Chapter 5
5
Zeke leaned against the wall of the living room and listened to Nina tell her story. His body was rigid, every muscle tense. He hated himself more with every word she spoke. Every admission of what she’d been through and witnessed. Everything he could have prevented if he’d stopped her that night.
“Gwendolyn was a friend of a friend. I went to Club Curves a few times to see Beth. We played soccer together in high school. She was a year older than me, and she tore her ACL her senior year. Went from a full ride to college to no offers at all. She didn’t have money to pay for school, so she started working at Club Curves.”
“Most of us who worked there had similar stories,” Frannie said. “It was a place that felt safe even though it really wasn’t. But we didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t,” Nina said. “Beth had been there for a while, and we’d been in touch off and on. Monty was…” Nina looked at her brother.
Montgomery leaned forward, as though he could change what happened twelve years ago. Tension lined his body. The same tension Zeke felt.
“Monty was enlisting. Our dad came home. Said he was moving back in with me and Mom.”
Zeke remembered the night. Montgomery’s going away party. Everything screeched to a halt when Jeffrey Rose walked in. Abusive and mean, he’d been gone for years, but he obviously knew what was going on with his family. He saw the opportunity to rub Montgomery’s face in shit and showed up to tell his son he was returning.
“Mom… Mom couldn’t handle it. The only reason she was still alive was because Monty ran Dad out of the house.”
“You knew about that?” Montgomery asked.
Nina looked up at her brother. “I knew about all of it. I knew you protected me and Mom. I knew you took him on when he was drunk. I knew you would never let him near us once you were old enough to throw a punch. And I knew you were the reason he left. I was so grateful. I would lie in bed at night and wonder if he would hit me, too. I saw Mom’s bruises once. She tried to hide them, but I walked in when I didn’t realize she was in the bathroom. She was trying to see the bruises on her back.”
“What did she tell you?” Montgomery asked.
“She said she fell, but I knew she was lying. She wouldn’t look at me when she said it. I didn’t figure it out right away, but I never forgot the look of those bruises.”
Nina rubbed her throat. The move was subtle enough that Zeke didn’t think she knew she was doing it, but that made it worse. It wasn’t the first time that bitch choked Nina. She’d done it before. Many times if Zeke had to guess.
“Anyway,” Nina focused on Frannie again, glancing at Lorelei. “Mom took a bunch of pills that night. Killed herself so she didn’t have to live with Dad. When we found her in the morning, she was long gone, and Monty was going to give up his enlistment to be there for me. I couldn’t handle holding him back. He’d already stayed local for college so he could help us. But sacrificing his career? I knew I had to do something.”
“You called Beth?” Frannie asked.
Nina shook her head. “Beth came to Mom’s funeral. She invited me out afterward, and I met Gwendolyn that night. Gwendolyn was so nice and friendly. She said if I ever needed anything to let her know. She gave me a drink, and I quickly got drunk. I spilled the whole story to her. I told her everything. She said if I ever needed a safe place to go, I could come to Club Curves. She promised me someone would get in touch with her if I ever showed up, and that she would take care of me.”
“She manipulated you,” Montgomery hissed.
Nina nodded. “Yes, but I was scared. You were leaving, and Dad was coming home, and Mom was dead. I was alone. And the only person I was going to have with me was Dad. I knew what he was capable of, and I was afraid he would come after me every chance he had.”
“I would never have let that happen,” Montgomery growled.
Nina smiled at him. “I know, but at the time, you were leaving. The next night I overheard you saying you were going to give up your assignment and stay so I had you home my senior year of high school.”
“And that’s why you left.” Montgomery looked defeated. As defeated as Zeke felt. The conversation she overheard was one Montgomery had with Zeke. Zeke wanted to do more, but he wasn’t family. He had no legal right to step in. If he tried, if he moved Nina in with him, if he stood up to their father, he could have gone to jail. It was a part of the conversation. The one where Montgomery decided his only option was to delay his enlistment.
“I couldn’t let you do it. I couldn’t let you risk your future.”
