“There’s no debt to be paid. Some people need to be put down like the dogs they are, and I was in the right place at the right time.”
The man who opened the door stood off to the side, watching but never engaging, and I could see a level of darkness behind his eyes that shocked me. He looked like a college frat brother, but his eyes were cold and dead.
“The boy was my brother and I owe you a debt of my life. Whatever you need, I’ll do until you feel the debt has been paid,” Skid remarked, and my gaze snapped to his.
He met with Smokey and Bullet earlier this morning and it shocked me he was willing to distance himself from the Hounds to help this man. Family was paramount to him, and it worried me that Sadie and Jacob would be away from him, if Callahan took him up on the offer.
Smokey glanced at me and nodded slightly before turning back to Callahan. He looked over his shoulder to the man observing and asked, “What do you think, James?”
“I think it’s a great idea. We can help each other out when needed and we all win.”
“Then it’s settled. What’s your name, kid?”
“Dalton, but my brothers call me Skid.”
Callahan walked to Skid and extended his hand to him. Skid locked arms to the elbow with him and they both nodded. With no additional conversation, we left the house and, as a group, rode out of the Flats and back to the clubhouse.
When we arrived, I saw Sadie and Jacob tossing a ball for Bear and I stopped Skid before he walked away.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do? You’re leaving them vulnerable when you’re not with them.”
“I don’t have to worry about Sadie or Jacob as long as you’re around. You’re not planning on leaving, are you?” he asked, his gaze cutting through me like a knife.
“I’ll protect them with my life. You have my word.”
He pulled me into a bro-hug and slapped my back before walking up to his sister and hugging her. I saw him whisper into her ear and she nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks as her eyes locked with mine. Skid played with Jacob and Sadie walked up to me, pulling me into a hug.
“Is it true? He’s going to work with Callahan?” she asked, her eyes wet with tears.
“Callahan isn’t the bad guy everyone thinks he is. Dalton’s going to help him and in turn, it will help the MC,” I replied, using her brother’s real name, hoping to ease some of her pain.
“What about us?” she asked, her gaze moving to the ground.
I lifted her chin and kissed her softly. “I’m not going anywhere, sweet Sadie. You and Jacob are mine to protect, to watch over, to love.”
“Love?” she asked, and I kissed her again.
“Isn’t love what you’re feeling?” I waited for her response, knowing if she didn’t feel the same way, it would gut me.
“I think it is, but I’ve never loved anyone but my brothers and Uncle Mick.”
“Do you love me?”
“I do. As crazy as it sounds, I knew you were the one from the moment I opened my eyes and saw you watching over me.”
“I promise to never break your heart, to never hurt you on purpose, and to always be the person you can depend on. I want to be that for you and Jacob.”
“So, what happens now?”
“Now, we start our life and when Dalton needs us, we’re there for him. Because we’re family.”
She smiled and Bear bumped into my leg. I scratched behind his ear as Jacob tossed the ball again and he took off to chase it. I couldn’t wait to finally have Sadie in my bed, under me, allowing me to give her pleasure, knowing it would take time. She has demons that chase her, and from the scars I felt under her shirt this morning, my girl was hurt and required a delicate touch.
Dalton agreed to keep Jacob at the clubhouse while I followed Sadie, in her old car, back to her house. Taking in the modest two-bedroom house, I knew we would need a bigger place soon. Bear was a big dog and Jacob was a growing boy. With any luck, Sadie and I would add to our family in the future, and I wanted to give her the best I could. She deserved it after her lifetime of sacrifice.
I sat on the couch and pulled her onto my lap. I needed to kiss her, to know she was real. To know we were real. She slid her arms over my chest, linking her hands behind my neck as she shifted to straddle my lap. My cock was thick and begging to be set free, to find its home within her, but I settled for a deep kiss, her tongue caressing mine as she showed me her affection. My hands wandered under her shirt and I stroked her back, the raised scars on her skin causing a fire to build within me. She broke the kiss and smiled with her hand over her swollen lips. Knowing this couldn’t go any farther today, I helped her pack a small bag for her and Jacob. The ride back to the clubhouse, her arms were wrapped around my waist and thoughts of our future swam through my head.
I needed to find out what happened to her, and I was afraid she wouldn’t tell me. Out of fear or misplaced guilt or shame. Returning to the clubhouse, I cornered Bullet after getting Sadie settled into my room, hoping he would tell me what or whom I needed to kill.
“You need to ask her. I don’t know all the details, but I can tell you, about eight or so years ago, something dimmed the light in her eyes. She’s happier than I’ve ever seen her.” He stepped closer to me and his voice took on a menacing tone, “If you do anything to hurt that girl, I’ll cut you into pieces and no one will ever know. Do I make myself clear?”
I nodded and watched him walk away.
What did she experience that caused such a sudden change in her?
Deciding to give her time to tell me, I walked to our cabin to find her stretched out on the bed, Bear wrapped around her leg and Jacob doing his homework on the kitchen table. Vowing then and there to slay her demons and give her peace, I picked up a book and joined her on the bed.
