Ayla did not acknowledge his attempt to be comforting.
As they hurried up the stairs to the third floor, Ayla threw open the fire door and froze in her tracks.
“What?” he asked, surprised by the sudden stop.
She didn’t respond but her eyes remained fixated on someone just beyond where they stood.
Diren looked toward where she was staring and saw an unusually tall man lounging against the desk at the nurse’s station.
His bald head gleamed off the fluorescent lighting as he joked with the staff.
“Shit!” Ayla hissed and Diren was about to speak when the man suddenly turned as if he had heard her expletive.
His beam broadened as he took in the scene before him.
In three long strides, he was before them, towering over Ayla with glittering brown eyes.
“Well, well, well,” he cooed. “You made it after all. I wasn’t sure you’d care enough to come. And how nice! You even brought a friend.”
The stranger pulled Ayla into an awkward hug and Diren felt the urge to punch the man. Ayla’s discomfort was palpable but he did not know the situation and he dared not get involved - yet.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, sis?” he continued, rolling his tongue over his teeth as he spoke. His leering gaze seemed to know more than he let on, but Diren backed down, understanding that he was Ayla’s family.
Maybe that’s who she was trying to warn me about, he thought, extending his hand and forcing a smile. It was clear that Ayla was not about to introduce them.
Diren was determined to make things less tense for her.
“Diren Benning,” he said, attempting to hide his contempt, but it was difficult. His gut was yelling warnings with loud, alarming clarity.
He knew nothing about Ayla’s brother, except that he did not like him in the least.
“Ryland Duggan,” he said charmingly, accepting the palm. “Ayla’s big brother.”
“Step-brother,” Ayla fumed. “How is Mom? Why is she in surgery?”
Ryland shrugged indifferently.
“I dunno. One of the glass pieces went into her belly and there was some organ damage or something something. You know me, sis. I’m not smart enough to understand all that technical jargon. You got all the brains in our family. Isn’t that right, Diren?”
He smiled tightly.
“Your step-sister is very intelligent,” he agreed shortly.
Ayla grunted and turned away to speak with the nurse while Ryland continued to smile unnervingly at Diren.
He’s trying to intimidate me, Diren realized and if the circumstances had been different, he would have laughed aloud.
Better men than you have tried and failed miserably, little boy, he thought but he did not indulge Ryland’s attempt to bait him.
He was much too concerned about Ayla to indulge her step-sibling.
“So, you’re dating my little sister, huh?” he drawled, leaning in as if they were sharing a secret. “I had no idea!”
There was a mocking but sinister note to his voice and Diren tried to understand the dynamic between the step-siblings. It was clear there was no love lost.
Diren stared up at him coldly.
“It’s odd,” he said flatly. “She never mentioned you to me.”
He relished watching the smirk fade from the other man’s face and he folded his tattooed arms defiantly against his chest.
“That is odd,” he agreed loudly and Diren realized he was speaking for Ayla’s benefit. “Because I have helped my sister out of a great deal of shit in her life.”
The words hung ominously in the air and Diren looked at Ayla whose face was fixated on Ryland.
She seemed to be silently pleading with him to stop talking and he apparently sensed the call.
“But Ayla’s good like that,” he continued, grinning again as if Diren and he were old friends. “She never forgets a favor. Do you, Ayl?”
Slowly, she ambled back toward them, shaking her head.
“No,” she whispered.
“How odd,” Diren said softly. “I never forget a slight.”
The men stared at each other for a long moment until Ryland balked and looked away.
“What did they say about your mom?” Diren asked, turning his back slightly, casting Ryland out of the conversation.
The move pissed Ryland off, Diren could tell, but the taller man wisely said nothing, leaving the lovers to speak as if he wasn’t there.
“She fell forward onto the large splinters of glass from the door. We won’t know how much damage was done until they remove all the glass,” she muttered. “Let’s go get you that coffee.”
Without waiting for an answer, she stalked away purposefully and Diren hurried to catch up.
“What’s going on with your brother?” he asked without preamble.
“Stepbrother,” she corrected automatically. “And there is too much going on with Ryland. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
Diren peered at her tenderly.
“Is he the one who hurt your mother?”
She gasped and spun, her eyes wide with terror.
“How did you know that?” she demanded, looking over her shoulder and he knew she was looking for her step-brother.
Diren shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
“You need to contact the police,” he said quietly. “And get him off the streets. It won’t get any better, I promise you.”
If possible, her face grew more aghast and she shook her head vehemently.
“No!” she choked. “There’s no way! Our family does not contact the police for anything!”
He had expected the answer and he thought he knew why too.
“He’s hurt you too?” he asked quietly, and Ayla looked away, ashamed. “I’m going to kill him,” Diren growled, his fists clenching hard.
“No! He’s never…hurt me…exactly,” she replied slowly. “But he does know where I live and has no problem showing up unannounced…demanding…stuff.”
“What kind of ‘stuff’?” Diren demanded, stalking her slowly backwards.
