Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“ S o…a bunch of women walking around with bully clubs?” Shiloh asked at the dinner table that night. “I’m bet old, Mrs. Pendergast could really take someone down.” Shiloh picked up her water glass and covered her smirk.
Serenity rolled her eyes. “Bully clubs? Really?” She finished chewing and swallowed her bite of casserole. “And Mrs. Pendergast could take down a WWE wrestler with ease. Have you ever seen her wave that cane at the kids peering through her window?”
Shiloh laughed. “Can’t exactly blame her. Glass and children aren’t good ideas.”
Serenity smiled back. “I think she was pretty ticked when Ivory put her toy store next door.”
Shiloh wiped her mouth. “Anyway, I think it’s great. You can count my office in.” She put both elbows on the table and clasped her hands. “But I like the swap idea best. Use it as a front to create protection, rather than focusing on just that.”
“We need a front?” Serenity asked. “Why can’t we just tell everyone it’s about protection?”
Shiloh rolled her eyes. “Because you’ll start a riot. Don’t you know anything about women? Get a bunch of us in a room and tell us a big jerk on drugs is gonna break into our stores, and you’ll have enough screaming to wake the dead.”
Serenity tried to laugh, but Shiloh’s description immediately sent Serenity back to that moment when her face was being smashed into the floor and a weapon was being held to her head.
A hand shook her shoulder. “Ser. Ser! I didn’t mean it, hon. Come on. Come back to me.”
Another big shake had Serenity opening her eyes and gasping for breath.
“You’re safe,” Shiloh said quickly, getting her face in front of Serenity. “You’re home and safe, remember? That guy’s in prison.” Shiloh’s golden eyes searched Serenity’s, her dark eyebrows pulled tightly together.
Serenity swallowed and took a couple more breaths, trying to calm her racing heart and come back to the present. She’d almost slipped up today while talking to Luca. There was no way to hide that she was struggling with some post trauma issues, but Luca didn’t need to know that Serenity hadn’t been able to sleep since the incident.
His protective instincts already had him going above and beyond, and Serenity couldn’t bring herself to ask anything more of him.
Even though it had been several days, she still was struggling to feel safe unless he was with her, which wasn’t a good plan since he wasn’t in town for her, nor did he plan to stay. That had been clear from the beginning.
She closed her eyes again. How was she going to do this? Every time he helped her, her heart skipped a beat. Every time she saw him in the shop, her muscles relaxed. Every time her memories ran wild, his warm touch brought her back.
How was a girl supposed to survive that impending heartache? Especially since her heart had never quite let go of Luca in the first place, despite the righteous anger she’d had toward him.
“Ser?”
Serenity opened her eyes and shook her head, forcing a stiff smile. “Sorry. I’m fine. Really, I am.”
Shiloh pinched her lips together. “Well, that’s a flat out fib, but I know you don’t want to talk about it, so I won’t push.” She stood and went back to her own chair. “I am gonna say one thing though.” Her golden eyes pinned Serenity in place. “You can’t continue like this, sister. You’re killing yourself physically, and that’s gonna make other things break down as well. You need rest and sleep. And that’s just a start.”
Serenity clenched her jaw. “I’m not staying around the house all day,” she ground out.
Shiloh shrugged and held up her hands. “You’re not healing, Ser.”
“Staying home won’t help me heal.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but pushing yourself into breaking won’t heal you either.”
Serenity slumped in her seat and rubbed her forehead. “If I sit still, I can still feel it, Shi. The metal against my head. My life flashing before my eyes…” She shook her head. “I’m tired of reliving it.”
Shiloh sighed. “Honestly? I’m not sure how to fix that. It’s easy for me to say ‘face your fears,’ but since I’ve never had to face something this big, I don’t think I’m the right person to help you along.” She wrinkled her petite nose. “But who is?”
“I don’t need anyone to help me,” Serenity lied, the words tasting sour in her mouth. She wasn’t handling things well, but if she just kept moving, surely it would work itself out…right?
Just stay busy, and time would be the great healer. Isn’t that what they always say? Time heals all things? It would have eventually healed her heart when it came to Luca, and this time, it would eventually heal her mind.
It was going to be fine.
