by K. J. Dahlen
Peaches gasped and raised her hand to her mouth in horror. “Oh, dear God, no—not that.”
Iceman and Paige stared at the two of them.
“Is that bad?” Paige asked.
Peaches glanced into the room and saw her friend for the first time. She cried out when she saw the bandages on Cassie’s wrists. But what broke her heart was the vacant stare on Cassie’s face. Her eyes were open but it was as if she was staring at the ceiling without seeing anything. Peaches then glanced over at Deke. “What else happened to her? Why is she just staring at nothing?”
“When she came to, one of his men came forward with a knife in his hands to cut her free. Cassie freaked. She fought the ropes and according to what Raine said, she went crazy. The rope tightened on her wrists but she didn’t feel it. Sabbath got close enough to her that she got cut on the arm when she fought him off. Then she hit the knife again and it slipped down and cut her belly. She thought the babies were in danger and her mind shut down. She thought she couldn’t protect her babies.” Deke grabbed Peaches by the arms as his panic rose. He completely ignored Iceman’s growl and asked, “Baby, I need you to reach her somehow. She’s gone to her safe place and I can’t pull her back. She thinks the babies are hurt and she didn’t protect them good enough.”
“I’ll try.” Peaches cried. She turned to Cassie and step by step, she made her way over to her friend.
Iceman stepped up to Deke and growled. “Giving you a warning man, do not touch my woman again.”
Deke just stared at the other man. “I’m aware of that fact. If you listen, you might learn something about your woman. I had to impress on Peaches how serious this situation has become. I know Peaches belongs to you just as the woman lying on that bed belongs to me. I would do anything I had to, including touching your woman to bring her back. You’re going to have to get over it, man. I got no time for your bullshit.” Deke turned his back on Iceman and went over to Cassie’s bed.
~* * * *~
Paige went to her sister’s side and held her hand. Tears rolled down her face when Cassie’s hands felt so cold and unresponsive in her own. She could see people moving around her. Glancing up, she saw her parents standing against the wall in the hallway. Arm in arm, they supported each other as tears ran down her mom’s face.
Looking around, she saw Deacon and Marnie were there, Deke stood looking lost and Gator was there with Reva. A couple of Cassie’s friends from Redemption House were sitting on the floor. One of Sam’s men was standing in the corner of the room. He wasn’t bothering anybody and nobody seemed to realize he was there. If they had, they would have probably thrown him out.
Everyone blamed Sam for what had happened to Cassie. He took her away from the compound and while she fought him, she’d gotten hurt. Nobody in that room was happy about that fact.
Paige watched Peaches approach the bed.
Peaches sat down beside Cassie. She picked up Cassie’s hand and held it lightly. “Oh Cassie, what did he do to you?” she whispered and her fingers traced along the bandage that wrapped around her slender hand. She leaned forward until her forehead touched Cassie’s forehead. “Cassie, where are you girl? I need you to come back to me. I can’t live without you in my world,” she whispered as tears fell down her cheeks.
Cassie didn’t move, nor did she acknowledge Peaches in any way. Her eyes were open but it was as if she didn’t see what was right in front of her.
“Baby girl, listen to me,” Peaches kept talking. “I know you’re in your safe place but you don’t need to go there ever again. There isn’t anyone left to hurt you in this world. Janelle and Robbie and even your dad, they’re all gone. It’s safe for you to come back now. I need you here with me, Deke needs you here. You have two babies that are waiting to be born and they need you most of all.”
Paige stood and listened, hoping Peaches could get through to her twin.
