15. Alice
15
ALICE
We leave the men and take Lily somewhere quiet where we can try to calm her down. The woman is clearly in distress and untrusting of everyone but her father. Thankfully, she has been receptive to our help and allows the women to bring her to the kitchen. Lily sits at the table, and I notice how Sukie, Sage, and Juniper keep their distance by sitting on the opposite side. Lily’s attention bounces back and forth between them and the exit.
“Would you like some hot tea?” I ask, pulling a mug down from the cabinet?” My voice is low and calm.
Lily shifts her gaze away from the door. She regards me for a long moment, gauging whether she can trust me. My smile is warm as I wait for her response.
Lily nervously fidgets in her seat. “Okay.”
“Is honey and chamomile okay?” I ask, and Lily nods.
With a shred of progress made, I grab the kettle from the stove and fill it with water. While the water heats, I pour some honey into the mug before dropping a teabag in. Behind me, Sukie, Juniper, and Sage remain silent. Like me, they are hoping Lily will open up to us. We all agree with Juneau—Lily needs to be looked over, but that’s not something we can force. Once she realizes nobody will hurt her, we can give her the care she needs. Not only is Lily pregnant, but she appears to be slightly malnourished. And I’m confident I’m not the only one to notice the bruises on her arms and the faded marks along her jaw. The thought of someone putting their hands on this young woman while pregnant causes a deep ache to form in the pit of my stomach, but I push those thoughts aside and continue the task at hand.
“Here you go, sweetheart.” I set the steaming mug of tea on the table before Lily. “It’s hot, so be careful.”
Lily wraps her trembling hands around the warm mug. “Thank you.”
As she sips her tea, I walk over to the fridge and scour its contents before pulling out packages of turkey and cheese. Then, I grab a jar of mayo and some lettuce. With a fresh loaf of French bread, I begin making a sandwich. When I’m finished, I load the sandwich onto a plate along with some fresh grapes.
Lily eyes me openly as I return with the plate loaded with food.
“You must be starving after being on the road so long.”
Lily sets her cup of tea down and greedily begins eating the offered meal. She takes a bite of the turkey sandwich and then shoves a few grapes into her mouth.
Sukie, who wears her emotions on her sleeve, quickly stands and pretends to make herself busy at the sink by washing the few dishes on the counter so nobody can see her cry. Sage blinks and then quickly looks away. I know it’s because she’s also trying to hold back tears. Juniper, on the other hand, looks angry.
As for me, I’m a mixture of both. I’m saddened and furious, but most of all, I’m relieved Nash’s uncle brought Lily. At least with us, she will be safe and taken care of. She and her baby.
“Would you like some more?” I ask Lily when she finishes her last bite.
Lily’s cheeks turn red as though she’s embarrassed. Her hands drop to her lap, and she turns her face away. “No, thank you.”
I don’t like the thought of her still being hungry but too ashamed to admit it. “Do you feel up to letting Juneau look you over?”
Panic immediately washes over Lily’s face.
I reach out with a gentle touch and place my hand on her arm. “I promise you have nothing to fear with any of the men here. I don’t know your situation or the kind of club you were staying at before, but nobody here will hurt you. Juneau just wants to make sure you and your baby are okay.”
“Alice is right,” Sage adds. “The Fallen Ravens clubhouse is the safest place for you. The men here would never hurt a woman.”
Lily seems to be mulling over our words and eventually agrees to let someone look her over. “Okay. I’ll let Juneau make sure everything is okay with my baby.” Then she adds, “Will you stay with me?”
“Of course I will. I’ll do whatever makes you comfortable.”
Lily braces her palms against the table for support when I stand and follow suit.
“I have an idea,” Sage pipes up. “I never did get rid of all my maternity clothes. Why don’t Juniper and I run to my place and gather them up?” She smiles at Lily. “I’m sure I have tons of stuff to fit you.”
“On the way back, we can stop by the store and pick up some essentials, like bras, underwear, and a toothbrush,” Juniper volunteers.
“I can run to Belladonna’s and pick out a few things like shampoo, conditioner, and lotion,” Sukie offers.
Tears fall down Lily’s cheeks as she stares at us in disbelief. “I… I don’t know what to say. You are all so nice and don’t even know me.”
“You’re Baja’s family, so that makes you our family,” Sage tells her. “And we take care of family.”
