“Yeah, I’ll ask the doctor for recommendations for Reli to have counseling.” My cell rings and I contemplate not answering, I’m not in the best frame of mind to be dealing with work.
I glance at the screen and see that it’s Cohen. “Yeah?” I answer tersely.
“Well, hello to you too, asshole,” he grumbles. “Just thought I’d let you know that tonight things came to a head with Megan and her stalker.”
Fuck.
“What happened and how’s Talin?” What I actually want to ask is if he killed the bastard.
“The asshole got Megan; he was waiting for her when she left her father’s house. Thankfully, Talin was with her and managed to subdue him. They’re both fine.”
I sigh in relief. “Good. You both did a good job on this.”
“Thanks. So what’s up with you? Did you talk to Yoreli?”
I told my brother’s about her and they were freaked out to say the least, especially as they know how young she is. Talin understood and didn’t say anything, just told me to be cautious and look after her. Cage took it the hardest; she’s younger than him and he’s pissed.
“Yeah.” I scrub my hand down my face as I get ready to tell him what’s happened. “We’re in the hospital. She’s in a bad way, Co. That fucking bitch has been beating her for years. Her entire back is fucking black and blue, not to mention her face.”
“What the fuck? What hospital are you at?” he demands to know, and I can hear talking in the background. I tell him where we are and the talking in the background gets louder. “We’re on our way. We’ll see you soon.”
I don’t answer him because the doctor walks out, her face stoic and I hate that I can’t fucking read her. I end the call and shove my cell into my pocket. “Doc?”
She glances between Lance and I, and Lance gets to his feet and walks away, giving us privacy. “Mr. Princeton, how well do you know Ms. Maine?”
“I’ve known her for a long time, but when her father died, her step-mother took her away. Tell me, doc; how bad is it?”
She swallows harshly and I look at her, really look at her and brace at what I see. Her eyes sharp and full of worry, her jaw tense as she stares at me almost as if she’s finding the right words to say. “Mr Princeton…”
“John,” I interrupt her.
She nods sharply. “John, I managed to speak to Ms. Maine before she fell asleep. She told me what’s been happening.”
My anger comes back. “Yeah, that fucking bitch has been beating her.” We should never have left her alone for so long. I should have gone with my gut and searched for her.
“John, it’s more than the physical abuse that Ms. Maine has suffered.”
I sigh. “Yeah, doc, I know, she’s been verbally and emotionally abused too. I want her to get counseling to help her.”
“Well, yes, but John, it’s worse than that.” Her voice has gone softer and I clench my jaw.
No fucking way.
“Ms. Maine has also been sexually abused; from the little that she told me, she was sexually tortured. Just talking about it caused Ms. Maine to have an anxiety attack. She believes that her step-mother is going to kill her.”
I lock my knees so that I don’t crumble to the floor. That fucking bitch. I’m going to kill her.
“No one is going to hurt her again,” I vow, and I’ll die before I let anything happen to her again.
She nods. “She’s got a herniated disk; it’s what’s causing her the pain. I’ve got her on bed rest as well as anti-inflammatory medication. We’re going to keep an eye on her. She’ll need physical therapy and an injection of cortisone. If it’s not resolved in six weeks, she may need surgery.”
I nod. “Thank you, doc. Can you please put us in contact with a counselor?”
“Of course; I’ll give you my recommendations.”
Before she can leave, I ask her something that has been on my mind since I took her from that awful fucking place she calls home. “She’s scared; how can I help her?”
The doctor gives me an encouraging smile. “Keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll break through eventually. It may take some time.”
I don’t give a fuck if it takes the rest of my life. Reli is mine and I’m going to make sure that she never gets hurt again. “Thanks, doc. Can I see her?”
“She’s sleeping at the moment, so as long as you don’t wake her you should be fine.” I think there’s a warning in there somewhere. I thank her again and watch as she turns to leave.
“John?” Lance calls. I turn at his voice and see that he’s not alone. My entire family is with him too. “How is she?” he asks, his face etched with worry.
“Sleeping at the moment; the doctor’s going to give me some recommendations for counselors. When we get them, I want you,” I say looking at Cohen, “to vet them.”
He nods instantly. “Of course.”
“If you need anything, boss, let me know,” Lance tells me and takes a step back from my family. He gives me a meaningful look and I realize that he’s heard everything that the doctor told me.
“Tell me; I know that look, John,” my mom demands. I look between her and my father, and I know that I’m going to need their help and need them to love her just as they did when she was younger.
“She’s been abused.” Their eyes widen with questions and I nod, explaining and telling them everything that I know. My voice hoarse as I tell them how she’s been sexually tortured.
When I get my hands on Talia Maine, she’s going to regret what she’s done to my woman.
Nine
Reli
Shame fills me every time I open my eyes and see John sitting beside me. He’s been here every time I wake up. I’m still in the hospital, healing from the last beating that Talia gave me, and John hasn’t left my side. I know that the doctor told him about what Talia had been doing to me; I had a moment of weakness and confessed to the sexual abuse I had endured. As soon as I said it, I knew I had made a mistake. She’s going to come for me, I know she will. I’m a dead woman walking, there’s no way I’m getting away.
