Chapter 29
DOM
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
My house buzzes with activity as the guys use their resources to help Shelby obtain her emancipation papers.
I’ve been dealing with our lawyer. Everything’s lined up, but the judge can’t sign it for two days.
I hate leaving her alone, but she can survive two days, especially since day one is almost over.
Peter’s at his house, working to acquire his foster license if the emancipation fails.
We converge in the living room, where Ava provides us with sandwiches.
“Every time I call Shelby, the person who answers the phone tells me they have no one there by that name.” Mav throws his phone onto the couch, then paces the room.
“Babe, the place only has one phone, and Shelby warned us about this. She’ll call us.” Cam grabs Mav’s hand and pulls him into his lap.
“I know, but I want to hear her voice,” he whines.
“We’ll try later.” Cam rubs circles on Mav’s back.
After we eat, Nick disappears to connect with his hacker friend, who is searching for Roger. The rest of us hang out in the living room, staring at our phones and waiting for them to ring.
Because I’m impatient, like my brother, I call the stupid home but am unsuccessful.
My heart racing wakes me up, and I glance at the clock.
It’s about three in the morning. I don’t remember having a nightmare, but I can’t go back to sleep. The last few nights have been hard since the judge who will sign the paperwork has been out on personal leave. What we expected to be a two-day wait to rescue Shelby has turned into four days.
I slide out of bed and head to our gym.
After exercising for a couple of hours, I tire.
As I head back to my room, the smoky aroma of bacon hits me, so I hurry to the kitchen before the rest of the guys eat it all.
In the kitchen, the guys sit around the kitchen counter, picking at their food.
“Why do you look so awake?” Luke yawns around a bite of eggs.
“I’ve been up since about three. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to work out.” I stuff bacon that tastes like dirt into my mouth.
As we leave for school, I receive a text from our lawyer that the judge signed the paperwork.
“Change of plans. We’re off to get our girl.” I do a U-turn. “One of you call Nick and let him know we’re picking him up.”
After picking up the emancipation papers, we head to Milestones Academy. Everyone except me is excited for Shelby to be back with us. I want her back in my arms, safe and sound, but I can’t shake this worry that something’s wrong.
“You’ve been quiet, Dom,” Nick points out.
“When isn’t he quiet?” Luke punches me in the shoulder.
“More than normal,” Nick replies.
I rub my fist over my heart. “Something’s wrong.”
“It’s been four days. Don’t you have faith that our girl can handle it?” Mav asks.
“Of course, I do, but I can’t explain it.” I pound my fist on the steering wheel.
“You’ll feel better once you have your arms around her,” Luke says.
I hope Luke’s right.
We pull into the parking lot.
“Wow, look at this place. It’s not what I was expecting based on the stories Shelby shared with us.” Cam climbs out of the car.
“Dibs on first kiss.” Mav jumps up and down.
We walk to the main door, and Mav hits the buzzer. A guard opens it.
“We’re here to pick up Shelby Winters,” Nick says.
“All of you?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Okay, come into the lobby.” He stands to the side as we file in. “Wait here.”
He walks down the hall, then returns with another larger guy and a well-dressed woman, who stands between them.
“I’m Ms. Santos, director of this facility. George says you’re looking for a Shelby Winters?” she asks.
We nod, and she continues, “I’m sorry to tell you, boys, no one by that name is here.”
“She was brought here by her social worker four days ago,” Nick says.
The big guy crosses his arms. “Nope.”
His face is blank, making my eyes narrow.
Ms. Santos folds her hand in front of her. “I’m sorry you wasted your time, but you’ll need to leave. We don’t allow visitors without an appointment.”
“They’re lying!” a girl behind them shouts, then pushes past them. “She is here, and she’s hurt.”
The big guard grabs the girl by the arm and shakes her. “Laurie, what has gotten into you?”
Balling my fists, I step forward and get in the big guy’s face. “Let the girl go.”
He laughs. “Are you going to make me?”
I turn away to look at the guys.
“That’s what I thought.” The guard snickers.
The guys nod at me.
I turn back around and swing at the guard, striking him in his temple. His eyes roll back in his head, and when he falls, the girl goes down with him.
