13. Violet
13
Violet
R eid said he had work to do, so I was left wandering their house. It was clear they had money. It was in the expensive fixtures and furniture. But I got the feeling they had even more than it appeared.
I wondered why three grown men were sharing a home. I had a lot of questions about these people I barely knew. But I didn’t feel that I could ask them. What if they cast me aside? Where would I go then?
My feet carried me to the living room at the back of the house. A wall of windows showed a beautiful view of a yard. A fog hung over the lawn, making the trees bordering the property look like something out of a horror movie.
But I found it comforting. I felt as if I could stand here for hours and watch the dew dry from the grass. A bird as it hopped from tree to tree. Listen to its song as it called to his friends.
I’d spent months in a closet. No window. No light. No noise. Except the sound of approaching footsteps. The doorknob clicking open. The jangling of a belt. The hiss of a zipper.
They echoed in my head. Haunted my nightmares.
I pressed my hand to the cool glass. My forehead followed a second later. I let the cold seep into my skin and ground me. Remind me I was here. I was alive.
But it didn’t feel like enough. I needed to protect my family. I still had to find my brothers. Make sure they were safe.
My breath coated the glass as I took a deep inhale. It caught in my lungs and I jumped back as I saw a figure lurking outside. My heart hammered in my chest as it circled the property, looking for a way in. My stomach dropped to my knees.
Simon was here. He’d found me. I knew he’d never let me go. I should’ve returned to him right away. But now I couldn’t. Now that I had a taste of freedom.
Tears burned my eyes. My head whipped around frantically, searching for a place to run and hide. A door caught my attention.
It was to the left of the small set of stairs I had walked down from the kitchen to get into the living room. Maybe it led outside. Maybe I could escape.
A sweat broke out on my skin as I raced across the room. My slick hand slipped on the knob. I clawed at it. A whimper falling from my lips.
Please. Please. I can’t go back. I can’t.
I jerked as the latch clicked. Yanking it open, I nearly avoiding it smacking me in the face. Another set of stairs was in front of me. But I was beyond caring. I just needed to put distance between Simon and me.
The heels of my feet slammed into each wooden step, sending a jarring shock up my legs as I rushed to get away. I didn’t hear the grunts until it was too late. Until I’d reached the bottom and had no way out.
The growls and puffs of air came from a man. Then the unmistakable sound of flesh on flesh. Another grunt of pain.
My eyes widened as I took in the scene. Two huge guys were fighting. It was fast and violent. Fists flying. Bones crunching.
Blood filled my vision as a man punched Maverick. The drops of crimson hit the floor. Shining like a warning light. A second later, he followed them.
“What are you doing?” I screamed. My knees gave out as I crawled to him.
Without thinking, I reached for him. My fingers brushed the cut on his lip, coating my skin in red. My stomach rolled and my thoughts flipped with the tumbling movement.
What was this place? Who was fighting Maverick? Why?
“Violet!” Maverick hopped up. He grasped my hips and lifted me from the floor. “What’s wrong?”
“H-he was hurting you.” I gasped, too shocked to fight against the arm he had wrapped around my waist.
“We’re sparring.”
“Sparring?”
“Practicing.” His words penetrated the shock coating my brain. That’s when I observed the rest of the space.
The floor was covered in soft mats like you’d find at a gym. One wall was entirely mirrored. A corner of the room housed a rack of free weights and a bench. Another had a punching bag and speed ball. I hadn’t noticed the ropes I’d ducked under to get to them. Or that I was standing in a small boxing ring.
“This is Charlie. He’s one of our guards.” Maverick said. “We workout down here at least once a day.”
Charlie smiled good-naturedly, but the blood on his teeth ruined the effect. “Sorry, we scared you Miss.”
Or maybe it was the sheer size of him. Maverick was big and thick, with muscles bulging all over his biceps and chest. And Charlie was the same. They were both shirtless, their strength on display.
I should’ve been afraid of Maverick. He looked more threatening with his shaved head, tattoos, and dark gray eyes. He was the quintessential bad boy. The one your mother warned you about.
In contrast, Charlie had a pale complexion and light blonde hair. He was every American heartthrob fantasy. But I couldn’t stop my body from recoiling from him and instead leaning on Maverick.