“You’re awake.” His deep voice has my entire body freezing for a beat, but when there’s no movement I start to relax. “Reli, I’m not going to hurt you.”
John looks at me with sorrow and pain. I hate it. I loathe feeling like a victim, that I’m weak and vulnerable. I’m not. I’m far from it. If only he knew the truth, he wouldn’t feel sorry for me; he’d be disgusted. He’d turn away and leave me be. Leave me at her mercy.
As much as I’d like to believe him, I can’t. I’m broken and I don’t have any notions about being fixed. I can’t be; I’ve been destroyed time and time again. One thing I’ve learned is that I can only rely on myself. I’ve survived everything that Talia did to me, and I’ll survive whatever it is John has planned.
He sighs heavily. “I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I’m going to make sure that you’re safe. That woman is never going to hurt you again.” His voice is softer than I’ve ever heard before.
“You can’t say that. You don’t know that for sure.” Talia has always told me that I owe her and that she’d never let me go. I believe her. Of all the things she’s done, I know how evil she truly is, and she’d never let me get away. I’ve been her toy for over two years. I know her dirty secrets.
He reaches for my hand and squeezes tightly. “Reli, there’s a hell of a lot that you don’t know about me. So when I tell you that I’m going to make sure that that bitch can’t touch you again, trust me. Please. You're going to be safe with me, with us”
I grit my teeth; he doesn’t understand. He’ll never understand what it’s like to be at the mercy of a monster. “You just don't get it. You say that I’m safe, but it’s not true. I’m never going to be safe.”
“Reli…”
I shake my head. “It’s okay for you, John; you never have to worry about when you’re going to have your next meal. You never have to worry about what you say, just in case you say the wrong thing
and get punched. You’ll never have to worry about going to bed. I do, every single night. I can’t close my eyes because if I do, my monster will crawl into my bed and I can’t escape that. I’m tainted, John.”
He gets to his feet and leans over my bed, his fists either side of my body. His eyes tight and his jaw clenched. “That bitch isn’t going to get away what she did to you. I swear on my fucking life. She’s going to pay for what she’s done to you.”
I shake my head. “That’s not going to happen. She’s not going to let me go.”
He grips my face and my body tightens in fear. “I know that I have to go slow with you. You’re seventeen and have been through hell,” he says through clenched teeth. “But no one and I mean no one is ever going to hurt you again. Baby girl, I’m going to make that bitch pay.”
I don’t answer him; there’s only so many times I can repeat myself. I know he’s trying to help me, but he’s trying to give me something that I haven’t had in a very long time. Hope. To me, that no longer exists.
“My parents want to see you,” he tells me, changing the subject and I immediately shake my head. It’s bad enough that he’s seeing me like this, that he knows what happened. I don’t want Markus and Susan knowing too. “Baby girl, they love you; they want to help you.”
My throat constricts. “I’m not ready,” I whisper as the tears start to spill over.
He lifts his hand and gently wipes them away. “Okay. They’ll understand.”
I really hope they do.
“You’ll be leaving here in a few days; you have a choice as to where you’ll live,” he tells me and I frown. I didn’t even think about that. Right now I’m homeless. I have nowhere to go; I can’t go back to Talia. I won’t go back there. “You can stay with my parents. They’d love to have you, or you can stay with me.”
I lick my lips, the tears still falling and I can taste their saltiness on my tongue. “You?”
He grins. “Yeah, baby girl. You have a lot to work through, and I’m going to be by your side when you are. I don’t give a shit if you’re staying at my parents; I’ll still be there.”
“What do you want from me, John?”
“I want you to heal. I want you to talk to someone about what happened to you, and I want you to be happy,” he says softly.
“That’s it?”
His jaw tightens. “Yeah, that’s it. If down the road you decide that you want me, great. If not, then I’ll be happy that you’re healing.”
My heart constricts at his words. He’s being sweet and I’ve not had sweet in a long time. I’m not sure what to do with it.
“Okay?” he asks, and for the first time I see uncertainty in his eyes.
I nod. “Okay, and thank you.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t thank me. I should have checked in on you a fucking long time ago.”
“You didn’t know. It’s okay.” I try to placate him; I don’t want him to feel guilty about what’s happened. There wouldn’t have been anything he could have done to stop it. Talia does what Talia has always wanted to do.
“Fuck that. I wanted to find you so many fucking times but I held back. That’s on me.”
“You did?” I breathe.
“Yes. Fuck,” he grounds out. “I wasn’t going to go here with you. You’re too young, you’ve got enough to deal with, but you need to know. The moment I saw you at your father’s funeral, I felt something deep in my soul. You mean something to me, Reli, and it’s not because our families have been friends for a long time. To my family, you’re family, but to me, you’re a fuck of a lot more than that.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. My mouth is dry as I take in this gorgeous man that stands in front of me. “I felt it too.”
His eyes flash with something that I can’t read, but he makes no sound as he stares at me.
“I don’t know how to explain it.” I bite my lip, wondering if I should continue. “It hurt me when you were so angry at me because of my age. Then you turned around and left. I don’t know why, but that stung and I was so confused.”
