Saving Reli

by Brooke Summers

  "No, I don't. I'd like to have dinner soon though," she yells, sounding pissed off.

  "You're so touchy,” Zella teases her; they're standing outside of the kitchen.

  "Touchy? Zella, you kissed him."

  "Look, Anna, I never knew you liked him. Who did you think I was going on a date with tonight? The pope?"

  Oh, they like the same guy.

  "I've liked Gary for three years, Zel. How can you say you never knew? Hell, even the slave knows that I like him."

  "The slave doesn't listen to you. Now, if you don't mind, I need to shower. Why don't you go and do something productive?" Zella responds nastily.

  Their words hit me hard, just like I know they were meant to do, but that's all that I am to this family: a slave. It doesn't matter that my father was married to Talia and that we're stepsisters. When my dad died, everything changed. I was no longer a member of this family; instead I became their slave.

  The sound of the shower turning on has me rushing around. I put the coffee pot on, knowing that as soon as Talia's home, she'll want a cup and sometimes Anna will have one too. I add the finishing touches to the dinner, happy that all I'll have to do is dish it up when everyone's ready to eat.

  The shower turns off and I make my way upstairs. When I reach the girl's bedroom, I knock on the door and wait to be told to enter.

  "Yoreli, hurry," Zella cries; she looks flustered. "I don't have much time. He's picking me up at six thirty and we've yet to eat."

  I give her a small smile. "You'll be fine. Take a seat and I'll do your makeup first. What look are you going for?" I ask. I actually do enjoy doing the girls makeup for whenever they go somewhere nice.

  "I want a sultry look." I nod and begin to apply her makeup. Anna's sitting in the background, glaring at the both of us.

  Finally, I'm able to go to bed. I wasn't allowed to when they were having dinner; I had to wait until they were finished and clean up after them. Then I had to give Anna a foot massage to cheer her up because she's jealous that Gary chose Zella over her. When I’d finished with Anna, Zella arrived home with a smile on her face.

  Talia demanded that I clean the girls room again as they had already made a mess. So while they were talking about Zella's date, I was cleaning again. Finally, when it got to eleven pm, I thought for sure that I was finished for the day. But Talia had other ideas; I was to clean the sitting room and dining room. She wanted everything spotless for the morning, she informed me; she has an important business meeting at eight am and it'll be in the dining room.

  I close my bedroom door behind me, strip out of my clothes and collapse onto the bed. It's just after midnight and I have to be up at six in order to have everything ready for Talia's meeting. She wants food for them, along with tea, coffee, and refreshments. We've all been instructed that we're not to argue or shout while the meeting is happening.

  I close my eyes and start to fall asleep but the sound of my door opening has my body tensing. Not tonight, I silently beg. I'm too worn out, there's no way I'll be able to fight her. She's just going to take whatever she wants from me.

  Two

  John

  “Dad. How are you?” I ask as I sit down on my chair. I’m fucking exhausted; I’ve just gotten back from a three week working trip. I had to fly out to Japan and deal with a client's security. He and his wife have been getting threatening letters and calls, and they called me needing help when the perp went from threatening them to hurting his wife. Thankfully we were able to find the fucker who had been terrorizing the couple and he’s safely behind bars.

  “Good, although if you don’t call your mother, she may kill me,” he grouses.

  I groan. Shit, my mom is a woman not to be messed with. She likes to have her family together for dinner once a week, or if she had her way, every day of the week and I’ve not been home to have a family dinner in over a month.

  “Shit; I’ll call her.”

  “You do that and maybe she can stop bitching to me,” he murmurs, and I know that they were both worried about me as they always do whenever I’m overseas. I was in the Army for years. I was injured four years ago and was medically discharged. Now I own a multi-million dollar security firm.

  “And son, before you ask, I haven’t heard from her. Talia stopped us coming by after Paul died.” I know that not seeing Yoreli is eating away at my dad. Paul was his best friend and his business partner; Dad promised he’d watch over his daughter and her step-mom took her away and Dad’s not been able to locate her.

