by T. R. Graves
Jerking me away from the world where only Levi and Tope exist, I hear shouting coming from the hall.
"She's my god damned fiancée. I don't give a fuck what you say. I'm goin' in that room to see her."
Tope pulls me tight. There's no doubt in my mind he's going to protect me with his life if Lorenzo makes it into this room. Instinctively, I snuggle closer into his chest.
Whispering to Levi, I say, "He's back and demanding to come into my room. It sounds like the officers are keeping him out."
"Put Tope on, Em."
I quickly hand the phone back to Tope. He looks irritated that he's being asked—now of all times—to hold a phone conversation. As soon as Levi hears Tope's breathing, he starts yelling again.
"Don't come back here, Levi. This is being handled. I'll call you in a few minutes and let you know for sure that he's been arrested." Before Levi can say another word, Tope hangs up.
Tope and I listen to the argument going on in the hall.
"Sir, you've been told she's resting and under doctor’s orders she's not to have any visitors." I hear one of the female police officers talking to Lorenzo. I envy the authority she's using in her efforts geared toward subduing him.
"Get outta my fuckin' way, you good for nothin'—"
I listen to the scuffle going on right outside of my room. My heart races faster than the beat of a hummingbird's wings in flight. I know if he comes into the room and sees me with Tope, life as I know it will be over.
"Ouch! You're breakin' my arm, you fuckin' bitch!"
"Sir, you have just assaulted a police officer. The courts around here don't look kindly on that sort of thing. It looks to me like you're going away for quite a while." The police officer continues taunting Lorenzo.
"We'll see about that," Lorenzo says snidely.
A few minutes later the hall is quiet. I assume Lorenzo has just been taken to jail. Where he belongs. A few minutes after that, Tess comes into the room. She's apprehensive and obviously afraid of what’s going to happen now that Tope's thrown down the gauntlet.
CHAPTER 15
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Emily
"Tess, don't worry. This is the best thing for all of us. Lorenzo ain't right. He's gonna end up hurtin' one of us because no one cares. Not Owen, Phil, Brian, or Joe. Me and you owe our lives to Tope," I say, intertwining my fingers with Tope's and squeezing his hand with every ounce of gratitude I have.
Tope, who actually seems to be enjoying my show of affection, tightens his own grip.
"Both of you need to remember this is a temporary solution. He'll be back. Things for women will never change within that commune unless we get the evidence we need to send Owen and all of his men to jail for a very long time. When that happens, Tess can run that place like she has every summer for a decade," Tope says.
I think about it. Tope's right. Tess has always done a phenomenal job of running the commune when the men are gone. Nothing will stop her from doing the same thing when they're gone for good.
While I ponder the future of the commune, Tope calls Levi and lets him know Lorenzo’s been arrested. Just as he's about to hand the phone to me, he gets another call and has to tell Levi he'll call him back.
"Baby, what's going on?" Tope says before rushing over to the window and jerking the blind louvers down. "Yeah, they're here, and yes, I'm leaving now. I'll see you in a few. We can debrief at the restaurant." Almost as an afterthought, he asks, "Hey, before I go, did Levi make it back to Gran's?" Whatever Baby says must be good because Tope's shoulders noticeably relax. "Great. I'm glad he listened. Don't forget I need to know any time he leaves Gran's."
As soon as he's off the phone, he looks at me with a sadness comparable to the one Levi wore when he had to leave earlier.
"I have to go before they catch me here. Gran, Levi, and I'll be by in the morning, and soon you'll be going home. At least now I have a way to monitor you, and I'll know if you need me."
I nod another okay Tope's way before glancing over at Tess. There's no mistaking the dread in her eyes. Her fear of Owen and what he'll do to her is unmistakable. I know her well enough to know she suspects she's somehow going to be blamed for Lorenzo's bad judgment, and if she is, she'll be punished. I've never seen Owen lay one hand on Tess, but given the terror in her eyes, I know when he does punish her, it's real, real bad.
My temper flares. I'm angry because Owen has instilled this degree of fear in Tess, a woman whose only crime is giving more of herself than she gets back in return.
