by D. Breeze
Honesty, Ruben. Honesty.
I looked from Mase, to Jackson, and back again. Then I leant forward, and told them everything. Everything, from why Lydia came back into my life, to Lucas being in Jail and Freddy being there too until just a few weeks before. Including the fact that I had no idea where Freddy was at that moment in time.
I watched the emotions flit across their faces, mirrored expressions stared back at me. Shock, confusion, anger...disappointment.
When I’d finished, the silence stretched for what felt like hours.
“I can’t…” Mase began, but he wasn’t allowed to finish.
“Grab your fucking coats, get the girls and let’s go.” Jackson demanded. From the look on his face, I didn’t much feel like arguing.
*~*~*
Lydia
I didn’t know what happened. One second, I was sitting at the bar with a glass of lemonade in front of me, laughing at one of Harper’s ridiculous comments about the bartender - the next - I was being dragged along the street towards Jackson’s house.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Ruben shook his head but didn’t answer me. It was such a perfect day and all of a sudden, everyone seemed on edge.
Jase stopped at the end of the road.
“I’m not sure what’s happening, but I’m going to take off. Got a hot date!” He raised his eyebrows and winked.
I turned to Harper, who was a few steps behind us with Mase. “What happened to Aaron?”
She rolled her eyes and everyone chuckled slightly, “Welcome to the revolving door of Jase’s lovers. He has a new one every week. I doubt he’ll ever settle down.”
Well, that was a bit of information I hadn’t known. I thought he seemed really into the guy.
The second we arrived back at Jackson’s house, he stood in the middle of the lounge with his arms folded and scowled at Ruben. I thought they’d sorted their issues out - but his face said otherwise.
“Do you want to tell everyone - or should I?” He asked, directing his question to Ruben.
He shot a guilty glance at Mase before speaking up and explaining the story of our history. Then he looked at me, and told me yet more fucking details that I didn’t know.
And I should have known.
“About a month ago, Lucas phoned me from inside and said that Freddy was out. Don’t know when, or why, or how, but he is. I’ve been trying to find out where he is, but no one seems to know. His old phone hasn’t been activated, but that doesn’t surprise me. So I guess we’re playing the waiting game because unless he finds us first...it’s looking like we have no chance of finding him.”
He finished with a shrug and I could feel my body automatically begin to tremble.
He might have let me go once before, but right down to my bones, I knew Freddy wouldn’t let me go forever. Little old me, when I was just an eighteen year old girl, had managed to give the police their opportunity to bring him down. Never, not ever, would he let that go. And now that they all knew the details - every person in that room was looking at me with fear and pity in their eyes.
Because they knew.
There was only two options of who could win.
Him or me.
In a heartbeat, Ruben was stood directly in front of me and he tilted my pale face up to meet his eyes.
“I will not let him hurt you, Lyds. I won’t.” He swore.
In a fear-choked whisper, I replied, “You can’t stop him, Ruben. You got lucky before because Freddy played a game and he lost. He will not lose a second time. You know it.”
He growled and bent his knees so he was at eye-level with me.
“I fucking promise you Lydia, this is not a game, but he will lose. He’s angry and he’s out for revenge. That’s a recipe for disaster in itself. Because God damn it! We’re fighting for us and we’ve got love, each other and a whole damn family behind us. He’s a criminal asshole, sure. But he’ll never have what we have and that’s how I know he can’t beat us here.”
Jackson, or Jax as he’d asked me to call him earlier, cleared his throat and we both swung our eyes to him.
He didn’t look pissed anymore, just reflective.
“So what’s your plan?” He asked.
“I’m not stupid, I know that I can’t do anything to him. That guy, even if he’s been locked up for years, will still have an army of dickheads doing his dirty work. Plus, he’s probably armed to the teeth and I don’t have that. But I do have my memories.” Ruben started, shooting another look at Mase who had gone white as a sheet. “So he’s got two choices, he either stays away from Lydia, from all of us forever...or I’ll go to the police and tell them everything he did to us as kids. Mase, I want you to be there too, I need you to have my back with this.”
Mase swallowed.
Ruben continued. “Fact is that, no, I can’t hurt him. I’d be stupid to try. But I can restrain him long enough to take myself to the station and tell him about the drugs, the shit he used to give our parents and about the child abuse. I have a vivid memory and I’ll recount that shit in graphic detail.”
“I’m in.” Mase declared, sounding more sure than he looked.
The brothers shared a look, I couldn’t help but notice that Jax stood to the side, letting them have their moment.
He really did look like a proud parent.
He caught my eye and winked. That’s when it hit me, he wasn’t pissed when we left the bar, he was worried. He just wanted Ruben to have a plan. It wasn’t the best of plans, even I knew that, but it was a plan all the same.
“Am I the only one who’s shit scared right now?” Harper demanded, throwing a hand on her hip. “There’s some badass drug dealer running around the streets and no one has any idea where he is, so we just carry on with our lives until he decided to rock up and kidnap our girl here?” She threw a hand in my direction.
It actually made me smile that, within a day, I’d been claimed into their group without a second thought. Even though it was me who was bringing the danger to their door.
