Chapter 47b CJ
Sitting up, Harley clutched her stomach and flinched at the blinking light, indicating the camera recording.
Before she swung her legs over the side of the bed and found her clothes, Nardo shoved her and sent her sprawling to the floor.
She hit her head. Even worse, the cold wooden floor sent shockwaves over her heated skin and aching body.
Nardo loomed above her and she shrank back. He kicked her stomach, his bare toes connecting with her midsection. Her phone slapped her hip.
“Send me the fucking video. Tired of watching you fuck that White boy.”
Ryan.
He kicked her again. “Fucking slut.”
Harley didn’t move.
“Stand the fuck up and get the fuck out. You served your fucking purpose this evening.”
Tears slid down her cheeks.
He kicked her a third time. “You want me to kick you with my shoes on?”
Sniffling, she shook her head and forced herself to a sitting position.
“Get dressed and put a smile on your fucking face. Pretend nothing’s wrong if you don’t want me to hurt you worse.”
The order mirrored Pillar of Earth’s. Harley suspected Nardo was her online tormentor, but she didn’t know how to prove it.
“I’m counting to fucking ten.”
He’d hurt her bad already, so she gritted her teeth and rushed to dress. Once she was done, Nardo thumped her in the back and shoved her out of his room. He shoved her again and sent her sprawling into the living room, since the house wasn’t big at all.
Nardo’s father snickered from where he sat carving an apple with a pocketknife. Mrs. Grevenberg turned her head, pretending she didn’t see.
Harley understood. She’d been there one evening when Mr. Grevenberg beat her up.
Harley started to stand.
Mr. Grevenberg pointed the knife at her. “Crawl to the door.” He offered a toothy grin and popped an apple slice in his mouth. “Didn’t hear her scream loud enough, boy.”
“I can take her back to my room.”
Horror washed through Harley. “No, no, no, no,” she chanted, crawling as fast as she could to the front door. She didn’t even stop for her knapsack.
Laughter floated to her. The evening air was cold, but she welcomed it. She had no ride back to the club, but that was okay. It didn’t matter. She was in one piece.
Hands trembling, she dug for her cellphone, glad she’d had the foresight to put it in her jacket pocket once she’d dressed. No one had called or texted her. She wilted.
Nardo walked out onto the porch and held up her knapsack. She saw his intent before he threw it at her head. If she hadn’t jumped back, he would’ve knocked her out.
He laughed, walked back into his house, and slammed the door shut.
It was a thirty-minute drive home. Walking would take hours. She glanced up at the dark purple sky, dotted with stars. Night had fallen and she was all alone.
She just wanted to get to Aunt Zoann’s, take a shower, and wash all the dirtiness away. Pillar of Earth didn’t physically hurt her, but mentally he was destroying her.
Harley stared at her phone again, wondering who she could call.
Her first thought was her parents, but Lou had sent her a tearful voice message, saying how much he and Kaleb missed her and that Mommie and Daddy were in an even worse place.
If she called them, then it would just reaffirm the danger surrounding them.
Lolly? No. She was traumatized with her own experiences.
Aunt Meggie? No. Then CJ would get wind of it and Nardo swore he’d hurt him.
Aunt Zoann? She probably was preparing for her work week.
Aunt Kendall? Harley wasn’t sure.
Uncle Johnnie? Absolutely not.
Uncle Val? He’d come simply because of Daddy.
Uncle Christopher? He’d come for the same reason.
Grant? No.
Ryan? It was a crapshoot. Most days, he didn’t talk to her and could barely look at her.
CJ? Whose shoulder she wanted to cry on most of all and show him how sorry she was? Would he come if she called and told him she was stranded?
Her ringing phone startled her. Aunt Zoann’s name flashed across the screen. Harley answered immediately.
“Where are you, baby?” her aunt asked.
Hearing concern almost broke Harley. She shrugged.
“Harley?”
“I-I’m outside of Nardo’s house.” He’d warned her not to tell or she’d be sorry. “We had an argument and he put me out.”
“He’s not bringing you home?” Aunt Zoann asked in outrage.
“No.”
“Fine. Just go inside and wait. Someone will pick you up.”
Harley wouldn’t set foot in that house if she didn’t have to. “I’ll walk to the main road. I don’t want to talk to him anymore tonight.”
“Is there a restaurant you can wait at? Somewhere lit?”
“A few blocks from here.”
“Fuck. Hang tight, baby. I need to make a phone call—”
“Do you need something or were you just worried about me?”
“I got home and you weren’t here. That’s unusual, which is why I called. I wanted to make sure you were okay before I get to the hospital.”
Alarm raced through Harley. “Has something happened?”
Aunt Zoann didn’t speak for a moment, then she sighed. “Molly Harris was found.”
Tears rushed to Harley’s eyes. “I’m glad,” she said honestly. She sniffled. “Is she…”
“She’s bad off, Harley,” Aunt Zoann said in a thick voice. “She’s been shot, beaten, and God only knows what else.”
Harley felt sick to her stomach. “CJ and Ryan must be so relieved.” The words came from the heart, without resentment or anger.
“Harley?” Aunt Zoann asked after she allowed more silence to pass. “What’s the matter, baby?”
So much.
“Nothing.” She forced normality into her tone. “I’m tired and hungry. Nardo and I didn’t agree on our lines, and he put me out before we grabbed anything to eat.”
