"Right I've packed everything I need. Connor can you give me a hand taking it down to the Jeep?"
He still hadn't taken his eyes from me as Amy spoke to him, "Yeah sure." He blinked hard before he stood slowly and casually walked over to the bags that Amy had left in the hallway.
"Are you gonna be okay Louise?" Amy asked sincerely.
I nodded my head looking around the apartment, "I think we're gonna by fine, all thanks to you Amy."
"I've written my mobile number and the number for the cafe on the note pad in the kitchen. If you have any problems what so ever please don't hesitate in giving me a call." She hugged me lightly and walked into the hallway to collect the last of the bags.
"Is that everything?" Spike asked hovering by the doorway.
"Yeah, see you soon Louise." Amy smiled before walking to the stairwell.
Spike leaned on the doorframe folding his arm across his broad chest, looking at me intently.
I became nervous under his scrutiny and twisted my hands nervously, "Could you please thank the other two guys that helped out today." He simply smiled tightly and nodded his head, "Before you go I also wanted to ask about the car because that's the only connection Liam has to me. If he finds out where it caught fire, he'll know where I am."
"Already taken care of babe, don't worry about a thing."
His statement reminded me of something Liam would say. I backed up slightly holding onto the front door for protection as Spike's facial expression altered slightly by my change in demeanour. He went to retrieve something from his pocket and I flinched at his sudden movement.
"Shit! I'm sorry Louise. I didn't mean to scare you, I'm just gonna give you this."
He handed me a shiny black card and I could see that he worked as a tattooist, which explained a few things.
"You can contact me on that number anytime, no matter how trivial you think it may be."
I nodded my head understanding his sentiments but I wouldn't need his help after Saturday as I probably wouldn't even see him again. Why did that thought sadden me?
"Where's Spike and Amy?" Devon asked as she came bounding into the living room wearing another outfit.
"They had to go home, sweetie. Why don't we get cleaned up and watch a film? Amy said she had the movie channel."
Devon nodded her head dramatically as she ran into the bedroom screaming excitedly to Tommy about what we planned to do.
I walked slowly into the living room, taking in everything around me and tried to comprehend how someone could be so trusting. Amy had uprooted herself to stay with Spike for four days so that my children and I could have a place to stay. It was very trusting on her part but showed that there was hope for a better life. I continued to walk around the apartment and noticed the variety of different clocks displayed in various positions. I felt a shudder and an uncomfortable feeling as if the noises of the ticking were getting louder, thirty-seven minutes, thirty-seven minutes...
I leapt around the apartment and collected the clocks like a mad women, taking them off the walls, cabinets and windowsills and carried them into the kitchen, placing them securely into the cupboard under the sink. I closed the door and turned around quickly, sliding to the floor as my heart rate returned to normal. I thought it would get easier over the years but I couldn't be much further from the truth.
"Mum, are you ready for the films?" Devon shouted from the living room.
I smiled to myself feeling the warm feeling inside, knowing that I wasn't allowed to be sad for too long because I had the children to think about, "Yeah coming!"
It was nearing bedtime, we had watched 'Little Mermaid' and 'Brave', two of my favourite Disney films. Tommy yawned right on cue, which made us laugh, "Come on you two let's get you cleaned up and into your new pyjamas." They didn't need much encouragement and swiftly ran to the bathroom to brush their teeth with their new toothbrushes.
I ran them a shallow bath and decided to put them into the tub together because it was getting late and this would save time.
Devon was ever the independent child struggling but managing to remove her clothes, chucking them in a pile on the floor before splashing happily in the water.
I tenderly turned to Tommy and removed his arms carefully from his t-shirt as to not hurt him further and removed the lightweight t-shirt over his head. The bruising had come out straight away last night from the force of Liam's assault but the bruising had intensified and now looked sore. I had given him pain relief throughout the day but I only had two tablets left.
"Where does it hurt baby?"
Tommy quickly pointed to his side and began to well up, trying to keep the tears at bay.
"You don't have to be brave any more Tommy, you can cry baby." With my words the dam broke and Tommy let out an almighty sob as he fell into my arms. I soothed him as best I could trying not to hold him too tightly for obvious reasons.
"Like I said this morning in the kitchen Tommy, I will never let him hurt you again. I promise you that." Tommy didn't make eye contact instead he chose to look at the floor, "Look at me baby, I promise." He nodded and I helped him to remove the rest of his clothes before he got into the bath beside his sister.
"Tommy, being the oldest twin and able to make the best decisions, I'm going to be nice and have the tap and plug end tonight."
Tommy's face lit up and he quickly moved to the other end of the bath tub as Devon acted like she'd just given him the world. I smiled at the strong children in front of me. I didn't know how long it would take for us to get back to normal, I didn't even know what normal looked like these days but I was determined to get my life in order no matter the cost.
I was going back to the refuge tomorrow to see if I could possibly use their facilities and start the ball rolling to apply for housing, I also needed to get Tommy to a doctor but without it going on his records as I didn't want any trace to lead Liam to us.