As quickly as it surfaces, I clamp down on my resentment. I have to get away from the commune. That’ll never happen if Owen or the boys suspect how much I hate them and their decisions.
I reach out and grab Tess's hand. "Stop worryin', Aunt Tess. I'll tell 'em for you. Since I'm sick, they won't do anythin' to me."
Tess's fear is suddenly replaced by a motherly softness for me. I can tell by her indecision that she's thinking about refusing me and saying she doesn't believe they’ll go lightly on me. Then, she realizes I’m right. She closes her eyes and whispers her consent. It's almost as if she's praying we’re both right... praying that we know these monsters as well as we think we know them. I'm betting we do.
A dismayed Tope glances back and forth between Tess and me and looks like he wants to disagree with me himself, but he doesn't have time to argue. Instead, he sighs and leaves.
Less than a minute later, Owen and the boys come casually strolling in my room. Tope must’ve lifted the no visitor ban on his way out. Now that Lorenzo’s been arrested, it's not needed.
I don't waste one second before I break the news to Owen. "Owen, Lorenzo was arrested," I say, acting like the frantic fiancée he'd expect me to be.
Owen glares at me like I just slapped him. It only takes a heartbeat for his carefree mood to switch to furrowed-brow and teeth-gritting anger. Proving Tess knows him better than anyone else, he instantly looks for someone to blame. "What did you do?"
I shake my head. "I didn't do anythin'. The nurses told him I couldn't have visitors. He got angry and ended up hittin' one of the police officers. They took him to jail. That's all we know."
"God dammit! I've told him over and over again he needs to stay out of trouble. Phil, get Caleb Preston on the phone. He's gonna have to get him outta there as soon as possible. If he doesn't, we're fucked," Owen says, pacing the tiny room.
Phil has his phone out quicker than one would’ve thought possible. It was like he was the Quick Draw McGraw of the cellphone.
With a sneer, Owen walks over to Tess. "You couldn't fuckin' stop this?"
Cowering, Tess stares down at her feet and says, "I-I wasn't around when it happened, Owen. He sent me down to get him some coffee."
"Figures," Owen says before glancing over at me. "We gotta go get him outta jail, Emily. We won't see you again 'til you get back to the commune. There's things we have to do, and they can't get done with me here at the damn hospital. Now that you're doin' better, we gotta get back to business."
My head bounces as Owen gives me a quick peck on the forehead. My brothers seem too caught up in Lorenzo's predicament to do much more than wave a quick good-bye to Tess and me.
As soon as they leave, Tess sinks exhaustedly into the chair next to my bed. Her long deep sigh signals to me how tired she is. Studying her, the black circles under her eyes confirm my suspicion that she needs to get some rest. The rollercoaster of emotions she's been through is definitely taking its toll on her, and I can completely sympathize.
"Tess, I know it's still early, but the drama and procedures today have worn me out. If you don't mind, I'm goin' to sleep. You might want to do the same. You look tired."
Even though it’s probably no later than seven o'clock in the evening, Tess doesn't argue. In fact, she doesn't say anything. She just reclines the chair back and closes her eyes. Seconds later, she’s unconscious and taking long and deep breaths. I know she’s asleep because their perfectly timed. They're not l
oud, but I can hear them.
Sleep doesn't come as easy for me. I'm too worried about Levi and Tope and their willingness to ignore good sense and challenge Owen and his team of hoodlums. It takes hours, but finally, I drift into a world filled with the worst nightmares I've ever had in my life.
I'm surrounded by a transparent egg shell. I'm desperately scraping the inside of the shell and begging for someone to get me out before I suffocate and die.
There's a team of people trying to break the shell open, but none of them are working as frantically as Levi, Tope, and Tess. Suddenly, the shell begins cracking and breaking away from me. Before long, Levi has torn his way inside an opening he's created.
He's hugging and kissing me in the way that always makes me weak in the knees. As soon as he grabs my hand and tries to pull me out of the shell, an enraged Owen and a smirking Lorenzo climb in and begin stabbing Levi with shards from the broken egg shell.