“Who are you calling?” Serenity asked, her attention caught on Shiloh’s cell phone.
Shiloh raised her eyebrows at Serenity. “Thought maybe we should get a few more opinions on this group thing. Maybe just making the street a little safe will be enough to help you along, or at least start the process.”
Serenity sniffed and gave her friend a melancholy smile. “You’re the best. You know that, right?”
Shiloh preened and flipped her thick tresses over her shoulder. “I know…but it’s always nice to hear it, anyway.” She grinned to let Serenity know she was teasing.
Serenity laughed softly and picked up her mug of tea, grimacing because it was cold. Standing up, she tensed for a moment, then forced her stiff muscles to relax. It was amazing how many parts of her hurt, even though it was only her head that really got hit.
Putting the mug in the microwave, she hit the one and leaned her hip against the counter.
“Yeah, come on over,” Shiloh was saying into her phone.
Serenity frowned and glanced at the clock. It was eight-thirty. She wasn’t much of a night owl. Hopefully whatever Shiloh was cooking up wouldn’t take too long.
When the microwave beeped, she took her mug, careful of the now steaming liquid, and went back to the table. “Who’s coming over?”
“Lilyana and I also sent a text to Blaire.” Shiloh grinned. “If we’re lucky, Blaire’ll have some leftovers to share.”
Serenity huffed a low laugh. “Funny. I didn’t even think of her little food truck, but you’re right. It’s on our street.”
Shiloh shrugged. “I don’t know Ivory that well. You wanna send her a text?”
Serenity grabbed her own phone and shot off an invite, which Ivory quickly replied to. “Looks like we’ll have a full house in a few minutes.”
Shiloh rubbed her hands. “You know? I’m actually kinda excited about this. I’d never really realized how many of us are women in their twenties and thirties.” She made a face. “I suppose we’ll eventually have to add Mrs. Pendergast, but I’m leaving her cane home tonight.”
“Sounds good to me.” Serenity pushed a hand through her hair, grunting when she hit a knot. “I’m going to try and not look homeless. Give me a minute.”
“You’re worried about impressing them?” Shiloh grinned. “Or are you afraid I secretly invited someone else?”
Serenity’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t,” she gasped, her stomach immediately starting to dance.
Shiloh waved her off. “I didn’t. Sorry.” She smirked. “I wasn’t expecting a reaction quite that big, but it’s telling for sure.”
Serenity rolled her eyes, trying not to react at how much that affected her headache. “Whatever.”
“He is pretty hot!” Shiloh called down the hall. “If you like the type of guy who can kill with his pinky finger!”
Serenity couldn’t help but smile. After all, Shiloh wasn’t wrong.
“So what are you going to do?” Tate stuffed a cookie in his mouth, a bunch of crumbs falling to the table.
Luca rubbed the top of his head. “I’m not sure.” He hadn’t meant to spill everything to his brothers, but somehow, in the middle of their mom’s spaghetti, he’d caved.
“You’ve seen this before,” Jett added, leaning back in his chair. “It’s exactly what you dealt with, right?”
Luca ticked his head back and forth. “Mostly, yeah. Except, hers is more of a short-term fear, I think. I dealt with veterans with high angers or trauma levels.”
“Still, you know how to help,” Jett pushed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “I would think it would all be the same principles.”
“It probably is.” Luca sighed, rubbing his head again. “The problem isn’t that I don't have ideas on how to help. I’m just not sure if I should help.”
Jett scowled. “That’s garbage. Of course you should help.”
Luca shook his head. How could they understand? They weren’t the ones who had been in a serious relationship with Serenity. They didn’t struggle with keeping things platonic. And the more she looked to him like a savior, the harder it was to keep his distance.
Luca didn’t care if he broke his own heart. It wasn’t reparable anyway, but the thought of causing Serenity more pain was more than he could handle.
She deserved better.
“You’re overthinking this,” Tate offered.
Luca scowled.
“Listen.” Tate slapped a palm on the table. “We’re your brothers, not idiots. Being twins doesn’t mean we share a brain. We each managed to get our own in the deal.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jett muttered.
Tate wadded up his napkin and threw it at Jett’s head. “Jett might be the exception. As for myself…I’m not blind. We all know you still love her.”
