by Lori King
Her mother and father were outside when we arrived, as well as a line of six men behind them — every man open carrying, but their weapons were holstered, thank goodness.
I handed her father his Smith & Wesson I’d kept the evening before, along with his magazine and the hollow point bullets I’d pulled from the mag and chamber. He accepted it all with a nod, and I began organizing how we’d load everything. We’d brought boxes and bubble wrap, and Destiny boxed the knickknacks as I put her clothes into the back of the SUV. Aaron put books and non-breakables into boxes and moved them to the truck, and Nathan helped Destiny with the bubble wrap.
Nathan told her to go talk to her parents, and he took over boxing the fragile stuff while I kept an ear out for what was said.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I understand why you feel as if I shouldn’t live here anymore, but I hope I’ll still be invited to Sunday dinner. If you’ll come, I’d like to invite you all to dinner once I get settled somewhere.”
“Your car’s yours,” her mom told her, “and you’re paid up on our insurance for another couple of months but then you’ll have to get your own.”
Her dad turned to the line of men and asked two of them to bring out her mattress, box springs, bed, and the table beside her bed. They turned and went into the house, and Destiny threw her arms around her dad when he turned back to her.
“Didn’t think you’d need it,” he told her, his voice gruff. “If this keeps you out of his bed, you can have it.”
I accepted the large pieces from the men, wrapped the wood items in a blanket, and put them into the truck. I was careful not to do more than a strong man could do without help, but maybe I showed off my strength a little. Her dad obviously respected muscle and power, so I showed him a little of what I had.
When everything was loaded, I nodded to her mom as I said, “Thank you, Ma’am,” and I looked towards her father and offered my hand as I said, “And thank you, Sir.”
Her dad looked at my hand a few seconds before he shook it. “I’m not handing her over to you. You don’t have my blessing.”
“I understand, Sir. I care about your daughter, and that means I want to see her have a good relationship with her family.”
“Where’s your family?”
“My parents were killed during my abduction when I was a child. My sister and her kids are all the family I have. I was held captive a long time before I was rescued. I’m glad Destiny managed to get away without having to spend months or years in captivity.”
I smelled grief from her mom, and she said, “May God have mercy on your soul.”
I knew the woman meant well, so I nodded to her again. “Thank you, Ma’am. It was a long time ago, and I’m good now.”
Destiny held onto her emotions until we were a few miles away, and then the waterworks started. Nathan was taking the truck to my storage unit and putting her bed and mattress in it, and then bringing the rest to my house. We’d go through it all, decide what stayed and what went into storage, and handle it over the next couple of days. She planned to start looking for an apartment, but I was hoping to convince her to live with me.
First, though, I needed to hold her while she cried. I found a pull-off and waved for Nathan to keep going as I stopped and wrapped my arms around my tiny little Destiny. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I just held her, and offered her a napkin from my glove compartment when I thought she might need to blow her nose.
11
Destiny
Leaving my parents’ house, knowing they were kicking me out and I couldn’t come back, was harder than I thought it would be. I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to deal with it, but my emotions got the better of me.
Zeke didn’t ask a bunch of stupid questions, though. He just held me and let me cry.
As the oldest child, I think I learned more about how to take care of myself and others than my siblings. My dad took me hunting, taught me to change the oil and other fluids in the vehicles, and how to do basic maintenance on our four-wheelers and farm equipment. He never treated me like a weak little girl who couldn’t handle getting dirty. When I wasn’t strong enough to do something, he showed me how to work my muscles to make them stronger. We never had to take the time to exercise because we all chipped in with the garden, with reloading shotgun shells and bullets, and with all the other household chores as well.
But it was all done with love. My mom may have put our curriculum together and been in charge of making sure we learned everything we were supposed to — and then some — but my dad didn’t leave it all up to her. He was aware of what we were learning, and when most kids are dissecting earthworms, he had me help him field-dress a deer. He nearly always talked about what we’d learned at dinner with us. He made what we were learning relevant to our lives, whether it was history, math, or science. I’m pretty sure other kids didn’t get to make a bomb when they were learning chemistry, or experiment with various reloading weights and how to turn the firing results into scientific equations showing action and reaction.
And my mom found ways to help us gain confidence with what we’d learned. Instead of reviewing old material before she built on it, she gave me the textbook and told me to review it myself so I could teach it to one of my younger siblings. You can’t half-way learn something if you’re going to teach it.
My parents also worked hard to find our talents and help us hone them. My talent is music. One of my brothers is a math genius. My baby sister is already doing back handsprings and she's only four.
Some may say we were never allowed to be children, but I’d say we were never allowed to be brainless brats. We were allowed to play, but only after our work was done. I have many fond memories of catching fireflies, of swimming in the creek, and even making mud pies.
This wasn’t a case of being kicked out when I hated my family and wanted to leave. It’s true I wanted to move out and have more time to figure out who I am when not defined by them, but not like this.
