away without saying a word, leaving me standing with Sam in front of me.
“Swear to God,” I said softly. “She’s not what she seems.”
“Twins?” he guessed.
I nodded.
“I wasn’t able to pull up much about her,” he said. “Only a birth certificate. And her daughter’s birth certificate. She has no credit. No school history. No college classes. No nothing.”
I gritted my teeth. “That’s what happens when you’re not allowed to live a life.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed.
“Just listen,” I urged.
Sam nodded once and then gestured for me to follow Hoax into the conference room.
I did, finding Theo at the large table.
She looked like a child sitting in the large seat at the very end, and Hoax sitting at the other end glaring at her wasn’t helping.
As I walked by, I kicked the side of Hoax’s chair, causing him to curse.
When I took the seat beside Theo, I could tell that she was mad.
At me.
I sighed. “Theo, this is Hoax. Hoax is in the MC.”
Understanding dawned on Theo’s face.
“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
Then she started to get up, but Hoax and I said, “No, sit,” at the same time, causing her to freeze halfway standing.
I tugged on her arm to get her to sit back down and said, “Tell him your story, honey.”
Theo swallowed hard and then desperately reached for the bottle of water that sat in front of her, unopened.
She twisted the lid, or tried to, and sighed.
I took the bottle from her, twisted the cap off myself, and then handed it back.
She took it with a grimaced expression on her face, gulped half the bottle down, and then sat it in front of her without the lid.
We all waited.
“My first memory is of my sister tying me to the bed when I was six,” she started.
Both men at the table froze.
“I woke up and my hands and legs were tied to the bed. Tara was standing over me with a kitchen knife in her hand, staring at me,” she said softly. “When she finally realized that I was awake—she’d previously been staring at the pulse on my neck—she bent down and pressed the knife to my neck, right under my carotid artery, and pressed down hard enough that I felt the tip of the knife break the surface.”
Still the men said nothing.
“I screamed, waking my father up,” she continued. “He walked in, sounding distracted, saw what was going on, then admonished my sister for making a mess. And since my father encouraged us all to be ruthless, he didn’t do anything about the blood that was leaking out of a cut on my neck, nor did he tell my sister to untie me.”
“What about your mother?” Sam asked.
His voice didn’t relay anything other than curiosity, but I knew that he was feeling something based on the clench of his hands that were fisted on top of the table.
“My mother died when I was four, I was told.” She shrugged.
And on it went. Theo, at the end, told her entire life story, leading up until the day that she found herself walking down my street with no recollection of how she got there.
“They said they had two patients die and two are still unaccounted for.” Sam sat back in his chair. “That works out well, your disappearance. They’re going to count you as dead. A casualty of the tornado.”
Theo didn’t say anything.
&
nbsp; “Have you tried to contact your brother?” Hoax asked, a little more relaxed at hearing Theo’s entire life story.
I wasn’t sure that he totally believed her, but I could tell that he was leaning toward wanting to.
“Assuming you’re referring to Tyson? No, I haven’t tried contacting him.” She shook her head. “I’ve thought about it…but no.”
Hoax sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Say I believe you about all of this,” he started. “What do you hope to accomplish?”
Sam turned to him and shot him a look that I wasn’t privy to, but whatever that look happened to be, it caused Hoax to sigh.
“Your sister hurt my friend,” Hoax said softly. “It’s hard to see the difference between you and her.”
Theo didn’t offer any false platitudes that she knew wouldn’t help. Instead she waited.
“It’ll take us about a week to set something up,” he answered. “Until then, we suggest you continue staying with Liner. You’ll be safe there.”
Theo nodded once and then stood up, offering them both her hand.
My eyes went to the bones of her wrist.
Even in the weeks that I’d known her, she was still too small.
She was slowly putting on weight, but not at a fast enough rate to appease me.
She could stand to gain about thirty more pounds, and even then, it might be on the low side of acceptable.
But I could tell that she would one day get there.
One day when I was no longer in her picture.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” she said softly after shaking each of their hands.
I stood up and cupped her elbow, guiding her out of the room.
Hoax’s eyes shot to mine, and for the first time since he’d seen Theo, he looked uncertain.
Good.
Turning back to the exit, I held the door open for her and gestured for her to go in front of me.
She did but tossed me a glare over her shoulder.
“You could’ve warned me,” she growled. “You could’ve said that I was walking into a viper’s den.”
I patted her on the hand as we walked toward my truck.
“They don’t hate you,” I promised. “They just wanted to get to the bottom of the story. I swear. And, to be honest, I did request that Sam do this alone. Hoax started with Free when he got out of the military. He’s still new…and biased. Which was why I asked that he not be included in the initial meeting.”
The day was gorgeous and there wasn’t anything more I’d like to do than go for a ride with Theo on the back of my bike.
After having a week of cloudy days, it was nice to see the sunshine.
Which reminded me.
“I need to go to the office,” I said softly. “Would you mind going with me?”
She sent a glare in my direction. “Do I have a choice?”
I tossed her a look over my shoulder. “Of course, you have a choice,” I told her. “But yes, I think you’d be safer if you were with me. And those men behind me agreed.”
She sighed. “Yes.”
I grinned at her. “I shouldn’t be long. I swear.”
That was all lies.
My dad was swamped, and I ended up staying there for far longer than I ever intended to. But still, even when we did leave, she continued to be mad at me.
***
There was a point that I admitted defeat.
