Road to Freedom

by Piper Davenport

  “Did he steal shit?”

  I shook my head.

  He studied me. “Were you home?”

  I nodded, picking at invisible lint on my leg.

  “Babe?”

  I looked up at him. “What?”

  “What happened?”

  I shook my head again.

  “Did he...hurt you?”

  I nodded, swallowing convulsively before taking a deep breath. I needed to say the words out loud, even if it felt impossible. “He raped me.”

  “Fuck, baby, I’m sorry.”

  The anger pouring off Merrick was palpable, but in a weird way, it made me feel safe, because I knew it wasn’t directed at me, but for me. “I reported him. Went to the hospital, everything they tell you you’re supposed to do, and his family buried it.”

  The vein on Merrick’s neck began to pulse and he turned his head away from me.

  “I think I should stop.”

  He shook his head. “No. Don’t. Tell me all of it.”

  Surprisingly, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to tell him everything...I wouldn’t, but I wanted to. I trusted him. I always had. It was probably why I slept with him in the first place.

  “When I told my parents what Thomas had done, they said I must have led him on somehow. Gave him mixed messages.” I blinked back tears. “I sat in their formal living room, my face beat to shit, and they said I led him on. Then they had the audacity to tell me I should ask for his forgiveness and try to get the engagement back on. Well, my mother did, anyway. Daddy had a client meeting.”

  “Fuck your parents.”

  “Oh, believe me, I would. But they froze my accounts and I had nothing.”

  “They can’t legally do that.”

  I sighed. “Merrick, I know that, but they did. I don’t know how, but they did. Daddy’s a lawyer—”

  His eyes widened. “So this is why you hate lawyers.”

  “Yes. Sorry, Tweety.”

  “Only a little offense taken.”

  I smiled. “My name is mud in Savannah, so I haven’t been able to find someone to help me figure it out. My family has reach, the likes of which you’ve never seen.”

  “Can I ask something that might be hard to answer?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why’d you sleep with me, if you’d endured a rape?”

  I studied him a second. “I didn’t. I slept with you the night after I broke off the engagement. He raped me after.”

  “Fuck me, seriously?”

  I nodded.

  “Did he know about our night?”

  I stared at my hands.

  “Remington.”

  “Merrick, don’t.”

  “Goddammit!” He knifed off the sofa, dragging his hands through his hair and pacing the room. “I shoulda been more aware.”

  “How?” I challenged.

  “He was obviously stalking you, Remington. I should have been more on guard.”

  “Oh my god, Tweety. You knew me for three hours, he’d known me for four years. He was also a sociopathic murderer, so will you please stow your guilt? There was nothing either of us could have done at that point.”

  What he didn’t realize, was that I’d called back memories of our night together in the midst of the worst of Thomas’s attack. I really believe it’s what saved me.

  I planned to keep that nugget of information from him, however.

  “Did you get help after? See someone?” he asked, gently.

  “Yes. I drove to Brighton once a week. It was a way to keep it private.”

  Truth be told, it took me almost three months to find a therapist who was removed from Savannah society. Until then, I’d had to stow my feelings deep down inside.

  “Baby, I’m so sorry you had to deal with all that shit,” he said, sitting down again. “I wish you’d called me, but I understand why you didn’t.”

  “The really shitty part of all of it was that, at first, I didn’t realize Thomas was alienating me from my friends. Classic abuser behavior and I didn’t recognize it until I got away. I was pissed at myself because I was so aware of shit like that. As soon as red flags popped up, I called Thomas on it and watched. He was on his best behavior for a long time, but by then, I had only two true friends left. Chel and Kennedy. They were actually the ones who encouraged me to leave Savannah.” I drew my knees up to my chest and settled my chin on them. “I wish I’d done it earlier, to be honest.”

  “Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, though, Rem. Give yourself a break.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why’d you sneak out of Flea’s place?”

  I shrugged. “I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I just needed air.”

  “How about now?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Look at me when you lie to me.”

  “I’m good, Tweety.” I met his eyes and smiled. “At the risk of making your head bigger, right now’s the first time I’ve felt safe in months.”

  “I fucking hate you’ve had to deal with that shit, but glad you feel good now.”

  “Do you have any ibuprofen?”

  His eyebrows drew together. “You in pain?”

  “Just a headache.”

  He headed into the kitchen returning with a bottled water and handed me the ibuprofen. I doled out four and took them, setting the water on the coffee table. “Thanks.”

  He held his hands out and smiled. “Come on. You’re gonna soak, then you’re going to bed.”

  “Soak?”

  “You’ll see.”

  I took his hand and let him pull me up off the sofa, then followed him down the hallway and into his bedroom. I stalled. “Merrick, this isn’t what I had in mind.”

  He chuckled, closing the distance between us and wrapping an arm around my waist. “Ignore the mess.”

  He pushed me forward, through another door and into one of the nicest bathrooms I’d ever seen...and believe me, I’d know...my aunt had one made out of gold. Ostentatious and not at all my style, it had cost almost a million dollars...a mere drop in the bucket for my aunt and uncle.

