Wild: Savannah Heirs

by June, CoraLee

  She gaped at me as I turned and walked away, feeling both sad and liberated.

  “I’m proud of you,” Luis said quietly at my side.

  I smiled over at him, feeling like a weight had lifted off my chest. It was because of him that I’d been able to find myself again and have the strength to show it to my family. “Thank you.”

  Before the realization of what I’d done could fully sink in, a hand shot out and grabbed my arm. “Thank God you’re here!” a voice hissed as I was yanked out of the living room and into the adjoining hallway.

  I blinked a couple of times before taking in the frantic-looking Rachel Nomar before me. Her eyes were widened with fear, and her lip quivered. Luis, Rogue, and Scar surrounded us, each of them on high alert.

  “It’s Godfrey,” she choked out before looking side to side. We’d gathered the attention of a few Savannah socialites, and she didn’t seem to want them to hear.

  “What about Godfrey?” I pressed.

  “Aaron’s here. He handed Godfrey a folder and walked off. It...it had pictures of you. Walking places. Sleeping. In the shower.” She let out a shaky breath while shaking her head, obviously trying to compose herself. “I-I tried to stop him, but Godfrey was so damn hot-headed. I can’t find him anywhere, and I think Aaron’s done something.”

  Dread pooled in my gut. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to force the fear out. “What direction did Godfrey go in?” Rogue asked, taking charge of the situation like the head Heir he was.

  “Outside. I tried to follow him, but…” I saw the way Rachel shook with fear and understood her terror. I placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

  “We’re going to find him, okay? You and Scarlett go stay with Bonham.”

  “Like hell I’m—”

  “Stop arguing and go, Scar. The longer you argue, the more at risk Godfrey is. Now’s not the time for pride, and Rachel needs you,” Rogue snapped.

  I stared at Scar out of the corner of my eye and watched her rein in her fury. “Fine. But we will discuss this later, asshole,” she hissed before grabbing Rachel’s wrist and leading her away to a confused-looking Bonham.

  “Let’s go to the backyard,” I said before exiting the hallway and making it through the party, keeping my head down to avoid another confrontation with Granddaddy. I was certain by now that he’d told my mama how I’d shown up. There would be hell to pay, but they would have to wait. I needed to find Godfrey.

  Outside, the Savannah heat beat down on my head as I combed through my family’s manicured backyard in search of my brother. We owned quite a bit of land, so I wasn’t even sure where to start.

  “You going to shoot me, motherfucker?” I heard a cruel voice clip out, drawing my attention towards the garden shed.

  Rogue, Luis and I started running towards the sound of Godfrey’s voice, fear pushing me forward despite my sinking heels in the grass.

  With each step, I expected to hear the sound of a gun go off. Each exhale reminded me of all the times my brother took the blows for me, stepping in front of Daddy’s lethal fists to save me.

  And then, I skirted around the corner and came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. “Royal. So nice of you to join us.”

  On the other side of the garden shed, tucked away in the shade and hidden from the house, Aaron Carmichael stood with his legs apart and a shaking arm holding a gun now aimed at me. Rogue growled. Luis shoved me behind him, putting his chest in direct line of a potential bullet.

  “I see you’ve brought the kid with you,” Aaron sneered before spinning the gun on his finger, looking clumsy yet lethal all the same.

  “Go back to the house,” Godfrey growled from beside Aaron. “I’ve got this covered.”

  I ignored my brother and looked over Luis’s shoulder to stare at Aaron.

  “I was hoping you’d find me. You see. I’ve got a problem, Royal,” he said while taking a step closer. I felt Luis tense. “You didn’t play by my rules. You didn’t heel. You got me fired, and then you took off. I can’t have the woman I’m supposed to be marrying doing such reprehensible things.”

  I could see the crazed look in his black gaze. His khakis and dress shirt were rumpled. He had bags under his eyes. His blonde hair was disheveled, and his lips were cracked, like he’d been gnawing on them.

  “Aaron, put the gun down,” I said gently.

  “No! You are mine. I told you back in Ecuador!” he screamed, his harsh tone cutting through the yard. “We had an agreement!” He surged forward a step, stopping only because clumps of papers and fabric started falling out of his pockets.

