“Let me go!” I scream. I want to finish her off!
“Princess,” Noah says through the red haze of anger that’s pulsing around me. “she’s out cold. She can’t hurt you anymore. Let’s get dressed so I can call the police.”
He lets go of me, only to take hold of the dress, and then he’s pulling it over my head. I watch him crouch down to pick up my clothes, and then he holds my skirt open so I can step into it.
I place a trembling hand that’s covered in the bitch’s blood on his shoulder and step into the skirt. Noah pulls it up my legs and then zips it up. He leaves me standing in only the skirt as he goes to put the handcuffs on the bitch.
Once he’s tied her feet together, too, he comes back to me. He helps me put on my boots and then I watch him strip out of the leathers and he quickly dresses himself.
I feel like I’m stuck in some sadistic twilight zone, that I can’t snap out of. The air is getting thinner and thinner and I start to breathe faster.
Noah yanks his shirt over his head and then he cups my face, lifting it until my eyes are on his. “Don’t lose it now, Princess. Just hold out for a few more minutes. I’ll get you home and then you can lose it. Let’s just get home first.”
I try to nod, but everything feels numb. Noah grabs my jacket and pulls me out of the room to a bathroom. He opens the faucets and grabs a bar of soap, and then he washes the blood from my hands. He dries my hands carefully, and then he helps me to get the jacket on.
When he buttons the jacket and adjusts the collar around my neck, something gives way in my chest. My legs go numb and before I can drop to the floor, Noah grabs me.
~*~
Chapter Forty-One
Noah~
It took forever to give my statement. Amy’s just staring off into space, not making any sounds. I’m worried about her!
What if it was all too much and she snapped?
After what feels like weeks, Dad and Uncle Garrett get to the cabin, just as the police tell us they’ll be in touch.
They arrested Louisa and drove off with her a few minutes ago. That whole family is a bunch of wackos!
Amy’s sitting in my car, looking drained of life as Dad and Uncle Garrett get out of the car. Uncle Garrett immediately goes to kneel at her side. “Angel? Did you get hurt?”
I expect Amy to snap out of her weird trance but she doesn’t and that’s when my worry explodes hot in my chest.
“She’s been like that since I pulled her off of that crazy bitch,” I start to explain. Dad comes to put his hand on my shoulder and the light squeeze almost makes me cry. I’m so glad they’re here! “We managed to get the gun away from her and then Amy just started to beat the living shit out of her. I had to pull her off or she would’ve killed her. I cleaned her a little and then she just collapsed. We should get her to a hospital!”
Uncle Garrett shakes his head. “She’s just in shock.” He looks at Dad and says, “Phone Riza and Kris, tell them I’m bringing Amy home. They’ll know what to do.”
I don’t understand! Amy should be treated for shock. She should be in a hospital! I take a step towards Uncle Garrett, ready to speak my mind, when Dad says, “Your mom and Aunt Kris will know what to do, Son. Help me get her into the other car then I’ll drive yours. We need to talk.”
~*~
After we moved Amy over to Uncle Garrett’s car, we follow them back to my folks’ home.
The silence is heavy and I’m just about to remind Dad that he wanted to talk, when he whispers, “Your mom and Aunt Kristine know what to do because they’ve been through something just as terrifying.” I hold my breath, not liking Dad’s tone of voice. He sounds so tired all of a sudden. “They were kidnapped to be sold as sex slaves.”
My breath leaves in a rush. “What?” It’s the only word I can come up with.
“Before you pass judgement, you have to hear the whole story,” he continues, his eyes never leaving the road. “Your Aunt Andrea was kidnapped and Uncle Garrett and I started looking for her when it was clear the police couldn’t find her. We posed as men willing to break women into the sex trade. There was an auction and we were so sure she’d be there. So we helped kidnap three girls and each man took one to break. Uncle Garrett took Aunt Kristine and I got your mother. We did things to them … God, Noah, it was awful. But we found Aunt Andrea and we managed to free Aunt Kris and your mom. They forgave us, but it was such a hard road to walk.” He finally glances at me. “And that is why they can help Amy.”