“The play is in five days,” Aunt Zoann said. “I thought you went to school for a fitting. Shouldn’t you also have the final version of your script?”
“I-I thought so, too. That’s why…that’s why we argued.”
“Right. Well, he sounds like a fucking asshole.”
He was so much worse. If he was Pillar of Earth, he would be worse than Willard. “He is.”
“Have you started walking yet?”
Obligingly, Harley started walking. She never really paid attention to the route to get to Nardo’s house, especially lately. She just wanted it to be over with and normally kept her head buried in her phone, reading a book.
After crossing two streets, she wasn’t sure if she went in the right direction or not. “I’m lost, Aunt Zoann.”
“Fuck. Stay wherever you are. Stretch will track you. I’ll call you back as soon as I can and stay on the phone with you until someone arrives.”
Dad and Diesel left the hospital an hour after they arrived with Molly and Easton DeLuca, one as bad as the other. Molly was feverish and delirious, suffering from, among other things, gunshots, both old and new. DeLuca had been shot in the bicep, side, and thigh.
Uncle Mortician left a little while ago, though Uncle Val, Uncle Stretch, and some of the other guys were in the cafeteria, leaving only CJ, Ryan, Rory, and Grant to wait on any news about Molly. He supposed DeLuca, too.
Dad might’ve brought him to the hospital to kill the motherfucker if he recovered, though Rory had seemed particularly upset at seeing DeLuca so close to death.
“Mom will save DeLuca’s life,” CJ said.
“She agreed?” Rory asked with hope.
“I haven’t talked to her about it, but once she finds out the full story, she’ll talk to Dad.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Rory said sadly.
“If I was sure Aunt Meggie would’ve saved my dad’s life, I would’ve talked to her in the first place.
But we pushed her too far. She’s fed up.
We didn’t appreciate her when she talked Uncle Christopher out of killing motherfuckers. Now, she doesn’t care.”
CJ had no response. Rory told the truth.
In the distance, the elevator dinged.
“I hope Pops brought us something to eat. I’m starving,” Ryan complained.
“You’ve eaten a sandwich, three bags of chips, and cookies. You’re fucking greedy,” Grant retorted.
Ryan flipped Grant off, and they all laughed. The light moment eased CJ.
Until a clearing throat captured their attention. Bishop stood next to Harley. She looked small and fragile, without the sparkle that always drew CJ to her.
She looked…broken.
As if she didn’t know what to say, she glanced at Bishop. He sighed.
“She and Nardo had an argument and he threw her out of the house,” Bishop explained. “She was stranded. Zoann couldn’t reach Mort, so she called me.”
Looking at Harley, CJ understood why Mattie was so concerned. He also suspected she purposely evaded his calls to hide Nardo’s fuckery.
“Wait,” Rory said. “Nardo just put you out?”
Harley’s chin wobbled, but the tears threatening didn’t fall. “Yes,” she whispered.
The past two days had been hard to have fucking patience while Uncle Mort gave CJ, Rory, and Ryan meatshack lessons. They’d spent all yesterday in there together.
When Uncle Mort described the blood and gore, Ryan threw up, but he hadn’t fainted. That might change when they got Nardo on that fucking table.
“How the fuck did that motherfucker expect you to get home, Harley?” CJ demanded, barely able to wait until tomorrow evening.
“He didn’t care, I guess,” she said, sad and weary.
Ryan opened his mouth to speak, studied her, then went silent.
“What’s the matter, Harley?” Rory asked suspiciously.
“N-nothing.”
“You know we’re here because Molly’s been found, right?” Grant asked.
She nodded, glancing from CJ to Ryan. “I-I’m happy she’s back,” she said, and stumbled away, heading toward the bathroom.
CJ looked at Ryan. “Are you going after her or am I?”
“You can go,” Ryan said, unable to meet his gaze.
His nostrils flaring, CJ got to his feet just as a doctor appeared in the doorway. “Who’s here for Molly Harris?”
As much as CJ had mourned Molly and missed her, he’d also let her go.
She was back and he was so fucking happy and wanted to know how she was.
But Harley needed him. By the time the doctor would be able to talk about her condition, Harley might have…
might have…he still wasn’t sure. He just knew he needed to get to her as soon as possible.
“Matthew Taylor is her guardian,” CJ said to the doctor, since they needed an adult, and Molly had been Ryan’s girlfriend. Besides, Dad had put Uncle Val in charge of her. “That’s his son,” he continued, nodding to Ryan. “He’ll take you to him.”
The doctor nodded, apparently aware of how things worked for the club. “And Mr. DeLuca’s next of kin?”
CJ and Ryan exchanged looks.
“We’re his cousins,” Rory said, flicking a finger between him and CJ. “Our dads are his dad’s brother.”
“Are either of you eighteen?”
“No,” CJ said.
Rory waved to Bishop and Grant. “They’re both over twenty-one.”
“Are they relatives?”
“No,” Rory answered.
“Who’s your father, young man?”
Sidling an uneasy glance at CJ, Rory shifted. “Johnnie Donovan. Uh, John Donovan.”
The doctor’s eyebrows lifted. “And whose son are you?” he asked CJ.
“Outlaw’s.”
“Oh, well then. I see. Miss Harris is in recovery. She’s in critical condition.”
“And DeLuca?” Rory whispered.
“Stable for now.”