  Everyone looked down at the messy collection he’d stuffed into his pants. Photographs of me—dozens of them. More of my panties. My hair ties. Even a bottle of my nail polish. My stomach clenched at the sight of it. This man wasn’t just a stalker. He was completely unhinged.

  I raised my hands in front of me, my eyes darting from the things littering the ground to the shaky barrel of the gun in his hand. “You’re right,” I told him, forcing myself to look back up at him and praying his jolted movements wouldn’t make him pull the trigger. “We had an agreement, and I went back on it.”

  “Yes, you did,” he snapped. “You’re going to come with me now, or I’ll shoot you and all of your little high school friends.”

  My blood turned to ice at his threat. All I had to do was look him in the eye to know that he meant it. If any of the Heirs made a move, he’d pull the trigger. From the murderous yet worried looks on their faces, they knew that too. Which meant it was up to me.

  I took a tentative step around Luis. He tried to stop me, but I gently disentangled my arm from his. His brown eyes were tortured, terrified, pleading. But I knew there was no other way.

  “Come on, Aaron. I’ll go with you. Let’s go inside and get you a drink. Then we can go back to your place. I’ll come with you, no argument.”

  He glared at me with doubt, but when I took another step, he seemed to realize what I was wearing, and his eyes darted down to my tight red dress and the cleavage it allowed.

  “Tell them all to lock themselves in the shed. Now.”

  I swallowed hard and looked at the Heirs. Luis and Godfrey weren’t going to agree to it. I could see the defiance in their faces.

  “I said now!” Aaron screamed again before shooting the ground right at Godfrey’s feet. I screamed and jumped, and Godfrey held up his arms, his face paling.

  “Alright! Fuck! Don’t shoot. We’ll get in the fucking shed,” Rogue shouted.

  “Hurry up,” Aaron snapped.

  The Heirs started filing into the shed, but Luis had to be manhandled by Rogue to get inside. I begged him and Godfrey with my eyes not to fight. I couldn’t survive if anything happened to them.

  Once they were inside, Aaron wasted no time pulling me by the arm and starting to back away toward the house. “If any of you come out, I’ll fucking shoot her!”

  My breath was stuck in my chest and terrified tears fell from my eyes.

  Just as we were about to hit the patio, I saw a server come out, confusion on her face. “We thought we heard a noise, was there—” her words cut off and her eyes widened when she saw the gun Aaron was pointing at my side.

  “Get back inside and don’t say a fucking thing,” Aaron ordered.

  The girl instantly darted away back into the safety of the house.

  I was so scared that my entire body was shaking, but at least I’d gotten there in time before he’d shot Godfrey. At least I’d managed to get Aaron away from them before Luis could do anything stupid and get himself killed. For once, I was going to be the protector.

  Aaron yanked me inside, holding the gun at my back as he wrapped his arm around me from behind, holding me against him like a lover’s embrace. “If you say anything, I will shoot you. Nod if you understand.”

  I nodded numbly, my body not feeling like my own. Was I about to die? Was this paralyzing terror the last thing I’d feel on this earth?

  �
�Aaron! I didn’t know you’d gotten here,” Mama said, approaching.

  He ignored her completely, and it spoke volumes that my mother looked at me and didn’t notice that a damn thing was wrong. Godfrey would have noticed. Luis would have noticed. They’d have seen the tears in my eyes and the pale pallor of my face. They’d have noticed the way my hands shook and the stiffness of my movements and the too-tight hold Aaron had on me. They’d have noticed everything. But my own mother? I guess she never noticed me at all.

  Aaron was pulling me through the room, pushing past people as he made a beeline for the door. I knew without a doubt that I couldn’t leave here with him. If I left, I wasn’t sure I’d make it out alive.

  When I spotted Forty-Three across the room, hope sparked in my chest like a livewire. The second our eyes met, Forty-Three’s lips thinned.

  “Please,” I mouthed. He turned and disappeared, and a choked sob escaped me.

  “Quiet,” Aaron snapped, digging the gun painfully into my back.

  When Scarlett and Rachel spotted me, I shook my head, warning them away. Their eyes went wide with fear from across the room.