“It’s okay. I was already—.” Adrenaline rushed through my blood again. My breath caught in my lungs. I jerked around in Maverick’s arms until I was staring up at him. “Outside, there’s a guy. I ran down here because I saw someone. It was Simon. He—.”
“It’s not him, belladonna.” He grasped my cheeks. I felt the rough tape covering his hands as his thumb brushed along my skin. There were flecks of blood and sweat clinging to it. I should’ve been freaked out. Not just from that, but the fact that he could touch me.
Why could I allow these men to touch me? Maybe I wasn’t as damaged as I thought.
“He’s not going to ever hurt you again.” The resolve in his steel-gray eyes made me believe him. “That’s Brandon. Another guard. He’s walking the perimeter until Charlie switches with him.”
“Oh.” My cheeks colored in embarrassment. I was so quick to assume someone was after me and that Maverick was being injured. Was I always going to look for danger in ordinary things?
“I’ll go check on him now.” Charlie said.
I moved to Maverick’s side, and he dropped his hold on me. Reaching out, he tapped their knuckles together. Then he raised his hand to me. “It was nice to meet you, Violet.”
My chest tightened as his palm stood between us. A metallic taste coated my tongue. My fingers twitched, but I couldn’t force them to move. To grasp his hand. To complete the gesture.
His lip tipped, and he nodded as he let it fall. He didn’t say a word as he walked up the stairs, making me believe he knew who I was and how I’d come to be here.
I should’ve been able to shake a stranger’s hand. It was normal. Polite. Maybe all the normal had been beaten out of me.
But Maverick was a stranger to me, too, and I had no problem touching him. Yes, he’d rescued me. Fed me. Housed me. But I didn’t know him.
“Who are you? Why do you have guards?”
Maverick’s gaze flicked across my face, assessing. As if he was trying to see inside my mind. Understand me.
But even I didn’t understand myself anymore.
“He’s not here to stop you from leaving, if that’s what you think.”
“What? No.” It had never crossed my mind. Maybe it should have. But they’d had a chance to send me away; a few. Instead, they’d taken me in. “I’m just worried. I don’t know you. Ordinary people don’t have guards.”
“We’re not ordinary.” He shrugged. “Our jobs can be dangerous. We wanted to make sure you were safe while we locate your brothers.”
My chest loosened. I could see how the wrong crowds would cross their paths. And I was grateful for it. Otherwise, I’d still be stuck in that closet.
“Thank you.” I whispered.
“You don’t have to thank us, belladonna. It’s our job to protect you.”
It wasn’t their job. Most people would’ve left me. As humans, we like to think we’re good at our core, but in reality, the vast majority avoid getting involved. We don’t want to disturb the flow or put ourselves at risk.
So yes, he was right. They weren’t ordinary. They were heroes. My saviors.
My eyes stung with tears as I glanced up at him. I had the urge to close the distance between us. Throw my arms around his waist and cry.
Feeling safe was our most basic instinct. It had been so long since I’d felt it. Since I could take a full breath.
Even before Simon, I’d always had to watch my step. As if I was moments away from losing my family. And I’d been correct.
“Why?” I didn’t deserve their protection. Their attention. But I couldn’t tell him that. I’d only see pity in his eyes. Seeing that could crush me. “I don’t even know your last name.”
He smiled, and a dimple appeared on his right cheek. “Neither do I.”
That little dent in his cheek stole my breath. Or maybe it was his smile. His happiness. It seemed to spread. Seep into me until I felt it too.
“I grew up in the system.” He spoke casually, like it didn’t matter. But my fragile heart splintered for him. “I picked my own name when I aged out.”
I was feeling bad for myself while Maverick’s upbringing was worse. Foolish of me to think because he had money that meant he had an ideal life.
“What did you pick?”
“Smith.”
“Why Maverick?”
“I liked Top Gun.”
His answer was so shocking, a fit of giggles overtook me. His deep chuckle sank into my chest. Soothed the aches.
I was surprised I could still smile. One more thing to be grateful for. One more thing I owed these men.
Maverick moved to a nearby bench. Picking up a water he took a sip. I followed, sitting on the open space at the end. I watched as he tore off the red tinted tape on his hands. He grabbed a roll that was bright white and re-taped them.
It was memorizing watching him work. There was a clear routine that he’d must have practiced over years. The tape slipped in between scarred knuckles and calloused fingers. An unfamiliar warmth settled in my gut.
