AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cy doesn’t let me finish. “Then there’s a good chance he’s beatin’ up on her right now.”
I tuck my hands in my pockets. Now that the words have been said out loud and aren’t just invasive thoughts running through my head, my stomach roils. The fear I lived with every day as a boy reemerges, and I feel small and powerless. It’s fuckin’ stupid because I’m not that boy anymore, and Ray doesn’t stand a chance in hell against me.
“I just need to find her and make sure she’s okay,” I say.
He must’ve heard something in the way I said it or read something on my face because his eyes narrow and his ears perk up. “What’s this girl mean to you?”
I feel my brothers’ eyes on me, all of them asking the same question, though only Cy and Lucky know our connection. Telling them she’s my stepsister feels wrong on all accounts, but there’s nothing else I can say. Maybe if I had dealt with last night differently and forced her to listen, I could proudly announce that she’s mine. I could stake my claim on her, and she’d become part of my family in a whole different way, but that’s not what happened.
She pushed me away, and I fuckin’ ran.
“She’s my—I mean, we grew up—” I run a hand over my head and face Golden and Dutch. “I don’t fuckin’ know, okay? Her mom married my dad when we were kids. I got kicked out at eighteen and hadn’t seen her until the meet-and-greet night. Y’all know I stopped her from being a courtesan, but you didn’t know why. That’s the reason. And now that we’ve reconnected, things have gotten. . . muddy.”
“Dude, you’re fuckin’ your sister?” Dutch asks, grinning like an asshole.
“No, we’re not fuckin’.”
“But you’re something.” Golden’s knowing eyes read my expression.
“Something,” I agree. That seems to pacify them enough to turn and walk back to their bikes. “Thought you guys were going to stay here and help get things back in order?”
“It’s seven, so we have three hours to get your girl and get back here,” Cy says.
Knowing my brothers have my back, regardless of the situation, I secure my helmet and start my bike. I wait for Cy to pull out—the Prez always leads the charge—but he nods me ahead. It doesn’t sound like much, but with our rules, our way of life, it means everything.
I nod back and take off into the hot morning sun.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
NAVY
Four hours earlier. . .
I’m startled awake by the feeling of my blanket being torn off me. The chilly air assaults my previously warm skin as my brain tries to catch up with what’s going on. I blink my eyes open to nothing but darkness. Inhaling the stench of cigarette smoke, both new and stale, I remember where I am. Ray’s house. There’s only one reason I’d be woken up so violently.
Rolling onto my back, I see a dark figure looming over me, and my stomach sinks.
“I knew the Sons would get tired of you after they’d each taken a turn,” he grinds out. “Your pussy’s nothing special.”
“That’s not why I came back.” I slowly sit up, drawing my knees to my chest. “Mom needed me.”
“I don’t think that’s what happened at all.” He steps closer. “I think you saw what was out there and realized how good you have it here.” He kneels on the bed. “The thing is, I’m not runnin’ no hotel.”
“You want money? I have some. Just let me—” I move to get off the bed, but before I can, he grabs hold of my ankle and yanks until I’m flat on my back.
“I’ll bet you learned all kinds of new tricks whoring yourself out over at that brothel. Why don’t you show dear old dad some of them? I’m sick of doing all the work when I fuck you,” he sneers.
“What you do isn’t fucking, Ray. It’s rape. You’ve been raping me for years.” My breath hitches as I say the words out loud. If I thought admitting it would make anything better, I was wrong. The weight and severity of everything I’ve been through hits me square in the chest, constricting my airflow.
“That’s bullshit. You wanted it, and you know it.” He climbs over my body the way he’s done so many times before, but this time, I don’t make it easy. I shove and hit and kick him, trying my hardest to stop this from happening. “You bitch!” He lifts onto his knees and backhands me so hard I see stars.
Before I can regain my senses, my hands are pinned above my head, and my legs are squeezed together with his thighs. No matter how hard I struggle, I can’t get away. Unwanted tears leak out of the corner of my eyes as I use all my strength to try to free myself, but it’s no use. I’m still too weak; the time spent at the Honey Pot hasn’t been long enough to reach a healthy weight, and my time in the gym not enough to gain muscle.
“Mom!” I shout. “Call nine-one-one!”
Ray chuckles. “You think that bitch would go against me? You must be a special kind of stupid if the last fifteen years have taught you nothing.”
He’s right. This last week has changed me, but Mom hasn’t. She’s been living here, taking the same shit from Ray that he’s always given. I can’t expect her to do anything besides what she’s always done.