After Sukie, Sage, and Juniper leave with the promise to return shortly, I walk Lily down the hall to the room where I know Juneau will be waiting. Lily clenches my hand in a death grip when we see Juneau pacing through the door. He stops, and his eyes are laser-focused on Lily the second he senses us. It shocks me to see Juneau so on edge. His hair is disheveled as if he’s been running his hands through it. Anytime I’ve been around the man, he’s been cool, calm, and collected. Out of all the guys, he’s probably the most chill.
“Lily agreed to let you check out the baby.” The sound of my voice snaps Juneau out of his Lily-induced trance. His jaw ticks as he nods toward the exam table. “I brought her some clean clothes so she can change.”
Lily’s face turns beet red again as she looks down at her torn and dingy clothes.
“The bathroom is over there,” I say, pointing to my right. Only Lily doesn’t budge from my side.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I whisper.
At her nod, I take the articles of clothing from Juneau, lead Lily to the bathroom, and close the door.
“He’s kinda intense,” Lily mutters.
I snort. “Actually, he’s the least intense guy of the bunch.”
“I don’t know. He seems pretty scary to me.” Lily doesn’t meet my eyes as she wrings her hands before her.
“Hey.” I touch her elbow, forcing her to look at me. “Juneau is only acting intensely because he’s angry, but not at you. He’s angry at the situation. Because someone hurt you and your dad. Do you remember what Sage said to you in the kitchen? Nobody here will lay a hand on you. Not out of anger.”
Lily bites her bottom lip and nods.
“Okay. Now, let’s get you into some clean clothes.”
I wait patiently as Lily attempts to remove her shirt, but how she scrunches her face tells me she’s in pain. “I… I don’t think I can do it on my own. Will you help me?” she asks shyly.
“No problem, sweetheart. Here…” I pull the hem of her shirt up and stretch out the arm opening. “Can you slip your arm through there?”
Gritting her teeth, Lily carefully removes her left arm from the shirt. Then, we repeat the same maneuver with her right arm. Once she’s free, an audible gasp escapes my mouth. The evidence of why she could not lift her arms above her head is a large boot print across the middle of her back.
“Oh my God, Lily.”
She also has numerous bruises littering her torso, all in different stages of healing. Lily’s body trembles as she silently weeps.
I don’t waste any time pulling her into my arms. “Shhh. You’re safe now, Lily. You’re safe.” I stroke her hair. “Everything is going to be all right.”
“I can’t go back there, Alice. I can’t.” She sobs.
“You’re not returning to anyone who would hurt you like that. I promise.”
Lily lifts her head from my shoulder. Her tear-streaked face looks so broken. “You don’t understand. He will come looking for me.”
“Who will come looking for you?”
“The man my father took me from. He says I’m his property. He’s a bad man, Alice. Pure evil. I can’t let him have my baby. I’d die before I let him.”
I desperately want to ask who he is, but don’t push for more. It’s a wonder Lily is opening up to me now, so I decide to choose my words wisely. “Listen to me, Lily. Nobody is going to take you, and nobody is going to take your baby. You are safe here. I know it’s asking a lot, but I’m asking you to trust me and the men here. Do you think you can do that?”
Lily’s lips tremble as more tears fall down her cheeks. “I… I trust my dad. And if my dad trusts the club, I’ll do my best to trust them, too.”
We are interrupted by a knock at the door. “Is everything okay?” Juneau’s deep voice rumbles with concern.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” I tell him. When I turn back to Lily, she wipes tears from her face. “Let’s get you dressed before Juneau has a conniption.”
Lily giggles through a watery smile.
I help her put on a clean shirt and sweatpants.
“If you don’t mind, I need to wash my face and use the bathroom.”
“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
When I go to leave, Lily stops me. “Thank you for helping me, Alice.”
I smile. “You’re more than welcome.”
I exit the bathroom. Sitting on a stool, Juneau jumps to his feet, his eyes trained on the closed bathroom door. “Is she okay?”
“Yes. She’ll be out in a minute. But there is something I wanted to mention before Lily comes out.”
My statement has Juneau on high alert. “Tell me.”
I fear what I’m about to tell Juneau will upset him further, but I think he should be prepared for what he will see when he examines Lily. “She has numerous bruises. She couldn’t raise her arms above her head and needed my help removing her shirt. Some of the bruises look days old, and some are fresh.”
Juneau’s fists clench. “That’s all?” he asks with barely controlled anger.
