Crucify Thy Demons: Snakes Henchmen MC

by Grayson, Alivia

  I don’t answer Marley, I just take my daughter's seat and nod at Elie when she tells me hello. I take my daughter to the den, set her seat down, and tell her, “It’s just you and me now, baby girl.” I kiss Romany's head and then leave her there, closing the door. I don’t want Marley frightening her when I kick her the fuck out of my house.

  “Is everything okay?” Marley seems to know something isn't right, but it's not like she could. She’s in the kitchen with Elie, both standing there looking at me. Little Gabriel is asleep in his mother’s arms.

  “I’ve packed your stuff. It’s by the door.”

  “What do you mean?” There’s panic in Marley's eyes.

  I don’t answer her. I walk up to her, grab her arm, and drag her out of there. Elie is hot on my heels, asking what the hell is going on. Marley is begging me to let go. “Please, Roman! What’s happening? Why are you doing this?”

  I open the door then lean down and grab her bag. I throw it out of the door. “Elie, leave.” She narrows her eyes but doesn’t argue. As soon as she’s out the door, I push Marley out after her. She almost falls to her knees but manages to stop herself with her hand on the rail outside the door.

  She turns to rush back inside, but I block the way with my body. There’s no way she’s getting back in this house. “Roman, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “You’re leavin’, that’s what’s happenin’. You think I’m fuckin’ stupid, Marley?!”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Fuckin’ around behind my back!”

  Her eyes widen, tears falling from them. “I haven’t! Why on earth would you think that? I love you, Roman.”

  I laugh, sardonically. “Love me. Don’t pretend. I know everythin’! You wanna go to that cunt, then go, but if you think for one second I’m lettin’ you take my daughter, then you really are fuckin’ stupid!”

  “Oh my god, I don’t understand!” She’s practically sobbing as she yells at me. “You can’t keep Romany from me, Roman, she’s my baby. I have to feed her.”

  My child will be fine on formula. Breastfeeding her is best, I know that. However, I’m too angry to think about all this shit right now.

  “She’s no longer your concern. You and me, we’re done. We’ll be divorced before you know it. Now, get the fuck off my property before I put a bullet in your head!” With that, I slam the door in her face.

  I lean my forehead against it for a second as Marley kicks and punches the hell out of it, begging me not to do this, to talk to her, to explain what’s going on and why I would think she’s cheated on me, to please give Romany back. Then she throws out the fact I'm doing to her the one thing I was afraid she'd do to me.

  I’ve broken her by taking Romany from her, but now she knows how it fucking feels! I can hear Elie telling Marley to calm down, that everything will be okay. She knows fuck all.

  My daughter is crying in the den, the noise her mother is making has woken her, that’s how loud the bitch is.

  I pull out my cell and call Wrench. “What’s up, brother?”

  “Whatever you’re doin’, drop it. Get your ass to my house and remove that fuckin’ bitch from my front porch before I kill her.”

  “Whoa. What the hell, Roman? What bitch?”

  “Marley. She’s with your wife. She won’t leave. Come and get her, or I swear to God, I’ll kill her, Wrench!”

  “What the fuck is goin’ on?”

  “Just do it! She’s scarin’ my daughter.”

  He sighs down the line and tells me he’ll get here as fast as he can. I hate that bitch right now, but hearing her sobbing and begging the way she is, is killing me. I hate her for what she’s done, but I fucking love her. God, I love her with everything that I am. I don’t want to hurt her by taking Romany, but I can’t hand her back and allow her to run away with my child. I can't lose my little girl. I just can’t.

  I lift Romany from her seat. She’s still crying. She sucks her pacifier, head on my shoulder as I rub her little back. “It’s okay, princess, Daddy’s got you.”

  “Please, Roman!” Marley’s still yelling on the other side of the door. “I haven’t done anything wrong. Baby, please, believe me, I would never hurt you. I love you!”

  I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing. The pain inside of me is something I’m not used to. The pain I feel is for me, for Romany, for Marley. I wish I didn’t want to open that door and hold her, tell her it doesn’t matter, that I love her and want her back.