  He also won’t let me find her. I have the means to do so and I could have her found within minutes but Dad has made me promise not to, that if Yoreli needs him she’ll call. I just hope that he’s right. We’re not even sure they still live in the same house; whenever I drive past, there’s no one home.

  There’s something about her that I haven’t been able to forget. I’ve known her since she was born, but I hadn’t seen her in years and when I saw her at her father’s funeral it was like someone had sucker punched me in the gut. I couldn’t breathe as I stared at her. I’m usually so composed and yet as it took me a good few minutes to get myself under control. She’s not been far from my mind since then, and it pisses me off that she’s practically vanished.

  “Okay, my next case is here in Detroit so I won’t be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.” My next case is a little more complex than any others that I’ve had. It involves computer hacking and shit I’m not really up on. Thankfully, I have a man on my staff who’s one hell of a hacker. Zeke can get into the FBI’s database within two minutes. He’s got an entire network of friends that can help him if need be.

  “Good, your mom will be pleased. Have you thought more about having your brothers join you?” he asks, and it’s the same damn question he asks every few months.

  “Dad, I’ve told you, if they go through the training then yes, I’ll be more than happy to have them on the team. I’m always looking for more men.”

  “Good, I’d be expecting them to turn up at your office some time today,” he informs me and I frown; why would they be here?

  I love my brothers; we’re all extremely close, but they’ve never once shown up at my work.

  “Why?”

  “John, just wait for them to tell you.”

  There’s a knock on my office door and before I can say anything, the door opens and all four of my brothers are standing there with grins on their faces.

  “They’re here. I’ll talk to you later,” I tell my father and end the call. “Come in,” I instruct my brothers.

  They file in, each of them glancing around as they take in my office.

  “What can I do for you?” My patience isn’t great. I want to go home and sleep.

  “Well, you always told us we could work for you if we did the training,” Cohen says; he's the more serious of the bunch.

  “I remember what I said.”

  He raises his brow at me and hands me an envelope. “Open it.”

  I do as he says and open it. I’m fucking shocked to see that not only has Cohen, but all my brothers, have completed the training required to work for me. They aced it. Not only that, I can see from the reports what their strengths and weaknesses are. I’m shocked that it’s Cage, my youngest, that is the all rounder; he’s good at everything. Including hacking. How the hell did I not know that little shit could hack?

  Cohen and Talin are twins and they’re twenty-seven; their strengths are hand to hand combat and communications. Not that I’m surprised. They learned Krav Maga in their early twenties; they’re also black belts in Karate and know how to street fight. Those fuckers used to get into fights constantly when they were teenagers.

  Matthew, from what the report says, could very well have been a sharp shooter. He’s that good. Damn, he almost beat my score and I’m fucking trained in this. He’s also good at communications but excels in subterfuge. He’s good at staying hidden in the shadows.

  “Okay. Monday morning, you’ll be
in the office at nine. I’ll talk to HR and have them set you all up on the accounts. You’ll be on probation, as is everyone who joins.” No wonder why my father asked me that damn question; they must have been training for a long time to become as good as they are.

  They all nod, their excitement clear to see.

  “Get out of here; I’m going home. It’s Friday, and I need to sleep.” I need to send a few emails and get the files ready for Monday morning. Once that’s done, I’m going home.

  Talin, the smart ass, salutes me. “Yes, boss.” He’s got a smirk on his face and I roll my eyes.

  “Get out of here,” I repeat, and Cohen grabs Talin by his collar and drags him out of my office. “Monday at nine. Don’t be late,” I tell them and they all nod as Cage closes the door behind him.

  No doubt they’ll all be going out to celebrate, each of them finding a woman to spend the night with. Once again, my thoughts go to Yoreli. I just hope that she’s okay.

  Three

  Reli

  "Wake up!"

  Huh? I move away from the sound, wanting to stay asleep.