“Um no,” Taylor said. “I’m pretty damn scared too! We’ve got a baby to think about here! We’re not vigilantes or whatever - not one of us has a clue what we’re doing!” She ended on a high-pitched screech and Jax took three long strides across the room, pulling her into his arms. She instantly melted into him.
Cute.
“Hate to break it to you, Tay,” surprisingly, it was Mase who spoke up. “But we kind of do. We know exactly what we’re dealing with and everything that could go wrong. If anyone is going to know what Freddy is capable of - it’s us. See this scar?” He asked, pointing to a thin white scar across his bicep. He was talking to Taylor, but Harper and I nodded too. “Freddy did it. When I was fifteen, because we hadn’t made good enough sales that week.”
“Huh, I never even noticed that scar before.” Harper muttered.
Mase actually smirked, “You’re not usually looking for scars when my top is off, babe.”
Harper clicked her fingers and looked like she’d had a ‘light bulb’ moment, “Oh yeah! That would be why.” She snickered at herself.
“Right, no getting off track here. Jase will be back with Harley in less than an hour and if you guys are really willing to help, then It’d be great if you had any ideas on ways to draw Freddy out.”
“Um, wouldn’t the best idea be for me to just start walking places on my own? Maybe even go visit my mum or something?” I suggested.
Ruben scowled at me, “And use yourself as bait? No.”
“This is my problem more than yours, and definitely more than anyone else’s in this room! I’ve been on my own for the last three weeks and he hasn’t shown up has he? Maybe he isn’t coming after me at all.” I pointed out.
“Ok, so you make a good point but it’s still not happening.”
I shrugged and sat down. That was my one idea and he’d flat out told me ‘no’, so I just decided I wouldn’t bother having any further input.
Like
I was sat watching a tennis match, my eyes bounced back and forth between Mase and Ruben as they threw ideas around, but when they caught on Jackson, my eyebrows drew together. He had leant back against the wall and folded his arms behind his head, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Odd.
Finally, in the midst of what felt like a thousand voices saying nothing at all. He spoke up.
“Yo! Either of you knuckleheads think of asking me?”
Ruben and Mase stopped instantly and looked at him blankly. No, no they hadn’t thought of asking him, clearly.
“Mase, remember that guy I said I was keeping an eye on because I didn’t like the way he’d been hanging around the club? I didn’t like that he was there every night, always on his own, always just sitting at the bar and watching?”
Mase shrugged, “Vaguely, yeah.”
“Well I haven’t heard about him.” Ruben added.
Rolling his eyes and stepping away from the wall, Jax broke my heart a little, then put it back together - with cement.
“No, you wouldn’t have heard about him because you were too busy moping around to pay attention to anything else. If you weren’t family, I’d have fired you! It supposed to be your job to keep your eye on things. But anyway, this guy, there was just something about him that I didn’t trust. So here,” he scrolled through his phone for a second and held it out. “This the guy you’re talking about? I don’t particularly remember him, but since you mentioned it, I just knew.”
My heart jumped into my throat. On Jax’s phone, was a photo, albeit dark and blurry, of Freddy. He sat at the bar inside the main room of ‘Blaze’, in a suit and he was clearly watching.
Waiting for me? Waiting for Ruben? It was anyone’s guess.
Ruben took the phone, glared at it like it had offended him, and handed it back. “Well why didn’t you bloody say anything!”
“Because you two were too busy plotting and planning, you didn’t think to stop and ask me. Fact remains, this dickhead has been casing the club every night it’s been open for about three weeks. Chances are, he’ll be there tomorrow night too. So let’s not keep talking about it because it’s pissing me off. The girls want to go shopping, and one of you two lucky, lucky guys...gets to volunteer to go with them. I don’t want any of them on their own.”
Mase looked green, “Why do we have to go? Why don’t you have to go? You’re the biggest one of us!”
He had a valid point. But Jackson smirked, “Because brother, Jase is bringing Harley back soon. Someone needs to be here with her!”
He looked so smug about it. Ruben and Mase glanced at each other and smiled, then crossed their arms over their chests.
It was almost scary how alike they looked.
“We’ll take Harley.” They said in unison.
Jax blinked.
Then blinked again.
Harper clapped her hands and stood up.
“Come on then big guy! We’re going baby shopping!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ruben
...And that’s how I found myself dancing around the house, singing the theme tune to Balamory to a six month old baby.
Never, ever, ask me how I know the words.
I’ll deny it all.
She cackled, blatantly not understanding a word that came out of my mouth, but enjoying it anyway.
It was a hell of a lot better than the screaming she’d been doing half an hour before. Apparently, babies don’t look after themselves and like to be entertained.
Who knew?
I glanced to the side and cursed, covering one of Harley’s ears like that would stop her from listening.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growled at my annoying brother, who was holding his phone out in my direction and crying with laughter.
“I have to get this on video. No one will ever believe me and this is just too good not to share.”
“You bastard!”
He laughed for a few minutes before the microwave ‘pinged’ in the kitchen and he ran to get Harley’s milk.
He held the bottle out to me and I shook my head.
