AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I place a kiss on her temple and rub her arms and back, hoping to ease some of the tension in her body like I did earlier at the diner. Thor seems to do the same, rubbing one of her legs while the other is still holding her small hand in his.
“Talk to us, Spitfire. You’re worrying us.”
With a heavy sigh, she leans against me and takes my hand in her other one.
“About a month before my sixteenth birthday, Mom and I were out shopping in town. It was one of the rare full days off she had from the bar and grill. I’d had a weird feeling all day, but I ignored it because I selfishly wanted to spend the day out and about with her. That was the one time I ignored my gut, and we paid heavily for it.”
She closes her eyes, and as she takes a deep breath, a tear rolls down her cheek. Thor leans forward, and when he wipes it away, neither of us miss how she leans into his touch. She takes another deep breath and when she opens her eyes, she gives us a small, weak smile, and squeezes our hands.
“The last place we went to that day was the grocery store. As per our norm, we always cooked out on Saturday nights, so we went to stock up on food. Sasha, Alexei, Uncle Bear, and Grandpa were all supposed to come over. Dad’s shift was almost over at the bar, and then he was going to head home. As we walked to our car, we didn’t see a van pull up next to us until it was too late. They grabbed both of us and before I could even pull a knife, a cloth was held over my face.”
A shudder runs through her body, and I hug her tighter. A pit forms in my stomach as I worry about what she has been forced to endure and witness. I know that no matter what she tells us, it’ll be a far cry from experiencing it in person.
“We woke up in a dimly lit room. The windows were mostly boarded up, but through the cracks in the boards, we could see that it was near dusk. I had no idea how much time had passed to tell if it was still the same day that we were taken or not. Both of us were chained to a dirty, smelly bed. They had taken my boots, so I was left without any weapons.
“We laid there for a long time and mom kept saying positive things. That Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Bear would be looking for us and they’d find us. That we’d be okay. I heard the waver in her voice, though. She was worried you wouldn’t make it in time. The sun had just set when we heard boots overhead.”
“You don’t have to say any details you don’t want to, sweetie,” Roy says. She weakly nods before taking another deep breath.
“If they are back, I’d rather say this once and only once.”
Roy nods, but judging by his pain filled face, he doesn’t want her to have to relive any of this.
Levi takes another shaky breath and squeezes Thor’s and my hands. We squeeze back.
I know my brothers would probably give me shit for being all sappy and shit, but if what I’m doing is what Levi needs, then that’s what I’m going to give her. It surprises me that in such a short amount of time, this woman has completely gotten under my skin. And there’s not a damn thing about it I would change.
Levi pauses and Sasha gives her a nod, as if encouraging her and giving her strength. Their gazes lock as she continues.
“Four of the men had masks on and had something to alter their voices. They called each other by letter rather than using names—A,J,KandF. They were dressed in head-to-toe black. I couldn’t see a tattoo or any other identifying marks on any of them. A couple of the masked men stalked toward me and unhooked my chains before roughly dragging me to another room. I heard Mom call for me before the door slammed shut behind us, muffling what she was saying.
“They chained me up so that my arms were above my head and my feet were chained to the floor. They kept asking me for information on the Steel Archangel’s MC, but I didn’t have anything to tell them. I’d never been to the clubhouse since I was just under sixteen. Sometimes, I would see club members at the bar and grill, but that was limited to mostly saying hello and waiting on your table. I said I saw you guys around town, but other than a wave or another short hello, that was it.
“Other than Uncle Bear, I didn’t really know anyone in the club very well. They thought that with me working at the bar and with Uncle Bear coming to our house a lot, that I would know something useful, but I didn’t.
“They didn’t believe me and started cutting me or whipping my back. After a while, they brought Mom into the room. They’d done similar things to her. She had cuts all over her body and bruises were already starting to form. They threw her down on the bed and chained her down. Tight. She couldn’t move at all.”
Tears roll down her face as she stares at a spot on the couch in front of her.
“They asked me questions again and again, but when they didn’t get a different answer, they tortured us more. That… that went on for a long time before they’d had enough. Said if I didn’t give them what they wanted, then they’d take what they could get.Fcut off the remainder of my clothes and Mom begged them to take her instead of me.”
A violent shudder runs through her body and her hands start to shake. Thor and I locked eyes, worried about what she’s going to say next.
“Araped her and continued to torture her in front of me as the others groped me. They wouldn’t let me close my eyes or look away. They made me watch and said this was what happened to those who stood against them. They carved ‘BP’ into Mom’s stomach and thenKcarved BP into my thigh. WhenAwas done raping her, they tortured me again, asking if I suddenly remembered anything useful. I thought about lying, but I didn’t even know what to lie about.
“Three more times that happened—J,Kand thenFeach raped her. AfterFfinished, he asked me the same questions again. When I didn’t give a different answer, he went over to Mom and yanked her head up so she could see me.
“Fstared at me while he told Mom that she’d served her purpose and to not worry. That she’d be seeing me soon after they had their share of me. Then… then he slit her throat as she tried to thrash against him, yelling a bunch curse words at him before…”
She shudders violently again as her tears came harder, her grip on our hands tightening like vices.
“He… he came over to me and smeared her blood from the knife on me. Said it was my turn. And only when each of them had had their fill of me, as many times as they wanted, then I’d see my mom again. He was just about to rape me when Uncle Bear, Dad, Grandpa, Alexei, and Sasha burst through the door.
“In the shock and confusion, they quickly overpoweredA,K,J,andF. Once they were tied up, Dad gave me his shirt to cover up. As soon as I had it on, Uncle Bear picked me up and quickly left the room. As he carried me upstairs, I noticed the bodies of the rest of the men laying on the floor motionless. They were either shot or had their throats slit. Looking over Uncle Bear’s shoulder, I saw Dad carrying Mom’s body behind us, wrapped in a blanket.
“Uncle Bear took us all out to Grandpa’s farm and since Grandma was a nurse, her and Sasha helped clean and stitch me up. Uncle Bear and Grandpa wanted to killA, K, J,andFfor what they’d done to us. To make them bleed and beg. Even though they knew Mom’s wishes, they still wanted revenge and to take their lives for stealing hers.
“Since our family is close to the club, Mom had told us time and time again what was to be done if something happened to her if an enemy of the club had gotten hold of her. They could be beaten, threatened, tortured, branded, or whatever she had endured, but we could not kill them. She wouldn’t have us killing someone and have that on us or on her memory. So, they weren’t killed, but I bet they sure as hell wished we had killed them. They were later dumped on the edge of Steel Archangel’s territory and in the middle of nowhere.”
