Jacques clapped palms with Hamish and made for the backroom with Sherrie right behind him. She started grabbing Ava’s bags while he went to Ava. She was wearing very little and covered with a bloody sheet. He couldn’t take her out of here like this. He grabbed a fresh, thick blanket and wrapped it around her body. It was only now that he realized how small her frame was. She was tall with wider shoulders, which made her seem more muscular than she was. Right now, he could feel how thin her waist was, and he could see most of her ribs. It showed how malnourished she must have been before she arrived in Seattle.
With her wrapped securely in the warm blanket, he carefully picked her up. Her head came to rest on his shoulder. She instinctively seemed to curl into his body, and he pressed his nose into her hair for a moment. The smell of her shampoo reminded the anxious part of his brain that she was safe, and while banged up, she was alive. She was so much lighter than he had expected. He was already making a plan to ensure she was fed up while she healed. As he carried her out to the car, he could feel her breath playing gently on his neck. Even with all the turmoil, his soul felt a sort of peace in this moment.
It didn’t take long for him and Sherrie to get Ava and her things in the car and head off towards his apartment. Other than basic directions, there wasn’t any real conversation. He was far too focused on everything else that was happening right now to manage any sort of idle chatter. Sherrie didn’t seem bothered.
When they got to his place, Sherrie helped him to get everything up to his apartment before she left. They didn’t see any of his neighbors, which was good. Carrying a clearly battered, unconscious woman through your door was going to raise some eyebrows. That was the kind of attention that he really didn’t want.
Jacques carried Ava through to his bedroom, laid her gently on the bed, and covered her with the sheets to keep her from getting a chill. He then stood in the doorway for a second watching over her sleeping form. Part of him wanted her to wake up so that they could talk some more, but more so, he was glad that she was resting peacefully. After the beating that she had taken, he was glad to not see her in pain.
Satisfied that she was as comfortable as he could make her, he placed a glass of water by the bed with some meds, checked all the windows and doors to make sure they were locked, before grabbing his spare pillow and blanket and heading for the couch. Now that the adrenaline had stopped pumping, he could feel the exhaustion setting in from his very emotionally charged day. He kicked off his shoes and flopped on the couch. He was only just able to pull the blanket into place before he fell asleep.
Chapter Twelve
After meeting one of her training partners for a few drinks, Lucinda had chosen to spend the day sleeping at home. It seemed like a better idea to get her rather tipsy self to the closest bed rather than travelling halfway across the city drunk and ending up lost on the wrong side of town. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. She curled up in her empty bed, wishing absently that Zane was there with her. She always slept better with him beside her. She sighed. She knew internally that she had made the right choice, even if the outcome wasn’t the one she wanted. She pulled the sheets more tightly around her and dozed off.
She woke up the next evening with the worst hangover she’d had in a while. She squinted at the AR screen chirping happily at her that it was 6pm. Shutting down the irritating sound, Lucinda reached into her bedside table to retrieve her pre-made cold coffee and packet of aspirin. She downed the coffee in three large gulps and dragged herself to the shower. Under the hot spray, she began to feel more alive. Once clean and having pulled on some clean clothes, she made her way over to Zane’s house. It was his day off, and they had planned to spend it together.
As soon as she opened the front door, she heard a crash and splintering of wood. Her heart started hammering as she reached for her gun; she immediately worried someone had broken in. There was a grunt and a swear followed by the sounds of a heavy blows hitting flesh. With her gun raised, she crept around the corner, trying to see what was happening.
What she found was Zane and Caspian in the living room wrestling in the ruins of one of the end tables. Zane had one hand around his younger brother’s throat as Caspian punched him repeatedly in the kidneys. Not for even a second did Lucinda think this was a friendly fight.
“Stop! Now!” Lucinda shouted. Her voice echoed around the living room.
The two men stopped instantly, both turning to the source of the unexpected noise. Lucinda was filled with disbelief as she saw Caspian’s already forming black eye and Zane’s split lip. She’d heard tales of their fights before but never had been around to witness one.