I can’t think of one thing to say. No words can describe how I feel.
I sit in stunned silence, my mind racing from everything I just heard.
As we near my folks’ home, I realize that if they tell Amy, it would really break her. Amy idolizes her father.
“You can’t tell Amy!” I snap, angry that they chose now to tell us. “This will be too much for her.”
We stop in front of the house and I’m out of the car before Uncle Garrett has switched his off. I rush to Amy’s side and I yank open the door.
“I’ll take her in,” Uncle Garrett says as I undo the seatbelt.
I slip one arm under her back and the other under her knees and lift her out. Uncle Garrett jumps out of the car looking pissed. I challenge him by lifting my chin and saying, “She’s coming with me. If you tell her what you intend to tell her …” I shake my head, “you’d be fucking crazy to do that. She’s gone through all she can handle right now.” I start towards my car. “I’m taking her to our place. When she’s ready you can off load that shit on her.”
“We can help her,” Uncle Garrett snaps, stalking towards me.
I give him a look of warning, actually ready to take him on. I place Amy in the passenger side of my car, strap her in and then turn to face Uncle Garrett. “You know what I think, your conscience has been eating at you because you’ve seen how all this shit has affected Amy and now you want to clear your conscience by dumping all the shit you did onto us. That’s not how life works. You sort your shit out and we’ll sort ours out.”
“Noah, don’t push me,” Uncle Garrett warns.
I take a step closer to him. “I respect you and I love you, Uncle Garrett, but I was there tonight. I protected Amy and I’ll continue to protect her from here on out. She’s not your little Angel anymore. We’re adults and we’ll come to you when we’re good and ready. Right now we’re going home. It’s been a fucked up night. I’ll call you when she’s ready.”
I slam the door shut and run around the car. Without looking back at them, I pull away, taking us home.
Amy’s mine and I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt her ever again.
~*~
Chapter Forty-Two
Amy~
I’m exhausted to the very core of me. It’s as if someone has turned out the lights and left me in the darkness.
I’m vaguely aware of Noah and Daddy fighting, but I don’t even have the energy to stop them.
~*~
I wake up to the sun shining brightly over me. I snuggle deeper into Noah’s chest and try to drift back to sleep.
I feel his fingers tangle in my hair and then he places a kiss on the top of my head. I lift my head from his chest and press a kiss to his neck. I could wake up like this every day.
The tendrils of sleep drift away and then I start to remember. As flashes from the previous night assault me and I remember Noah being whipped, I start to tremble.
Tears well in my eyes, and I push myself into a sitting position. “Let me see your back,” I croak the words out.
“It’s okay,” he whispers.
I take hold of his arm and pull at him. “Please, let me see it!”
He takes a deep breath and finally sits up, and then turns his back to me. There are faint red marks crisscrossing his skin, but it doesn’t look painful.
“Does it hurt?” I ask softly.
He shakes his head. “Not at all.” He turns sideways and our eyes meet. “How do you feel?”
“I�
��m just tired.” I get up and go to the bathroom, and it’s then that I realize I spent the night in Noah’s bed. I can’t even remember how we got home.
He follows me and watches as I start my morning routine of brushing my teeth and washing my face. Only when I’m done, he takes a step closer to me. “I was there, Amy. I know what happened. Don’t bottle it all up inside, cause that shit will eat away at you until there’s nothing left of you.”
I drop my eyes to our bare feet. Noah is right but I don’t even know where to begin to fix the mess that’s become my life. “I’m so tired of people hurting me, Noah. I just want to be left alone to live the best possible life I can. Why do people have to be so evil? I don’t understand why.” I swallow hard on the lump that’s forming in my throat. “Am I being punished for all those times I fought with you, cause I’m so sorry for always reminding you that you’re adopted. I’m sorry for everything and I just want it all to end.”
