by H. Q. Frost
"Do you deserve to be tackled?" Nyla blocked the sun and tilted her head to look at Dom through her aviators.
"I'm gonna pound you, Jeff. Give up now."
"Hey, Dom," Jeff blurted, no longer interested in the game of chase. He was now pointing at Nyla and said, "Myra has a baby scar like Mom does."
Kaitlyn gasped and Nyla quickly sat up to hide the scar, looking up at Dom, whose eyes flashed to her but quickly back to his brother.
"So." He shrugged then bolted toward Jeff who stumbled away before getting his footing into a steady sprint.
"Is that what that is?" Kaitlyn whispered.
"Where's my tank?" Nyla mumbled, quickly getting to her feet.
"Oh my god, calm down." Kaitlyn grabbed her arm before she could storm off. "No-one gives a shit. Do you have a kid?"
"No. Is there a bathroom somewhere?"
"Come on." Kaitlyn locked her arm with Nyla's and started pulling her toward the cabin.
By the time they got to the bathroom, Nyla felt so humiliated she was in silent tears.
"I'll be out in a minute," she strained out and quickly shut the bathroom door.
Kaitlyn huffed. "Jeff, you pain in the ass," she muttered while wandering back outside. "Dom!" she shouted. "Dominic!" she yelled as she headed toward the pond.
"What?"
"Come over here!" she stressed, not wanting to tell him in front of the guys that Nyla was in tears.
"Where's Nyla?" He glanced around.
"In the bathroom bawling her eyes out because of what Jeff said."
"Shit." He bolted around her and rushed into the cabin. "Nyla?" He knocked.
"Hang on," she tried to hide the tears.
"La, can I come in?"
"Hold on, please."
"You have the runs again?" he called through the door and when he heard her start to giggle through the tears, he pushed the door open. "Why are you crying?" Shoving the door closed, he gently pulled her into his arms. "Because of what Jeff said?"
"It's stupid." She hiccupped into his bare chest.
"What's stupid? You know Jeff doesn't really think before he talks."
"I know," she groaned. "Me crying is stupid. I just wasn't expecting it. I wanted to wear a one-piece."
"Why? I like this." His fingers skimmed the waist of her bottoms. "I like seeing more of your body." He kissed over her ear to her jaw.
"Except that scar," she mumbled, untucking her arms from his chest and wrapping them around him.
"No, not except the scar. I get a boner for all of you."
"Dom," she groaned and shoved him before bursting into laughter.
He dropped to his knees and kissed the scar across her lower stomach.
"What's it from? You have your appendix out or something?" he asked, having no idea what to expect from her answer.
"No." She stared down at him while he kissed back and forth over the white line.
"Did you have surgery?" His mouth traveled to her pierced belly button.
With her hand tucked close to her mouth she whispered, "It's from what Jeff said, Dom."
His lips stilled and his eyes flashed up to hers.
"I gave him up for adoption." She quickly wiped slipping tears.
"How old were you?" His lips traveled her stomach again, hoping to soothe the embarrassment or hurt she was feeling.
It was a shock, but didn't change his opinion of her.
"Nineteen," she squeaked and sniffled, wiping more tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She double swiped her cheeks and he got to his feet.
"Hey." Pulling her against him he said, "We got a lot more to find out about each other. You weren't gonna keep it from me, were you?"
"How could I?" She gestured to the scar. "I planned on you seeing me naked a lot sooner than in a bikini."
With a chuckling growl he dropped back to his knees and carefully pushed her to lean against the sink.
"I like the naked idea." Inch by inch he lowered her bottoms and started a trail of kisses from her belly button all the way down her pelvis.
"Dom," she breathed in a shaky breath and slid her fingers into his hair.
He took his time placing soft kisses over her smooth skin and didn't rush, but when his tongue slid across her, a slow, quiet moan floated from her throat and her fingers gripped the sink.
"Hey, guys?" Kaitlyn's frantic voice carried through the door as she pounded on the wood, making Dom stop. "Nyla? Hey, Nyla?"
Quickly pulling her bottoms up, Nyla stepped around Dom in worry and he sighed, keeping his back to the open door so Kaitlyn didn't get the tent show in his shorts.