Zane forced himself to his feet, his breath coming heavy as he seemed to force himself to walk calmly away from the situation. He placed both his hands on the glass of the patio doors; his shoulders were tight and hunched. Caspian planted his hands on the ground and leaned back, but his eyes were trained entirely on Zane like he was ready to go again. Before she could really think, Lucinda moved into Caspian’s eyeline.
“Kitchen now!” Lucinda snapped at him, pointing out of the room.
With a noise that was almost a growl, Caspian got up and stalked to the kitchen. There was a thud as he kicked the wall on the way through. With the fight dissipated, she stood there just looking between the brothers’ locations with disbelief. She’d heard from Dare and Zane how bad the fights could get; it was the way they had been raised in The Fringe. They responded to each other with violence when they couldn’t express themselves or agree.
She decided that it would be best to talk to Zane first. It would be easier to get through to him than Caspian. She approached him slowly. She didn’t want to make him jump. She had seen Caspian do it, and it had resulted in the guy getting a punch to the ribs. His fight reaction was very strong, and he would never forgive himself if he actually hit her. The guilt would eat him alive.
“Want to tell me what that was about?” Lucinda asked with her hands on her hips.
“Just a scrap,” he said, still breathing heavily. She wasn’t sure whether it was because of the exertion and adrenalin, or whether he’d actually been hurt by Caspian.
“Just a scrap? Didn’t look like it to me,” she challenged. Her heart was still hammering. Seeing the violence between the two guys had really gotten her on edge. She was becoming accustomed to violent situations at work, but not at home.
“Well, if you’d just listen to me,” Caspian called from the kitchen.
“Fuck off, Cas!” Zane yelled back. Lucinda could see the anger rising in Zane again, and she couldn’t have them restarting whatever feud was going on. She moved to stand between Zane and the kitchen door and pulled up her AR gauntlet’s menu.
“Cas, I’ve dropped twenty bucks into your account. Get out of here for a bit and take Dare with you,” Lucinda called through.
There was no actual response, but she guessed by the sound of the back door slamming that Caspian had gathered Dare from wherever he had been hiding and left the property. Now she could focus on Zane and see if she could calm him down properly. She walked up to him and placed a hand carefully on his bicep.
“Sit down, and let me sort out your lip,” she said softly. Zane let her take his hand and lead him back to the couch. She grabbed a damp cloth from the kitchen and stood in front of him, dabbing at the blood that was coming from the split lip. “So you going to tell me what you were fighting about?”
“Same old shit: money. He wants money but can’t work for it like he did in The Fringe. He was talking about maybe dealing for some cash,” Zane said. She could hear the pain in his tone. “I came here to give them a better life, not for him to become a dealer like he would’ve back there.”
“Is violence really the way, though?” she asked. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she could feel the shake coming to her hand. Seeing that level of violence had shaken her up a little more than she expected.
Zane didn’t answer for the moment. His squ
are jaw was set in a grim line, and there was a slight tick in the side of mouth as he was obviously trying to pick his words carefully. When they’d first started dating, he had a habit of saying exactly what he thought when he wasn’t at work. After he’d accidentally upset her a few times, it was something that he’d trained himself out of. She still always knew when he was chewing on an answer, though.
“You going to talk to me?” Lucinda asked with her hands on her hips.
“You know I’ve tried to curb this. It’s just Cas and I…it’s how we do things,” Zane said.
“That’s the best you’ve got? That’s how we do things? Seriously, Zane, can’t you just sit down and talk like normal people?” Lucinda said exasperatedly.
“No, because we aren’t normal people. We weren’t born here, and where we come from, that’s how you settle disputes. Cas was seen as a man that side of the wall, and nine out of ten times he throws the first fucking punch,” Zane said. He was quickly winding himself up. She wasn’t afraid of him because she knew that there was no way he’d set a hand on her. Dare and Caspian were the only two he fought with. He got to his feet and started pacing the room like a caged animal.