Her back hit the wall softly and she raised her hands against his broad chest, “No! Not that kind of stuff,” she promised. “He just asks for things like cash...or a room to stay in for awhile, things like that.”
A spark of fury flew through him and he wanted to hug the shaking girl protectively but he resisted the urge.
“You can’t live in fear of Ryland any more,” he told her softly. “You need to stand up for yourself. Trust me, I know all about this stuff. Or I’ll do it for you,” he told her.
He wished he had not said so much but gratefully, Ayla was too consumed with her own worries to notice his personal disclosure.
“It’s not that simple!” she snapped angrily. “You don’t understand.”
She whirled on her heel to escape the conversation but Diren grabbed her arm.
“Fine,” he conceded, pulling her toward him. “But you have to listen to me now, okay?”
She stared up at him dully.
“I’m listening,” she muttered.
“You can’t go back home if he thinks you might turn him in. You’re in danger now also. If he can do this to your mother, he can do this to anyone.”
Ayla shuddered violently against him and he knew he was right.
“I have no where else to go,” she replied without emotion and Diren had to admit that he was a tiny bit thankful for the defeated tone in her voice.
“Yes, you do,” he answered tenderly. “You have my place.”
He had no idea why he had offered his home to her, a woman about whom he knew nothing. But as soon as he had heard that she had no where to go, he knew he was going to offer to protect her.
It seemed like the natural thing to do and when she stared up at him, thankfulness coming over her features, he knew he had done the right thing.
Now what am I going to do about R
yland Duggan?
Chapter Eleven
Her phone had not stopped ringing in two days but Ayla was terrified to answer the calls. Even though the calls all came through from blocked numbers, she knew who it was; her evil step-brother, hellbent on ruining her life.
It had been three weeks since the fateful trip to the hospital where her mother had suffered a punctured spleen from the falling glass.
“Aw it was the damndest thing, kitten,” Beth Ann told her, grinning maniacally when she finally came out of surgery. “The goddamned door jus’ fell off the hinges onto my head and broke inta a mil’on pieces. Damn near knocked me right out. That’s the only reason I fell, a’course,” she reasoned, as if Ayla wouldn’t know that the grand amounts of alcohol she had likely consumed beforehand hadn’t contributed to the ‘passing out’. “Thank the good lord above yer brotha was nearby.”
“Mama, how many times did I tell you to get that door fixed?” Ayla demanded, her face flushing with worry. It did not matter what Beth Ann thought; Ayla knew Ryland was responsible for what had happened.
He may not have hit her directly, but he planned to have her hurt, I know it.
“Well I ain’t seen you around ta fix it,” her mother jeered, jabbing at the morphine drip as if she needed more than the ton she had already taken.
“You’re going to come home with me, Mama,” Ayla told her. “I can take care of you – “
“How you gun take care of me when ya got that fancy job and yer bangin’ yer boss?” Beth Ann accused and Ayla cringed, instinctively looking back to see if Diren was standing in the hall.
He was, but he pretended that he hadn’t heard anything.
“Mama, how are you going to take care of yourself? The doctor says it’s going to take weeks before you’re fully recovered and – “
“Oh psh. Suddenly yer worried about yer mama. Neva could getcha to give a hoot before. Anyway, Ryland’s comin’ ta stay with me.”
Ayla’s blood ran cold at the thought.
“No, Mama!” she insisted. “You need to come home with me!”
“I ain’t no fancy New York City gal like you, Ayla. Ya don’t need me crampin’ yer style none. Go on back to the Big Apple now. I got Ryland here with me. Brittney might come too!”
Ayla stifled a groan.
Fat chance that bitch will come anywhere near the trailer. She’s got her own legion of asshole kids to deal with now. It will just be mom and Ryland.
Ryland would have free reign to do what he wanted, when he wanted, if Ayla didn’t obey him.
But Diren will protect me, she thought desperately.
But as soon as she thought it, she knew how empty those words were.
No one could protect her and she knew she shouldn’t have agreed to stay in Diren’s house, but the alternative had been unthinkable.
Just for a little while, she had promised herself. Until I can figure out what to do.
Three days after they returned from Suffern, the calls had begun.
“You haven’t been home in days,” Ryland jeered in her ear. “That sounds like you’re making progress.”
Ayla swallowed.
“Yes,” she murmured. “How’s Mama?”
“She’s okay…for now,” he replied. “How’s Diren?”
Ayla didn’t reply.
“I am giving you exactly two weeks to get the job done, Ayla, and if you don’t, Mama is going to have another accident. This one won’t be as minor,” Ryland continued. “Seeing as she is so hopped up on pain medication, I wouldn’t be surprised if she took too many or fell on that empty little head of hers.”
Ayla closed her eyes and willed away the tears.
“I understand,” she assured him. “I’ll do it. I’m close enough now that he trusts me. Just give me some time.”
“I have been giving you time!” Ryland shouted. “I’m fucking sick of waiting!”
“Okay, Ryland,” she said urgently. “I will do it. Soon. I swear.”
“You better.”
There was a long silence and for a moment, she thought he had hung up but she could still hear his breathing through the phone.