There was no way that I was sleeping in a different bedroom to the children tonight. I wasn't prepared to let them out of my sight, so I'd insisted that we all sleep together in Amy's bedroom much to Devon's annoyance.
Despite their protests, the twins had both fallen asleep quickly probably due to the excitement of today's events. I let out a loud yawn and decided it was time to turn in although it was only 9.00pm. I had already put the deadbolt on but I decided to push a small bookcase in front of the door, making it difficult for anyone to enter the building. Now that the apartment was secure I felt more comfortable in taking a shower and remove the gunk from my face. I hated wearing layers of makeup, it really wasn't me and once these bruises had gone, I was hoping that I would never have to do it again.
I turned on the shower and lathered my body mindful of my bruising as I enjoyed the hot spray, slowly moving from side to side to try and release some of the pent up frustration and anxiety from today. My stomach did another somersault as I thought of Liam and how angry he would be, doing everything within his power in order to find us.
Thoughts of Liam urged me to be close to the twins, I quickly turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my body as I hurried into the bedroom. The twins were curled up peacefully on either side of the bed and I swiftly changed into a pair of pyjamas and towel dried my hair, making sure that I wouldn't make a mess on the pillow. I closed the bedroom door before wedging a chair under the handle to make it more secure, deep down I knew that no one would break in but I wanted to be able to give myself as much time as possible if such an event should happen.
Getting into bed quietly, I leaned over and kissed the twins lightly on the forehead. I lay next to them looking at the children sleep peacefully, thankful for the people that had taken us in and accepted us into their homes before letting sleep invade me.
Chapter 3
Spike
Amy and I joined the guys at our usual table at the club and let out a loud sigh simultaneously as we threw ourselves down on the sofa exhausted.
"You look like you need one of these," Du
ke held up the bottle of Jack with a wry smile before filling two glasses.
"Fucking hell yeah!" I picked up the shot glass and downed it in one. "And another," I stated pushing the glass towards Duke. He obliged and filled the glass for me to down again, and I appreciated the warm feeling working its way through my body as I tried to shake off my thoughts of Louise.
"So did she get to the refuge okay?" He asked looking sceptical as I glanced over at Amy. "What's going on?" Duke leaned back making himself comfortable on the sofa as he probably knew it was going to be a long explanation.
"Well..." I was interrupted by Amy.
"She hasn't got a place in the refuge until Saturday, she was going to sleep in her car but it caught fire so now she's staying at mine until then."
That about summed it up and I could see the cogs turning in Duke's head from his facial expressions as he took in the information he'd just been told.
Duke leaned forward resting his elbows on the table with an unreadable expression, "Let's get this clear, you're letting a total stranger and her children stay in your apartment, whose husband is a little handy towards women and children, and you don't see a problem with this?" he gazed at Amy expectantly.
Amy shrugged as she clearly didn't see an issue with the situation, "She has nowhere else to go Mitchell, what do you expect me to do?" Amy glared at Duke, challenging him.
"Since when did it become your problem Ames? You clearly haven't thought this through." He returned her stare.
"For fucks sake Duke, have a heart!" I interrupted trying to get the attention off Ames who looked like she was about to explode.
"What, so you agree with this? I should've fucking known," he stated rubbing his forehead. "The problem being Ames, when it goes tits up, which it will, it becomes my problem because the club has to protect you."
Amy stood clearly annoyed, "I've never asked the club to protect me and don't make it sound like it would be such a fucking hardship if it had too." She grabbed her bag from the sofa, "I don't have to listen to this shit. Enjoy your evening Spike, I'll see you at home later." She turned to walk off clearly annoyed.
"What, you're not even going home? This is fucking priceless!" he said sniggering. "So let's just get this clear, you're letting a total stranger and her children stay in your apartment unsupervised who are probably fleecing you as we speak and as I pointed out earlier has a husband who likes to beat on women and children."
Duke was now standing, glaring at Amy who was walking back towards him for retaliation. I let out a loud sigh as I knew how this was going to end.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again, I'm not your bitch! You may be able to talk to your club like that but I won't put up with any of your shit." She rummaged in her handbag for something and her face brightened when she removed her keys and threw them on the table in front of Duke, "Get someone else to open the cafe tomorrow, I'm starting to feel a little sick." She smirked as she turned on her heels to the chuckling from the rest of the guys.
That was our Ames, I pitied the man who had to try and tame her. She was the only women to be able to talk to Duke or any of the brothers like that, others wouldn't dare but that's what made Amy unique and although she had tits she was more like one of us then she knew.
"Well I think that went well." Bear said to another round of sniggering as Duke sat back down on the sofa shaking his head.
"Can you understand where I'm coming from?" he asked looking around the table at the group.
Although Amy wasn't directly linked to the club, she was well loved and respected by all the members, so they didn't want to get into a slanging match. She had been invaluable over the years and was the only female to infiltrate the group, more so than the old ladies. She could be hard, soft and anywhere in between and because she could adapt to situations quickly, we had used Amy for our own gain a few years ago which had nearly cost Amy her own life and had unfortunately resulted in her miscarrying.