* * *
Zeke and I were unpacking the truck when Nathan arrived. The larger man got the keys to Zeke’s car and told him he was taking me out to eat.
“Hold up just a bit,” Zeke told him. “Let’s move everything into the garage and then we can all go. I don’t mind unloading everything, but Destiny needs—”
“It isn’t open for discussion, Zeke. I’ll take care of her, but Destiny and I are going to share a meal together.”
Zeke looked to the ground a second, then looked to me. “He’ll take care of you. If you don’t want to go, you should tell him, but if you go, he’ll make sure you’re safe.”
I looked back and forth between them, then looked to Nathan. “I get that you’re the leader of the Pride and you can tell him what to do, but this seems a little rude.”
“You can’t talk to him like that,” said Zeke.
Nathan held his hand up to silence Zeke, and told me, “You’re human and I don’t expect you to understand, but you need to respect our relationship. I took you under my wing the night we rescued you, and I may have handed the day-to-day responsibility over to Zeke, but the buck still stops with me. I’d like to take you to dinner so we can talk about where you are and where you’re going.”
The two of them looked at each other, Nathan nodded, and Zeke came to me. I had my hair in a ponytail but a few strands had come loose and he tucked them behind my ear. “He won’t force you to go if you don’t want to, but you should go.”
“You have to do what he says,” I told him. “Even if he were planning to rape and torture me, you’d have to tell me to go.”
“I’ve seen people who are forced to live under a bad leader. It’s true they have to do that kind of thing, but you can tell they aren’t happy and don’t want to. You’ve heard how Nathan saved me, and I’ve told you how much I respect him.” He kissed my forehead. “Draw your own conclusions, Teeny. Listen to your gut.”
* * *
As Nathan pulled up to a restaura
nt in a bad section of town, I looked around, wary.
“You’re safer here than just about anywhere I could take you. It’s a biker bar, and I’m friends with the club.” He put the SUV in park and shrugged. “Once they know you’re one of mine, they’ll make sure you’re safe if you ever need to go to them for help.”
My heart skipped a beat. “I’m one of yours?”
He pulled the keys from the ignition and gave me a gentle smile. “Zeke’s mine, you’re his. That makes you one of mine.” He shook his head. “When I sent him with you to the hospital, I did so because his sister’s daughter’s about your age and I knew he’d take good care of you. Also, he used to be human, and has more humanity than those of us born a lion.” He sighed. “Zeke hasn’t had a human girlfriend since he was bitten, so I assumed there was no danger of him seeing you as…”
He looked out the front window a moment before looking back to me. “I never expected him to view you romantically. If he’d acted on it last year, I’d have put a stop to it. However, enough time has passed I hope this is more than rescuer and rescuee.” He took his seatbelt off and opened his door. “Let’s go in and get something to eat. I’m getting ahead of myself.”
A large man with his whole arm tattooed was behind the bar, and he nodded at Nathan and me as we walked in. Nathan directed me to the back, and a waitress moved a rope and showed us to a table on a raised platform. The inside was nicer than I expected it to be – lots of beautiful stained wood, brass, and chrome.
“Their burgers are excellent, but you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu.”
“You’re sure we’re safe here?”
“I know you’ve been shielded from society all your life, but it’s time you lived a little. Tattoos don’t make someone evil, just like your brands and scars don’t make you evil.”
I froze at the realization he’d called some of them brands. I hadn’t known the marks on my thighs were brands instead of scars until Abbott walked me through my memories. Did Zeke know, too? Should I tell him? Did it matter?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to cause you distress.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, you just caught me off guard. I’m not used to seeing tattoos that are so… visible. I’ve never been in a place like this.”
“Have you ever been on a motorcycle?”
I shook my head. “We have ATVs. Or, I guess had. My family has them, but I don’t anymore.”
“They’re still your family. Give them time.”
“You don’t understand. I broke the rules. I’m an outcast now.”
“For everyone’s sake, I hope that isn’t the case.”
“They’d freak if they knew about you and Zeke.”
“Which is one of the many reasons they’ll never know.”
We placed our order with the waitress, and Nathan told me, “Drake Security awards from six to ten scholarships a year. We have seven active ones at the present time, which means we still have a few to give away.” He pushed a business card to me. “Go online to the web address on the back of the card and fill out the application. If your GPA is above a three-point-two, you’ll get a full ride scholarship, including books and dorm fees.”
I eyed him a few seconds before saying, “My GPA will be a perfect four, but I have a feeling you already know that.”
He nodded. “Guilty. My point is, if you don’t want to live with Zeke, you don’t have to. You have options. I also believe, if you don’t have to pay for school, you’ll have enough to live on without having to add any students to your schedule.”
My eyes teared up and I looked down. “Does Zeke know you’re making this offer?”
“No, but he’ll be on board with it. He doesn’t want to trap you, Destiny. If you want to live with him, then that’s where we both want you, but if you don’t, I can have you in a dorm within two weeks, and I can stick you in one of our local safehouses until we get you moved into student housing.”
