“Eat it,” she screams, shoving another in his mouth. She looks a little deranged as she goes for yet another muffin in her trusty backpack.
What surprises me more is the little kicks Lily keeps getting in as the others keep slapping and punching him.
“You leave my sister alone, you A-hole.” Another kick to the ribs.
Mouth agape, I watch as Hayden really gets into it, slapping his face almost comically. “How does it feel to get hit back, huh? How do you like it, huh? You like it?” Her slaps become harder as he shouts at them to get the fuck off him.
Security come barrelling around the corner and I sag with relief at the sight of them, though not at the sight of my brother and cousins walking past, doing a double take before rushing towards us; or the growing crowd.
With them here, things will only get worse. It’s only a matter of time, not whether they will succeed in doing so.
The security blokes pull the girls away, but the one holding Hayden is having trouble restraining her.
“Tell me, are you not entertained!” she screams, throwing her hands up and looking like a mad woman on crack as she glares at Noah. She keeps trying to throw another kick towards his broken body, but the guy holding her pulls her back, lifting her off her feet so they’re swinging in the air.
Another security bloke helps Noah stand, asking if he’s all right.
“What? He was the one who attacked me, he fucking beat me up,” I scream, stepping forward. There is no way he can get away with this again. And they can’t let him go. Beau is looking for him.
“Miss, I’m going to ask you to calm down and take a step back.”
I stand straighter as I hear my cousins asking the others what happened. “No. I won’t. He’s wanted by the police.”
“Is this right, sir?”
Noah scowls angrily at me before turning to the security guy, wincing as he fakes being the victim. “No. I was walking towards the exit to take my wife and kid home when I was jumped by these group of crazy ladies.”
“You liar,” I scream, my temper rising as I take a step forward. The security guy puts his hand to my chest, shoving me lightly to take a step back. “He doesn’t even have a wife or kids.” At least, I think he doesn’t. “He tried to take me away. He’s woman beater.”
Mark walks up beside me, his jaw clenched. “Is he the one who attacked you, Faith?”
“Yes,” I bite out, my eyes narrowed on the man I should be scared of, but if anything, I’m scared for him, because I’m not letting him leave this park without being in handcuffs first.
“I see.” Before I can stop him, he’s swinging a punch to Noah’s jaw. Two security guys come running over to restrain him, but I lose my temper.
“No, get away from my brother. He didn’t do anything wrong. You’re restraining the wrong person.”
I’m pulled back, but with my casted arm, I hit whoever has me in the head, stunning them long enough to let me go. I jump on the back of the guy who is trying to pin Mark to the floor, pulling his hair.
“Get away!”
“Get off me,” he squeals, spinning around. I grip my legs around him tighter, and from the corner of my eye, I notice Hayden and the others get free to start helping us get free.
Hopefully we can make it home before the police show up. But then I see Noah trying to slip out of the mad chaos and scream to my family. We all dive in his direction.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
When I was fifteen I got caught sneaking out with Lily to meet up with the others. We had the bright idea of doing a Ouija board, in a graveyard, at midnight, to talk to my dead grandmother. Honestly, at the time, it was a great idea. I’d just wanted to know if she was okay.
We’d got caught before even entering the graveyard by a patrolling cop car. I’d been so scared I nearly peed myself. I didn’t think I could ever feel like that again, until tonight.
I don’t even know what Noah had had planned or what he’d wanted to do me. I don’t know if that’s worse than knowing.
To make matters worse, we’ve been arrested and put in a cell together. It’s absolutely frightening not knowing what will happen. I’m also pissed that they arrested us when we didn’t really do anything. It wasn’t like we attempted to kidnap someone, unlike Noah.
Charlotte’s sniffling has me looking in her direction. She’s been rocking back and forth for the past three hours—since we’ve been here. Poor girl has never been in trouble in her life. Even when we snuck out at fifteen, she stayed behind, not wanting to let her parents down. And because we’re family, none of us ever forced her to step over the line. She was perfect the way she was.
“I’m a criminal. I’m going to go to prison and be someone’s bitch.”
“You’re not going to prison,” Hope tells her, trying to soothe her fears.
All the girls got shoved into one cell because of the rooms being overcrowded, since a lot of people from out of town are here. I’m actually glad, because I think it would have sent me over the edge had I not had them close.
“I am. Maybe if I lied and said I just wanted him to be fed, they’d let me go?”
“I think you lying in court would be frowned upon,” Hayden adds.
“And they took samples of your muffins to make sure they weren’t laced with anything that could kill him,” Immy says, inspecting her nails.
“Oh, god, they’re going to lock me up for a very long time,” she cries, sobbing into her hands. “They were just my muffins. I didn’t do anything to them.”
“I can’t believe I hurt someone,” Lily whispers from next to me. She’s still trying to calm down from the panic attack she’d had when the officer who came to check on us tried to shut the door. It took us ten minutes of screaming before another officer arrived, warning the others about Lily’s condition.
“I think they’re more worried about Faith bashing in one of the guys’ head. I heard he got taken to hospital,” Hayden says, grinning.