  However, she’s been cheating on me. I won’t be with a woman capable of doing that to me.

  I can’t bear to listen to this anymore. I take my daughter upstairs into the guest room. I can’t bear to be in the bedroom I shared with Marley right now. I feed my daughter from the bottle I picked up from her bag on my way up here. Once she’s done, I take her to her room and bathe her, change her and put her to bed.

  The banging and begging have stopped, so I’m assuming Wrench dragged Marley away. I don’t give a fuck what he does with her, nor where he takes her, off the edge of a cliff preferably.

  I shower the day away. Think I was in that shower for over an hour. Didn’t even realize the hot water had run out at first. I pull on a pair of clean boxers, comb out my long hair, then take myself downstairs and grab a six pack from the fridge. Don’t worry; I can handle my drink. This shit won’t even touch me. I’ll be fine looking after my daughter.

  What a fucking mess.

  I know why Marley was begging me to listen to her; she just wanted Romany. That bitch never wanted me. Of course, she should want Romany, that baby should mean everything to her. Moreover, I don’t doubt that she does. After all, she wanted to take her to another fucking country with her, away from me.

  Fuck, am I really that bad?

  Am I so horrible that she’d want to take my little girl from me?

  Fuck this shit!

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Marley

  I don’t understand what happened. I was so happy today, Elie and I took the kids out shopping. I bought a sexy little bra and panty set. I thought Roman would go crazy seeing me in it. I never thought he’d throw me out of the house and take Romany from me.

  What have I done wrong?

  How could Roman think I’d cheat on him? I don’t go anywhere alone, not since I chose him and married him. I’m either with Roman or Elie. I haven’t cheated, I haven’t done anything wrong, but Roman wouldn’t listen to me. He dragged me out of the house and told me that we’re over and he’s keeping Romany. Roman took my baby from me. The one thing he made me swear I would never do to him.

  I begged and pleaded with him to let me in, for him to talk to me and tell me why he thought I’d cheated. However, he wouldn’t open the door, nor would he say anything to me.

  Elie must have put Gabriel in his car seat because she kneeled beside me, stroking my hair and telling me that everything would be okay. I couldn’t even talk to her, I was frantic, needing to get inside to my baby girl.

  I don’t know how long I begged Roman, pleaded until I was hoarse, but Wrench turned up and bundled me into Elie’s car. By that time, I was in a world of my own. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t hear anything anyone was saying to me. I don’t remember leaving their car, nor being tucked up in bed. However, I remember the nightmares that had me waking up screaming.

  I remember both Elie and Wrench running into the room, both worried something terrible was happening to me. Elie ended up sleeping in the bed with me. I felt bad about it, but she instead, so I let her.

  When I woke up this morning, Elie had left the room. I managed to grab a shower and change into clean clothes. I have no intention of letting this go on. I won’t allow Roman to take Romany from me indefinitely. I don’t know where he’s got the idea I’ve cheated on him from, but it’s fucking ridiculous! No matter what I have to do, I will get to the bottom of all of this.

  “Tell me right now if it’s true, Marley?”

  I scrub my hands o
ver my face.

  When I walked into the living room to find Elie, I had no idea I’d be finding Hawk, Brooke, Ace, and Tessa here too. They’ve all be on at me for the past half hour. I can’t take being spoken to like I’m the devil and I’ve done something terrible.

  I haven’t done anything wrong. All I have done is love Roman and my baby girl. Why am I being treated like a criminal?

  “I saw the messages you sent that prick!”

  I narrow my eyes at Ace. What messages? I haven’t sent any messages to anyone.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The messages you sent your ex, Marley. Tellin’ him how you enjoyed sleepin’ with him. How you’re scared of what Roman will do if you leave him, but that you’re just days away from leavin’ him for good. Also how you can’t wait for your life in Paris with him and Romany!”

  “You really think Roman will let you take his daughter to live in another country?!” Hawk bellows at me.