“Are you living with him now?” her step-brother asked. The words were laced with a wistful venom which made Ayla’s skin crawl.
“Of course not!” she snapped, and immediately hated the defensive tone of her voice.
I sound like I’m lying, she thought mournfully.
“I should have known - you’re just like your mother,” Ryland spat, venom lacing his words. “The apple doesn’t fall from the tree.”
“Ryland – “
“Just shut up. I should have killed you that day too.”
The line went dead and Ayla swooned.
What does he mean “too”?
It seemed that every time he mentioned that terrible August day, something ugly resurfaced, something Ayla could not reconcile with what had truly transpired.
It was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill Darius. I don’t know how it happened…
They were yelling at each other inside the trailer and Ayla’s hands covered her mouth nervously, chewing on her already worn nails and spitting them to the ground.
“You should probably get going,” Tara-Lynn said and Ayla glanced at her nervously. “They’re probably gonna be a while.”
“What are they fighting about?” she asked but she didn’t really want to know.
“It’s none of your business,” Tara-Lynn snapped. “Just take the car and get out of here before things get worse. And don’t tell anyone what you saw.”
Ayla stared at Ryland’s girlfriend uncomprehendingly, but the voices grew louder from within the trailer.
“I really should wait…”
“Go, you stupid bitch!” Tara-Lynn shrieked, reaching out to slap her shocked face. “Get outta here.”
Tears stinging her eyes, Ayla poured herself into the driver’s side of the old station wagon, her hands shaking.
She backed away, watching as Tara-Lynn disappeared inside to deal with Ayla’s step-brother and step-father.
I wonder what Darius is doing here, Ayla thought, miserably. I should go tell mama about this.
But she knew she wouldn’t. If Ryland was in trouble again and Ayla told…she shuddered at what would happen.
No, she decided at the end of the street, I need to go back for both of them. I don’t know why Ryland wanted me to drive him to Tara-Lynn’s trailer instead of work, but I shouldn’t take the car and leave him stranded.
She did a U-turn at the end of the street and stepped on the gas, driving back down the unfamiliar dirt road.
It was just as she was pulling back up to the trailer that Darius came running out, his hands flailing wildly.
It was far too late to stop the car, but the horrified panic on his face would forever haunt her dreams as she heard a thud, then the car went over a body sized bump. She sat frozen in the car, her step-father laying beneath the vehicle.
Like a movie going in slow motion, Ryland appeared at the door of the trailer, his face registering shock and then something else…something…gleeful?
He ran to the car and jumped inside, a twisted smirk on his face.
“Oh my God,” Ayla gasped, bile rising in her throat. “What did I do?”
“Just drive,” he ordered. “Drive, go!”
She could only stare at him, her mind unable to process what had happened.
We need to get him help! She tried to scream but her voice stuck in her throat like glue.
A low, feral moan escaped her but Ryland was having none of it. He slapped her cleanly across the face and she gasped in shock.
She gaped at him and for the first time, she realized that he was covered in blood.
Where did all that blood come from? Where was Tara-Lynn?
“Just drive, you stupid bitch! Don’t look back!”
She couldn’t breathe, panic blocking her vision as she steered the station wagon blindly down the driveway and t
hen through the backroads.
“Pull over here,” he yelled after a couple minutes. “And get out!”
She peered at him, horrified.
“What?” she screeched. “We’re in the middle of nowhere – “
“Just do what the fuck I say!”
The look in his eyes was more terrifying than she had ever seen it and she knew that she had no choice but to obey before everything became much, much worse.
Slowing the car at the edge of an embankment, he shoved her arm roughly and she cried out, more from fear than pain.
“Get out!”
Not needing to be told again, she fell from the driver’s side onto the dirt road as he crawled over the console and slammed the door shut.
Leaving her on the side of the road, sobbing and hysterical he yelled out at her again.
“Get your shit together!” he screamed, peering in the rear-view mirror to ensure they weren’t seen. “Do not go home. You stay right fucking here! If anyone comes along, you hide in the damned cornfields. Do you hear me?”
She nodded, shaking as he pulled away, the spinning tires of the car filling her face with dust.
She fell to the ground, burying her hands in her face as the tears stung her eyes and her whole body shook like a leaf.
What have I done? How could I have let this happen?
Images began to pour into her mind, the pain on Darius’ face when he emerged from the trailer, the sound Ryland’s hand made when he slapped her, the sickening thud when the station wagon made contact with Darius’ body, being thrown from the car by her own step-brother, and the blood…so much blood.
She was wheezing, the hot sun burning down on her.
I have to call the police, she thought, stumbling to her feet. I don’t care what he says. We have to call the police.
She looked around, spinning in circles as if searching for signs of life but she was only trying to catch her bearings.
I will find a phone, she thought, willing herself to be rational. I will find a phone and call for help. It doesn’t matter what happens to me. We need the cops. And an ambulance. Everything will be fine.
She stumbled toward the direction they had come, barely aware of the heat as the rays burned through her dark clothes like searing bullets.
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