I narrow my eyes because she’s full of shit. I’d heard the paramedic tell him he had a concussion and he should go home for some rest. Only Noah and another security guy got taken to hospital, but really, that was a complete misunderstanding.
I’d thought the security guy was Noah, and when he had turned around, I’d swung. By the time I’d realised it wasn’t him, it had been too late. I punched him the nose, and even over the roar of shouting, I’d heard the bone crack. I threw up not long after.
And no one could pin what happened to Noah on any of us because we’re still unsure ourselves about who did what to put him in the hospital. There were too many of us. Though I think Ashton giving him a wedgie and pinning his boxers to a gate didn’t help matters. People, to get out of the way of the police, had barrelled through the gate, and every time one of them slammed it open, it slammed Noah against the brick wall.
So, technically it wasn’t our fault. We had just been trying to prevent him from escaping.
“Less about my part, what about your part? Where the fuck did you learn how to kick like that?”
Hayden, for the first time since we were brought in by a riot van, looks nervous. She bites her bottom lip before sagging against the brick wall. “I couldn’t sleep one night so I watched some MMA. When I got into it, I started watching wrestling and other martial arts. You pick up a few things when you see hot, sweaty men slamming into each other.”
If she had given me anything but that absurd answer, I wouldn’t have believed her. But believe it or not, she learnt to drive by playing this car game that made you think you were really in a car.
It didn’t help that she was only sixteen and got caught joyriding her dad’s car.
“I want to know what was with the abuse you were shouting. The ‘Are you entertained’ nearly had me peeing myself with laughter,” Hope says, before giggling to herself.
I have to admit, looking back now, that was actually funny.
Hayden blushes, making me giggle louder. “I was in the mome
nt.”
“Yeah right,” I scoff.
“Okay, I watch a lot of movies. I just couldn’t help it.”
“Do you think we’ll get out of here?” Charlotte asks, still sniffling.
“Oh, God.” Lily pales, sitting up. “If I have an arrest record, I won’t be able to keep my job. They’re going to think I’m unfit to look after the children.”
I rub her back. “They won’t. We will vouch for you. You won’t lose your job.”
“Do you think they’ll let us order a McDonalds?” Ciara asks, opening her eyes. She’d fallen asleep an hour ago.
Hayden is about to throw out a snarky reply, but before she can, the door to our room is pushed open.
In his work uniform, Beau stands next to Collings and another officer, grinning widely.
“Beau,” I squeal happily. I’m about to get up when he holds his hand up. “What? Can we not go?”
I bite my bottom lip. I’d been praying that Beau could sort out this misunderstanding for us. I never pictured we’d be slapped with arrest charges.
When he holds his phone up, I hear the distinct click of his camera and my eyes narrow at his grinning face.
“Please tell me you didn’t just take a picture of us?”
He shrugs, nodding his head to the officer, who leaves. “I really did. I want this moment framed.”
I don’t buy it and neither do the others.
“Our parents asked you to take a picture, didn’t they?” Ciara asks dryly.
He nods, still looking smug. “Yep.”
“I hate you,” Hayden grumbles.
“Are they going to take me to prison now?” Charlotte asks, getting to her feet.
His eyes soften as he takes in her swollen red eyes. “No, Charlotte, they aren’t. You’re all free to go. Once we explained everything, they decided to speak to the security team you attacked. They chose to drop the charges.”
“They were going to charge us?” I squeak.
“Pussies,” Hayden hisses, getting up and dusting off her jeans.
“Yes, apparently one of you kneed one in the balls and he’s still recovering with an icepack and painkillers, one has a broken nose in three places and will need surgery, and others are in for a couple of bruised ribs.”
I bite my bottom lip worriedly. “That must have happened by accident when we were helping the others.”
He nods his head, his lips twitching. “I see.”
“They’ll be fine.” I grab my coat, as the others pile out of the room, and meet Beau at the door. He throws his arm over my shoulder, smiling down at me.
“Oh, and you’ve been banned from any and all concerts involving Party in the Park.”
“No way!” I gasp, turning to face him. “It really wasn’t our fault. We were getting cotton candy when Noah grabbed me. He pulled my hair, Beau. We did what we had to do.”
“Which was call for help?” he asks, looking at me expectantly.
I look away, sniffing. “No. It happened too fast.”
“Right.”
Nervously, I chance to ask the question I’ve been wanting to ask the other officers. “Did you arrest Noah?”
He pulls me tighter against him. “We did. They are still at the hospital with him. We were on our way over to you when we heard the call over the radio about a disturbance.” He pauses, looking down at me until I nervously look away. “I knew it was you.”
“How?”
“His friend? He told us everything. After all the dirt we found on his computer, we were going to pin it all on him. Once he believed it, he sang like a canary.”
“So, it’s over?”
“Yep, it’s over. That bastard will not be bothering you again.”
“What about my cousins and brother? They got pulled into the other van. Are they free to leave too?”
“Yeah. They’re fine. I left them finishing pizza with a couple of female officers. I swear, even busted up and in a cell, they can act like butter doesn’t melt. They had one officer really believing they were innocent bystanders throughout the whole incident.”
“Oh, my God, they got fed?” My stomach grumbles as if it’s protesting over not having food.