I point at the other guard. “Don’t make me hit you, too.”
The guard stands with his hand up.
Mav jogs over and helps Laurie up. “Where’s Shelby?”
“She’s in the infirmary. They found her unconscious in the cells.”
“Cells?” the guys ask at the same time I growl, “Show us.”
I grab the guard who’s still standing by the arm and squeeze, urging him to lead us to the infirmary.
“You’re not allowed to go back there!” Ms. Santos chases after us, waving her arms.
Luke steps in front of Santos and takes her by the arm before she can stop us, dragging her with us instead.
“Lady, Knights don’t like to be lied to,” Mav growls, sounding like me.
Her eyes jump between Mav and me.
“Yeah. You fucked up. Shelby’s our girl, and if we find out you hurt her, well…” Mav leaves his threat hanging.
Laurie stops at the door with a red cross on it. “She’s in there.”
“You’re a good friend,” Nick tells her.
“I wish I could have done more.” She wrings her hands. “I tried to answer the phone when you guys called so I could tell you what happened to her, but the others stopped me.”
I shove the guard forward and through the door before I take a step into a place set up like an emergency room.
What in the hell are they expecting to happen here to need a setup like this?
“She’s in the third stall.” Laurie gestures at the curtained-off bed.
Luke pulls Ms. Santos farther into the infirmary before shoving her into a chair, where she stays put.
We open the curtain to the third bay and find our girl. Her eyes are closed, and her chest moves up and down with each breath. Bruises cover her face, and dried blood coats the side of her head and hair.
A doctor checks her heartbeat but stops when we come in.
I stomp over to Santos and grab her by the back of the neck.
“Who did this?” I shout.
She cowers away from me. “I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.” I tighten my grip on her, making her wince. “You run this place. How did you not know unless you’re incompetent?”
Ms. Santos stares at me with her lips pursed and refuses to say anything.
“Excuse me. Please calm down. My patient is sleeping,” the doctor says.
None of us listen to him.
“Most of it was the welcoming committee.” Laurie lowers her head.
“The what?” I seethe.
“The first night you’re here, Julia, Lex, and Pablo rough you up a bit. But Shelby pissed off Pablo and Julia earlier in the day by standing up for herself.” Tears roll down her cheeks. “Shelby’s my roommate, and we left when they came to the room.”
She wipes the tears, only for new ones to take their place. “I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed with her, but they would have gone after me, too. I’m not strong like Shelby. She fought back and broke Julia’s nose, but they overpowered her.”
She explains to us how Santos pulled Shelby into her office, then Shelby disappeared. “I figured she was sent down to the cells in the basement.”
“Basement?” I growl, knowing how that will affect my firefly.
“What was I to do? A student came to me and said Shelby hit her,” Santos blusters.
“Julia had two black eyes while Shelby could barely stand from her beating,” Laurie spits, growing a backbone with each word. “They always believe Julia, no matter what.”
“You’ve got some audacity, girl.” Mav chuckles.
“I do now. It’s always Julia this, Julia that. I’ve been sent to the cells before because of Julia, so I understand the conditions.” Laurie lifts her chin. “I snuck down and gave Shelby a sheet to sleep on—because you don’t want to sleep on those disgusting mattresses—and a blanket to cover herself up with since it’s damp and cold. I couldn’t sneak back again, so I don’t know what happened, but she looks worse now than when I saw her.”
Cam stiffens at the mention of the basement being damp and cold, and Mav grips his shoulder.
“Laurie, did she hit her head during the fight?” Nick checks Shelby out.
“Yes. Shelby said one of them slammed her head against the bunk bed,” Laurie says.
“Who?” I growl.
Laurie jumps and wraps her arms around herself.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I need to know who hurt her,” I say.
“Pablo. You’ll find him on the couch by the phone. He makes the girls perform sexual favors to use it,” she says.
I roar and take off for the hall. Someone calls my name, but I don’t care.
A new guard walks up.
I push him out of my way. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay back.”
When he steps in front of me again, I knock him out.
“Which one of you is Pablo?” I ask, a crowd forming in the hallway.
