Chapter Seventeen
Brit
“I can't believe this place is in our town,” Fly said, driving fast down the main road. “And you're sure you trust this woman?”
Holding onto the edge of the passenger's seat, I stared ahead.
I had been in cars and vans plenty of times, and even learned to drive, but I had never been on a fast road before.
When I'd asked about the car we'd stolen, Fly assured me that it had been dealt with and was far away from us now.
I could only assume one of the guys had taken it away.
I admired how dedicated they were to one another. They seemed to care, really care, about their brothers. If I'd had more of that solidarity in the compound, maybe I would've… I don’t know, helped others more.
Shuddering at the image of Kylie, my friend, being violated on the stage, I closed my eyes. “I can only try this. Hopefully it’ll be ok.”
“That's not good enough,” he snapped.
“Why do you care?” I snapped back. “You've made it oh so clear that you don't want me to be around.”
Huffing, he ran a hand over his head while steering with the other. “That was when we were escaping. I've made a vow to protect you now and…”
“And what?”
I was irritated with him and I had no idea why.
When we'd awoken from several hours of sleep, we'd been polite, skirting around one another like strangers.
We'd had sex, for goodness sake. And here we were, about to part ways.
I was confused as hell and didn't want to spend another moment with the men who were named after bugs.
“And… I…” He huffed in frustration, punching his thigh. “… have a moral obligation to protect you, I told you that.”
His hesitation had spoken volumes. What had he wanted to say?
Everything had changed since our escape, and even before that, we'd hardly got along.
We'd been forced to be intimate, until we'd given in.
That was to satiate our own frustration and fear though, not because we actually cared for one another.
My chest squeezed and I hit it, coughing loudly.
“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning.
Looking out of the passenger window, I sighed. “I'm nobody’s obligation, okay? You gave me my freedom, I'm grateful for that, but I'm ready to go out on my own. I… don't need you.”
There was a slight hitch in his breath, but otherwise, he stayed quiet. I kept my gaze away from him, ignoring the sound of his breathing. If I allowed myself to soften, I would want to stick around with him, and that wasn't wise.
The car spoke suddenly, directing us to our location. I jumped, smiling to myself at the newness of it all. Our cars were old and out of date. I had no idea that cars could actually speak.
“It's right down the road there,” Fly said, parking up. “Let's go.”
Unsticking my suddenly dry tongue from the roof of my mouth, I got out of the car when Fly opened the door for me. I followed him, one step behind, as we walked towards several buildings that had nothing on them. No signs, no names, nothing.
“Are you sure it's here?” I asked.
He stopped to check his phone before looking at me. “Yeah, it's that white door over there. They have to be discreet, I guess.”
Nodding, I took a deep breath. My friend had explained what a women's shelter was, making sure that I memorized the name so I could find her. I just hoped she was still there.
“Are you…?” I curled my fingers into my palms as I looked up at him. “…leaving me here?”
His forehead furrowed and he shook his head. “Not until I know you're safe.”
My eyes closed briefly, against my will. His widened before darkening, his chest rising high. There was a fine cord that sizzled between us and as hard as I'd been trying to pretend it wasn't there, I felt it every time I looked at him. Could he feel it too?
“I just want to thank you.” I reached for his hand, holding it gently when he didn't pull away. “I can't imagine what would've happened to me if I hadn't got away.”
As his eyes narrowed on me, emotions crossed them, emotions I couldn't read. We'd been through a lot together, even he couldn't deny that. And still, we'd lived in worlds that kept us miles apart.
“I guess you helped me pass the time in that hellhole,” he said, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips.
I half smiled back and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, pretending to have sex with me to get my father off our backs certainly gave us something to do.”
His nostrils flared and I paused, my fingers still resting on his. Zips of desire shot through me as his dark gaze lowered, his face coming so close, his nose almost brushed mine.
“I wasn't pretending in my mind, sweetheart,” he purred, “That's why I had to have you in the wild. Thoughts of you had me hard the whole time we were in there.”
“Really?” I blurted. “But you hate me.”
His low rumbling chuckle sent a thrill down my spine and into my pussy.
I gripped his hand harder as he moved his mouth next to my ear.
“I did… do… Only because of what you stand for, not because of who you are.
You're a sexy bitch and I'll always remember what it feels like to have my cock buried inside you.”
Forcing my hand not to drag his mouth to mine, I released him and stepped back. What was he playing at? I was trying to leave him so he could go about his life and he was tormenting me with his erotic energy.
“Well,” I said, my voice shaky, “I won't forget you either. I better…” Pointing to the door, I turned and hurried to it, knocking before he could hit me with his charm offensive again.
My mind whirled and my body hummed, on high alert as he came to stand behind me. He cleared his throat, about to speak, when the door opened.
“Can I help?” a nice older lady asked, smiling kindly at me.
Her gaze drifted to Fly and her eyes widened.
I couldn't resist the urge to look over my shoulder at the man, who stood much taller than me.
Now that I saw him with her eyes, I understood her expression.
His Fly tattoo was nestled just under his jaw and his huge muscular frame towered up into the sky or so it seemed.
The leather jacket and jeans gave the impression of bad boy.
Shit, he was the hottest guy I'd ever seen, and if the lady hadn't been ushering us in, I would've swooned, all old lady-like.
“Please come and sit with me in our entrance hall.” The woman led us inside and instructed us to sit on a couch. “What can I do for you?”
She eyed Fly as he sat next to me, fidgeting because his thighs were far too long for the couch. I slapped his leg, smiling at her when he finally settled.
