Chapter Thirty
J anice walks in and I cannot contain how happy I am. She grabs me in a tight hug and I let the stress melt away. Sure, Vincent has been doing everything he can to make me feel comfortable, but having Janice here makes me feel better.
"So, another person showed up at the same time as I did, and I'm kind of excited about it," she says softly as she looks back over her shoulder and I move around her.
"Charlotte!" I grab her into a hug and Hypnos comes around the corner along with Kronos and Ayres with the babies. "Oh, my goodness. The whole group is here."
"Janice, this is Charlotte and her husbands." Charlotte hugs Janice and the brothers come up.
"Hope we didn't crash anything?" Kronos grumbles as he looks at me.
Shaking my head, I hug each one of the guys. "No, not at all. I am ecstatic that y'all came. Please, come in."
Jorge shuts the door and looks at me. "Why don't I put you all in the sunroom?"
Looking at him, I nod. "That's excellent. Could you put together something to drink?" I ask, not sure if I should be asking. It's still odd for me to have a person that waits on me. I mean, yes, Miss Terrington did it, but we worked together. Jorge and I haven't figured out our dynamic yet. "Wait, I can do it. Sorry, Jorge." A blush pops up and everyone chuckles.
"Miss Bella, I’ve got it. I'll bring some sweet tea and a tray of snacks." He touches my hand and I smile.
"You are going to join us, right?" I'm not sure why I ask, but it seems like I trust Jorge and feel comfortable with him. It would be nice to make him a true member of my makeshift friends and family.
"Sure can, Miss Bella." He leaves us in the sunroom and I look at everyone there.
"It's good to see you smiling, Aribella," Charlotte says, and I giggle.
"While it has been a bit of a transition in the last few weeks, I'm getting there." Sitting down next to Janice, I take the baby that Ayres is holding, and he looks at me with gratitude. It's kind of comical that they are nervous and worried about holding their babies.
"Well, it’s good to see you happy," Hypnos says. Jorge comes in and sets down the tray.
"I've never seen the Powers' in such a homey setting," he says off-hand, and I look at the guys. They grin widely and move their coats to the side to show the guns, knives, and a small baseball bat.
Janice gasps and I squeeze her hand. "It's alright. They are harmless unless Charlotte or the babies are threatened."
Charlotte grins wickedly and winks at us. "We came because Kronos wanted to extend a business offer to Vincent. And I wanted to make sure you were alright. I know how men can be such brutes."
All three look guilty but have love in their eyes for her. "Yeah, well, you love it," Ayres mutters. Hypnos elbows him, and I can't help but feel a tad jealous.
We talk, and an ease of contentment flows over me. This is what it's like to have people in my corner. Janice suggests we have a girls’ day and I include Charlotte. We promise to take Mossimo or Jorge with us, and the guys reluctantly agree. I'm pretty sure that if Charlotte demanded to own China, they would make it happen.
Vincent comes in with Mossimo and he looks around. "Well, I didn't expect to see you guys here."
Kronos stands up and shakes his hand. "I have a proposal for you and Mossimo."
"Ah, I'd love to hear it, but my brothers are here. Is it possible for them to sit in with us to hear what you have to say?"
Kronos shakes his head in agreement. "Absolutely. Hypnos, you ready?"
At that, Hypnos gets up and hands the other baby to Charlotte. "Yes." Ayres sits there looking at Charlotte and I can't help but think I'd love for Vincent to stare at me like that.
"Aribella?" Vincent looks at me and I didn't even realize he’d moved toward me.
"I'm sorry, I zoned out there."
He bends down and kisses my forehead. "Are you alright, mi reina? "
"Yes, I'm good. Thank you for letting me have Janice over." He's looking me right in my eyes, and I feel like I'm the only person in the room.
"You deserve to be happy, love. That baby looks good in your arms." He kisses me one last time and leaves me shocked.
As he is moving up the steps to go back into the main room, he looks back at me. "My brothers want to meet you, but let me get business out of the way first."
"Sounds good," I tell him and go back to talking to Charlotte and Janice.
Janice leaves a little over an hour later with the promise to put together the girls’ day out.
Charlotte and Ayres are putting the twins in their carriers when Kronos and Hypnos come out. They don't look murderous, so things must have gone well.
"Aribella, as always, you are welcome to visit anytime. But we have to get the babies home," Kronos says and touches Charlotte on the head and kisses her hair.
"Absolutely. I hope y'all visit us again. I love seeing y'all and being near the babies." I hug each one of the guys and then Charlotte.
"You're the only person besides me they've ever let touch them, or me for that matter," she whispers in my ear and I realize that she's telling me I'm special. That I'm family, and if I need them, I only have to call. "Don't be a stranger, and I look forward to our girls’ day soon."