  I don’t understand any of this. I told Marcus that I didn’t want to be with him, that I’d never take Romany from Roman. I promised Roman that would never happen. I married him for Christ’s sake!

  I didn’t send Marcus any messages. I lost my phone weeks ago; everyone knows that. Roman got me a new one, and I never sent that number to Marcus. Why the hell would I?

  How old is Marcus claiming these messages are?

  If Roman has seen these messages, where the hell did they come from? Because it certainly wasn’t from me.

  My fucking head is spinning!

  “I haven’t messaged Marcus. I don’t even have his number saved. You can check my phone; there are no messages from him to me, or me to him.” I grab my phone, ready to hand it to one of them to check.

  However, Ace shakes his head. “Don’t bother, Marley. Messages are easily deleted. So are phone numbers.”

  “Exactly.” Hawk chimes in. “You’ve been caught out, so just admit it!”

  I shake my head. I’m stunned. They won’t even let me prove that I’m innocent. I feel like I’m on trial, guilty before they’ve even heard my story.

  I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to prove to anyone my innocence. I look to Wrench. He’s staring at me with concern in his eyes. “Wrench, please listen to me.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. If there is anyone who will listen to me right now, it’s Wrench. “I would never do what I’m being accused of. I don’t understand why Marcus sought out Roman and told him these lies, but I didn’t send those message, I swear.”

  I get out of my seat and grab Wrench’s hand in mine. “Please believe me. Why would I have married Roman, marked my body as his if I planned to run away with Marcus? It can’t possibly make sense to any of you. I’m being punished for something I didn’t do Wrench.”

  Wrench nods his head. He believes me; I know he does. He told me last night that he believed me, but having him stand up for me in front of these people means everything to me.

  Wrench turns to Hawk and Ace. “Why don’t we just look at the phone? There are ways to bring back deleted messages. If there are any messages to find on Marley’s cell, we’ll find them.”

  They all argue amongst themselves, all three women talking, now and again looking over at me. They’re talking about me. I don’t know if they believe me or not, but it hurts to think my best friend could think I would do this. After everything, I said to her about loving Roman, about needing to be with him and our daughter.

  No one even notices me leave the room, and I doubt they even hear me leave the house. I won’t stay there while they bash me, talk about me like I’m not there. It hurts. I understand why Hawk and Ace would be angry. Roman means more than just a lot to them; he’s their blood. However, they could have looked at my phone, Wrench is right, there’s a way to bring back deleted messages, police do it all the time. If they had, they would have seen that I was telling the truth.

  Nothing in my life ever goes right. I’m just not lucky enough to have love. My father proved that when he sold me to a monster to pay for his debts. Marcus showed that with his hurtful words, words that I didn’t even realize he was spitting until Roman made me see it. Maybe I don’t deserve Romany; I’ll just screw her up. Perhaps she is better off with Roman, he might be a biker, but he’ll never let anything bad happen to her. Romany is a lucky little girl where her father is concerned. Luckier than I was.

  I know why Marcus has done this, I just don’t know how. He obviously sought out Roman and told him a pack of lies about me, thinking it would have me running back to him. However, it doesn’t explain the texts Ace said he saw. How could Marcus have messages from me when I know I didn’t send him any? Moreover, there is no way on this earth I would ever have texted how I loved sleeping with him. I haven’t slept with him!

  How could Roman ever believe I haven’t when he has evidence to the contrary?

  Where am I supposed to go now? I have nothing and no one all over again. However, I walk in a daze, walking until I’m suddenly outside our house - Roman’s house. I know he’s home, both my car and bike are parked in the driveway. I have my key in my pocket, and I don’t hesitate to use it.

  I push open the door and make my way inside. I don’t see Roman anywhere, but I see my baby girl asleep in her bouncing chair in the living room. I can’t stop the smile on my face as I make my way over to her. I scoop her up and hold her against me. I breathe her in with my eyes closed before planting a soft kiss on her little head.

  Romany has grown so much already. Already five months old. Where does the time go? She smells of baby soap and talc. Roman has bathed her already and dressed her in a little pink sleepsuit. I’m guessing he’s not taking her out anywhere today.