“A friend of mine told me that if I ever wanted to escape, I would find her here.” I hesitated. “And well… I managed to escape, so I could really use her help.”
The woman eyed us both, clearly reading us. No doubt, she had been helping women for many years and knew the body language of every person who walked through the door. I squeezed my legs where they were crossed, hoping she couldn't tell how turned on I'd been only moments ago.
“May I ask who this is?” the woman pointed at Fly, her gaze now more curious than suspicious.
Fly leaned forward and offered his hand. “I'm a friend who helped her escape, that's all.”
Smiling, the woman took his hand and shook it, holding it hard before he could pull back. “I know people,” she said to him, her eyes studying him. “And although I believe you, there's something you're not admitting. Maybe it's something you don't even admit to yourself.”
“Huh?” Fly pulled back when she released his hand.
His usually clear expression was confused, his eyebrows pulled low. I tucked my lips together in an attempt to stop myself from smiling. It was amusing to see him thrown off by someone, even if I had no idea what she was talking about either.
“Your friend,” she said to me, “What's her name?”
“It's Audrey King.” I sat forward and folded my hands in my lap, hopeful that she'd know who I was talking about. “Or at least, it was before.”
Inclining her head, the woman got to her feet. “I shall go and check our registers. I'll be back soon.”
Once she had gone, I turned to Fly, hitting him playfully. “Boy, she ruffled your…”
My sentence fell away as he glared at me, his jaw tight and his cheeks a touch pink. “Are you fucking joking?”
“Excuse me?” I retorted, thrown off by his aggressive turn.
“You're here to see Ant's aunt?” he hissed in my face. “Are you serious?”
Frowning, I opened my mouth to speak, snapping it closed again when I didn't know how to react.
“You knew she was here and didn't think to tell me?” He was barely holding onto his temper as he clenched his fists. “To tell Ant?”
“Audrey is Ant's aunt?” I spluttered. “Are you sure?”
“What do you mean am I sure?” Getting to his feet, he looked down at me.
I got up too. He could try to intimidate me all he wanted; I wasn't going to allow him to ruin my chance to move forward with my life. I was sure the refuge would take me in anyway, but I sure could do with a friendly face who knew what I had come from.
“I've never seen Ant with her,” I said, “so I didn't know.”
And I meant it. I had no idea that Audrey was his friend's aunt. She had joined the compound when I was a child, living with her husband and three children. Even when the boys were brought in, I never saw Ant with her and her family. How was I supposed to know that they were related?
“Okay.” Fly spun from me and I ran a hand over my face.
I couldn't understand why it changed anything. If Ant didn't know his aunt was on the outside, maybe that's because she didn't want him to know. And once Fly had walked out that door, leaving me behind, my dealings with him were done.
“Please,” I said, drawing his attention back to me. “Don't ruin this for me. I don't know why she chose not to tell Ant, maybe because she truly wants to hide and move on with her life. Or maybe she couldn't find him?”
Fly paused, my words clearly sinking in. I had managed to find Fly but only through chance. It would take a lot for an older person to find them out here in the world, especially as they didn't go by their real names.
Voices sounded in the distance and Fly grabbed my hand, pulling me. “Come back with me. I think we need to rethink this.”
Shaking my head, I pushed him towards the door. “If you don't want her to see you or know about Ant, I promise not to say anything, but you better go now.”
“Brit.” His expression was pained as a young woman in a formal tunic appeared, frowning in our direction.
Fly stared into my eyes and I pleaded back. I had to have a chance to live, somewhere safe and away from everything that would remind me of the compound. Of everything that would remind me of Fly. I needed to forget him.
“Thank you.” I squeezed his hand and took him to the door, unlocking it so he could go out.
As he was going through, he gripped my elbow and slipped his hand under my hair, kissing me so quickly and passionately, I didn't have time to breathe.
“My number is in your pocket,” he said. “Ring me if you need anything, but please keep me a secret.”
Before I could reply he was gone, the door closed behind him.
The nurse waved at someone out of my eyeline, indicating that they needed to come.
The old woman and another lady entered the room, both looking at me.
I stood by the door, tears in my eyes, my hand tucked into my pocket, feeling the piece of paper there.
“Brittney!” Audrey exclaimed, coming across the room and enfolding me in her embrace. “I never expected that it would be you!”
I clung to her like she was my own aunt, allowing the grief to wash over me. Several deep breaths later, I blinked away the threatening tears and pushed down the lump in my throat. I had to let Fly go and get on with my life.
“I hope it was okay to come,” I said, “I needed somewhere safe.”
“Where did the man go?” The older woman gestured towards the door.
“He had to get back to his family. He promised to check in when he could.”
The lady frowned and went to talk to the nurse, who was probably telling her all about our kiss. The woman would judge me, even though she knew nothing about my situation.
“Is it safe here for me?” I enquired of Audrey. “Or will they question everything?”
Waving a finger, Audrey untucked her long greying hair from her cardigan and put an arm around my shoulder. “Oh no, dear, they won't go too in depth, but you will have to be vulnerable with them. They know I come from a cult and that's all you have to tell them.”
“They don't report them to the police?”
Tilting her head to the side, Audrey smiled sadly. “My love, the police know all about your father and that place.”
“Please don't call him my father,” I asked gently. “I don't see him that way, anymore. He's just an evil man.”
Inhaling deeply, Audrey closed her eyes. I waited until they opened and she released her breath. Tears dripped down her cheeks and I bit my bottom lip to stop it from wobbling.
“Finally,” she breathed. “Someone from the top has seen the light. Maybe, just maybe, there's hope for my family too.”