Before I can step between the men and selflessly sacrifice my life for Levi's, Levi’s on the floor of my prison and he’s facing me with the same dead stare Marcus had.
My bloody screams echo around the interior of the egg and make my ears ring.
Tope
I'm awakened by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’s “Nothing But the Water” streaming from my cellphone and alerting me to the fact that I have a new message. It's still vibrating when I snatch it from the pillow next to me.
Baby: Her vital signs are out of control... again.
Me: I'm on it.
Even though I know Lorenzo’s been arrested, I decide to go to the hospital and check on Emily myself. The nurses won’t give me any information, and I don't want to wake Gran to ask him to call.
I know Gran can hear the beeps coming from the master control panel in his room as I disable the alarm, but I have no choice but to do it so I can leave. With every high-pitched beep, I curse myself for staying the night at Meme's and Gran's rather than my own house.
"Where are you going? Is Emily okay?"
I close my eyes and cringe as soon as I hear Levi.
"She's fine. Go back to bed," I say, talking to him like he’s a toddler who’s up after his bedtime rather than the adult he is.
"If she's fine, why are you going out in the middle of the night?"
I blow out a big breath and decide to confess. "Her vital signs are out of control. I'm going to check on her."
The house is dark, but I can still make out the smirk on his face as he holds up his phone.
"Yeah. I know. Baby texted me, too."
God dammit, Baby!
I round on Levi. "You can go to the hospital with me, but you won't go there by yourself."
"Fine with me. If no one's there, I'm going into her room to check on her, and you're gonna stay in the fucking waiting room. Do you understand?"
Levi knows how I feel about Emily. He’s drawing a line in the sand, and it’s one I have to respect.
Emily's his girlfriend. Not mine.
My shoulders drop, and I nod.
Emily
Screaming and crying, I wake to every alarm behind me going crazy. Tess has hold of my shoulders, and she's shaking me when the nurses burst into the room. They never skip a beat and quickly begin their assessment. It's their job to find out what's wrong with me or if I've had a relapse, and they take it seriously.
I'm too disturbed by what I've seen—and felt—to do anything but shake like a leaf and mumble Levi's name over and over. I may not have known him for long, but I do know if anything ever happens to him... if he dies, I’ll die right along with him.
After half an hour of trying to calm me down and quiet the alarms, Alexis, my night nurse, leaves the room. When she comes back, she says to Tess, "Her vital signs are dangerous right now. Fortunately, there's no sign she's bleeding again. Given everything she's been through this week, it seems like all of this may be more nerves than anything else. I called Dr. Bryson, and he ordered a mild sedative for her. I'm going to get it, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Alexis has no idea the mention of Dr. Bryson's name brings back the images of Levi, lying dead and motionless, from my dream. With crocodile tears clouding my vision, I watch as she rushes from the room. Before she gets back, the door to my room slams open. This time, it's not Tope dashing into my room. It's Levi.
As soon as I see him, I bolt to my knees and crawl to the end of the bed where he meets me. I hug him and kiss him like I thought I might never see him again.
"Babe, what's wrong? I'm here," he whispers quietly, soothing me.
I shake my head. I can't talk about what I saw in my dream. Suddenly, I realize all I've wanted to know is that Levi is okay... that he's alive and well... that he's not dead like Marcus.
Seconds later, Alexis is back in the room, injecting medication into the tube that’s still protruding from the vein in my hand. It burns like I’ve been stung by a wasp, but the pain is welcome because it draws my attention away from the leftover ache in my chest. With the medication comes an almost instant sense of relief and a slight sense of euphoria.
Alexis coaxes me back in my bed and covers me up while she watches the change in my vital signs. Deciding the alarms were doing nothing to help my nerves, she'd long ago turned them off.
The one thing I can't do is let go of Levi. I pull at him until he's in the bed with me and I'm curled up next to him. In my drug-addled state, he and I are back at the lake, looking up at the stars, and I'm breathing in his forest scent.