Seeing she was in tears, Nyla grabbed her shoulders. "What's wrong? What's wrong?"
"My sister's here. She, she… She came with my brother." A few shaky breaths puffed from her while she tried to stop the rising panic-attack.
"Let's get some water."
Pulling her toward the kitchen, she didn't look back until Dom's authoritative voice demanded, "Stay in here," and he was storming out of the cabin.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Kaitlyn continued panting like she was hyperventilating. "He can't, Nyla. He can't."
"He won't. He's not stupid." Unsure if he could control his anger, Nyla tried to calm Kaitlyn while looking out the window to locate Dom.
She hoped the dragon inside him wouldn't come out; the dragon she was trying to slay for her book's happy ending.
"Fuck you doin' up here, Reese?" Dom kept his tone light but there was no smile as Reese approached, grinning and slapped hands with him.
"You know I gotta keep an eye on my sisters, man. That beast made it up, huh?" His eyes drifted to the truck he sold Dom.
"Yep." The brief encounter was more than Dom could take after finding out the truth about the guy; he went back into the cabin and halted to a stop upon seeing the scene in the kitchen.
Backed against the counter was Renee; Nyla stood between her and Kaitlyn with her hands up while Kaitlyn held a knife in her grasp, wanting to attack her sister.
In a run, Dom jumped and slid over the countertop separating the kitchen from the living room and stepped in front of Nyla, grabbing the knife from Kaitlyn in a yank.
"Dom!" she sobbed, throwing herself at him. "She's going to ruin my entire life!"
With a tight grip on her, he looked over his shoulder pegging an intimidating glare on Renee.
"The psycho came at me with a knife!" she shrieked holding up the palm of her hand to show the slash.
"Dom, hold her back," Nyla said before grabbing Renee's wrist and pulling her around them to the bathroom.
"What the fuck happened?" Dom muttered holding Kaitlyn up from collapsing.
"I fucking hate her, Dom. I hate her. She's still spreading that picture. She's spreading other ones of me now too."
Reese walked in seeing Dom comforting Kaitlyn at the table, "Whoa!" he said, rushing to his sister.
"Back off!" Dom warned loud enough that Nyla stepped out of the bathroom to see what was going on.
"Stay away from her, Reese. She fucking attacked me with a knife!" Renee shrieked from the bathroom doorway.
"Kaitie." He kneeled next to her and his hand slid to her thigh.
"I said back off!" Dom shoved him back when Kaitlyn flinched from Reese's touch.
"Whoa, Sestak, you better chill the fuck out, dude!" Reese warned, standing to his full height that wasn't much taller than Dom.
"Just back the fuck off her," Dom growled stepping chest to chest with him.
"You fuckin' my sister, Dom?" Reese's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah. The bitch was probably sucking his cock right after he fucked me," Renee's vindictive tone carried.
"Alright." Nyla scowled at her before marching across the room and pushing Dom back a step.
Kaitlyn got to her feet from the chair and bolted out the door.
"Psycho bitch," Renee mumbled going back into the bathroom.
"What's your problem, Sestak?" Reese glared at him. "You dating
my little sister?"
"Come on," Nyla said pushing Dom backward out of the cabin while he stared Reese down. Getting him outside she said, "If you fight him, what Kait doesn't want everyone to know, will start coming out. You can't do this here."
"Fuck," Dom grunted, punching the porch post. "I used to think he was a cool guy."
"Calm down." She gently inspected his hand.
"I can't be around with that guy here."
"Who?" Boney asked walking up from behind Dom.
"No-one." Before Dom could storm to the pond, Boney grabbed his shoulder.
"I said who. I ain't deaf. Who do you got a problem with?" Looking over Dom's stiff jaw and furrowed brows, he said, "Tell me and we'll take care of him."
Renee's giggling got closer to the door until she was running out of the cabin with Reese chasing her. Boney didn't miss Dom's look of death he had pegged on Reese.
"Reese?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder toward Dom's truck. "What's the beef? Truck running okay?"
"I just don't like him, man." Dom tried to walk away but Boney grabbed his shoulder once again.
With a dubious glare, Boney said, "The fuck's goin' on? Nyla, shake your pretty ass over to the pond or somethin'. I gotta talk to my boy."