My eyes glanced at her as she read, a genuine smile on her face.
Whoever hurt her would pay.
Whoever damaged her would die.
Whoever stood in my way would be destroyed.
For Sadie, it was worth it.
To be continued …
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Embracing My Nightmare - Prologue
Elise
Horrid screams pierced through the thick veil of sleep I was swimming in, pushing the monsters back into the recesses of my mind. I tried to fight my way through the darkness and back into the light, fearful that whatever was causing the screams was worse than the demons that chased me when I slept.
My ‘father’, Roger, had forced the pill down my throat, a strong grip on my neck as he poured the water into my mouth, making me choke as he yelled at me. His fingers dug into the tender skin of my neck as I swallowed the bitter pill and I knew I would have bruises from his brutality tomorrow. I had become good at hiding the evidence of their abuse, but I feared these injuries may be the worst ones yet, and that was saying quite a bit.
My ‘mother’, Sally, watched him, shaking her head in disgust at me while they waited for the pill to take effect. He held me to my small bed by the throat, his eyes wandering over me, making my stomach lurch as I noticed the lust in his gaze. It took little time before I was dragged into the dark world of sleep, teetering on the edge of awake and unconscious, fearful what tonight would bring.
Lately, Roger had become more brutal with his punishments and his eyes had lingered too long on my developing frame. Yesterday, he had ‘accidentally’ walked in while I was showering, and I knew deep down that he was about to subject me to a worse punishment than ever before.
My sixteenth birthday was last week, and they had locked me in my room, reminding me I wasn’t special and didn’t deserve a party or even a present to open. I had grown accustomed to their cruelty, but their words still stung my heart like a poisonous arrow. I locked my feelings away and dreame
d that one day, someone would love me for the person I was and not try to change me for their own needs and desires.
They reminded me daily that they had adopted me, screamed at me that I should be more grateful that they had taken me off the streets and into their loving home. Loving home my ass. I lived every day of the last six years maneuvering through the landmines they set for me. Harsh words and hard fists had been my daily routine since I could remember. I never understood why they hated me so much and why they had adopted me if they didn’t want kids.
It was bad enough someone left me at a church when I was five years old. The pastor’s wife found me filthy, starved, and crying for someone—someone who never came back. After no one claimed me, I went into the foster system and after five years of rotating homes; Sally and Roger Hutchins adopted me. They kept the name the state assigned to me, and they never attempted to bond with me. I was always a burden to them, and I never knew why.
I could hear angry voices shouting from the other room and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t shake the tomb of sleep that had encased me. I was lucid to what was happening but couldn’t move more than a twitch. They had drugged me before, but nothing to this effect. I knew whatever was happening in the other room; I was powerless to stop it or to protect myself.
I didn’t know if I would stop what sounded like my ‘parents’ being beaten, even if I was able to. They had treated their two dogs better than they had treated me and some days, the only food I got was from the meals the school served. I learned years ago to hide a small part of my lunch, just in case they decided I was too much of a burden and starved me for days.
“Please, don’t hurt him,” my mother pleaded with the unknown person who was with them. “He’s all I’ve got in this world.”
“WHAT ABOUT HER?” the man’s voice bellowed, startling me and for the first time, I truly feared for my life.
The timber in his voice was dark and deadly and I felt the goosebumps on my skin as the sound of flesh hitting flesh filtered into my small bedroom. My head swayed as I forced my eyes open, blinking as the harsh sounds filled my room. Someone had shoved my twin bed against the far wall and as my blurry vision started to clear, I could hear my mother’s sobs.
“You promised you would care for her, to protect her, and love her. And what did you two do? You neglected her, you beat her, and you starved her.” The stranger's voice sounded hollow and deadly as he questioned her.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
“You were paid well to take care of her, and you failed. How could you do that to her?” I felt my heavy legs begin to move, the pinpricks of feeling starting to ease down my limbs, causing me to twitch with pain. The bed squeaked, and I forced my limbs to still, afraid whoever was causing all the commotion would come to see if I was awake.
“Please. We never wanted this. Never wanted her.” Her cries echoed into my bare room, and I felt the last little piece of my heart shatter. I was aware they never wanted me, but to hear someone had paid them to take care of me and that they didn’t care enough to even try, had tears falling down my cheeks, soaking the pillow under my head. “We were forced to take her, and she’s nothing but a little whore. Strutting around the house, trying to catch his eye. She is a dirty slut who deserves . . .”
Her scream pierced the last of the fog I was trapped in as Roger’s grunts sounded over the attacker’s roar. Sally pleaded and begged for the man to stop and finally, the thuds ceased, and the only sounds were heavy breathing and her broken sobs.
The rusty bed frame groaned slightly as I moved, trying to get the blood back into my limbs. My head was swimming and my vision was hazy from the drugs they had forced on me, but I needed to see whoever was causing my tormentors pain. I needed to know who was avenging me, the unwanted girl.