A stocky guy pushes through the crowd. “Who wants to know?”
“You like to beat up on innocent girls, huh? Make them give you sexual favors to use a public phone?” I relax my stance, ready if he makes a move.
“I watched you sucker punch the guard. I won’t let it happen to me.” He jogs toward me, taking the first swing.
I duck before I slam my fist into his side, making him grunt. He is undisciplined and arrogant. I taunt him, giving him light jabs each time I evade one of his hits.
The crowd circles us.
Someone trips me, causing me to lose focus. Pablo takes this moment to charge. We crash together, falling to the floor. I put him in a headlock and hook my leg around his torso.
The crowd cheers at the violence.
He hits my temple and nose and rolls free. That will end up giving me a black eye. I kidney punch him while he swings at me from the side. He’ll be peeing blood for a while.
I smirk as I knock him to the ground and flip him on his back before I straddle him and wail on his torso.
“How many other girls did you welcome, huh?” I jab several more times in the same spot.
Pablo cries out when I crack one of his ribs.
“Enough, Dom.” Luke and Mav pull me off him.
I scan the crowd and find a girl with her nose taped. I point to her. “You. Who else is in your group?”
She crosses her arms. “Why would I tell you?”
Mav steps up to the girl. “Do you have any idea who we are?”
She raises a brow. “Should I?”
Mav taps his bottom lip with his finger. “How about the name Chad Knight…Dominic Knight…or my personal favorite, Mav Knight.”
Recognition dawns on her face. “I’m not scared of you. If you touch me, I’ll tell the world you hit me.”
Laurie pushes forward. “He might not hit you, but I will.”
With a one-two combo, Laurie knocks her out.
“Ow.” She shakes out her hand. “God, I wanted to do that for years.”
“Way to go, Laurie, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Shelby says from Cam’s arms.
“You shouldn’t be on your feet. You were just unconscious.” I rush over to her, then yell at the guys, “How could you let her out of bed?”
“The doctor said it was mild, Grizzly.” She places her hand on my cheek. “I was asleep. And your roar of fury woke me up.”
She chuckles but stops, grimacing. “If you stuck around instead of charging out of the infirmary like a bull on steroids to beat Pablo to a bloody pulp, the doctor would have informed you of as much.”
“When she gets an idea in her head, you can’t stop her,” Luke says.
“You’re going to the hospital and having a CT scan,” I demand, and she nods.
“After, can I go home?” she pleads.
“We have your emancipation paper right here. We came to break you out,” Cam says.
“We can’t leave that lady in charge.” Mav looks at me, and I nod.
“Mr. June isn’t bad,” someone says.
“Who’s Mr. June?” Mav asks.
“He is.” Laurie points to the door, where a brown-haired man stands in shock.
“What the hell happened?” His head whips around, taking in the scene, and his eyes widen when they land on Shelby.
Ms. Santos runs up. “Call the police. These kids broke in and tried to take over.”
“That’s not true. You need to see this.” Mav shows Mr. June a video of Santos confessing to what she did to Shelby and how she and the guards let Julia and her team beat up the new people.
“Cells? What the hell! Is that what you did with the renovations in the basement and why none of us are allowed down there?” Mr. June scrubs his face. “Ms. Santos, how could you? Our job is to help these kids, not lock them up like dogs or turn them into thugs.”
“I didn’t, you fool. I said that because they were going to hurt me,” she says.
He laughs. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll make sure the authorities find out about this.”
“Can you take over?” Nick asks. “From what Shelby said, before this happened, this is one of the better group homes she’s been in. So, we’d hate for this place to be shut down because of Ms. Santos.”
“I can.” Mr. June nods. “And you have my word that any of the kids who perpetuated this violence will be relocated to a less… comfortable group home.”
“Where’s Laurie?” Shelby asks from Cam’s arms.
“I’m here.” She pushes through the crowd.
“Thank you for helping me. I wish I could take you with me.” Shelby grasps Laurie’s hands.
“It’s not too bad here.” She glances back to where Julia lies unconscious on the floor. “At least I won’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“Please come to my office, Ms. Winters?” Mr. June says.