I shake my head. “That’s not even the worst,” I continue. “She was kicked. Or rather stomped on,” I force out. “There is a large boot print across her back. It’s bad, Juneau. I’ve never seen anything like it, and that’s saying something because I’ve seen a lot of messed up stuff in my life. It takes a real piece of shit to do that to any woman, let alone a pregnant woman. Lily is in extreme pain but likely won’t say anything. She was in near tears from changing her clothes. She’s also terrified the person she’s running from will find her. She didn’t give me a name or any more information, but I’m almost positive the man who hurt her is also the baby’s father. She begged not to go back.”
“She’s not goin’ any fuckin’ where and that motherfucker won’t come near her ever again.” Something in Juneau’s demeanor changes. And like that, the energy in the room becomes static. Peering over my shoulder, I worry Lily will witness the mood and become more terrified than she already is.
“Ah, Juneau. I can see you’re about two seconds away from losing your shit, but can you maybe keep a lid on whatever is bubbling to the surface so you don’t spook Lily. It was a miracle we got her to let you anywhere near her.”
The mention of possibly scaring Lily seems to knock Juneau out of whatever internal battle he was having because I see the moment he shuts the door on the darkness that was casting its shadow over him moments ago. And just in time because the bathroom door opens. Both Juneau and I watch as Lily steps out. Her eyes bounce back and forth between me and the large man beside me. Though I see the fear in her eyes, I also see determination.
Over the next twenty minutes, Lily allows Juneau to assess her bruises and the injury to her back. I admire Juneau for keeping his composure. At one point, he excuses himself and abruptly leaves the room. When he returns five minutes later, he appears a bit red in the face, but neither Lily nor I say anything.
“You don’t appear to have any broken ribs, but I’m going to give you something for the pain you’re experiencing.”
Lily shakes her head. “The baby.”
Juneau is quick to reassure her, keeping his tone even and calm. “The medicine is completely safe to take while you are pregnant. Nothing I give you will harm your baby.”
Lily physically relaxes. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Now, are you ready to get a look at your baby?” Juneau stands and retrieves the sonogram machine from the corner of the room and rolls it beside the bed.
“I can’t believe you have one of those,” Lily says in awe.
Juneau chuckles. “Prez made me buy this when his old lady was expectin’ their daughter.” He taps away on the keyboard. “Have you had a sonogram before?”
A shameful look mares Lily’s face as she shakes her head. I squeeze her hand, offering silent support because she’s beating herself up for something most likely out of her control.
Juneau offers her a sympathetic smile and then says the quiet part out loud, “It’s not your fault, Lily, and you’ll receive no judgment here.”
“What if something is wrong with my baby?” she asks.
“I’m sure your baby is fine. But let’s take a look and put your mind at ease.” Juneau picks up the bottle of goop and squirts a generous amount on Lily’s exposed skin. Seconds after he touches the wand to her belly, the baby’s heartbeat fills the room. I think all three of us breathe a sigh of relief. Lily’s battered body is a true testament she is a survivor, and the one ray of hope out of this entire messed up situation is the innocent baby she is carrying. A baby she has no doubt gone through hell to protect.
“Oh my God. Is that my baby’s heartbeat?” Lily gasps.
Juneau grins. “It is. And it’s strong.”
Lily looks over at me with the biggest smile. “Do you hear that, Alice?”
“I hear it, sweetheart.”
Lily turns her attention back to Juneau. “What about everything else? Does the baby look healthy?”
“I am happy to report your baby looks perfect.” He turns the monitor screen toward Lily so she can get her first look at her son or daughter.
“See here.” He points to the screen. “The baby is measuring to be around twenty-five weeks.”
“This is amazing.” Lily chokes on a sob.
“Do you want to know the sex?” Juneau asks.
“Can you tell already?” Lily hiccups.
“We can.” Juneau moves the wand around. “I can tell you right now if you want to know.”
Lily wipes a tear from her eye. “I want to know.”
Juneau clicks the keyboard, freezes the image on the screen, and then points between the baby’s legs.
“Wow, there is no mistaking.” I laugh.
“Is that what I think it is?” Lily squints at the monitor.
Juneau’s lip twitches. “You are indeed having a boy, Lily. A perfect, healthy baby boy.”
Then Lily does something that shocks the hell out of me.
She sits forward and throws her arms around Juneau. “Thank you so much.”