“And I would have gladly done it for you.” Montgomery sounded lost. Broken.
Zeke felt it, too. He walked into the kitchen that night, after losing the argument with his best friend and knowing there was nothing Zeke could do to fix the situation for his friend and the girl he loved. He saw Nina at the back door, her hand on the doorknob.
“Don’t,” he whispered, barely making a sound.
“Please let me go, Zeke. I have to get out of here,” she said back.
“I don’t like you wandering alone at night.” Zeke knew she did it a lot. She liked to be outside. Free. In the fresh air. She’d always been fine, but he didn’t like it.
“I can take care of myself,” she snapped.
Zeke hated it. He wanted to haul her against him and take care of her. Be the one she turned to. But he wasn’t family. He wasn’t allowed. She was too young for him. He couldn’t have her. “Be back before he knows.”
Nina hesitated, but she nodded.
Now, Zeke knew what that hesitation was for. She never intended to come back. He told himself something happened to her. She was taken. She couldn’t return. But now he knew she never intended to.
“I went to Club Curves. Gwendolyn wasn’t there, but I told someone I needed to see her. She showed up not long after I did, and she told me everything would be okay.”
“She made you feel safe.” Frannie’s history with Gwendolyn carried weight. She knew the woman, and she understood Nina and what she went through.
Zeke wasn’t sure he would ever understand. He didn’t have the best childhood, but he never considered running away. He never felt unsafe in his home. Unloved, sure. But never unsafe.
“I went to her to feel safe. I needed someone who didn’t have to give something up for me. To feel like I wasn’t a burden.”
“You were never a burden,” Montgomery said.
Zeke knew the conversation was as painful for his best friend as it was for him. Probably more. They’d both lost Nina that day, but Montgomery was the only one who could have saved her if she’d stayed. Zeke let her go, and he would never forgive himself for it, but Montgomery carried his own guilt.
Nina inhaled sharply. She ignored her brother and focused on the two women.
Frannie was attentive and consoling, holding Nina’s hands and offering support. Lorelei was sharp and decisive, making notes and staying silent while Nina shared her story.
“Gwendolyn took me to her house. I could tell she was rich, but I didn’t know anything else. She gave me a room near hers and told me not to wander outside because I would get in trouble and go back to my dad if anyone knew I was there.”
“You never called me to let me know you were okay,” Montgomery said.
Nina nodded. “I thought it would be easier if I just disappeared. Gwendolyn said the same. She told me you left for the military. That you were moving on with your life. For the first six months, I thought about going back so many times, but she always convinced me you were better off without me. She said I could be her little sister, that she would take care of me.”
“That bitch,” Montgomery hissed.
“Just before I turned eighteen, things started to change. She had a party and asked if I wanted to meet a friend of hers. Said he was a nice man and thought I was pretty. He flirted with me, and he tried to sleep with me, but I was uncomfortable. Gwendolyn threw him out. She protected me. Kept me safe. Slowly, more things like that would come up. She was always getting rid of them, telling me she would keep me safe and apologizing for the way they acted. After the first guy, the drugs started. It was minor at first, a way to relax. By the time I turned eighteen, it was a daily thing, and the drugs were more potent. About a week after my birthday, I was so high I blacked out. I woke up the next morning… There was blood everywhere and my panties were gone. I was sore, and I knew what had happened. Gwendolyn promised retribution. Said she would never let that happen again.”
Zeke closed his eyes and tried not to throw up. She was barely an adult, innocent and vulnerable. And that evil bitch prostituted her out.
“It wasn’t the last time, was it?” Frannie asked.
Nina shook her head. “The drugs continued, and the blackouts became a regular. Sometimes they wouldn’t even let me come down from a high before they were giving me more. Days ran together and months passed without me realizing. I started to wish I was dead. I told her I wanted to leave, but she said she was my family. That you were married and forgot all about me.”
“That lying bitch,” Montgomery growled.
