Chapter 14 #2
Of all things, that wasn’t what Julian had been expecting Petula to cherry-pick out of his speech. But he liked it.
“Uh. Yeah. If you’ll consider it,” he managed, his voice catching.
Statler cleared his throat. “Guys. I see where this is going, and I’d love to give you space to discuss things, but how about you save it for later? We should really stick to the problem at hand right now.”
Petula ducked to hide her red face, but Julian had seen it.
Letting her off the hook for now, he took it upon himself to get back to the cluster-fuck at hand.
“Uh… You’re right, Statler. Sorry.”
Having Petula acknowledge him the way she had, had temporarily knocked everything else right out of his head, as impossible as that seemed.
Julian regrouped.
“So here’s what I’ve come to understand.
Bradly Bothwin Sr. was an abusive asshole, but never got what was coming to him while Petula was in the house, because he was a powerful man in town with deep connections and people in his pocket he was paying off to look the other way.
Tex thinks he was most likely threatening them; anteing up to keep them quiet. Did he get that right?”
“He did,” Statler allowed bitingly.
If Julian’s anger was off the charts, Statler’s had to be boiling, since he’d had to deal with this for years.
On that note, Julian recalled the one bit of good news he could impart. “By the way, you’ll be happy to know that Bradly Sr. died ten years ago of an apparent heart attack. Tex’s words, not mine. Whether that was the actual cause of death or not, in the end, it’s good news for you.”
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” Statler glowered with a nod, while Petula’s shoulders came down just a bit from up around her ears where they’d been lodged.
Julian hated to take that momentary reprieve away from her, but he had to continue.
“Here’s the rest, though. Soon after you took Petula out of the house when she turned eighteen, the younger Bradly was found with…explicit photos on his computer, of…Petula throughout her stay with the family.”
Petula gasped, and her normally pink face went stark white.
Statler swore.
“He was sentenced to five years,” Julian concluded.
“He deserves to die, the fucking prick,” Statler growled, then raised angry and troubled eyes to Julian’s “What about the father?” he spit out, and when Julian shook his head, he continued to rant. “Don’t tell me. The asshole was never implicated.”
“Correct,” Julian hated to confirm, but the pair before him would understand how that had happened.
“And then?” Petula managed to whisper.
Julian informed him. “Just two months after Jr. got out, and a month after Sr.’s death, Mrs. Bothwin turned Jr. in again for the same crime; child porn on his computer. Apparently without Sr. there to intimidate her, the missus grew a backbone. The second time, Jr. received ten years.”
Julian watched as Statler did the math.
“Fuck.” Stat didn’t hesitate with the swear. “That means the asshole just got out of jail, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly,” Julian substantiated. “And here’s the problem. We don’t know if it’s just our paranoia that says Petula is in danger, or if one or the other of either Jefferson or Bradly is stalking her.”
“If I am being followed and harassed, we need to find out and…stop it.” Petula’s voice remained small, and Julian didn’t like that one bit. Her life, after settling in to a nice routine with her brother, was taking a turn that neither of them deserved.
Statler looked at Petula, leaned forward and took her hands in his. “We will, Pet. But it’s your call. Who do Julian and I involve?”
That Statler had included him in this, was a relief. Julian was solidly behind any plan they’d come up with to keep Petula protected.
Statler was still talking. “Do we tell the guys, or not? They already know the basics, but for this, they’ll need a few more details.”
Julian was watching Petula carefully, as she mulled over all she’d been told.
“We’ll definitely need help, no matter if you don’t want them to know,” Statler went on. “If you’d rather call the police…”
Petula squared her body, and Julian could see the moment her resolve hardened.
Damn. He’d known she was strong, but this new look on her face was nothing short of powerful.
“We’ll tell the crew,” she stated definitively with a terse dip of her chin. She turned to address Julian. “We’ll also tell your brothers.”
When his brows went up, she clarified.
“Yeah. They’re all bad-ass. Not just the ones who are police,” she informed him.
. “All your brothers. I’ve come to know Spence, Buck, and Trask pretty well at Diver Downeast, and Tabitha has told me her story, as well as Bobbie’s.
With what your brothers were able to do to save them…
Well, they’re the kind of people I want to have at my back. ”
Petula didn’t know the half of it. Most of the women his brothers had ended up with had been in some kind of jeopardy or another. Once he sat them down and told them Petula was in trouble, they’d all go on the alert. Protectiveness was in their DNA, and in the way they were raised.
“They’ll be anxious to help as soon as they hear your story,” Julian assured her.
Petula gave a long sigh. “And speaking of stories, before we go any further, you need to hear a few details regarding my past before we move on,” she told Julian.
He sat up straighter in his chair. “Not if you don’t want to,” he affirmed. “It won’t have any bearing on me wanting to help you, nor will it deter me from continuing to see you.”
A half smile quirked her lips upward. “I already knew that,” she told him.
“You’ve been nothing if not transparent in how you feel.
Which is why you deserve to hear about my past from me, instead of hearing bits and pieces and concocting a narrative that may or may not be true.
At least once you find out, you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into, and why certain things… freak me out.”
“Like water?” Julian broached tentatively.
Petula blinked. “You… You already caught onto that?”
“It wasn’t very hard.” He shrugged. “Every time something was mentioned about a body of water, you had a visceral reaction.”
Statler growled. “Because that asshole—”
“Uh.” Petula shook her head at her brother. “My story to tell,” she admonished him, but her tone turned gentle. “Why don’t you leave me and Julian alone for a while, Stat, and you can go fill in the crew.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m good with whatever you want to tell them.”
Statler stood, then hauled Petula out of her chair and wrapped her in a huge, brotherly hug. “No matter what, we’ve got this, Pet. I promise you.”
He kissed the top of her head, then turned and walked out of the room.
Petula eased down into her chair again.
“So. Water…” she began.
Julian wanted to go to her and wrap her in the same kind of embrace her brother had just given, but they weren’t quite there yet, and he didn’t want to scare her.
He settled for scooting his chair closer, where he took her cold hands between his, and tried to give her some of his heat.
She didn’t pull away, but looked him dead in the eye.
She prepared, Julian knew, to tell him things that would make him lose his mind.
He marveled at her strength.