  We were just about to make it to the entryway when Forty-Three appeared in front of us. “Refreshments?”

  There were two glasses of whiskey on the tray. Forty-Three tapped his finger on the left one, and I picked it up and downed it before Aaron could refuse them.

  I coughed slightly, running the back of my hand across my lips.

  Forty-Three smiled amicably and looked at Aaron with expectation. “Sir?” Forty-Three delivered his line with flair, even bowing with the tray as he presented the deadly cup.

  “Fine,” Aaron snapped, taking the glass before downing it with a hiss, wiping his mouth once it was empty. I had to fight the anxious relief building up within me. He’d just enjoyed an expensive whiskey with a shot of cheap peanut oil.

  “Good stuff, isn’t it?” Forty-Three drawled.

  “Get out of the way.”

  “Dr. Carmichael, leaving already?” My granddaddy’s voice made Aaron stiffen. He awkwardly turned us around, quickly moving the gun from my back to tuck it into the waistband of his pants.

  My granddaddy looked between us. “Is she giving you trouble?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle,” Aaron replied, making sure his shirt covered the weapon.

  Icy tendrils travelled down my spine at the sound of violence in Aaron’s voice.

  Aaron gripped me tighter, making me wince. I wanted to shove away from him. I wanted to show him how much I detested him. I wanted to publicly shame him. And usually, I would repress all of those things. I would push away my wants like buried secrets, bottling myself up until pressure was the only thing keeping me trapped behind the glass. But I was done being muzzled.

  “Doctor, huh? I thought you got fired,” Luis said coolly as he walked up.

  My eyes widened at the sight of him, and Aaron’s whole body tensed. Why did they leave the shed? Did they want to get shot? Rogue and Godfrey were standing behind him, and a limping Bonham was headed our way.

  “Yes, well, I plan on heading back once I speak with Royal. It seems there was a mistake that needs to be rectified. I’m surprised you’re here, Mr. Salvador. I thought you had plans,” Aaron gritted out.

  Using his distraction to my advantage, I yanked out of Aaron’s grasp and backed away from him. Certainly he wouldn’t shoot with an audience? “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said, steel coating my words.

  Aaron’s black eyes widened for a moment before anger darkened his face. His gaze narrowed on me. “Royal. You really don’t want to make a scene,” he said quietly, the threat evident in his tone. “We’re leaving. Now. Remember that promise you made me?”

  “Maybe you should go with Aaron, Royal. You both obviously have a lot to talk about,” Mama added, eyeing us with trepidation.

  Fury ignited in my belly, but it was diluted with pain when I saw that my mama wasn’t even worried about me. She wanted to appease the crazy man with my panties shoved in his pocket. She was looking at him like he was the goddamned Holy Grail, here to answer her disappointing-daughter prayers. I guess since she’d been married to my father for over twenty years, it made sense that she sided with abusive men. But I wasn’t going to follow in her footsteps. I wasn’t gonna be the trampled flower; I was gonna be the goddamn blade.

  “I’m not leaving with you,” I repeated, my voice louder this time. I didn’t care who listened, because for once, I just wanted to be fucking heard. “You’re disgusting. I hate you with every breath in my chest, and if you think I’m going to walk around on your arm acting like I love you, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  I saw out of the corner of my eye that Forty-Three was still serving up more whiskey on a silver platter, eyeing Dr. Carmichael with glee. Shouldn’t the peanut oil be hitting him now? Panic bubbled through me. What if it hadn’t worked? What if Forty-Three had gotten the information wrong? Aaron still had a gun, and if I pushed him too far, I had no doubt that he’d use it.

  Aaron immediately reached for me, but before I could even flinch back, Luis was there, stepping in front of me. “Babe, this party is stuffy,” he said in a cool voice. He had never called me that, but I knew it was for show. He wanted every person in this room to know that I was here with him, and he wanted me away from Aaron. “If I wanted to see these people, I would have just gone to the illegal poker ring at Ma’s bar.”

  There were some snickers, but a lot of people that had been staring quickly snapped their gazes away and started making up polite conversation to avoid being called out. That was the thing about Savannah, Georgia. They were all about their image.