“Ok, okay. I’m sorry I said it that way,” she said, placing both her hands up. There was no way that they could discuss this rationally if he was agitated.
“When we have kids, it will be different. I won’t teach them that fighting is the only answer. It’s just how things were back there. It’s hard to breed out something that…,” Zane was still talking, but Lucinda had stopped listening.
When we have kids. He’d already thought about this? She was currently stuck on the idea of living with him, and he was already considering how he was going to raise their children. She hadn’t even considered if she wanted kids or if she wanted to get married. She had kinda assumed that he wasn’t in a rush seeing as they still had all his brothers and sisters living with them.
She swallowed hard. It was tough as her mouth was so dry, and a nauseated feeling was quickly swelling in her stomach. She was rushing into this. She was giving him the impression that she was ready for more than she actually was. Fuck. How could she move into this place where violence like that fight was shrugged off in a second? Maybe this moving in was a really bad idea. Did she really want to be around the guys’ explosive tempers all the time?
The need to run was intensifying, but she had just got here. What good excuse did she have to get out of here? Nothing, her brain was drawing a blank. She could feel a tightening in her chest as she started struggling to breathe. Zane was looking at her now, his brows furrowing in concern. Before he could touch her, she jumped to her feet.
“Jacques needs me urgently,” she lied as she backed away towards the door, grabbing her bag as she went.
No kiss. No hug. She literally ran out the door. It wasn’t until she was halfway down the street when she realized what had just happened. She had just run away from her boyfriend. Why? Because of an offhand comment about having kids. Was it really that which was bothering her? Her mind was so muddled. She was completely in love with Zane and had been pretty much since she met him. She really couldn’t imagine a future without him, but there were just some things that she couldn’t cope with, and she didn’t know what to do.
She looked back to the house. She couldn’t go back. She couldn’t tell him what had just happened. Instead, she made for the diner at the end of the street. She’d have a coffee just to calm herself down and then…then she didn’t know what she would do. She was supposed to spend today with him, and she wanted to go back and be entirely honest with him, but she wasn’t sure how he’d take it. There was a pit of guilt swirling in her stomach. It was their only day off together this week, and she’d run off and ditched him.
As she pushed the door to the cafe open, the scent of coffee and bacon hit her, making her stomach rumble. She took a seat at a table and flicked through the menu. Using the AR system, she ordered a coffee and a bacon sandwich. She placed her head on the table and groaned a little. How had things gone from being so perfect to a complete mess in the space of a week?
“You and Zane fight, too?” Caspian said. Lucinda looked up slowly to find Zane’s younger brother standing beside her with a cup of coffee.
“No…yeah…I don’t know,” Lucinda said, dragging her hand through her ringlets.
“I know my opinion doesn’t matter, but all I ask is if you are going to dump Zane, don’t fuck him around,” Caspian said. Lucinda’s head snapped up. There was a protective fire in his dark eyes.
“What! Why do you think I’m dumping Zane?” Lucinda asked. She may have been freaking out about moving in, but she had never considered splitting up with him. She loved him far too much.
“You’ve been acting very weird the last couple of weeks. Flaking on him and acting distant. Your relationship ain’t none of my business, but I don’t want to see my brother hurt,” Caspian said.
“Trust me when I say I don’t want to hurt Zane,” she said. She hadn’t quite realized how her emotion had showed on the surface.
“He’s never done anything for himself. Not really. It’s always been about us. Like I said, if you’re going to end it, just…I dunno…be nice or something,” Caspian said, shrugging his shoulders a little.
Even after they had fought, Caspian was here standing up for his brother. The anger from whatever had caused their altercation had seemed to have passed, and he stood there fighting for his brother not to get hurt, even while he had a black eye forming from the same brother. Having never had any siblings, she didn’t understand this bond. If she had ever argued with anyone, she couldn’t then talk nice about them five minutes later.
