Chapter Twenty
“Tell us,” Aiden demanded as he unwrapped her hand.
She knew what they wanted and sighed.
“My mom kind of lost it after my dad died. We struggled to make it day by day until Edward Warner started wooing her. It didn’t take long for him to talk her into marrying him. She’s the type of woman who doesn’t feel whole unless she has a man in her life.”
“Go on,” Aiden encouraged.
“When I turned seventeen, he started paying a lot of attention to me.”
“Did he ever touch you?”
“Not in a sexual way, but it was coming. He told me I was his, and I’d stay by his side, and he wanted my mom on the other.
He put us on strict diets and kept us out of the sun, among other things, because he wanted us to look a certain way.
He wanted us to be flawless.” She cleared her throat.
“He took me out of school and got me homeschooled. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.
He had tutors come in to teach me things like proper etiquette, social graces, opera, how to make polite conversation.
He did everything to make me into his doll, his princess.
He told me on my nineteenth birthday that on the day I turned twenty-one, I would become his. ”
“Like sexual?” Malik asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes. He really thought he’d have Mom and me together. We’d sleep, entertain, vacation together.”
“What did your mom say?”
“Nothing. We were separated when he wasn’t around, but I don’t think it would have mattered even if we weren't. The three of us were eating together one night at home, and he mentioned he wanted to get me pregnant right away. He said he needed me because I could have children, and my mom was too old.”
“Jesus Christ,” Aiden cursed. “Your mom just sat there?”
She nodded. “Yes. I kept looking at her, pleading with my eyes for her to say something, but she just continued to look down at her plate and eat.”
“Why did he say he was going to wait until you were twenty-one?”
She shrugged. “He thought it was a proper age for him to become my lover.”
“That sick fuck. How old is he?”
She looked at Malik. “Early sixties.”
“Jesus.”
“Why did he start talking about the emotional crap? He said you had problems?” Malik asked.
“When I started to rebel. I tried to run away a few times. The last time he caught me, I was taken to a mental institution, and they kept me there in isolation and drugged for three months. He would come in every day, sit with me, and hold my hand. He would tell me I had a choice. To either come home and let him spoil me and treat me like a princess, or stay in the institution and rot. I finally gave in. I pretended to give up, but all the while I schemed and hid money whenever I could. It was a week before my birthday, and I waited for them to go to a benefit. He started locking me into my room at night, but I taught myself to pick the lock. I knew where the guards were, and I went out a window and over a fence. I ran to the bus station and took the first bus out. When I got to the end, I bought a cheap car and started driving. I bought everything with cash, and I had a head start, but he found me. I was at a gas station, and I was in the store when a car pulled up. I recognized one of the guys and ran out the back. I had to leave everything behind. I ran through the woods until I hit the road, and you guys were there.”
Malik kissed the side of her head. “Jesus, woman. I’m so proud of you.”
She smiled brightly, even as tears filled her eyes.
Aiden had rewrapped her cut with bandages he had in his backpack. “We’ll have to go to a doctor to get it stitched after.”
She nodded.
Malik went around the town instead of through it, making sure no one was following them. They got to the judge's house and parked behind it. Judge Vincent Peters was watching for them and quickly let them in.
“Come on into the library. Tell me an abbreviated version of the story because I don’t think we have much time.
An Edward Warner stopped at my office and told me about his stepdaughter, who was missing, and that he was afraid you two were keeping her away from him.
He talked about how emotionally delicate she is and how she needed him.
I must tell you the man is off his rocker. ”
The three laughed.
Malik put his arms around Camila. “You're right about that.” He looked down at Camila. “Is it all right if I tell him?”
Camila nodded.
“Short version. He married her mom but also kept them virtual prisoners. He planned to make her his princess and impregnate her as soon as she turned twenty-one. We can go into detail later, but the man is insane.”
“I gathered that. I’ve got the paperwork. Let’s get to it. Which one is officially going to be the husband?”
“Aiden is older, so he will be.”
The judge nodded. “I figured, so I put his name on it.”
The guys snorted.
“We can do a better one later, okay, Camila?”
She nodded up at Aiden. “It doesn’t matter, though. As long as I belong to both of you, I’m happy.”
“All right. You stand between the men. Okay. We are here today to marry Aiden Patrick Walsh to Camila Ann Warner.”
Five minutes later, Aiden had officially married her, but she was wife to both of them. They signed the necessary documents. The judge had them complete two, so there was a backup if one got lost or taken. When they walked out, she felt a massive sense of relief.
Now they had to deal with her stepfather.
The judge shook their hands. “If you have any problems, call me.”
Aiden curled an arm around her. “Thank you, Vince, for all your help.”
They got her back into the truck. “Now we have to get your hand taken care of,” Malik said, pulled away from the curb, and headed for the doctor they used in town. Malik had made a quick appointment.
Camila sat on an exam table and looked at anything besides what the doctor was doing to her hand.
Aiden held her shoulder against his chest to steady her while Malik had a hand on her thigh. Both men talked the whole time to get her mind off the procedure.
Once back in the truck and between her two husbands, Camila felt a peace she couldn’t remember feeling before in her life.
“He can’t do anything to me, can he?”
Aiden squeezed her hand that didn’t have the bandage. “No. Not at all.”
“But he’s got a lot of money.”
“So do we, but it won’t matter. You’re our wife now.” He bent and kissed her temple.
“Thank God,” she sighed, lay her head back, and closed her eyes.