  "I said wake up, you lazy bitch!" That angry voice filters through my mind.

  Smack.

  I cry out at the pain that radiates from my ass.

  "I said wake up."

  Smack.

  "Owwwwww," I cry, moving away once more. This time, I'm awake.

  "I told you to wake up."

  Fear hits me as I recognize that voice. Slowly turning to see her, I catch a glimpse of the alarm clock I have. The time is flashing. Oh no, there was a power outage last night. "What time is it?"

  "Time?" she questions through gritted teeth. "I have less than half an hour before everyone arrives and you've not made any food."

  I scramble off the bed. "My alarm didn't go off." As soon as I say the words, I instantly regret them.

  Her brown eyes flash with anger. "I let you live under my roof, feed you, clothe you, and this is how you repay me? Making up excuses, today of all days?"

  "I'm so sorry, Talia; I had my alarm set for six thirty. I was going to have everything ready. What can I do?" I'm so frightened right now. I've never seen her look so angry before. Blinking myself fully awake, I look at her, really look at her, and realize she’s dressed already. Why didn’t she wake me before she got dressed? She’s in her usual work attire of a pencil skirt and fancy blouse; today she’s paired them with a smart-looking blazer and her heels are at least six-inches.

  She glares at me. "Get dressed. I need you to go to the store and get some food."

  "What do you want me to get?" I ask as I rush to my wardrobe to get dressed. Fingers tangle in my hair; I let out a yelp as I'm pulled backward and thrown down onto the bed.

  I watch in absolute shock as Talia raises her hand and viciously backhands me. My head is thrown to the side; my fingers brush along the skin where she's just hit me. It stings like hell.

  "Get dressed. You have twenty minutes to get everything." She screams at me, "I should have gotten rid of you when your father died. You've been nothing but a burden." She turns on her heel and walks out of my room. “Don’t test me, Yoreli. You now have fifteen minutes.”

  I race around the room getting dressed; I don’t want to make her any more angrier than she already is. I'm downstairs within two minutes. I snatch Talia's car keys off the table by the door, along with the shopping list she has given me and her credit card. I'm not allowed to have cash as she's worried I'll spend money on something and she'll not know. Whereas using her credit card means she can see exactly what I'm spending.

  I rush out to the car and quickly slide into the plush leather seat. It’s a Bugatti Chiron Sport. This car is fast. I don’t get to drive it often. Talia has three cars; I usually have to drive the wagon, as I call it. It’s my dad’s old car. I race to the store; thankfully rush hour hasn't begun so there's no traffic.

  After grabbing everything on the list as quickly as possible, I rush to the checkout line. As I stand here and practically tap my foot, the sharply dressed man in front of me takes his time to pay; he’s been on the phone for as long as I’ve been in line. His voice is deep and smooth. He’s tall and has got to be at least six feet, maybe even six-two? There’s something about his voice that’s that’s familiar, and yet I can’t seem to recall where I’ve heard it before.

  As though he can feel me staring at him, he turns to look at me. I stifle a gasp as I take in his haunting green eyes. Those damn eyes of his have stayed with me since my father’s funeral. It’s John Princeton. I glance down as shame courses through me. I never wanted anyone to see me like this. I’ve never felt more ashamed in my life.

  I hear him end the call and slowly lift my head. His eyes narrow on me before quickly turning back to face the cashier. Finally, he finishes up and glances over his shoulder as he leaves, his eyes zoning in on my neck where the red marks have turned to an ugly blueish black. Thankfully, he turns back and walks out of the store. He didn’t recognize me and I’m not sure why it stings.

  The cashier rings up my items quickly and I pack them into bags, needing to hurry up and get the hell out of here. I don’t have long left and no doubt Talia’s getting angrier the longer I’m gone. I quicken my pace as I leave the store; I keep my head down and move toward Talia’s car.