Peaches rubbed her hands up and down Cassie’s arms. “Do you remember when we were seven and that bitch caught you trying to sneak an apple from the kitchen? Boy was she mad. She thought you were getting more than your fair share but she didn’t know you were giving the apple to Charlotte. She threw you in that horrible basement for three days that time. You didn’t say a word. She was upstairs pacing back and forth waiting for you to start screaming to get out but you never did. She never knew about you sneaking food to the other kids. Not one of us ever said why you took that apple. When you came upstairs again and took her beating, we were waiting for her to put you in your room. We had hidden little bits of food in there for you. We couldn’t get much but we did try. We knew she hadn’t given you anything to eat while you were down there. You were always there to watch over us, so in turn we tried to watch over you. You gave the rest of us hope in a place there was none.” Peaches pressed a kiss on Cassie’s temple.
Paige’s eyes filled with tears as her heart broke while listening to the horror her twin had endured.
“Do you remember when she broke Willy’s wrist? I think that scared her some. She lost her temper real good that time. When you came up, led him away, and got him to settle down, she couldn’t stand that. You had something she never did and I think she knew it then. She fought so hard for control and you showed her you had it when she didn’t. I think she began to hate you at that moment.”
Everyone standing close by stood rooted to the spot as they all listened to this horrid tale of survival.
Peaches brushed the hair away from her face with gentle fingers. “You stood up to that bitch one more time, do you remember? You told me you felt your mom standing beside you when she started wailing on you. The bitch had such a look of hatred on her face when she began whipping you. The other kids and I watched you with pride when you wouldn’t cry out. She wanted to break you but you wouldn’t give her that satisfaction. It took real guts not to scream when she beat you but you did it. It broke our hearts when she tied your hands together and dragged you down in the basement. But you were so strong, you didn’t even whimper when she sent Robbie down there.” Peaches had to stop as she cried openly for a moment.
Cassie lowered her head.
“We all could hear you screaming that day but we didn’t know why. Then you stopped and we thought you were dead when Robbie came back upstairs with his fucking bloody knife. I think seeing your blood on that knife turned that crazy woman on. She and Robbie were such sick fuckers anyway. But you showed them didn’t you? Two days later when Robbie attacked me, you came to my rescue. You broke those damn ropes and you found your way to me. You were always there for me. You were so hurt you could barely stand there. You were covered in dried blood and I could see your eyes glowing with hatred when you saw what he was doing to me. You scared the hell out of Robbie. He could tell you were pissed but he made a mistake that night didn’t he? He thought as beat up and bloody as you were, he thought he could take you on and win, but he was so wrong. You could barely hold the knife but you did it. I don’t know where you got the strength from but you got it somehow. You got him off me and you hurt him good…” her voice fell away as her sobs took over.
The room was silent, except for the beeping of machines and Paige’s crying.
Sniffling and swiping at her tears, Peaches continued, “Then you got us both the hell out of there. You got us both to safety didn’t you? You were always there to protect me. You held the nightmares away from me and all the rest of the kids, didn’t you? You would hold us and whisper stories to us. Do you remember? You would always tell us stories of a better world, you made us believe them too.” Peaches sobbed even louder. “Oh Cassie, I need you to be strong again, one more time. You need to find a way to come back to me. I need you girl, Deke needs you too. I know you can do it, you’re the strong one remember? You got us both out of the bitch’s house, you got me to a safe place and took care of me for three days, then you led both of us through the streets of Boston to a place where we could hide. It was only when we were safe that you let
go. I know you had finally given in to the pain and when you did, I bathed your wounds then. You slept for two days and I was so afraid I would hurt you but you never said a word. I tried to be as strong as you were that night but I couldn’t do it. I could wipe the blood off your skin but I could never be that strong. I cried the whole time.”
Paige was weeping openly now, as she felt sick to her stomach. She looked around at all the faces of the people who loved Cassie and they were all crying too.