He closes the distance between us and wraps his arms around me. I let my arms slip around his waist and press my cheek to his chest. “Princess, I loved fighting with you, but I love what we have now even more. There is nothing for you to be sorry for. What’s happened to you is because people are sick, but I won’t let anything happen to you again. You’re safe with me and I’ll always make sure of it.” He takes hold of my chin and lifts my face to his. He presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Let’s just chill. We don’t have to do a damn thing. Let’s just take some time to catch up with life.”
I nod, very happy to go along with that.
~*~
It’s been almost a week and I haven’t heard from Daddy or Momma. I can’t even remember where my phone is. I’m searching for it in all my bags, when Noah comes into my room. “What are you looking for?”
I sigh and glance through the room again. “I can’t find my phone. You haven’t seen it?”
Noah comes in and takes a seat on the bed. “Come sit.” I take a seat next to him wondering what’s up. “I have your phone. I wanted you to be ready before you talked to any of the family.”
I frown, thinking this is the weirdest thing I’ve heard. “Why?”
Noah takes my hand and holds it in both of his. He starts to play with my fingers and then he sighs. “Dad told me something very disturbing. They were going to tell you, but I stopped them. I didn’t think you were ready to hear it.”
Now I’m really confused and worried. What could be so disturbing? “Are you going to tell me?”
Noah’s eyes find mine and he looks at me for a long moment. “If I had a choice I wouldn’t want to know. I don’t think it’s something you need to know. You love your parents and if you hear this, it might change how you feel. I promised to never hurt you, Amy. Please listen to me this one time, just let it go.”
I sit for a while thinking his words over. “So much has happened in the last few months. I really just want to get my life back to normal. If you think it’s something I shouldn’t know then I’ll listen.”
A sexy smile stretches over his face. “You’re gonna listen to me?”
I smile back. “Yeah, I’m going to trust you with this one. We have to start building our trust somewhere, right?”
“You got that right.” He lets go of my hand and gets up. “Let me just talk to your dad and explain to him what we just talked about and then you can give him a call.”
After Noah leaves the room I scoot back on the bed and curl up into a small bundle. I pull a pillow over my head and wish it was as easy as that to block out the world. Call me a coward for listening to Noah, but I’m not ready to handle another blow. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.
I just want to hide from everything and if Noah is willing to give me that place to hide, then I’d gladly take it.
~*~
Chapter Forty-Three
Noah~
I call Uncle Garrett and he answers immediately, as if he’s been sitting by the phone, waiting for our call.
“It’s been four days, Noah! If I don’t get to talk to Amy now, I’m coming to get her!” he launches into the fight and I expected him to. She’ll always be his little angel.
“I know it’s been four days,” I keep my calm, trying to put myself in Uncle Garrett’s shoes, “but I had to give Amy time to just find her balance again.”
“She could have found her balance here with us! I don’t see why she has to stay with you.”
Deciding to handle the one problem first before I tell him I’m dating his daughter, I say, “I’ve had a talk with Amy and we’ve decided that it would be better for her if she didn’t hear about your past. It’s really something she can live without knowing. I don’t think it would do any good to tell her. I wish I didn’t know!”
Uncle Garrett cuts in, “Who the hell are you to decide what’s best for her. The two of you have been at each other’s throats since you were kids, why would you care what she knows and doesn’t know?”
Great, let’s just deal with the other problem while we’re at it. I was hoping to have some time. “Amy and I are dating, and I think that gives me some say. I promised to keep her safe and that’s what I’m going to do, even if it’s from you.”
“You’re dating my daughter?” he breathes into the line, and I can hear the shock. Well, join the club, buddy. It was a shock to me, as well.
“Yes, Sir, I am.”
I hear him take a sharp breath and then, “Fuck!” he curses under his breath. “You’re her fucking cousin! You can’t date! Fuck, this just keeps getting worse by the minute. I’m coming to get her!”