“Sure.” She releases Laurie’s hands.
Cam wraps his arm around Shelby’s waist and helps her to the office. Since Nick has the documents, we let him go first, the rest of us following behind them.
“These are a copy of Shelby’s emancipation documents.” Nick places the papers on the desk.
June picks them up, leafing through them. “Looks like everything is in order.”
He goes to a large safe behind him, enters the combination, and pulls out a bag.
He hands them to Shelby. “These are yours.”
“Thank you.” Tears fill her eyes as she opens the bag, takes her rings out, and slips them back on her ring finger.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Shelby. I didn’t know she was doing that or what was happening in the basement.” Mr. June rubs the back of his neck.
“Make sure you run the place better than she did. These kids deserve a safe place to be.” I hand him a business card from my wallet. “Here’s our number if you ever need anything.”
“Oh, wow,” he says when he reads the last name on the card. “Thank you, Mr. Knight.”
Mav beams. “Can Shelby leave?”
Mr. June waves his hand toward the door. “Yes, she is free to go.”
“Thanks. Can I have a piece of paper and a pen?” Shelby asks.
“Yes, of course.” He opens his top drawer, grabs the items, and hands them to Shelby.
She writes her number and a short message on the paper and returns it to Mr. June. “Please give this to Laurie.”
Wanting her in my arms, I help her stand. “It’s time to take you to the hospital.”
“Do I have to?” she whines as I help her walk outside.
I nod. “Yes, you hit your head twice. Do you remember everything?”
“Of cou—” She stops at the door of the SUV. “Fuck. I forgot something. Get in, and I’ll explain.”
We pile into the SUV, and I drive toward home. I want her to go to the hospital near us.
“What did you remember, beautiful?” Cam asks.
Whatever she’s about to say can’t be good when she takes a deep breath and shivers. “While I was in the basement, Roger visited me.”
We swear, and I white knuckle the steering wheel, imagining it is Roger’s neck in my hand instead.
“How did he get in?” Luke asks. “More importantly, how did he know you were in the basement or even in that facility?”
“If I were to guess, he made a deal with Ms. Santos, Julia, and her crew, paying them, not hypnotizing them. Since he arranged for me to be picked up at the hospital by Mrs. Abney, he somehow convinced the heads of the group homes in the state to say they couldn’t take me. He’s had a lot of time to plan this.” She sighs. “I don’t know if this is true, or if he was bullshitting me, but he knew something even I didn’t know.”
Nick turns around from the front seat. “What do you mean?”
“He knew how I treated Mom and how we were with each other when I first arrived at your place last year. And how everything was when I returned home from the hospital after I escaped.” She looks down at her hands. “He also told me she was dying from cancer.”
The color drains from Nick’s face. “Wait, what? She was dying from cancer?”
“I had no idea. Only Peter can answer that.” She frowns.
Mav’s eyes widen. “You think he has a listening device in your house?”
“Maybe,” she says. “But we also know some of what he knows came from my mom and Hannah. Mom was buying her drugs from Roger.” She shakes her head. “Someone needs to watch over Cin. He threatened her and my uncle.”
I rub my temple, a migraine forming. Nick pulls out his phone and makes a call.
“Your uncle and Cin have been staying with Peter, but I’ll have guards on them when they leave. Frank can help.” Luke takes his phone out.
“We need to find Roger and end this.” Mav slams his fist into his hand.
“We’re getting close,” Nick says, already off the phone with Cin. “I’ve been working with Beau and Aaron every free moment.”
“Thanks, Nick. Also, thank you all for freeing me.” Shelby’s voice shakes.
“Anything for you, my queen.” Mav kisses Shelby’s hand.
I pull into the parking lot for the hospital, hop out to open Shelby’s door, and help her down. We trudge into the ER, and the minute they see us, a nurse rushes us to a private room.
I hate that those poor people in the waiting room have been there for hours, and because we have money, we receive special treatment. At the same time, I would throw every dime I own at this place to get Shelby checked out as fast as possible.
They take Shelby back to do a CT scan and several MRIs of her brain.
Since this is going to take a while, we settle in.