“She was convincing. I was heartbroken. I knew I made the wrong choice by leaving and going to her, but it was too late.” Nina shuddered with her inhale.
Frannie wrapped an arm around Nina and held her close. The two women cried together.
Zeke wanted to put his fist through the wall. And then through Gwendolyn Lennox. He wanted the bitch to pay for what she did. For the pain she caused.
He knew Nina’s story wasn’t the only one. She was part of a collection. Women Gwendolyn auctioned off to the highest bidder, sold for a night or forever. Many would never be seen again, dead or gone, and many were like Nina and would never be the same.
“Gwendolyn would bring me to her room sometimes. She would talk to me. She still called me her sister and would tell me about things. When she was upset, she would send for me.”
“She confided in you, and you know everything about her company?” Lorelei asked.
Nina looked at the agent. The distrust was still there in her eyes. She glanced at Zeke, and he nodded. Nina held his gaze for another moment, then returned to Lorelei. “I know a lot. Not everything. I know about Damon and Trevor. I know about her houses and the company. I know she’s evil, and she’s going to stop at nothing to keep me from talking.”
“We’re not going to let her get to you ever again,” Zeke growled.
All eyes in the room turned to him.
Zeke stood a foot from the wall. His fists were clenched tight. His muscles corded even tighter. He was ready to fight, and he wasn’t backing down. Gwendolyn Lennox would pay for what she did. No matter what it took from him to make sure she did.
“Zeke,” Montgomery said.
Zeke turned to his best friend.
Montgomery looked Zeke up and down. “At ease.”
Zeke shook his head. The anger was the only thing keeping him from falling apart. If he let go of it, he would collapse. He would let all the things Nina confessed inside, and it would destroy him. He could do that later, when Nina was safe with Montgomery, but now he couldn’t afford it.
“Take a walk,” Montgomery said.
Again, Zeke shook his head. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Mr. Donovan, I need you to relax.” Frannie stood and approached him. “The women and children who are my guests have been victims of violence and abuse. A man like yourself is intimidating when you’re smiling, but when you’re like this, you will scare them to death. I can’t allow that.”
Zeke looked at the woman in front of him. She wasn’t afraid of him. She had no reason to be. But he knew what she was saying.
Zeke eased his hands, releasing the fists that he held so tight his fingers ached. He swallowed hard, stuffing the emotions back inside as they clawed at his throat to get out. He shook his head, fighting the tension holding him. He drew a breath and let it out slowly.
“Thank you,” Frannie said.
Zeke nodded, not feeling much better but grateful she was going to allow him to stay.
Nina detailed all the houses she remembered going to with Gwendolyn while Lorelei recorded addresses and features of the homes. Nina relayed all the crimes Gwendolyn confessed to, and she corroborated a few things Gwendolyn hadn’t confessed to. Things others had told Nina, or people she knew were a part of the company.
By the time Lorelei finished with all her questions, and Nina had emptied her brain of all things Gwendolyn Lennox, everyone in the room looked worn out. Zeke wanted a drink and a shower and to beat the hell out of something. Preferably Gwendolyn Lennox.
Lorelei left the room first, letting Nina know she would be in touch with more questions and telling her to be safe.
Frannie hugged Nina tightly and whispered something Zeke couldn’t hear. The smile on Nina’s face said it was something good, something that made her feel better.
Zeke still had a hard time believing all of it. That she was right there under their noses for so long. That she was abused the way she was. That she got away. His guilt weighed on him. It had lightened over the years with regret and pain and time lost, but with her back, his guilt was right there again, reminding Zeke he would never be able to make amends for letting her go that night.
Frannie lingered with them, but she stepped away to let the three of them have a moment.
Montgomery pulled Nina into his arms and held her tight. The look on his face was the same as Zeke was feeling. Nina looked relieved. She was safe, and she shared information that would stop Gwendolyn Lennox from hurting anyone else.
“I have to get back to the office,” Montgomery said. “Are you good to hang out there for the day with me?”
Nina glanced at Zeke. “What about Zeke?”