He sits down on the bed beside me and holds my hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on my skin.
“Then I saw you in the store and I just didn’t want you to recognize me. I’m tainted, John. I’m dirty, and I’m so fucking tired. But you came to the house and for a moment I felt safe, your voice washed over me, and I can’t make sense of why I feel this way. But you left and here I am.” I shrug, hoping to sound nonchalant, but failing miserably. My body seeps into the bed as sleep calls me closer.
“Right now, we’re going to take it slow.” My eyes widen at his words but he shakes his head. “Not with us. With you getting the help you need. When you talk to your counselor, you can tell her everything, Reli. I mean everything. I see in your eyes that you don’t want to. But you need too. I’m not going to push you; you need to do it at your own pace.”
I close my eyes. The thought of spilling my guts to someone is too much. I can’t do it. What if they don’t understand? What if they’re like Talia and think that what happened wasn’t that bad? I can't focus; my brain is whirling with so many different scenarios. My body is tired; I’m barely able to open my eyes anymore. They’re too heavy.
“Please?” he says softly, cutting through my thoughts.
It’s that one word, that one plea, that breaks through my barriers.
“Okay, I’ll talk to someone,” I promise him just as sleep takes me.
Ten
John
“Boss,” Lance says and I turn to the door and find him standing there. He gives Reli a reassuring smile, one that she returns and he nods for me to come to him.
“Talk to me,” I demand. It’s been three days since I brought Reli to the hospital. Three fucking long days, and no one has uncovered anything that will let me bring that fucking bitch Talia down.
Lance may be my driver, but he knows how to extract information from people. He was a SEAL; he got injured severely on a tour so he got discharged. A bomb went off and the shrapnel embedded in his back. Thankfully it didn’t sever his spinal column, which was feared. When he came to me for a job, I only had a position as a driver. He jumped at the chance, but he also helps us on cases.
“Talia is no longer in Key West. She’s on her way home.”
Shit, she must know that Reli’s no longer there. “When is she due to arrive home?”
“Within the hour.”
Fuck. That doesn’t give me very much time. I had hoped to be there when she arrived, but Reli’s being discharged soon.
“Boss, we can talk to the doctor. She’ll be able to hold off on discharging her. We can have a couple of guys stand guard outside her door while you’re gone.”
She has met most of my team since she’s been in the hospital. She’s not yet met my brothers; she told me she wasn’t ready for my family and I respect her wishes. My team was curious about her and wanted to meet her. Lance and I noticed right away that she was okay around the men; she was chatty and engaging, she smiled. But when Cady and Martina walked in, she went deathly pale and stopped talking. So I’ve made sure that none of the women are to be alone with her.
Once I noticed how she reacted to my team, I made sure to keep an eye on her when the hospital staff was around and fuck me, she was the same way. Silent, scared, and pale. No wonder she’s so tired all the time; when she’s awake she’s focused on everything and everyone around her. She’s conditioned to know where the threat is coming from. It’s why I’ve demanded that she be discharged; I want to get her home into her own room so that she’ll be able to start recuperating.
“Call them. We’ll leave as soon as they arrive.”
He nods and moves away to make the call; I walk back into Reli’s room. “I’m going to have to go out for a while. Lance is calling a couple of my men over to watch you while I’m gone. Do you need anything?”
She shakes her head, not looking at me, and I’m wondering what’s happened.
Things between us were okay, she was getting comfortable and talking freely; now she’s clammed up again.
“Is everything okay?”
She blinks, still not looking up at me. “Huh, yeah. Fine; why?”
She’s lying but there’s nothing that I can do about it. Hopefully, there will come a point where she feels able to tell me the truth, to be honest with me.
“Is there anything you need?” I ask again, hoping she’ll relax somewhat.
“No, thank you.” She closes her eyes and releases a deep, heavy sigh.
I sit down beside her; she’s awake still, her breathing hasn’t evened out yet. She’s pretending so that she doesn’t have to talk. I leave her be, hoping that she’ll be able to get through whatever’s running through her head.
Twenty minutes later, Greg and Zeke are at the door with Lance. Zeke’s doing everything he can to bring Talia down, he’s got his laptop in hand and I know that while I’m gone, he’s still going to be digging into her life. He strolls into the room with a smile on his face.
“Morning, Yoreli, Boss.”
“Good morning, Zeke,” Reli replies softly.
I get to my feet. “Reli, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Once I’m back, we’ll get you out of here and home.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re coming back?”
I frown; why wouldn’t I be? What made her think I wasn't? Before I’m able to answer her, the doctor walks in.
“Ms Maine, I want to do a check up before you leave. It shouldn’t take us long,” the doctor says and Zeke walks out of the room.
I place a kiss against her head. “Of course I'm coming back. I have something I need to do, otherwise I wouldn’t leave. I’ll be as quick as I can,” I whisper to her, and she gives me a watery smile. “You’re safe here; Zeke and Greg are going to be watching.”
“Thank you,” she replies softly and I give her another kiss, this time on her cheek and smile when she leans into my touch.
“Let’s go,” I tell Lance as soon as I leave Reli’s room. I want to get this over and done with quickly.
Saving Reli Page 5