He laughs as we step into the waiting room where all our family are waiting. Dad sees me and rushes over, before pulling me into his arms.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he whispers against my neck. I breath him in, safety surrounding me like a warm blanket. When he pulls back, he’s scowling. “I was told you were the one who broke the nose. You didn’t knee them in the balls?”
“No, Dad. It was an accident,” I tell him, emphasizing the word accident in case the officers are listening in.
Beau snorts behind me while Dad grins. “Good girl.”
“Hey, we’re all over Youtube,” Hayden shouts, grinning like a fool as she watches her screen.
I groan when I hear, ‘This is Sparta’ shouted from the screen.
Dad, who is still holding me in his arms, looks over to Max. “Get Liam on it.”
“No way. We have over fifty thousand hits already,” Hayden sulks. Everyone looks over her shoulder, watching it, wincing every now and then and laughing.
“You really showed him, sweetie,” Myles tells his daughter, pulling her tighter.
Charlotte stands straighter, looking like she hadn’t been crying her eyes out only five minutes ago. “I’m a rebel.”
Myles laughs, kissing his daughter’s forehead. “That you are, baby girl.”
“Where’s Aiden?” I ask out loud. As I look around, everyone goes silent, frowning at one another.
“Shit!” Mark hisses, grabbing his phone off the counter where the officer is giving us our belongings and turning it on. “Shit!”
“What?” Mum asks, still fussing over the cut above Mark’s eye.
“We left him. He was bang―talking to some girl. He said to call him in an hour for us to meet up with him.”
“What time was that?” Mum asks.
Mark bites his bottom lip, wisely stepping away from Mum. “Four hours ago.”
“What?” she screeches, just as I grab my phone, turning it on.
Four missed calls and a few messages from Aiden asking where we were. I feel bad, but in all fairness, I’m glad he’s not here. We wouldn’t have made it to the waiting room without being arrested again if he were.
“Sweetheart, we can go pick him and their stuff up when we get the cars.”
“We can’t stay there?” I ask.
Beau pinches my side and I elbow him in the stomach. “You know you’re banned. You’re allowed to get your cars and belongings, but then you have to leave the property immediately.”
I sag, disappointed. “Oh, okay.”
“Seriously, sis, you shoved a muffin down his throat?” Everyone stops their exit to glance at Charlotte. She’s biting her lip, blushing.
“He pulled her hair. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Myles and Kayla smile as they pull their daughter into their arms. “It’s okay, sweetie. He won’t mess with any of you again.”
“Very true,” Beau whispers close to me, pulling me against him.
“They won’t let him get away with it, will they?” I ask, sucking my bottom lip into my mouth.
He shakes his head, running a finger down my cheek. “No, baby, they won’t. I promise.”
“Good. Take me home, please?”
His eyes flutter. “Yeah, baby, let’s go home.”
CHAPTER TWENTY -THREE
Beau
Three weeks later
When we got the court date letter two weeks ago, I knew today, I would have to do something to cheer up my woman.
She’s been acting like it’s no big deal, putting on a brave face, but I know she’s been fearing Noah getting away with it, even if she doesn’t say it. I’ve seen it in the way she bites her nails, how she checks her emails for updates from her lawyer, and how she will ask Collings if everything is okay.
The past week has been hard on her. She’s hardly eaten or slept, and a few times I’ve woken up to her in a cold sweat.
When we were informed other victims were being called forward, she started to relax. She admitted one night, after we’d finished in bed, how she was glad they were coming. She didn’t feel as alone with them standing by her side.
Faith became friends with Carol―my old next-door neighbour―when I introduced them to one another a week ago. She’d come down for the court case, and to catch up with me before. We had kept in touch via texting, but other than that, I’ve only seen her once since I moved out to find who had victimised her.
Her son Mathew, who had also come down to testify against Noah, was here. He may not have seen him clearly the night he was attacked, but he’d had glimpses and heard him speak. For that, Carol wanted her son to feel comfortable before taking the stand.
After meeting up with him and taking him out for a game of football, I can see the difference in him. He’s not the boy he was before the attack, but he isn’t the boy he he’d been after either. He’s been through a lot, but he seems to be doing much better.
I testified last week; telling the jury about the information I had found out about Noah from the time I took on the case to the very end.
I’d had to fight not to jump over the barrier separating him from us and knocking the fucker out. He was cold, calculating, his eyes always assessing the room. He tried to intimidate the women, glaring their way, but none of them paid him attention.
When Faith went to the stand this morning, I was there for her, but not long after, I left, getting ready for her surprise. It was hard when all I’d wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and protect her from that monster. He’s no longer a threat to her, but the rage still simmering inside me feels fresh. I don’t think I’ll ever not be protective of her.
Over the past few months, since meeting Faith, my life has changed for the better. I’d never expected to be in a serious relationship with anyone, but for some reason, she pulled me in from the very first time she’d screamed in my face. I knew just looking into her mesmerising eyes that I’d never be the same again. She’s surprised me at every turn, her nutty side coming out the more we hung out. I wouldn’t change who she is for the world, not even her family. It’s what makes Faith, Faith, and I can accept that with no problems.
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