“I saw what Robbie did to you,” Peaches continued. “How he carved that ugly word on your shoulders. I saw the cuts and cleaned them up the best I could. I hoped the scars would fade with time but by then the cuts were too far gone. I didn’t know much about healing but what ten year old kid does? But we learned didn’t we? We learned how to survive living on the streets. We had our troubles but we both survived. You were always there for me, you took care of me. You even got me home to my Dad didn’t you? Despite the odds of ever finding him again, you took me home. Now let me be there for you.” Peaches laid down next to Cassie on the bed. “Remember that first winter in Boston? It got so cold and living in that cave was no fun at all. We stole that blanket and we would huddle together to keep from freezing. You said we were sisters, maybe not by birth but by necessity. You told me it was you and me against the rest of the world. You made me believe it. You gave me the hope to survive when I wanted to give in to despair. I think I would have died that first winter if you weren’t there pushing me to get through it.”
Paige watched as Deke stepped closer his face tense, his hands were fists at his sides.
“I maybe never told you this but when you dragged me to that fucking library every day, I almost hated you. You were bound and determined that you and me weren’t gonna be dummies. You made us both take those classes online. Remember when you taught us both to read? I used to love listening to you make up stories. I could listen to you all night long. We shared our dreams and desires sitting there in the dark. You wouldn’t give up on me then and I’m not gonna give up on you now,” Peaches vowed. She ran her hands up and down Cassie’s arms.
She looked more than a little concerned when Cassie allowed it without pushing her away.
Peaches had to dig deeper into her memories to bring her back. “Remember the day we graduated and got our diplomas? You were so jacked about that you took me out to dinner. Remember where we went that day? We went down to the docks and swiped a big old fish from that tuna boat. We took it back to our cave and tried to cook it. We were so dumb back then. That fish tasted terrible. You took it because it was big thinking it would be good for more than one meal but we found neither of us liked it. Then we found out it was a catfish. It was burnt on one side and not cooked on the other. Remember it almost made us both sick but that was our celebration?” Peaches laughed as she wiped her tears away.
No one moved as a nurse walked by. Paige shook her head at her, so she would know not to interrupt this.
Peaches placed her hand on Cassie’s belly. “Oh, Cassie you have to come back. Make Rufus step aside. I know he’s there protecting you but he has to let you go. Tell him to let you come back to me. You did what no one else ever did for me. We were together all the way. You held my hand when it was so dark we couldn’t see any light. You gave me hope when I would have given up. You brought me home to my dad and granddad when others would have forced me to go away. They didn’t care if I found my family or not, but you did.” Peaches’ hand reached down to her belly. “Can I tell you a secret? I haven’t even told Iceman but I think I’m gonna have a baby. I love him so much. I never knew what love was before I met him, not that kind of love anyway. No one ever touched me the way he does. I’m afraid of what he’ll say when I tell him about the baby though. What the hell do I know about babies? I was sort of hoping to learn with your babies before I had one. Do you think he’ll be as happy about my baby as Deke is with yours? I hope he is because I love him so much. I can’t imagine living without him.”
Paige gasped and then she looked away, feeling like she was intruding, but this was her twin and she refused to leave her, now that she finally had her back.
“You were the strong one, you were so happy about the babies.” Peaches’ voice sounded a bit louder now. “You have Deke now and your real sister Paige and your uncle Deacon. You still got me too though. You once told me no matter what we’d always be sisters. I know you’re hurting and I realize you don’t want the pain anymore but girl, you gotta fight to live. Those babies in your belly need you. I need you. I love you Cassie. Please come back to me.”
Cassie’s lips began to move.
Peaches leaned closer.
“But I don’t want the pain anymore. I’m tired.”
“You told me once that you welcomed the pain because it meant you were still alive and you would fight to stay alive rather than give up,” Peaches whispered. “You need to fight again to live.” Peaches laid her hand on Cassie’s big belly. “See? The babies are moving around. I know it’s hard but you have to try. I know you just want the world to go away but you have to fight. Your babies want the chance to be born. They want the chance to know their mother.” She licked her dry lips. “You have a chance to be happy with Deke and the babies and you have to reach out and take that chance. Grab that brass ring and hang on to it.”
“What the hell do I know about babies?” Cassie whined slightly. “I don’t know how to be a mother.”
Everyone gasped.
Paige held her hands over her mouth as she wept.