Finally, Alexis says to Tess and Levi, "She's calmed down a bit. The medication will help her rest. I'll be back to check on her in a few minutes."
Alexis pats my leg on her way out. Tess follows close behind her. Not only does she want to give Levi and me a few minutes together, but I suspect she has questions she doesn't want me to hear.
"Do you want me to sing to you?" Levi asks. He's still using his quiet and consoling voice, and it's absolutely welcome
"No. I'm fine now that I know you're okay. I had the worst dream of my life. Owen and Lorenzo killed you. I swear to God if something ever happens to you, I'll kill myself."
"Shhh. Don't talk like that. No matter what happens to me, I don't want you to do anything like that. You have too much to offer to the world and too much to live for to talk like that, Em."
"You don't understand what it's like, Levi, to watch someone you love die right before your eyes like that. I-it's like having your soul sucked from your body and sent through a meat grinder. Physically, you're intact, but inside—the place where it matters the most—you're torn apart, and you can't be put back together."
Levi’s stroking my forehead and listening to every word I say. "Who did you see die, Em?"
"My Uncle Marcus. I loved him, and he loved me. He was one of the only men in the commune who put me before himself. He was a lot like Tess. Owen and my brothers killed him and made me watch. Tonight, I dreamed they did the same thing to you," I say with a tear leaking from both of my eyes.
It takes Levi a few minutes to respond to what I've told him. "I'm sorry they put you through that. I'm sorry they are who they are. But, I'm here. They haven't done anything to me. If the worst happens and they do something like... if I die, I want you to promise me something."
I don't respond. I'm not sure I'll keep any sort of promise if anything ever happens to Levi.
He squeezes me. "It's only fair. You've made me promise not to hit Tope, and it's because of you that I have to do whatever Tope tells me to do. You have to be willing to make some promises to me. Fair's fair."
I close my eyes and groan. "Okay. What do you want me to agree to?"
"I want you to promise me you’ll never try to kill yourself. If I die, I want you to go to Tope and do whatever he asks of you. Together, the two of you will be able to free all of those women. That's all Tope’s been focused on for the last few years. The only thing my death would do is fuel him on. He's been working hard to bring Owen and his men to justice even though he barely k
nows the people of the commune. I can't imagine the vengeance he'd carry out if they killed me or hurt you. He really does care about you, Em."
We both sit silent, thinking about Levi's request and his comments about Tope's feelings for me. Interesting is the way he is so matter-of-fact when he talks about Tope's feelings for me. He loves and trusts Tope and knows his cousin wouldn't do anything to hurt him. I agree.
"Do you promise that to me, Em?"
Unable to refuse Levi and knowing his only concern is for me and my safety, I say, "I promise, Levi. Now, can we stop talking about this? I've lived through enough traumas for one night."
"Deal."
I send a skeptical glare his way. "How’d you get here without Tope stopping you?"
Levi laughed. "Oh, don't you worry about Tope. He's sitting in the waiting room. He wouldn't let me come without him and neither of us would take Gran's word for it that you’d be fine as soon as you were given the medicine to calm you down. We both knew if you needed a sedative something happened."
"What would I do without you? I'm not sure how I got lucky enough to have you in my life, but I'm glad."
"Damn straight," Levi says, chuckling.
Before long, I drift off, hugging myself to Levi and relishing in his nearness.
Thinking I've heard someone come into the room, I wake. Glancing around, I find the room is empty and quiet. The only light is the one coming from behind my bed. It's so soft that it creates shadows which exacerbate my paranoia.
With almost no place for anyone to hide in the tiny room and a serene Levi sleeping next to me, I shake my head and refuse to give into my fear.
With a contented sigh, I take notice that Levi's still holding me close while breathing as rhythmically as Tess did the night before when she was sound asleep. In his slumber, he has a quiet peace that I never seem to be able to find.
Guilty, I wonder if Tess has taken up her vigil with Tope out in the waiting room. I try to slowly and carefully sneak away from Levi and out of the bed in order to search for her, but my movements accidentally wake Levi.
"Babe, where are you going?" he asks, pulling me close as if he's afraid of letting me go.