  I could walk out of here with her right now if I wanted to. I should walk out of here with her. I could take Romany to the cabin; we’d be safe there. However, I made a promise to Roman that I would never take her away from him. As much as he’s hurt me by throwing me out and refusing to let me see Romany, I still can’t bring myself to break that promise.

  “Put her the fuck down and get out of my house.”

  I don’t move; I just look up at him. He’s fresh from the shower, wearing nothing but low riding jeans. He’s topless and barefoot, and his collar length dark hair is hanging around his neck still wet.

  “I’m not going anywhere without my daughter, Roman.”

  “You ain’t takin’ her nowhere.”

  “I don’t want to take her away from you,” I really don’t. “I promised you that I never would, and I meant it. So why are you trying to do just that to me?”

  “Don’t act dumb, Marley. You know why!”

  I sigh while stroking Romany’s back. “Why didn’t you tell me what Marcus had said to you? How could you even believe him? I chose you, Roman. I married you. If I wanted him, I would have left with him regardless, but I didn’t.”

  He folds his arms across his chest, his pecs flexing, making my pussy throb. Fuck me, how inappropriate is that right now?

  “Those kinds of messages don’t lie, Marley.”

  “I swear to you that I didn’t send those messages, Roman. I lost my phone, and you bought me a new one. I never gave Marcus my new number because I haven’t seen him since the day I told him that I wanted to be with you. It’s not possible for me to have sent those messages. You know me better than anyone, and you know that I love you. I can’t even breathe without you, Roman. Please, don’t do this to me, I need you.”

  Tears clog my eyes as he walks right up to me and snatches Romany from my arms. He turns away from me. “You best be gone by the time I come back down. Don’t make me force you out, Marley.”

  I watch Roman walk away from me, but I don’t move. I will not fucking let him do this to me. He’s scared of losing Romany, but does he not realize how heartbreaking it is for me as that baby’s mother not being able to be with her?

  My boobs hurt from not being able to feed her. My milk is going to dry up if Roman carries t
his on. He’s taking this special bonding from me, all to hurt me.

  What does he intend to tell Romany when she’s old enough to understand that she doesn’t have a mommy like all of her friends? I will not walk out of her life, and I will not let her think that I’ve abandoned her. That baby is my whole life! However, I won’t be living with her; I doubt I’ll even be able to have her for the weekend if Roman has his way. Romany will never have a mother like everyone else. She’s going to think I don’t love her!

  Knowing my luck, which is usually bad luck, if Roman honestly wants to keep Romany from me, he’ll do so. The sad thing is, there will be nothing I can do about it. I have Wrench on my side, and Roman has his whole MC and his family to back him up.

  Am I really going to lose my daughter?

  “Why the fuck are you still here?!” What was the point of putting Romany to bed if he is going to shout at me like this?

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “You think?” Roman grabs me by the arm and drags me out of the room with such force my feet hardly touch the ground. Fuck, he’s hurting me! “I don’t want you here. You cheatin’ bitch!”

  “Roman, you’re hurting me!”

  “Hurtin’ you? I’ll fuckin’ kill you!”

  I’m suddenly slammed hard against the wall, so hard I bang my head. “Roman, please.” He pins me by my arms, and his grip is causing the blood circulation to cut off. I can’t feel my fingers.

  “You stupid fuckin’ cunt!” I flinch. I have never seen Roman this angry before. “You won’t take me for a fuckin’ fool a third time, Marley. Go the fuck back to that motherfucker and fuck off to Paris, but don’t you ever come back here. This is your last warnin’. I will kill you. I will murder you in ways you’ve never even dreamed of!”

  I believe him. However, I’m not weak, and I’m not scared of him. He’s angry, I get it, but I won’t give my daughter up so easily — no way in hell.

  “Gonna crucify me, Roman?” His eyes widen. I know why they call him Roman, I’m not dumb. Well, I know after Coral told me. “You gonna nail me to a cross and torture me? You’re going to have to if you think for one-second I’ll walk away from my daughter.”