With that, they leave and I'm left with Vincent. "I'm glad that you like them, but Aribella. Seeing you hug them makes me want to break their arms," he growls as he takes me in for a bear hug. I chuckle because this is what I really do seem to love about him. He's so dang possessive.
"Yeah, yeah. From what I was just told, the guys don't normally let anyone touch them or Charlotte, so I've become family." This makes my heart happy. It's a hard pill to swallow that what I've yearned for all this time is a family. But now I have one, and I can live with that.
"If I had time, mi reina , I'd take you over my knee to hear you squeal as I spank you. Instead, I have to let my brothers meet you. Be nice," he warns me and I laugh.
"I'm always nice, Vincent," he snorts and his brothers walk into the sunroom.
The first thing I notice is that the older of the two has burn scars on his neck and hands. He comes over to me first. "Aribella, I'm Miguel. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extends his hand and I take it.
He doesn't move to hug me and it's probably because Vincent is holding onto my shoulders protectively, and I can't help but chuckle. "Vincent, it's alright," I whisper, and he looks down at me.
"I'm Diego." A young man comes up to me and I can tell he's lethal. His aura gives off killer vibes and I tense. He doesn't move closer or try to touch me. "I promise I won't harm you."
His voice is familiar, and I turn in to Vincent. Please God, don't let me have a panic attack. "His.. his voice," I whimper into his chest. I feel Vincent go rigid and he curls his arms around me.
"You're safe, Aribella. I swear to it. He won't hurt you. No one will, ever again." Vincent runs his fingers through my hair and his other hand holds onto my side.
"Aribella," Diego says and I shiver. "You may recognize my voice. You see, our family, well extended family, held you and I visited them when they did. I didn't know you were being held captive. If I had known, I'd have gotten you and Mossimo out."
Fear has its grip on me, and I curl into Vincent. I know I should listen and trust that he had nothing to do with my time away from Vincent. Closing my eyes, I gulp, terrified to face him. What if he's the guy that tried to rape me and he's been playing Vincent all along? What—what if he's the one that ripped into my skin? Shaking, I refuse to turn around.
“ Mi reina, look at me.” I shake my head no at first, but Vincent tugs on my hair just enough to make me look up.
When I do, Vincent looks so sad and hurt. God, I feel horrible at my reaction to his brother. “Diego isn’t the one that hurt you, Aribella,” his words are gentle and there is no anger in them.
“Please, I…” Trembling, I keep my eyes on him and try hard not to panic. I can feel the pressure in my head.
“Diego, can you come here?” Vincent asks, and I wrap myself further into him. I’m not sure I can get any closer than we are right now.
“Shh, love. It’s alright. I’ve got you. No one will ever hurt you again.” He strokes my face, and as Diego comes up to our right, I tense. “Just look at him, Aribella. I promise you’ll see he’s not the bad guy.”
Vincent kisses down my throat and whispers in my ear. “For me, Aribella. Please, take a look and see that you are safe. That you have heard the voice, doesn’t mean he’s the bad guy. I swear to you, he helped me find you. He took our cousin's life for you.”
He isn’t trying to make me feel bad. I know this. But my brain is at war with itself. This voice is someone I thought was a person that had captured me.
Peeking at the man, I see the ruthlessness inside of him. Instead of letting my brain trick me, I really look. He has his hands at his sides and his head is bowed. “I swear on my life, I would never harm you or do the things that were done. Yes, I’m a monster, Aribella, but to know you are Vincent’s girl, I would never cross that line.”
He’s not telling me isn’t a bad man. Actually, he’s telling me the exact opposite, but he has a code. That has to mean something, right? Taking a deep breath, I turn in Vincent’s arms so my back is to his chest.
With a shaky hand, I reach out and take his hand in mine. The one thing that Vincent hasn’t been able to make go away is the memory of the two men that touched me. As I slide my hand into Diego’s, my brain knows he isn’t the one of those men.
Relaxing, I sigh. “I’m sorry,” I whisper to all three men in the room. Vincent squeezes my shoulders as Diego’s body releases the tension he was holding.
“It’s alright, Aribella. You have been through something terrible and I’m sorry for it. I’m just glad you are safe now,” Diego says to me and steps back.
“Alright, well, let’s have a drink, shall we?” Miguel says, and the intense moment is gone.
“Yes, let’s talk in the kitchen, grab a drink and talk about this girls day out, I’ve heard about,” Vincent says as he takes my hand in his and we walk out of the sunroom.
My body shivers as I let go of the memories that were threatening to overtake me. God, I feel so weak sometimes, but Vincent squeezes my hand and I smile up at him. Maybe, just maybe, I can heal, knowing that my nightmares are going to be vanquished by my beast.