  Just as I'm pulling out of my parking space, I see the man that was in front of me in the store standing by a fancy car. Looking out the window as I'm driving through narrowed eyes, he spots me, his bright green striking eyes go wide. God, he's gorgeous. He's dressed in a suit; as soon as I drive past, I glance in the rear-view mirror and see him taking his cell out of his pocket.

  I arrive home to find Talia waiting for me at the door. "Hurry, they'll be here any minute."

  I nod as I grab the bags from the passenger seat. "I got everything you wanted."

  She scrunches up her nose in disdain. "You had better." I hurry past her into the house and into the kitchen, tossing the bags onto the table. Talia follows me into the kitchen, standing in the doorway while I begin to pull stuff out of the bags and get everything arranged on the trays. "Once you've done that, I want you upstairs packing for us. We're leaving tomorrow."

  I nod. "Yes, ma'am. Is there anything in particular you'd like me to pack?" I ask as I quickly put the coffee pot on.

  "We're going to Key West. We'll be gone for a week. I want you to pack the girls bathing suits and bikinis. It's going to be hot."

  "Of course; I'll pack the sunscreen too."

  "Get this done first," she demands.

  The doorbell sounds, and I begin panicking. I've not gotten everything ready. I need another couple of minutes. I still need to make sandwiches, but I got cakes to put onto a platter so they can help themselves. Looking down I try to relax; I focus on my wrist.

  No! Crap, where is it?

  I glance around the kitchen seeing if I can find it. But it’s not here and I don’t have time to search. Talia’s going to be pissed if I don’t get this food ready.

  "Yoreli, are you ready?" Talia asks as she walks into the kitchen. "They're starting to arrive." She lifts the platter of cakes off the table, turns on her heel and walks out.

  I manage to get the sandwiches made as Talia comes back. "Good, now make sure there's another pot of coffee on. Once that's done, you may leave."

  I nod. "Yes, ma'am." I begin to clean the kitchen, knowing that she'll be back to take the coffee pot and cups with her. If I don't clean up now, I'll have to do it later. My mind is trying to remember where the last place I had my bracelet was but I can’t remember. The last piece of my parents is gone.

  Four

  John

  “Try to keep him reigned in.” I sigh as I talk to Cohen; they’re working on a job for a senator. His daughter has had a couple of threats made against her and the senator called us. Cohen, Talin, and Greg are working on it. Greg’s been with me from the start and the only one I trust to be able to keep my twin brothers in line.

  �
��I’ll try but he’s not happy. She received another threat today,” Cohen says quietly, which means that Talin is in the room with him.

  “Okay, and?” What the hell am I missing here?

  He sighs. “He’s protective of her. Since the minute he saw her, he felt this weird connection. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

  Shit.

  “Okay, well, keep him off the fucking case,” I say a little too harshly and glance around the grocery store to make sure no one has overheard me. It’s not too busy, seeing as it’s early in the morning. I find it the best time to get my shopping done.

  My brothers have been working for me for four days. Four fucking days and Talin’s already attached himself to a client. That’s not how it works. He could cause a hell of a lot of trouble by being stupid.

  “It’s not that easy.” Cohen huffs. “He’s not going to walk away.”

  I walk toward the checkout. “Put him on the phone,” I demand, needing to know what the fuck is going on. I put my items onto the checkout belt and wait for the cashier to ring them through.

  “I know,” Talin says gruffly as he comes onto the phone. “We’re not meant to get involved with clients. I haven’t touched her and I won’t. Not while we’re working this case. I wouldn’t do that to you or her. She’s going through enough. But Megan’s special.”

  Well, fuck me. He’s actually thinking straight.

  “Talk to me, Talin; what’s going on?”

  “The moment I saw her, everything was different. My legs almost gave out and I couldn’t breathe. It was like someone socked me in the gut. I can’t explain it. But I need her to be safe.”

  I blink as the cashier continues to ring up my items. I know exactly what Talin’s talking about. I felt that exact same thing when I saw Yoreli. I kept my distance from her as she was fifteen, almost sixteen. I hope that by the time I see her again, she’s at least legal.