With a glare locked on him, Dom grabbed Nyla's hand then shoved Boney's hand off his shoulder before walking away.
"Where's Kait?" She frantically began glancing around.
"Shit," Dom huffed. "Mark, you seen Kaitlyn?"
"No, man." He shrugged before going back to his tackle box.
"Where's Jeff?" Dom mumbled, trying to spot his brother. "Jeff!"
"You go that way. I'll look over there." Nyla headed in the opposite direction and called out Jeff's name.
Ten minutes of scouring the woods behind the cabin, Dom found Jeff and Kaitlyn climbing a tree.
"Jeff, man, don't run off without telling someone."
"I followed Kaitlyn," he blamed, pointing his finger her way.
"Sorry, Dom. He saw I was upset and wouldn't go back."
"Come down." Dom huffed and took a few steps back from the tall oak.
She glanced around her. "I... don't know how." Stepping down to a branch, it snapped under a small amount of weight.
"How the fuck did you get up there?" he groaned.
"I don't know!" Laughter made her hold on tighter. "Jeff, get down and catch me."
"No!" Dom shouted, knowing that would get one, or both of them hurt. "Dammit," he muttered and glanced toward the cabin that was twenty feet out of the woods. Worry for Nyla made his anger rise because she was wandering alone. "Jeff, get down!" he barked then backed up and ran at the tree to boost up to the closest branch. "How the fuck did you guys get up here?" he grumbled reaching for another.
"Jeff boosted me." Kaitlyn chuckled and he felt relief that some of her animosity toward her corrupt family lessened when she wasn't around them.
"Hold onto my back," he instructed when he reached her.
"Dom, you're gonna fall. I don't think you can hold me!"
"Shut up," he snapped. "Hold on or I'll let you fall," he lied, and she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.
"Dom!" Nyla's shriek echoed through the woods.
"Fuck!" He grabbed Kaitlyn's arm and began swinging down branch by branch, disregarding the burn in his hands from tree bark. "Hold on," he warned her before jumping down.
They landed hard but he took the brunt and when he was on the ground, took off in a sprint to find Nyla.
"Nyla!" Dom called, almost slipping as he rounded the corner of the cabin.
He came to an abrupt stop when he saw Boney had his gun out and it was pointed downward at someone that was out of view because of the banister. Moving around the porch, he saw Renee on her knees in tears with Boney's gun aimed at her head. A few feet away from her, Reese was in a slump on the ground. Taking a deep breath, Dom tried to recall if he'd heard a shot fired and if that was Reese's fate.
"Boney," Dom barked.
"Fuck you, you sick bitch." Boney anxiously moved from foot to foot, still aiming at her head.
"Boney, what the fuck?" Dom approached slowly and his eyes went to Nyla who was closer than he wanted her.
He nonchalantly waved his hand for her to get back but when she moved, Boney turned the gun on her.
"Don't!" Dom shouted grabbing Boney's arm.
"Fuck this bitch, Dom!" Boney seethed as his gun pivoted back toward Renee. "You sick bitch! I put my dick in you, you brother-fucking bitch!"
Dom's brows shot up and he looked at Nyla who had her hands cupped over her mouth.
"Know what I found this bitch doing, Dom? Know where I found her and her fucked up brother? Do you know what I found them doing?" he screamed, and Renee whimpered as the barrel of his gun pushed against her flesh. "She was in the woods fucking her goddamned brother." Looking over at him, he took a step back and faced Dom for an explanation as to why he wasn't surprised.
"So what the fuck are you gonna do, Boney? Kill her?" Kaitlyn marched in front of her sister who grabbed her leg in desperation.
"You know she fucks her brother?" Boney said with disgust directed at Dom.
"No," Dom said calmly and pulled the gun from his hand. "But you can't fucking shoot her."
"Fuck that!" Boney screamed and grabbed his gun, pulling the trigger so a bullet fired into the dirt next to Renee.
Renee fell to her side in a fit of screams and tears.
"Goddammit, Boney!" Kaitlyn screamed, pressing her hand to her ringing ear.
"I put my dick in that sick bitch!" Boney used the gun to gesture to Renee. "She was riding her fucking brother, Dom! Man! What the fuck! Am I the only one that thinks this is fucked up? I know all ya'll are fucked in the head, but this shit, man! This is sick!"
