AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you have any safe homes?” Levi asked.
“Several.”
“Take Cami, Brandy, and Tami to them. I can hide Madisen. There’s somewhere I go that’s only known to me. Madisen will be perfectly safe there. I have a secure connection there and could give you the number to dial in daily,” Levi replied.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Derek said slowly, looking between Levi and me.
“Is this place secure and defensible?” I asked. I wasn’t about to put either of us in danger, but some time alone with Levi wouldn’t go amiss.
“Very defensible and very secure. It’s where I go when I… need a break,” Levi responded. I had the feeling he’d been about to say something else, but I didn’t push it.
“Take Madisen. We will lay down false leads. Dane and Declan will bring the girls somewhere safe. For now, we’ll split Tami from them. The harder it is to find you, the better,” Derek stated.
I wasn’t going to disagree. He was right.
???
Two hours later, I was packed and in a vehicle. Derek was gone and not happy Levi wouldn’t tell him where we were heading. Instead, Levi had called Chance and asked for a prospect to drop a car off. Levi couldn’t be sure if my car was tagged or not and didn’t want to waste time checking it over. He gave me directions and told me to leave my phone behind. Again, it could be tracked. Worried in case someone from The Midnight Hour needed me, Levi assured me that Maylene Dixon, Clio’s gran, was looking after it.
Of course, I knew Maylene was as rich as Croesus; Levi had said so. So my little business would be great in her gentle hands. I followed Levi, not losing sight of him once. Mainly, that was because Levi dropped back and rode in front or behind me, depending on his mood. Soon enough, we were out of Spearfish and heading along the I14a, which for Jere, sucked, as his guys were driving into Spearfish as we left.
We drove for several hours, backtracking and then making U-turns until I felt Levi was lost, but he pulled into a clearing and pressed a button. To my surprise, what I thought was a wall of ivy and rocks lifted, and I saw a small garage. Levi pointed to it, and we drove up and parked inside. I climbed out of the car and helped Levi gather bags and then exited. Levi pushed a button, and the walls slid back into place.
“Now that is cool. A hidden garage,” I admitted.
Levi nodded, but he seemed to be nervous.
“Where are we?” I asked, and Levi took as much luggage from me as possible and then began walking.
“I own a cabin nearby. But I designed and had the car port built to my specifications. I don’t like people knowing where I am or if I am here. This is my private spot,” Levi said as he weaved through the trees.
Finally, we hit a small clearing, and I gaped at a cute but rustic log cabin. It was postcard-pretty and adorable. It was two levels, and I knew that I could live there forever.
“Why do you have this, and why does nobody know?” I asked as I followed Levi into the cabin. Oh, the cabin was Calamity Jane pretty. “Wow.” I took in the wide-open area, with a kitchen to one side and settees at the other end.
“I come here, Madisen, because I have a monster inside me. Coming here alone allows me to control him,” Levi replied.
“Okay, is that freaky talk for something?” I demanded.
“Sit down,” Levi nodded to the sofa as he opened the fridge and pulled two beers out. He handed me one and sat down.
“My parents weren’t the best of people. Self-centred and selfish, the world revolved around them. They were professional dancers, so it was a miracle I ended up being born. My mother was back at work four weeks later, barely having a baby pouch. From the moment I could stand, I was taught to dance. I wanted to pick my own path, even from an early age. But my parents began teaching me. They never brought home a gold medal; yet they were very talented. They realised I could bring that medal home, and therefore, my entire life was about dancing.
“I grew to hate it. It was something I loathed and despised, but my partner was a sweet girl through and through. Una was being pushed into shit as much as I was, so we rebelled. Then at 16, Una came to me; she was pregnant, our parents would flip the fuck out. We had a massive competition coming up, and we were nearly guaranteed the gold. Not only that, but my parents could also sue for breach of contract.
“In the end, we agreed to do the competition and then run away together. The winnings were a 50K jackpot. I figured it would be enough to live on for a while. The night of the event went well. We won as intended and received our cheque. Both sets of parents were over the moon until the next morning. I got up early to collect Una, and I saw her father dragging her out behind the cabins we were staying in. Una was crying and holding her stomach, and I had a bad feeling about it.
“Following them, I overheard her father cursing her, and it came out he was the kid's dad. He’d been raping Una and threatening her to keep silent. I was a strong kid and barely managed to control my anger. He was shaking Una and telling her she was going to name me as the father. He then began kicking and beating her, and I charged forward. In my pure temper, I beat him to the ground, and it took four men to pull me off him. I had released a monster that had been in my belly for months.
“The beast had grown stronger with each slight or insult my parents dished out. Each time, Una and I were forced to practise for hours until our feet bled, it grew. Una’s dad unleashed it. I was incoherent when pulled off him, but Una spilled everything. The cops dragged the piece of shit away, and her mother played innocent. But I knew something was still wrong. How could the mother not know that her husband had been raping his own daughter?
“Sadly, I never got the chance to ask. Una argued with her mother that night, and her mother blew Una’s brains out for spilling the beans. She then turned it on herself. Seemed appearances meant more than her own daughter’s life. After that, my monster raged, and it took everything I had to rein him in. If I let my control lapse, I’d let a serial killer loose. Because I know what that part of me is, it would revel in blood and pounding things, shapeless and breaking bones.
“I come here when I feel control slipping. Here, I paint myself into a stupor or dance until I fall. It tires the monster out, and I gain full control again. It’s hard to explain, but here I can unleash the energy until I have control.” Levi fell quiet and gazed out at the trees.
What he had told me was huge, yet I wasn’t frightened of him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
“We all got monsters we battle; some of us are not even aware of them,” I said, taking his hands.