“I asked him if I could stay with him until I found an apartment, and he said I could stay indefinitely.”
“You don’t have to give me an answer on the dorm right now, but if you can fill out the online form today or tomorrow, it’ll help us get everything taken care of in time for us to pay your tuition for the next semester.”
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“I own part of Drake Security, but the scholarship fund is already allocated, so please don’t look at this as me paying for your college. I’m just facilitating the paperwork for the company to give you the scholarship. As for the rest,” he leaned back and grinned, “I told you, I took you on when we rescued you. We did what we could to keep you safe from the Celrau, and determined your family and their guns could protect you from anyone else who came after you once you were home. At the time, you didn’t leave your property much, since you were homeschooled.” He shrugged. “You were better off with us backing out of the picture and letting your family take care of you, but now you need us again.” He chuckled. “Stubborn-headed, insane human. What possessed you to go into the woods on Halloween, to the place you were abducted and tortured?”
“I hoped it would give me closure.”
“Did it?”
“No. Abbott gave me that when he gave me my memories back.”
“Yeah. Have you talked to a plastic surgeon about what it’ll take to get rid of your scars?”
I shrugged. “More money than I imagine I’ll have for a really long time. I’ve started a tattoo on my chest, but it’ll take some time to finish it. I’m apparently a wimp, and can only take so much before I’m in tears.”
“Nothing wimpy about that at all. If you talk to Kirsten about it, she’ll probably tell you some of it’s emotional crap, too, and not just about the physical pain.”
Yeah, she’d mentioned it, and she was probably right, but I didn’t want to talk to Nathan about it. “There’s an organization that helps pay for plastic surgery for victims of violent crime, but I haven’t had the nerve to apply for help. There’s no guarantee they’ll help, and I’ll have to take pictures of all the places I want worked on before I can apply.” I focused on the water droplets trailing down my water glass. “The only pictures I’ve let anyone take are the ones the police took for evidence.”
“I know a plastic surgeon who’ll work with us on price. If you’d like, I can make an appointment for you to talk with him. I know it’ll be a lot to get everything worked on at once, but it’ll be the cheapest route. I won’t offer to pay for it, but I’ll finance it for you at no interest, and we’ll work out a payment plan you’re comfortable with.”
I opened my mouth to object, but he shook his head and smiled. “You’re one of mine. This means I’ll help you to help yourself, and you won’t argue with me about it.”
I turned my palms over and looked at them. I’d sliced into them when I left the hospital, and altered the symbols they’d carved into me, so they looked like flowers. My left hand was a rose, my right hand was kinda-sorta a tulip, if you looked at it just right.
“I want to get my forehead done more than anything, but I’d also like to get my stomach and thighs done. I took control of my palms, and I’m taking control of my chest.”
“And your feet?”
I blanched. “Yeah. I’d love to be able to wear sandals again.”
A biker in a leather vest with patches all over it came up the steps, and Nathan motioned to him. “Duke! Come sit with us a second and meet Destiny?”
He talked to us for maybe ten minutes, and by the time he left I was feeling a little silly for having thought he was a bad guy.
I told Nathan, and he chuckled. “He can be a very bad guy when it’s called for. If anyone lays a hand on his wife, then there’s a good chance he’ll make them hurt in ways you can’t imagine. But, he won’t hurt someone without reason, and if he saw someone bothering you, he’d make them stop.”
“Was he serious about Zeke and me coming to their party next weekend?”<
br />
“Yes, and it’d be good for the two of you to stop by during the day, when the kids are still around and it’s a family atmosphere. The more of the RTMC you meet, the better.”
A few more bikers stopped by and chatted, and by the time we left, I no longer viewed the leather vest with all of the patches on it as a scary, bad thing.
Viper — my tattoo guy — walked in as we were leaving, and I was surprised he was wearing one of the biker vests, too. He’d been recommended as someone who could work scars into his designs, and I was so glad I’d found him. He talked me through how to breathe while he worked on me, and I’m not sure I could’ve gone through with it if someone had just tattooed me and expected me to deal with the pain. We talked a few moments, and he hugged me as we left. It felt good to know someone Nathan hadn’t needed to introduce me to.
As Nathan pulled out of the parking lot, I asked, “You wanted me alone, without Zeke, so you could gauge whether I’m considering moving in with him because I want to, or feel I have to — right?”
He nodded and I said, “I appreciate it. I need to talk to him before I make a decision, but thanks for looking out for me.”
12
Five months later
Zeke
I’ve never been so happy to move someone out of a dorm before in my life, but I had to admit her moving into it had been the right decision. I’d been disappointed, but I’d made sure to be supportive when Destiny had moved in.
She’d spent plenty of time at my house, and lots of weekend nights, but this had given us our space as we’ve gotten to know each other better.
Also, it went a long way toward healing her relationship with her parents.
Was I crazy for asking her to marry me so soon? I didn’t think so, and Nathan was the only one with the balls to bring it up, but even he was in favor of it, once we talked.