The line cuts out and I throw the phone to the side of the bed. I get up so I can go prepare Amy for the storm that’s coming.
I find her in her room, curled up on the bed with a pillow pulled over her head. I crawl onto the bed and curl my body around hers from behind. I lift the pillow and press my face into her hair, dropping the pillow over both our faces.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hey,” she breathes the word out. “Did you talk to my dad?”
“Yeah,” there’s no easy way to tell her this, “he’s on his way over. I had to tell him we’re dating and he’s not too happy about that.”
She turns in my arms and our faces are inches apart. She brings her arms between us and curls into me. I feel her breath through my shirt when she says, “You told Daddy that we’re dating?”
“Yeah.” I take hold of her chin and lift her face to mine. Her eyes are shimmering with tears. “Why, shouldn’t I have told him?”
A smile wavers on her lips. “I didn’t think you’d want to date me. It’s all still a bit confusing. The one minute we’re fighting, then Brad tries to kill me, then I get my memory back and things have changed between us.” She sucks in a deep breath. “Then the thing with that crazy bitch, and now I’m just left thinking…” her words trail off.
“Left you thinking what?” I ask, scared of what her answer is going to be.
“Do you really want me? Isn’t it just you feeling guilty?”
I bring both my hands to her face, and press a kiss to her lips. It’s not hot and heavy, but just a kiss for her to know how I feel. When I pull away I whisper, “Does that feel like guilt to you?”
She shakes her head but she still looks worried. “Talk to me,” I urge her on.
She sucks in a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’m good enough for you. Since I came to stay here, all these things started happening.”
I press a finger to her lips, stopping her from saying anything else. I shake my head, feeling gutted that she would think that. Brad got to her after all.
“Princess,” it sounds like a prayer coming from my lips, “there’s no such thing as being good enough for someone, you just have to be the best possible version of yourself. If someone can’t love you for you who you are, then they just don’t deserve to be in your life. There’s only one of you. Don’t let others tell you what you should be or what they think is acceptable. Live a life that makes you ha
ppy.”
A tear rolls down the side of her face and into my hand. I really hope she’s hearing me right now. “Having you in my life makes me happy, whether we fight or fuck. I’m just thankful for you, Amy. I just want you to be you, to be happy.”
“I love you, Noah,” she whispers. I watch the tears fall from her long lashes, and I’m just about to respond when there’s a knock at the door.
“We’re not done talking,” I say, and quickly press a kiss to her lips. “That must be your dad, let’s go.”
As we get up to go face Uncle Garrett, I’m not sure where I stand with Amy, as we didn’t get to finish our talk. I need for her to understand that she’s mine. The thought that she may leave with Uncle Garrett doesn’t sit well in my gut.
~*~
Chapter Forty-Four
Amy~
Noah didn’t say the words back.
That’s all I can think of as we go to open the door. What does that mean? He said all those nice things about me just being who I am, but what does it mean in the end? Does he want me, or not?
He takes a deep breath and lets it out as he opens the door. Daddy comes right in, and then the whole family follows. Momma engulfs me in a huge hug, and it makes the tears come again.
She lets me go only for Daddy to give me one of his bear hugs. I miss those so much so I snuggle deep into his chest. “Angel,” he whispers on a sigh.
Daddy keeps his arm around me as we walk to the nearest sofa. We take a seat and Momma comes to sit on my other side.
Uncle Garrett and Aunt Riza take the other sofa, and I watch Noah lean against the wall. He looks very upset.
Daddy looks at Noah when he says, “What’s this madness about the two of you dating?” His voice sounds edgy, and very angry.
I glance at Noah, not sure what he’s going to say. I don’t know if he really wants to date me.
“Like I said over the phone,” Noah starts, as he crosses his arms over his chest, “Amy and I are dating. There’s really nothing to it.”
Cruel Boundaries Page 9
