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“And youarefucking staying here,” Gage tacks on, as though all the things his brother just said aren’t major fucking red flags.
“The fuck she is! Ella’s already going to be hiding from one crazy sick fuck and you just gave fifty reasons why you guys are just as bad. She’s not fucking safe here, and-” Hunter rages, before being cut off.
“That’s exactly why she’s the fucking safest here!” Gage booms, his deep velvety voice rumbling through the large space.
Dropping his arms, he stalks forward to stand right in front of us. He brings his finger up and jams it into Hunter’s chest. Hunt doesn’t even flinch. He straightens his spine, standing at his full 5′11 height, and refuses to cower to Gage. I smile at my bestie, wanting to give him a high-five because I’m feeling pretty fucking proud of his ball size right now. We may come from deplorable circumstances where we were forced to be weak and submissive, but no more.
“I understand that you want what’s best for her, that you want to protect her. You love her, I fucking get that. But if you’d take five fuckin seconds to pull your head out of your ass, you’d realize that no matter who we are, we care about her as well. Andbecauseof who are, we are the best fucking bet at keeping her protected.”
Gage drops his index finger from Hunter’s chest but doesn’t break eye contact. Meanwhile, I’m wondering why and the fuck these men are talking about me as though I’m not even here.
“Look, I appreciate you guys all wanting to keep me safe, but can you stop the pissing match already? I’m not a fucking fire hydrant!” I snap, causing Maddox to bust out laughing from somewhere behind Gage. I glance over at him and he shoots me a flirty wink while continuing to chuckle. I roll my eyes but can’t help the small smile tugging on my lips at the sight of his dimples. Gage and Hunter both reluctantly andeverso fucking slowly, drag their eyes from each other and their heated stare down, to look at me. “I’m pretty sure that where and whom I decide to stay with, is up to me,” I state calmly, though, I feel anything but.
“And where is that, Cariño?” Gage murmurs, his eyes heated.
He drops his gaze to my lips and I instinctively lick them. His eyes track the movement before they go from heated to burning.Fuck.I feel hot all over under the intensity of his stare. My thighs ache to clench together but I fight it, knowing he’d catch me. I don’t understand my reaction to these men at fucking all. Just one look from them and my body lights up like the fourth of July. My mouth goes dry and I momentarily forget what’s going on around me.
“Answer me,” Gage says, in that commanding voice of his, clearly not as sexually charged as I am right now. My eyes shoot up of their own accord and I begin to blink like a deer in headlights.Answer what?“Where do you want to stay?” he asks before smirking as if he knows what my current damage is.
“I need to think about it,” I mutter weakly.
Hunt opens his mouth to protest but I shake my head before grabbing his hand.
“I’m going to my room to talk to him. I’ll give you my answer after,” I say confidently as I pull a very reluctant Hunter from the room and deeper into the house.
“Your room, huh?” Gage questions and I can hear the humor in his voice.
“Shut up!” I shout, storming down the hall.
I yank Hunter into the room I’m staying in and he quickly kicks the door closed behind us. I sit down on the edge of the bed and brace myself for the impending tirade. I know Hunter needs to say his piece, and while I want his input to help make my decision, I also know he’s firmly team: anywhere but here.
“You cannot be fucking serious Ella! What and the ever-loving fuck is even happening right now?” Hunter yells as he begins to pace back and forth in front of me. I settle deeper onto the bed, getting comfortable while he does his thing.
“Seriously, Elle. What’s going on? Fuck, I came here, not knowing what the fuck to expect. I seriously thought they abducted you or some shit. When I didn’t hear back from you, I called your work then Giana said you were with the Luna’s. Thefucking Luna’s?Christ, Isabella. How and the hell is any of this even happening? How would you even know them? I work for them and I don’t even really know them. They aren’t the kind of men you just meet at the coffee shop for fucks sake. And you’re kissing them? Not just one of them either, no you have to go and kiss both of those motherfuckers. After being attacked by your psychotic ex nonetheless. Who are you right now and what have you done with my best friend?”
Hunter paces back and forth in the room, tugging on the roots of his long hair while he rants without barely taking a breath. I allow it because interrupting him would be useless, but now he’s looking at me, expecting all the answers. Answers that I’m not sure I have. He continues to stare, waiting. I let out a long sigh. Fuck, I guess we’re really doing this now.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Hunt,” I murmur. “I met Gage at one of my volunteer shifts, his grandfather is one of my patients. We’ve hung out a bit there. He gave me his card, he ownsThe Den. That’s how I knew about the self-defense classes. Maddox was my teacher there. And Nyx, well, Nyx is Redwood,” I whisper the last sentence.
Hunter knows about the man I met that day two years ago. He doesn’t know how much Nyx meant to me that day or that I’ve thought about him every single day since. He doesn’t know that I’ve written him hundreds of letters over the years, letters that Nyx knows nothing about.
“Wait, what? What the fuck? That big motherfucker out there is the guy from the bridge?” he sputters and I silently nod while playing with the string on Maddox’s hoodie that I’m still wearing. “Fuck, Ella,” Hunt sighs as he sits down next to me. “This is a lot to process,” he murmurs before flopping backward on the bed.
“I know, it really is,” I agree, as I scoot forward and place his head in my lap. I begin to play with his hair, letting him sift through all of the events of the day. Fuck, I’m still sifting through it all.
“So, let’s start at the top. How are you really with the Drew shit?” Hunter asks quietly. I inhale and close my eyes, trying to take inventory of my feelings, both mental and physical.
“Physically, I’m okay. I’m sore, bruised, and beat up, that’s for sure, but I’m tough, Hunt, you know that. It’s going to take a lot more than a few slightly fractured ribs and some cuts to stop me. I’ll heal, I always do.”
I allow him to work through this, knowing that he understands that I’ve had similar injuries before when I was much younger and we lived with our abusive foster parents. We both know that physical trauma sucks, but it’s got nothing on the mental scars. Those fuckers don’t heal the same. And while what I said is true, I am in way more fucking pain than I will let on, especially with how guilty he’s currently feeling.
“Just because you’re tough and know how to take a punch, doesn’t mean you’re not hurting,” Hunter deadpans, looking up at me. “And, those aren’t the only injuries you have, right? Give me the full rundown,” he demands quietly but I’m already shaking my head.
“It doesn’t matter, Hunter. I’m beat up, it’s obvious. I’ve got stitches, bruises, and a concussion, but seriously I’m fine. I’m not looking forward to more scars, but it doesn’t matter. I’m alive, I survived yet another sadistic fuck taking from me without my permission, but for once, I don’t feel like crumbling and withering away. I feel stronger mentally than I have in my entire life. I feel brave because I fought back. I may not have won at that moment, but I lived. He took from me something that wasn’t offered and yeah, emotionally, I’m upset by that, but I swear to God Hunt, this time, I will not allow myself to break.”
I stare him in the eyes, imploring him to understand that I mean every single word. Physically, I’m sore. Emotionally, I’m rattled. Mentally, I’m strong as fuck.
I hate Drew with every fiber of my being for what he did to me. I am afraid of him coming back for me. Fucking terrified. But I will not let him beating me and raping me with that goddamn dildo, break me. I will not allow him or any other man to take another piece of my soul if it's not willingly offered. I have already lost so much of it to others like Drew, and I will be damned if the remaining pieces that are finally starting to feel again will be destroyed by this.