“I’ll ride with you guys.”
“No, I mean, where are you going to be all day?”
Zeke and Montgomery exchanged a glance.
“I’m going to be at the office. I can manage everything while you’re gone,” Zeke told Montgomery. When Mont was on assignments, Zeke took over. He wasn’t sure Montgomery wanted him in charge, but on short notice, there wasn’t much choice.
“You’re leaving? Where are you going?” Nina asked.
Both men looked at her again. Her eyes were wide with panic.
“I’m not leaving. I’m going to be with you,” Montgomery said. “I’m not leaving you again.”
“You’re going to be with me. I thought…” Nina glanced at Zeke.
Montgomery followed her gaze.
Zeke froze.
“I thought I would stay with Zeke. I… Is that an option?”
Montgomery glared at Zeke before swinging his gaze back to his sister. “Whatever you want.”
“Are you sure?”
“You should stay with your brother,” Zeke said. “He wants you to stay with him.”
“And you don’t want me with you,” Nina said.
“No! That’s not it. At all.” Zeke struggled to find the right words. “I didn’t protect you twelve years ago. I let you walk out that door. You should be with Montgomery, not me. Your brother is the one who should be protecting you.”
“But I want you to protect me,” Nina said.
“I—”
“Zeke will do it,” Montgomery snapped. “He’ll protect you. He won’t let anything ever happen to you. He loves you just like I do.”
Zeke wanted to argue, but he knew that tone. Montgomery’s decision was final, and no one would change his mind.
“Thank you,” Nina whispered.
The two men nodded, but Zeke knew they were going to have a conversation. One he wasn’t sure he would like.
The drive back to the office was tense. Nina slumped against the side of the SUV, Montgomery sitting next to her, fully upright and alert.
Zeke parked outside their offices, as close to the door as he could get. He opened Nina’s door and led the way to the office with Montgomery close behind.
They walked to Montgomery’s office together. The chatter in the office around them never reached Zeke’s ears. He was focused on Nina, and only Nina.
“Can I lie down on that couch?” Nina asked once they were in the office.
“Of course,” Montgomery said. “We will go to Zeke’s office and close the door so you have some quiet.”
“You won’t leave, right?” Nina asked, her gaze landing on Zeke’s.
Zeke shook his head. “We’ll be right next door.”
Nina looked into Zeke’s office, visible through the glass wall they shared. She nodded, then settled on the couch again.
Montgomery jerked his head for Zeke to follow.
Montgomery couldn’t kill him until Nina was safe. And definitely not with all the witnesses around. But having the conversation about Nina staying with him was the last thing Zeke wanted to do.
Montgomery closed Zeke’s office door and walked to the glass wall. He stared at Nina for a minute, then ran a hand over his head. He sank to one of the chairs in front of Zeke’s desk and leaned forward. His elbows hit his knees, and his head went into his hands.
“I can’t fucking believe what she’s been through,” Montgomery whispered.
“Yeah,” Zeke said.
“I want to kill that bitch. And all the men who touched her.”
“Same.”
Montgomery leaned back and met Zeke’s gaze. “You are my brother in every way except blood.”
Zeke’s throat tightened.
“I know you love her just like I do, and I know you will protect her with your life.”
Zeke nodded. He’d never confessed his true feelings for Nina to Montgomery, but they weren’t important.
“We do this…” Montgomery glanced around the office. “We do this to keep people safe. It’s a job, but she’s not just a job. She’s everything. And she needs you.”
“She should be with you.”
Montgomery shook his head. “You and I both know how this works. She has to trust whoever is with her. She trusts you.”
“She trusts you, too.”
“No, I don’t think she does. I think she still sees herself as a burden to me.”
“She’s not.”
“I know, but it doesn’t matter. She’s alive. And you’re going to keep her that way. I know you will.”
Zeke nodded, all those emotions fighting to get out. “I love her. I will do anything for her. And for you.”
“Then do this. Keep her safe. Don’t let anyone ever touch her again.”
“Done.”