“Caspian, I’m not ending it with Zane. Things are just complicated right now,” Lucinda said with a sigh.
“Well, just fuck and make up. It’s always worked for me,” Caspian said nonchalantly.
Lucinda felt the laugh as it exploded from her. Caspian was such a gem; he always said things so bluntly and to the point. Unlike Zane, he’d never learned to guard his words, and in a way, she hoped that he never did. It was a part of his character that she loved. He may only be nineteen, but he always seemed a lot more grown up.
“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks, Cas,” she said with a chuckle. “Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure,” he responded.
“Don’t tell Zane I was here. Let me figure some things out,” Lucinda said. All she needed was for Caspian to go back to Zane and tell him that he had seen her hiding out here, and that was going to make things a whole lot worse.
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” he said.
Lucinda got up and hugged him. Caspian wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. Out of all the siblings, he was the one she had expected to struggle to accept her, but he had actually been one of the most accepting once he got used to her. After a few moments, he stepped back. Without another word, he went back to the other side of the diner and settled at his table with Dare. She slipped back into her seat and put her head in her hands. Now she had to figure what she was going to say to Zane when she saw him next.
Chapter Thirteen
Ava awoke to an aching feeling that covered her entire body. She dreaded the thought of moving as she knew it was going to get a whole lot worse when she did. Cracking her good eye open, she surveyed her surroundings. She wasn’t in the back room of the Oaken Casket anymore, that was for sure. The bedroom was painted a calming cream color, with an AR overlay of electrical circuits, and the bed she was tucked up in was covered in a layer of gray blankets. This must be Jacques’ room. There was a note scrawled on the AR wall.
::There are painkillers on the nightstand for when you wake up. J::
With a groan, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Fuck, did that hurt. There were aches in places that she didn’t know existed, and her mind was a little foggy from the high strength painkillers that the doctor had given her. She grabbed the pills that Jacques had left her and sw
allowed them down with a large gulp of water. Hopefully, that would dull the aching without knocking her out again.
Rather than risking getting to her feet, she relaxed into the bed; she wanted to see the effect that the painkiller had on her before she tried anything. The last thing she needed right now was to get woozy halfway to the bathroom and collapse, especially as she had no idea if Jacques was even in the apartment.
As she settled into the bed, she found herself looking around the small bedroom. Other than the bed, there was only a modest dresser and a night stand. The bed was made up with matching covers, and everything was neat and tidy, but in such a small space, she guessed it was easy to keep tidy. There weren’t any AR posters on the wall, just the electrical wire overlay. There were thick, heavy black curtains covering the one window, with a thin seam in the middle that glowed with light. It must be daytime because it was soft—without the harshness of neon bulbs.
When she was satisfied that the pills weren’t going to knock her sideways, she slipped to the edge of the bed. She was careful standing up, making sure that her legs could handle her full weight before subjecting them to it. Once she was standing, she made her way carefully to the door. Opening it slowly and quietly, she found Jacques’ small living room. He was fast asleep on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him. It was only now that she thought about her state of dress. She looked down to find herself only in her underwear, her beaten body thoroughly on show. Right now, she couldn’t care less. Finding where he’d put her clothes and actually getting dressed would take more energy than she actually had.
She left Jacques to sleep and moved as quietly as she could across the living room. She closed herself in the tiny bathroom and used the toilet before stopping at the mirror over the sink. Her face was a mess of dark bruises, and large strips of what seemed to be tape was holding her nose in place. She tentatively touched her nose, and pain emanated from the origin of her touch. She gritted her teeth, trying to hold in the shout of pain, letting nothing but a low moan escape her. This wasn’t the first time she’d been in a fight, but this was the worst beating she’d ever received. She thought that once she’d left The Fringe, she wasn’t going to have to fight over men ever again. Clearly, she had been very wrong.
Recycled Lives Page 10