  Merrick’s bathroom had a huge claw-foot tub, a shower big enough for four with eight shower heads, and a huge counter with two sinks, plus plenty of storage. Everything was done in marble and it didn’t fit his biker style. At. All. It was stunning.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  He grinned. “Grace made me buy the place because of this bathroom. And, not that I let my sister’s opinion sway me, the bathroom is pretty spectacular.”

  “It really is,” I agreed.

  “Start the tub. I’ll see if Grace left any of her shit here. I doubt you want to use my Old Spice body wash.”

  I nodded, and he went off to find Grace’s “shit.”

  Finch

  After finding some of Grace’s body wash and girly shampoo shit, I left Remington to relax and headed back to the kitchen for my phone. I dialed my sister.

  “Is she okay?” Grace asked.

  “Yeah, sissy. She’s here and she’s safe.”

  “But is she okay?”

  “She’s getting there.”

  “What happened?”

  “Not my story to tell, Gracie.”

  She huffed. “Fine. Be a gentleman.”

  “You wanna bring her bag over here for me in the morning?”

  “Why?”

  I grabbed another beer and popped the top. “Because she’s staying here until this shit’s sorted.”

  “Is she okay with that?”

  “She will be.”

  Grace sighed. “I’m going to ask her myself.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “And if she gives me a different story—”

  “She’s still gonna stay here,” I said and took swig of beer.

  “Merrick.”

  “You gonna bring her bag by tomorrow?”

  “If she wants to stay, yes.”

  “Okay, sissy, I’ll swing by and pick it up then.”

  “Oh my god,
Merrick, you’re being insane.”

  “I’m gonna let you go, Grace.”

  “Don’t force her to do something she doesn’t want to do.”

  This pissed me off and I scowled as I ground out, “Grace, have I ever forced anyone to do something they didn’t want to do?”

  “Well, no, but you seem a little off-kilter when it comes to Remington, so I’m saying it out loud, in case.”

  “Got it. Gonna hang up now.”

  “I love you, big brother.”

  “Love you too, Gracie. Conditionally.”

  She giggled and hung up, then I fired off a text to Flea. I’d let him deal with my sister. I headed into my guest bedroom and stripped the bed.

  My sister had been staying with me while she figured out what to do with her life after college, but since our grandmother had hurt herself, Grace was staying with her in the interim. Although, Flick seemed to be relishing the job, so it was more accurate to assume Grace would be at Flea’s more often than not.

  I probably should have changed the sheets earlier, but I didn’t really have any plans for anyone to visit other than my sister. Now, I hoped Remington would stay for as long as she needed to feel safe, so I domesticated-up and made the bed.

  I saw that Grace had left a robe hanging in her closet, so I grabbed it and made my way to my bedroom, pushing open the door and calling out, “Rem, I have a robe for you. I’ll leave it on my bed.”

  “Thanks, Tweety.”

  I fucking loved how she called me Tweety. I’d never let her know that, but it was cute as hell and I noticed she only used it when she felt comfortable. Even if she was comfortable and pissed at me.

  I headed back to the living room and settled onto the sofa. It was almost four in the morning, but I didn’t have a heavy case load at the moment, so I could take a day to make sure Remi was good, and maybe catch up on some sleep.

  “Hey,” Remi said quietly, and I craned my neck to look at her.

  “Hey. You good?”

  She smiled. “I’m so good. That bath is amazing.”

  I grinned. “I told you.”

  She made her way to the sofa and sat facing me. “Thanks, Merrick.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So...are you okay if I stay here tonight? Well, this morning as the case may be.”

  “You can stay here as long as you want,” I said. “I changed the sheets in the guest room.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You changed the sheets?”

  “I do have some knowledge of domestic shit.”

  “Apparently.”

  “You have to promise me something,” I said.

  “What?”

  “No running off in the middle of the night. If you want to leave, you’re free to go, but just let me know first, okay?”

  “Like, really free to go?”

  “You’re not a prisoner, Rem.”

  “But if I said to you, ‘Tweety, I’m gonna go to XYZ, you’d just let me go?”

  “Of course I would.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Tweety.”

  He sighed. “I’m not saying you wouldn’t have a recruit on you or I wouldn’t be tracking your phone...”

  “Aha!” I exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. “I knew it.”

  “Want you safe, Rem. That’s all.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “Okay, Tweety. I can give that to you.”

  I nodded. “I appreciate that. Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.”

  * * *

  Remington

  I followed Merrick down the hall and into what was obviously Grace’s room. In fact, some of her things were still there.

  “I’m sure Grace won’t mind if you borrow something of hers, but if you need anything specific, let me know.”

  “A T-shirt would be appreciated,” I said. “Grace is quite a bit smaller than me.”

  That was somewhat of an understatement. I was almost an E-cup in the boob department and had to wear both a minimizing bra and a chest binding contraption on dance nights in order to stay balanced. It was an ordeal, but one that I endured gladly, because ballet was my life.

  He smiled. “I’ll grab you one of mine.”

  Merrick returned within minutes with one of his black Club tees. I took it from him and smiled. “Thanks.”