The hospital CEO, a friend of Dad’s, comes into the room and asks if we need anything, but we decline.
Shelby is wheeled back into the room, and they give her some medicine for her headache.
The doctor comes in, stopping when he sees us in the room. He clears his throat. “Ms. Winters, your brain scans returned fine, no swelling or bruising, but I want to keep you overnight.”
“Nope, not happening, Doc,” she says. “I want my bed.” She gives us puppy dog eyes.
“I have EMT training. I’ll be with her doctor. Also, my father is a doctor,” Nick says.
“All right, but if your headache worsens or you’re nauseous or dizzy, I need you to come back. The nurse will bring your discharge papers.” He leaves the room.
Not long after, we walk out of the ER.
“That was the quickest visit I’ve ever had. It’s nice having rich boyfriends.” She bats her eyes at me from where she sits in the wheelchair I forced her into.
I shake my head and continue out the doors.
“What’s wrong, Grizzly?” She climbs in the car.
“I hate receiving special attention. Several people were sitting here when we walked in, and those same people were sitting there when we left, probably waiting hours. We walk in and are seen without checking in.”
She shrinks down in her seat. “I’m sorry, we could have waited. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“No, I’m sorry, Firefly. You had nothing to do with it. I would throw everything I had at them to ensure you were all right. This just bothers me.” I squeeze her hand. “I’m glad you’re fine.”
“You do a lot of good with your money, Dom. Yes, that might come with some perks you don’t like, but think of what you couldn’t do if you didn’t have the money or influence?” Cam says.
“You’re right.” I focus on the positive effect my family’s money has had.
We pull up to Tate’s house, and I park the car. I insist on helping Shelby again support her weight as we walk up the drive.
Peter, Cin, and her uncle wait for us by the front door.
Peter rushes to Shelby and hugs her.
She groans, and he jumps back, his face paling.
“You’re hurt. Who hurt you?” He checks her over. “You were only there for a few days!”
He steps back, and she hugs her uncle and cousin, then fills them in about Milestones as we walk into the house.
“That asshole! Why can’t he leave us alone?” Peter explodes, startling us. “Shelby?—”
A knock at the door interrupts him.
“That’s for me.” I stand and answer the door.
One of Frank’s guys hands me a radio frequency detector and a jamming device.
When I asked Frank about it while waiting for Shelby, he explained the jammer works within fifteen meters of the device. We have to be careful of what we say unless we’re near the jammer or until I can find the bugs.
I activate the jammer and move back into the living room. “Mr. Tate?”
“Dom, please, call me Peter.” His voice is rough and scratchy.
“Peter.” I show him the two devices. “I’m going to use this RF detector to find any bugs in the house. This is a jammer. It’ll block any bugs from being able to listen to any conversations within this room. Please refrain from discussing anything sensitive unless you are in here.”
Peter and Shelby’s uncle stare at me.
“According to Shelby, Roger said some things that made her suspect he has listening devices within the house,” I say. “As we speak, my security is sweeping everyone else’s houses to ensure they’re clean and placing jammers throughout them. Frank will be by soon with additional jammers for this location.”
“Thank you.” Peter rubs his temples, then turns to Shelby, where she droops against Mav. “Shelby, I need to tell you something, but it can wait. You look exhausted.”
“Thank you. I’ll come find you first thing in the morning.” Mav and Cam half carry Shelby back to her room.
Peter and Shelby’s uncle head to their rooms as well, and Nick and Cin huddle over in the corner within the jammer’s range.
Luke and I go through the house and find bugs and wiretaps in every room. Luke drops the bugs into a secure box that will block out the signal. That way, Roger won’t be alerted to the removal of the bugs like he would be if we smashed them.
After we finish inside, I take the box to the backyard, since Roger took photos of Shelby in her room from there.
“I’m going to get some air.” I clap Luke on the shoulder, then step outside.
I glance around to ensure I’m alone and no one is watching, then I sweep the back patio, pulling out a listening device.
Assuming Roger is either watching or listening, I speak into the bug. “I’m going to kill you for what you did to Shelby.”
Then, I do something I shouldn’t. I smash it.