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Luca argued. “It isn’t about my feelings for her.”
“Ah, yes…” Tate tilted his head to the side. “Now we’re back to the martyr. You were always good at that.”
Luca’s anger rose, but he pushed it down. He didn’t want to get into an argument. He could see where Tate was going with this, and while it was a nice sentiment, they simply didn’t understand.
Before the conversation could escalate into something too controversial, their doorbell rang.
Jett frowned as he stood up. “Were you expecting someone?”
Tate shrugged and shook his head. “No.”
Luca picked up his dishes. Hardly anyone knew he was in town, so they certainly weren’t here for him.
“Zane, my man! What’s up?” Jett’s voice carried from the door to the kitchen.
Luca frowned. “Zane?” he quietly asked Tate.
“Granger Lowery’s boy.” Tate stood. “His wife left them about a year ago, and Grange does landscape work for us sometimes. He’s working on a big project just outside town right now.”
The sound of running feet could be heard before a young boy burst into the kitchen. “Tate!”
“Dude!” Tate said, returning the hug the little boy gave him. “You’ve grown like a foot since I last saw you. What happened?”
Zane stepped back and opened his mouth, then stopped, his eyes widening.
Luca gave the young boy a smile, but he knew it wasn’t enough when the child’s face drained of all blood.
Tate squatted down just as Granger and Jett came in. “Big man, this is my brother, Luca.” He shout-whispered in the boy’s ear. “He looks really scary, but you know what?”
Zane shook his head.
“It’s because he’s a real life superhero. He fights bad guys. That's why he’s so big and tough.”
Luca almost rolled his eyes, but he didn’t want to scare Zane even more. He hadn’t ever really thought of the fact that his eyepatch would be that frightening. But hadn’t Serenity said that Shiloh described his look as “‘assassin”? Yeah…that was bound to frighten the little ones. “Hey, Zane,” Luca said softly. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Zane’s wide eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows pulled together. He glanced from Tate to Luca again. “You’re a superhero?”
The men chuckled while Luca rubbed the back of his suddenly hot neck. “Uh…I’m not sure that’s the word I’d use, but I do fight bad guys sometimes.” He squatted down like Tate had done, trying to make his size less imposing.
“Luca’s an old friend of mine,” Granger offered, smiling at Luca from the doorway.
Zane looked back at his dad. “Really?”
Granger nodded. “We knew each other back in high school.”
Luca grinned.
“If I recall correctly,” Jett mused. “You were a few years older, Grange…and Luca used to plant your face on the field during football practice, even when he was a fresh—oof!”
Luca’s smile grew when Granger put an end to Jett’s story. If he hadn’t gone into the military, Luca might have considered playing college ball. He’d certainly had the size for it. But his mind had been made up since he was a young boy, and even a scholarship couldn’t have swayed him.
Luca blinked when he realized that Zane had walked across the kitchen and was standing right in front of him.
“I’m Zane.”
Luca nodded. “I’m Luca.”
“Can you show me your superpowers?”
Luca chuckled. “I eat my vegetables.”
Zane rolled his eyes. “Gross.”
“Zane,” Granger scolded, though he was laughing.
Luca stood up when Zane walked back to his dad. Following the boy, Luca held out his hand. “Good to see you, Granger.”
“Same.” Granger gave him a firm shake. “You back in town for good?”
Luca shrugged. “Not sure yet.”
Granger nodded while Jett grunted. The visitor turned to Jett. “Sorry to stop by like this, but I needed to talk to you two about that project. I’ve run into a problem with the septic.”
“As long as the little man still likes peanut butter cookies, you’re always welcome,” Tate offered. He laughed when Zane nodded vigorously.
Luca watched with amusement as they got the little guy settled with dessert while the adults started to talk shop. Something odd began to ache in the back of Luca’s chest as he sat and listened. Right now he was just a sub on his brother’s employee list, so he didn’t have anything to offer the conversation, but the familiarity and camaraderie between the men and even the boy struck a chord in Luca.
He’d been away from his family for so long that he’d forgotten what it was like to feel a sense of belonging…and the longer they talked, the more he realized just how much he wanted to be a part of it.