Gathering breath and trying not to throw up as I did, I called out for her.
“Theo!”
Nothing.
Not a sound.
I guessed that was what I got. I told her, after she stared at me with her scared rabbit eyes, that I wouldn’t bother her the rest of the night.
But what I also didn’t take into account was the predicament I now found myself in.
There was only so much I could be expected to do, to be honest.
So I did what any sane man would do.
“Theo! I need help!” I called out again.
I knew for certain she wasn’t asleep.
And when I heard the soft thump-thump of steps coming from the direction of my bedroom, I gave a pain-filled grimace.
The dog started to make that sound again, the sound that you never want to hear in the middle of the night, and I prayed that Theo hurried.
“Run!” I cried out.
The footsteps went faster, turning from shuffles to hops. “Door’s open. Just come inside!”
The door swung open, revealing Theo’s worried face.
“Monster, go outside!” I cried out in frustration.
Monster started running like only a dog about to barf could do.
Theo, understanding the problem now, followed him at a much faster pace than she’d come in here with. I heard the back door open, the alarm start to go off, and then the door slam back shut.
Moments later, I was lying on the bed, wondering what I’d done in a previous life to deserve this.
She hesitantly arrived back at the door, took one look at me, and burst out laughing.
“This is not funny!” I bellowed, dislodging a piece of Monster barf off of my chest. I felt it roll down my side and start to seep into my shirt as well as, probably, my sheets.
She covered her hand with her mouth and tried to cover the laugh, but she needn’t have bothered. I could still very much see the laughter.
“The code to turn this off is 4894,” I called out loudly. “Can you please go turn it off before the police get called?”
She disappeared again, showing up moments later with it blissfully quiet and still laughing her ass off.
“Now, will you please find a way to get this massive pile of dog barf off my chest? Please?” I begged.
Five minutes later, with a garbage bag between her hands and the still warm throw up, she wasn’t laughing.
“This is disgusting,” she said.
“Try having it on your chest,” I countered.
She made a squeaking noise in her throat. “I can…I can only imagine.”
Monster barked at the door to be let in, and I growled in frustration.
“Do you want me to let him back in?” she asked softly.
I shook my head. “Negative. I’ll bet he barfs four more times tonight. His ass is sleeping in the dog house—literally.”
She finally managed to get most of the puke off of me, then gestured to the shirt. “I can cut it off you, and we can just roll it up…or you can take it off, and get this in your hair.”
“Cut it.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was shirtless and fresh out of the shower.
Unfortunately, I had to walk to the laundry room in only a towel.
Monster had barfed on my last clean shirt. My last clean, in really good shape, shirt.
I’d have to make a run tomorrow to the men’s section and get some when I took Theo to the store to get her own clothes.
Not that I had a problem with her staying in my clothes for the foreseeable future, because goddamn did she look so much better in them than me, but I wanted her to have her own things. To begin to feel comfortable here.
“You were right. He’s barfing again,” she murmured as she watched the dog heave from the glass sliding door that led to my back yard.
“He ate a sock today,” I admitted as I walked past her to the laundry room. “And he knows damn well when he eats socks it makes his stomach hurt. Yet, every fuckin’ time I accidentally leave a pair on the ground, he eats one. Like fuckin’ clockwork.”
I’d just made it to the door of the laundry room when I heard her gasp.
She must’ve turned around and seen my naked back.
Grinning, I walked inside and closed the door almost all the way, allowing a large enough gap in the door to allow her to look if she so chose.
I wasn’t sure if she did or didn’t, but I wanted nothing more than for her to look.
“Hey, your phone
is ringing!” Theo said, sounding not as distant as I would’ve thought.
“Can you bring it to me?” I called out, hurriedly slipping into a pair of sweats sans underwear.
I heard her feet pounding as she once again hurried in the direction of the room, and I closed my eyes as I carefully thought about why I liked the sound so much.
I just liked her.
A lot.
I also liked the fact that she was where she was supposed to be—with me, in my house.
But not for long.
I viciously tore myself away from those thoughts.
I couldn’t think about that right now. Couldn’t think about that at all.
Because if I did, I’d admit that I really didn’t want her to leave. I’d also have to admit that there was something about her that called to me—to the man that I was within. Not to the person that I let the world see.
I wanted her to know the real me…and that was where it got dangerous.
I couldn’t let her know the real me. I…
“Here,” Theo said breathlessly, breaking me out of my inner thoughts.
I blinked, swallowed hard, and then took the phone from her hand.
After catching her eyes, I gave her what I hoped wasn’t a forced looking grin, and then placed the phone to my ear.
Chapter 11
I don’t have a welcome mat at my door because I’m not a liar.
-Welcome Mat
Theo
“My friend’s house burned down,” Liner said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you mind if they stay here? I’m the only one with a spare room.”
I bit my lip.
Did I mind that they stayed here?
Yes.
Was I allowed to mind? No.
I was a guest, too.
I couldn’t say no.
“You can say no,” Liner said, practically reading my thoughts. “Castiel and his woman, Turner, are more than capable of getting a hotel.”
I immediately shook my head. “No. That’s fine. You can have them stay here…do I need to hide?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not trying to hide your presence, darlin’. I’m just worried that you’re not going to do that well.”
He was right to have that concern.
I was scared of everything.
My shadow. A sound that I’d never heard before but turned out to be a dog barfing on his master’s chest.
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