Deke stepped closer to the bed. “You won’t be alone baby, I’ll be here right beside you all the way,” he vowed. “Everyone will help you.”
Paige tightened her grip on Cassie’s hand. “I can help you too. Cassie, please come back, I missed out on having a sister most of my life. I want that chance again, with you. And maybe I can be a sister with Peaches too, if she’ll allow me in.”
Peaches nodded. “I know its bad right now and it would be so easy to just let go, but you’ve never been one to take the easy way out. If Deke’s dad were here right now, I’d kick his stupid ass up down the hall for what he did to you. Will Rufus step aside and let you come back to us?”
Cassie closed her eyes briefly. She turned her head and stared at Peaches. “He told me you better keep your promise to me or he’s coming after you.”
Peaches grinned and kissed her cheek. “I promise. We can do this baby thing together. Together, we can still kick some serious ass.”
Cassie smiled and turned to Deke. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. The poor man looked like he’d just gone through hell as he placed his hands on her belly and felt his babies move for the first time since he’d gotten here. He grinned though his eyes were full of tears.
~* * * *~
Raine stood in the back of the room and watched the scene unfold. When he heard Peaches talk about what they had gone through, he’d been horrified by her words. He looked at Cassie with more than just respect. She had been a strong girl to survive that and grow to become a hell of a woman.
When he’d seen her in the warehouse he wasn’t sure she would survive. He’d seen it before when soldiers lost the will to live. He’d seen that same look in her eyes a few short hours ago. He knew better than to get too close to her at the moment, so he stayed back, watching.
Wordlessly, he started going toward the door, when three men stood in his way.
They surrounded him and led the way out to the hall as they escorted him to the front door. One of them turned to glare at the other man. “You tell your fucking boss not to come around again.”
Raine stared at them for a moment. “You can’t tell Bones anything. If I told him that he’d come bursting in here and get right in your face.”
One of the other men spoke, “Amos, maybe just let Deke handle—?”
Amos shook his head at the man. “No, Frankie, we gotta
protect Spitfire and you know it!” Then he glared at Raine again. “Then you make him understand something. If he comes close to her again, he’s a dead man. I don’t care if he is Deke’s father or not, he’ll be a dead man.” Amos snorted. “I’m not sure Deke will let him get close to her again anyway. If he were here right now, I think Deke would beat the shit out of him. Your boss made a bad mistake today, actually he made a couple of them. He stopped the wedding and he took Deke’s woman. That’s two strikes against him. I don’t think Deke will let him have another one.” Amos paused then he warned Raine, “Tell your boss, we ain’t an MC, and we ain’t held to your rules.”
Raine looked at each of the three men who had escorted him out of the hospital. Then he could sense someone moving in the shadows beyond the parking lot.
Suddenly, where here were three men there stood seven men, then there were ten men. Each held a look that didn’t bode well.
Raine could feel the menace from these men and it was all around him. He might only be looking at ten men but he knew there were more. He shuffled his feet for a moment, then he stared straight at Amos. “You could be right about that old man.” He paused and tried to explain in his defense, “We had no idea she was that damaged or we never would have taken her.”
“She ain’t damaged.” Frankie growled. “Don’t you ever call her that again, you bastard! She’s had to learn how to survive in an unforgiving world but she’s not damaged.”
Amos laid a hand on his friend’s arm as he stared at Raine. “You just tell Bones he ain’t welcome here. He won’t ever be welcome. Cassie ain’t alone anymore, she’s got friends and those friends will watch her back.”
“Who are you guys?” Raine asked softly.
Amos and the others glared back. “We belong to Redemption House, you tell him that.”
Raine nodded as he turned and walked away. He noted Sabbath had disappeared with the truck and his bike was there waiting for him. When he got to his bike, he swung his leg over the saddle and looked back at the double glass doors. All ten men stood there creating barrier he knew he wouldn’t get through again. They stood there with their hands clenched into fists and snarls on their hard faces.