  Giving me space, he leaned against the doorframe. “You okay?”

  I bit my lip. “Honestly?”

  “Always.”

  “I feel safe.”

  His eyes got soft and he smiled. “I like that, Remi.”

  “When’s Grace coming back?”

  “Not for a while. You can stay here as long as you need to.”

  “I should go back to my place tomorrow. I can’t hide forever.”

  “How about you stay here until Vitaly’s dealt with?”

  I tried to hide my elation. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Fuck, Rem.” He frowned. “Just how freaked are you?”

  “Freaked,” I whispered.

  “Really wanna touch you right now.” He held a hand out. “You okay with that?”

  I blinked back tears and walked into his arms. He held me gently and stroked my back as I burrowed into his chest.

  “I’m really sorry I didn’t call you back.”

  He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I’m working on forgiving you for that.”

  I gasped and glanced up at him. “It was a one-night—” I saw his smile and cut off my admonishment, wrinkling my nose to cover a smile and burrowing back into his chest. “You’re an ass.”

  Merrick chuckled. “Got you to smile, though.”

  “Whatever.”

  The sound of his doorbell interrupted our moment and Merrick stiffened. “Close the door and don’t open it until I come and get you.”

  My heart raced. “Why?”

  He reached for my doorknob. “Just do it.”

  I leaned against the door and waited.

  And waited.

  I heard low voices and cracked the door slightly to listen better.

  “I want to see Remi,” Grace demanded, and I smiled.

  Lordy, she and her brother were cut from the same cloth. I opened the door more and walked out to the front room.

  “I’m here,” I said, and Grace made a dash for me. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving.”

  “We’ll talk about that later...when I can verbally spank you,” Grace threatened.

  “Can’t wait.” I smiled. “What are you doing here?”

  “Merrick thought you might like some of your things, so I brought your bag.”

  Well, that was seriously sweet. I avoided looking at him, lest I swoon and ask to suck his cock, and focused on Grace. “Thanks. I didn’t think I could bring myself to borrow a pair of your undies.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, you could have...but you would have had to keep them.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Are you okay, honey?” she asked. “You’re welcome to come back with me and Flea.”

  I covertly glanced at Merrick, but he was in a conversation with Flea in the kitchen, so I relaxed. “No, I’m okay here. I really am sorry I ran out. I just felt overwhelmed.”

  “I absolutely understand that emotion.” Grace squeezed my arm. “If you’re sure you’re okay, I’ll take Flea home and do unspeakable things to him.”

  “I heard that,” Flea called.

  “I was hoping you did.”

  I chuckled. “Go. I’m really okay.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” Flea said, already moving toward us.

  Grace hugged me and then she and Flea left without any fanfare.

  Merrick grabbed my bag and carried it back to the room and I followed.

  “I’m gonna get some sleep,” he said. “You should too.”

  “Okay, Merr. Thanks.”

  “If you need me, you come get me.”

  “I won’t need you.”

 
He seemed disappointed by that, but quickly covered his expression with a smile. “I’ll see you when I wake up.”

  “Okay, Tweety. Thanks.”

  He stroked my cheek gently, then headed to his room, while I closed my door and dressed for bed...keeping his T-shirt on.

  * * *

  The smell of coffee wafted into my room and I couldn’t keep my eyes closed. I also smelled bacon. I had been crash-dieting ever since I started my internship with PBC, so bacon had been off the table...but now, mmm...bacon.

  I sat up. I could eat whatever the hell I wanted to right now.

  And I wanted bacon.

  I slipped down the hall into the guest bathroom and cleaned up a little, then headed to the kitchen. Merrick’s back was to me, so I took a second to watch him. Broad shoulders, perfectly sculpted ass sat atop long, muscular legs showcased by his dark jeans, and I just wanted to run my hands over every inch. Lordy, he was pretty from behind.

  “Coffee’s in the pot.”

  “How did you know it was me?” I asked.

  He grinned over his shoulder. “Who else would it be?”

  “I mean, how did you hear me with all that frying going on?”

  He turned to face me, sliding bacon onto a plate. “The bathroom door squeaks.”

  I stared at the bacon. “I noticed that.”

  “You hungry?”

  “Starving,” I said, still staring at the bacon.

  Merrick chuckled. “Help yourself.”

  I snagged a piece off the plate and bit into it. “Oh my god, bacon, I’ve missed you.”

  “You want eggs?”

  “I would love eggs. But, first, coffee.”

  He nodded to his right. “In the pot,” he repeated. “Mugs are left of the sink. Cream is in the fridge, sugar in the cannister to the left of the pot.”

  I found everything I needed and made a cup of coffee, freshening his, then sitting at the island.

  Merrick’s phone buzzed on the counter and he leaned down to look at the screen before picking it up. “Hey, Hatch.” He nodded and glanced at me. “Yeah. No shit? Yeah, give me an hour. Thanks.” He hung up and leaned across the counter toward me. “Hatch found Vitaly.”

  I gasped, setting my fork down. “Is he in custody?”

  “No.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Not how we do things.”

  “Who?”

  He grinned, straightening and serving up the scrambled eggs.