  Aaron’s face fumed as Luis leaned in closer to whisper in my ear. “You’re doing so good, mi amor.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Mama hissed under her breath while eyeing the room, like she didn’t want everyone to hear her now that Luis Salvador was involved. “You’re embarrassing me and your grandparents.”

  I let out a breath and straightened my spine. I’d spent so long letting embarrassment dictate my decisions that it felt freeing to let go of everyone else’s opinions. “You’re embarrassing yourself by pretending Dad was a good person. You’re embarrassing yourself by parading around town, acting like this family isn’t toxic and twisted. I hate being a nurse. I’m not good at it. In fact, I quit my job at the hospital.” I was stalling, waiting for the allergy to hit.

  Granddaddy walked up, his fists clenched and a scowl turning down his brows. I prepared for the verbal assault. I’d been on the receiving end of it my entire life. But once we were toe-to-toe, he reared up to slap me, his anger making him forget that we had an audience. He didn’t care that I was a grown woman. He didn’t care about anything but inflicting pain because how dare I go against him.

  I guess we knew where Gerald Taylor got it from.

  Before his palm could connect with my face, I watched Godfrey surge forward out of the corner of my eye, trying to take the hit for me like he’d done his whole life. But he was too far away. I flinched back, ready for the blow, but the stinging pain never came. Luis had grabbed his wrist and was holding on tight with a murderous expression on his face. “I think you’ve had too much to drink, Mr. Taylor. You’re embarrassing yourself,” Luis growled out before tossing my granddaddy’s hand back.

  My eyes flickered to Aaron. He was pressing his fingers to his lip with a confused look on his face, and relief flooded me. It was working! Just a little longer. Stall. Stall. Stall.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rogue slip behind Aaron. I kept my face trained forward, careful not to give anything away. Aaron was scratching his lips lightly, his brows pulling together in a frown. Taking the opportunity, Rogue surged forward. In a smooth, graceful move that shouldn't be possible for such a hulking guy, he grabbed the gun from Aaron’s waistband, tucked it into his own pants, and then was already turning and walking back, leaving Aaron completely oblivious.

  Rel
ieved air rushed out of me like a popped balloon.

  “You’re one to talk about embarrassment,” Granddaddy sneered, snapping back at Luis. “You think I don’t know about your mother? The entire town knows she’s a cheap crack whore. Spreads her legs for anyone willing to give her a hit.”

  My granddaddy looked smug when Luis’s face turned red from embarrassment and anger, but somehow, he managed to keep his expression fixed in a calm facade. “You know what else everyone knows?” Luis asked in a deathly low whisper. “They know that my family owns most of this town. They know that I’m an Heir. They know that if I wanted to, I could ruin their reputation like that.” Luis snapped his fingers for emphasis. “Your son might have gotten the criminals off, but my family employs them. I’d hate to see something happen to your legacy. The Salvador name holds weight around here, and I’d be more than willing to toss it around. I suggest you think really hard about that.”

  Damn. Luis was every bit the Heir everyone proclaimed him to be. “Is that a threat?” Granddaddy growled. The drama was unfolding, but I watched Aaron pull at his collar. His lips were an unnatural shade of pink.

  “You may think you run this town, but you’re just a cog in the wheel, old man. Royal isn’t going to be a piece in your fucked up machine anymore. She doesn’t need your money. She doesn't need your permission. And she definitely doesn’t need your judgement.”

  Granddaddy paled. No one in the room was even trying to pretend that they weren’t watching anymore. We’d created exactly the spectacle that my mama feared.

  “Don’t listen to the kid,” Aaron said with a cough, rolling his eyes. Godfrey looked like he wanted to punch him in the face. “He’s just another spoiled brat that thinks he can do whatever he wants. They don’t actually have any influence,” His voice was raspy as he pulled at his collar and let out a choking cough.

  Luis smirked as Godfrey’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, really?” my brother asked.

  Rachel intercepted, yanking on my arm to pull me out of the crossfire as my brother got up in Aaron’s face, his stance lethal. They had a silent stare-off for a moment until Godfrey spun around to look at the room as Luis crossed his arms at his chest in amusement.