“What about Connor and Reid?” I crossed my legs, tucking them under myself. “Who are you to each other? Friends? Business partners?”
Maybe they’d already told me, but I’d forgotten. Last night was still a fog in my memory.
He walked back to the mat and laid down. His biceps bulged as he tucked them behind his head. His abs bunched as he brought his elbows to his knees in a crunch. “Brothers.”
My brow furrowed as I thought about Reid’s bright blue eyes and Connor’s blonde hair. “You don’t look alike.”
“We wouldn’t. We don’t share any DNA.” He wasn’t even winded as he continued to exercise as he explained. “We met in juvie when we were teenagers. We were alone. No family in the world, so we became each other’s family.”
I guess they weren’t the saints I was picturing them to be. Was anyone who I thought they were?
My throat tightened. Instead of leaning into the despair, I asked him more questions. “Why did you end up in juvie?”
His mouth tipped, showing that dimple again. “A story for another time.”
My own lips moved, mirroring his half smile. “Why were Connor and Reid there?”
He sat up, his forearms resting on his knees. The veins in his arms popped out, highlighting the dark ink that wrapped around his skin. It captivated my attention. I wanted to trace it with my fingers. Learn each of their meanings. I craved knowledge about my saviors, like I craved the air in my lungs. “Not my story to tell.”
“Okay, can you tell me their last names, then?”
“Reid Turner. Connor West.”
He pushed off the ground. My gaze was locked on all the muscles, twisting and rippling. His movement was so fluid.
He was obviously confident in himself. I wished I could be like that. Wished I had an inner strength to hang on to. But all I had was fear. Agony. Betrayal.
Maverick moved to the punching bag. It rattled on the chains as he hit it. Again and again. It was clear he needed to change the subject. Neither of us wanting to dwell on our painful past.
“It’s like two in the afternoon.” I said, giving him a new topic. “Don’t you work?”
“We’ll go to our club in a couple of hours.”
“You own it?”
The bag rattled again, but his gaze connected with mine in the mirror. His expression was open. He was letting me pick him apart as if he knew I needed it because I couldn’t look at myself right now. Couldn’t analyze what had happened to me.
“With my brothers.”
“Make sense. It must be a big job.” Was it wrong that I didn’t miss my job? Auditions and playing at local concerts, hoping to be discovered. When had I last played just for enjoyment?
I felt the tears building again. I looked to Maverick for my escape. “What else do you do?”
He stilled the bag with his hands. “The clubs take up most of our time.”
“Clubs?”
He shrugged. “We have a few.”
“Wow. That’s impressive.” The breath caught in my lungs. The weight of what I’d lost pressed down on me. My world had changed in an instant.
I didn’t have a great job, but I’d had one. I’d had a family. A life. And now I had nothing.
How was I going to get any of that back? How would I even find the strength to try? Right now, it felt like just talking was sucking away all the energy I had.
I couldn’t imagine seeing people. Playing in front of a crowd who would be looking for flaws. Who would judge me.
“I feel so lost.” My fears tumbled out of me as if they couldn’t be contained anymore. “I don’t know what to do. Where do I go from here? I don’t have a job or a place to live. I have nothing. And my family has…” My words cut off as a sob caught in my throat.
Funny what the brain did. What it chose to worry about. Maybe because I didn’t remember all that had happened to me. Or my mind was trying to protect itself. But I was focused on the things I thought I could fix.
The rest was too broken. I’d never heal. Never stop looking around corners. Having nightmares. Fearing men.
Except them because as Maverick rushed to my side, it wasn’t fear I felt.
He gripped my waist, pulling me close, and I collapsed against him. The scent of sweat and spice surrounded me. I was surprised to find I liked it. There didn’t seem to be much I didn’t like about him.
He ran his fingers down my arm, soothing. He didn’t stop until I was breathing normally again. Until I turned to look up at his handsome face. His gray eyes locked with mine. They were all I could focus on. Everything else faded away.
“Sometimes we have to take life in small pieces. Day by day. Moment by moment. You ate, now shower.”
It sounded simple. But nothing ever was.
“And tomorrow?”
“Don’t think about it.” He grasped my cheek, running his thumb along my jaw. I found myself wanting to lean into it. Into him.
“Shower.”
“That’s all, belladonna.”
“I can do that.”
“You can do anything.”