I tried to lower my arms but found they had been bound to the bed with soft silk. My heart thumped loudly in my chest as the drug fog threatened to take me under again. The low voice of the unknown man drifted through the room, but my brain was too hazy to understand the words he was uttering to my ‘mother’.
Fuck her and her bastard husband for what they had put me through. I hope, whoever he was, he made them suffer. I hoped it was painful and drawn out before they met their makers. The fresh pain of their abuse was clear on my emaciated body. I should have forgiveness for them but having spent a life unloved and unwanted, I had hardened the last of my heart to survive.
“You want me to do what?” she screeched and my head snapped to the door at the fear coming from her.
“You heard me you stupid bitch. Either you do it or I will, and I promise I won’t be merciful. I promise to make you suffer for everything you did to her. Now choose,” he yelled, and I tried to draw myself into a tight ball on my bed.
I was covered with a light sheet and there was slack in my restraints, but not enough for me to free myself. I was stuck between nightmares with no place to go, forced to be the silent witness to whatever danger Roger and Sally had brought to themselves. I silently prayed that sleep would take me back under to avoid whatever fate awaited me, but with each passing second, I became more alert.
The cocking of a gun stilled me in my bed and my body trembled. Was I going to be next after he was finished with them? Was tonight the night I would finally die in the hell I had existed in for so long?
“CHOOSE!” the man bellowed, and I turned my head into the pillow, hoping to silence the begging and pleading coming from Sally.
“I-I-I c-c-can’t,” she cried, and the gunshot echoed into the room, making me jump as my ears rang, muffling the screams coming from Roger.
“You killed her you son of a bitch,” Roger wheezed out with a cough and the anger and terror in his voice scared me to my core. “How could you kill her? After everything we did for Elise. For you!”
“You did nothing for her, you selfish bastard. You lied to me and I warned you to never try to double cross me. I thought out of everyone, I could trust you to keep your word. You’re a depraved man, Roger. Too bad Sally beat you before she killed you. Sad, she felt the only way out was suicide.”
“Please, don’t. Don’t!” Roger screamed as the gun sounded again.
The silence stretched out, and I was shivering from panic as the door opened. Slamming my eyes shut, I hoped it would be over soon and I could finally be free from the horrors my life had been. He walked slowly across the room and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hide the trembling.
The bed dipped as he sat next to me and I squeezed my eyes closed and waited. Softly, a hand brushed the hair off my face and with a gentle stroke, he ran his finger down my cheek. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, “You’re safe now. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
My eyes opened slowly, and the bright lights shining through the door shadowed him. I could tell he was a large man and the only thing I could make out was his jet-black hair that framed his face. His intoxicating scent enveloped me; a woodsy scent mixed with the bitter smell of copper.
Recognizing the smell as blood, their blood, I tugged on the restraints, trying to move away from him. His hand flexed on his lap and he reached out to touch my face again. I tilted my head away and whimpered. With an audible exhale, he placed his hand back on his lap and stared at me.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I pleaded on a whisper.
His gaze moved to the bruises running up and down my arms and wrapping around my neck. A low rumble from deep in his chest. “I could never hurt you, Elise. I should have been here sooner. I’m sorry it took me so long.”
He stood from the bed and the absence of him next to me caused a pain to lance through my heart. How could someone who just killed my ‘parents’ cause such a reaction in me? What was wrong with me that the first real sign of attraction was to the person who just murdered two people? For me.
“I don’t understand. Who are you? Why were you looking for me? Why did you kill them?” My eyes grew wide, and I didn’t know if he would punish
me for seeing him or for asking questions that I didn’t want the answers to. My breathing became erratic, and he moved closer to the door.
“Calm down, little lamb. Someone will be here soon to untie you. When they arrive, tell them that Roger drugged you, tied you to the bed, and you woke up when you heard the gunshots. You don’t know who shot who, but you heard the gun go off twice. Tell them everything that has happened to you, but I ask one thing.”
“I’ll do whatever you want. You saved me from them,” I reasoned, hoping to dissuade his anger. He groaned low before clearing his voice.
“Never mention me to anyone. Ever. I wasn’t here, and you never saw me. It’s safer for you. Promise me, lamb.” His deep voice cascaded over me and I nodded my head.
His eyes shone a deep blue briefly, the reflecting light cascading into the small room as he observed me. “Say it.”
“I promise,” I whispered.
I meant every word. I would never tell a soul about the man who saved me from the misery I had existed in for so long. Who would believe me anyway? I wasn’t special. I was just me.
He turned to leave and with his back to me, he spoke his final words with a marked promise, “Live your life, lamb. Experience the world, make friends, but remember one thing. You belong to me. I’ll be back for you when you least expect it. When that day comes, be prepared. I won’t take no for an answer.”
I felt his warning down to the depths of my soul and I knew that our next encounter would be the changing point in my life. Whoever my savior was had just become my new nightmare.
About the Author
H.J. Marshall began her love of reading and writing at an early age and has always dreamed of being a writer full time. A nomadic youth exposed her to different perspectives of life, community, and culture, resulting in a lifelong love of food, music, and history.
No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology Page 12