"Why don't we put a prospect on this lady?" Bear asked trying to calm the situation. "That way we can be informed of her movements and know if she starts to move things out of Amy's apartment."
The rest of the guys nodded in agreement.
"Make sure it's discrete, I don't want her knowing that she's being followed. She's been through enough already and is paranoid that her husband will find her." I poured myself another drink.
The guys looked at me, taking in my comment.
"Have you taken a shine to her Spike?" Duke asked with a huge smile.
I glared at him, "She's fit that's for sure but she's been beaten up by her fucking old man, I'm not that insensitive to try and make a move."
"Well let's move the conversation on, shall we gentlemen?" Hound said trying to defuse what may become a heated discussion. "I've seen some kid hanging around outside the yard. It doesn't look like he'll be any bother but when I went to talk to him yesterday he ran away."
Duke rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "We'll keep an eye out. Just make sure everything is locked up, I don't want to encourage him to do something he may regret."
"Maybe he wants to become a hang around?" I stated, thinking about how some of the other guys had infiltrated the group. Not all of the guys' families had been involved with the club before they joined.
Duke nodded, "Maybe, but if he's scared of the softest member of the group, I don't see much hope for him!" He sniggered at his own comment as he folded his arms across his broad chest waiting for Hound to retaliate.
"Fuck off! There's still life in the old dog yet." Hound stated looking pissed off by Duke's comment.
I stood, "Right if I'm not needed, I'm gonna go home. Is there a message for Amy?"
"Yeah, ask her if the painters are in?"
The guys let out a variety of different responses from laughter to shakes of the head at his comment.
I don't think Amy would be too impressed if I went home to talk to her about her menstrual cycle. I raised my eyebrows waiting for a serious response.
"Tell her, I'll text her later."
"Hi Ames, It's only me." I shouted as I walked into the living room.
Amy was sitting on the sofa reading on her kindle, she looked up with a tight smile as I walked further into the room and threw myself on the sofa beside her.
"Don't get the hump, come here."
I opened my arms and she came into my embrace willingly.
"Do you think I'm stupid to offer her somewhere to stay?"
I shook my head, "Not at all Ames. She had no one else to turn to and you, a total stranger have taken her in, that's commendable in my eyes."
"I just imagined what it would be like to be in her situation. She has limited funds and she's in a strange place where she doesn't know anyone. The refuge does its best by these women but there's only so much they can do because of the limited funding."
Amy moved out of my embrace as she retrieved her phone from her pocket to read her text.
"Duke?"
"Yeah, he apologised for being an arsehole." She looked at me confused.
"Well there's always a first for everything."
"There certainly is."
Chapter 4
Louise
I opened my eyes and shot upright confused as to where I was as my heart rate increased. Looking around the room I took everything in and at my realisation I quickly placed my hands on either side of myself making sure the twins were there. Devon snuggled further under the covers as I touched her lightly on her back and as I glanced at Tommy, I noticed that he had a huge smile on his face which surprised me.
"Morning little man," I said as I lay back down next to him. "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to hear you snore," he giggled.
I loved the sound of the children laughing. It was a rarity but I was going to make sure that our new life was to include as much laughter as possible.
"Come on, let's go and make some breakfast before we wake your sister."
Tommy nodded his
head eagerly as he pulled the cover back and jumped out of bed. I followed closely behind him and removed the chair from in front of the door. Holding out my hand to stop Tommy moving any closer, I slowly opened the bedroom door and peered down the corridor to see that the bookcase was still positioned where I'd left it. Letting out a sigh, I opened the door fully and took Tommy's hand lightly as we went up the hall towards the kitchen.
Tommy placed himself at the breakfast bar, "So what do you want to eat?"
Tommy shrugged, "Has Amy got any cereal?" he asked looking around the kitchen.
I opened various cupboard doors until I found an array of different brands and turned to see Tommy's delight as I removed the packets from the cupboard so that he could select what he wanted.
"WOW! I've never seen so many boxes of cereal mum," he said excitedly. "Can I have Coco Pops?"
I nodded as I poured the cereal into a bowl that I had taken from the draining board. His reaction made me feel awful at the shear excitement he showed regarding the selection of breakfast cereal which instantly made me feel like a failure. Liam never allowed me to work, we lived on a tight budget once he was sacked from the bank and when the twins came along things became even more difficult financially. Cereal was a luxury and I only purchased it when it was on special.
I placed the bowl in front of Tommy and his eyes enlarged at the sight of the milk turning chocolaty before he scoffed the lot in record time.
"Slow done Tommy, you'll give yourself indigestion." I stated as he continued to eat at lightning speed. Movement caught my eye, I turned to see Devon stretching as she walked bare foot into the kitchen.
"Morning baby girl, how did you sleep?" I lifted her onto the stool beside Tommy who had now finished his breakfast.
"Amy's bed was really comfy," she stated with a smile. "How long are we staying here for mum? I like it here."
She looked at me expectantly, "Until Saturday Devon and then we're going to the hotel. In fact, we're going there this morning as I need to speak to someone."
Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) Page 5