"It's fucked up." Dom took the gun again and shoved it into the back of his shorts. "What'd you do to him?" He glanced toward Reese.
"Man, fuck him," Boney snickered and headed toward the pond.
"He hit him with this," Leo said picking up a log. "I don't know if he's dead, Dom."
Nyla's eyes shot to Reese as they filled with tears.
"Oh god!" Renee shrieked and started to crawl toward her brother.
Dom's eyes locked on Nyla and they were in the same stare down as the first time they saw each other. He wanted to erase her memory all the way from the beginning then start over the right way. He wanted to apologize for bringing her around the fucked up people he grew up with and never disassociated himself from, even when he knew they were all doomed. He knew she wouldn't accept an apology for any of it and would just tell him he was a good book.
She broke their stare by jogging over to him and latching on, afraid Boney might lose it and actually kill Renee and Reese.
"I was looking for Kait," she quietly told him while swiping away tears. "Boney said he'd help. I don't know where he went but him and that guy." Her gaze landed on Reese a minute and she cringed at the memory of Boney hitting him. "They were screaming back and forth then him and Renee backed out of the woods with Boney pointing his gun at them. When he hit him with the log, I screamed for you."
"I found Kaitlyn and Jeff." He looked toward Kaitlyn who was aiding her sister.
"Dom," Leo called out. "He's moving, man."
Dom's eyes shot to Reese and he wanted to leave him to bleed out. He wanted to pull the trigger Boney should have pulled. He wanted to lure him into the woods and leave him there overnight for the wildlife to find him. But when Nyla jogged over to him, he followed and was helping her sit Reese up.
When Reese started to talk but wasn't forming words, Dom knew he had to get to a hospital. "Mark, where's a hospital around here?"
"I don't even know, man." Mark kept his distance, too high to process what was actually going on.
"Anyone have service? Jeff, grab my cell." Dom nodded toward his truck.
Checking her cellphone, Kaitlyn spoke up first. "No bars."
"I have a bar that keeps
going in and out," Leo said looking at his phone.
"I don't have my phone." Nyla sniffled and quickly wiped her face before grabbing Reese again.
Not knowing what she was thinking kept Dom's gaze locked on her for a few minutes. This was his life, one fucked up event after another and he felt guilty subjecting her to the life he didn't want to be associated with anymore.
"I can't call anyone, Dom," Jeff said, walking toward him with his phone.
"We have to get him to a hospital," Dom muttered, watching Reese nod in and out of consciousness.
"Let him die," Kaitlyn said, making Renee wail at her side. "Shut up." She scowled at her sister.
"What do we do, Dom?" Nyla whispered.
"Get him into my truck. Back up. Leo," he barked. "Help me get Reese into my truck."
Nyla buckled in Reese's hunched over frame and said, "I can't go with you, Dom."
"Yes you can," he protested and shoved Reese over a little so she could sit in the middle.
"We can't leave Boney with Renee. Kaitlyn either. He wanted to shoot her, Dom," she quietly stressed. "And if Boney doesn't, I think Kaitlyn will try and hurt her or herself."
"I'm not fucking leaving you with these assholes," he protested.
"This is so fucked up, Dom." She exhaled a shaky breath and looked back toward the others.
Kaitlyn was sitting on a rock glowering at her sister who was still a sobbing mess. Boney was throwing rocks across the pond while the other guys stood around, either too high or too uneasy to do anything.
"Take Leo. I'll keep an eye on Jeff too."
"Fuck," Dom huffed and pulled her toward the open truck door. Blocking her with the door he handed her Boney's gun. "Do you know how to use this?"
"I have an idea." She smirked halfheartedly, wishing this wasn't the life that surrounded him. "But I don't plan on using it."
"Just use it if shit goes down. This is Boney's only gun; he won't have another on him. You don't have to shoot anyone, but you can scare them with it."
"God." She pushed hair out of her face and looked at the gun again.
"I'm fuckin' sorry this weekend is already fucked." He kissed her quickly and his hand went to her bare stomach before his thumb swiped over the scar. "I'll be fast." He looked toward the cabin where Leo was wringing his hands, and barked, "Leo, let's go."