“Hell no. It’s your turn for a bit.”
I handed the baby over to him and threw myself on the sofa. Babies are exhausting. Mase sat down on the other end of the sofa with Harley in his arms.
Jackson and the girls had left about two hours before and Jase dropped Harley back within minutes of them leaving. She’d sat in her pushchair babbling away and munching on a plastic toy of some sort and Jase had just threw her changing bag at us and called a quick ‘good luck!’ on the way out the door.
I’d shrugged, because she looked happy enough. But no, he’d left us with the Devil. She’d commenced her crying and screamed jag the second he shut the door and neither Mase nor I could settle her.
Until I started singing crap kids songs to her.
Which I’m still denying, by the way.
As soon as I relaxed on the sofa, my eyes felt heavy and I blinked rapidly trying to stay awake.
*~*~*
Lydia
I...freaking...LOVE...those girls.
Harper was hilarious, like almost peeing myself, hilarious. All day, she was making inappropriate comments to guys and acting like she was queen of the world. I loved her confidence - I should probably get some of that myself, but I doubt the world could cope with two people like her.
Then there was Taylor, a little quieter, a little more watchful and observant, but a nice girl all the same.
I say girls, they were women. Older than me but not by much, Harper was twenty four and Taylor was twenty seven. Regardless of the age difference, I knew I’d found two friends for life.
And seriously - they could shop.
We went from store to store like crazy women. Anything and everything that caught their eye, they bought. I was little more conservative about it because I’d never had money and I wasn’t exactly comfortable with it.
Jax, on the other hand, stood there like a personal bodyguard all day, with an icy scowl on his face. He was pissed and he didn’t want to be there, honestly it just made us giggle.
I’d just made my last purchase of the day and turned to tell Jax that we were ready to leave, when I noticed he wasn’t there - nor was Taylor. Harper stood to one side looking at a tiny black dress, but the other two had vanished. I twisted my lips, so much for not being left on our own. I called to Harper, telling her that I was just going over to the other side of the shop but she just waved me off.
I walked over in the direction I’d saw Taylor last, by the changing rooms and glanced around. The woman taking the unwanted clothes back from the customers wasn’t there - which was odd, so I gave the changing rooms a quick check.
And I knew I’d found them.
I heard a muted groan come from the last changing room and walked towards it, cringing when there was a ‘thump’.
Seriously, in a changing room!
I cleared my throat loudly and the noises stopped.
In the most official tone I could manage, I stepped right up to door and address the couple behind it.
“Excuse me? This is a public store and those activities are not permitted. Therefore, I’d appreciate it if you could please leave the premises.”
There. That ought to hurry them up.
I leant back against the wall opposite and waited with a smirk on my face. They opened the door and the guy scowled at me while the girl blushed fiercely. She muttered her apologies and scrambled past me, dragging the guy along with her.
Oh - and neither the guy, nor the girl, were Jax and Taylor.
My mouth fell open and I felt my face heat. The snickers started slowly but eventually I turned and stared in horror as Harper...with Taylor and Jackson, bent and the waist and held her stomach as she howled with laughter. Jax lips twitched and he raised an eyebrow.
“I-I-I…” I stuttered, completely humiliated.
“You, you, you...just interrupted some guy getting
lucky with his girl in the changing rooms...because you thought it was me and him, right?” Taylor said, hooking her thumb in Jax’s direction.
“Um…”
Jax nodded, “I think that’s a safe bet, baby girl. It’s not a bad idea though…” He said, eyeing up the closest changing room.
Taylor patted his arm, “Don’t go getting any ideas big guy. I said you’d be rewarded for being here with us all day. I didn’t say I’d screw you in public!”
He sighed like she’d ruined his public sex dream and turned to walk away, Taylor followed.
Harper, still laughing, said, “I-I can’t believe you did that!”
“I thought it was Jax and Taylor! I was trying to be funny!” I cried.
“You were hilarious! Just for different reasons.”
I sighed and shook my head with a slight chuckle. Good end to my first day out with the girls I guess.
We all headed back to the Jax’s beautiful car and he drove us home.
*~*~*
Lugging all the bags from the car to the door was not the easiest task, but we managed it between the four of us. Jax told us to leave them all to him, but we’re twenty-first century women, so we helped.
I collided with Harper at the front door and yelped. She ‘shh’d’ me.
“What?” I whispered.
“Would you just look at that…”
The sight that greeted me in the lounge was one of the most hilariously beautiful things I’d ever seen.
There was an overturned changing bag on the floor, countless amounts of baby toys strewn around and an empty bottle haphazardly thrown at the foot of the sofa.
But what made it incredible…
Was the people spread out on the sofa, sleeping.
Ruben at one end, Mase at the other, both men had their heads thrown back as if they were exhausted. Baby Harley was curled up on Mase’s chest, supported by his hand under her bottom and she was contentedly sleeping with her thumb in her mouth.
Taylor crept forward, phone out ready to take photos and Harper and I followed. It was too cute not to keep forever.
As I clicked the third photo, Jax thumped his way through the door and dropped the bags with a ‘thud’, shaking Ruben from his slumber.
