4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Torrent walked to his room, holding the stuffed animal that Sally had told him to buy. He’d stopped at the store and been overwhelmed with the choices. Now that Church was over, he guessed it was time to face his soon-to-be-wife.
He was grateful for Sally. She’d offered to move Calliope and Cecilia into his room, which wasn’t really a room at all.
When they’d built the clubhouse, all the officers had suites.
Torrent’s was a two-bedroom suite that also had a small kitchen and a family room with a couch and two recliners.
He was particular about his space, but he allowed the brothers closest to him to come hang out.
He knocked once to let them know he was coming in and opened the door, the blue butterfly held in his hand.
Cecilia and Calliope were curled up on his couch, a blanket over them, watching a show. Both jumped when he walked in. He paused and forced himself to talk.
“I’m glad you’re getting settled in. Sally suggested I drop by the store, but there were so many that I didn’t know which one you’d want.
If you don’t like it, I’ll go get more tomorrow,” he said, holding the blue butterfly out to Calliope.
A smile spread across her face. She jumped up and ran toward him.
He braced and caught her as she threw her arms around him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. She’s perfect. Just like my one at home,” she said.
Torrent nodded. He didn’t have much experience dealing with kids.
He was glad she liked it. Maybe he should go tomorrow and get her some more.
She’d lost her parents and been uprooted.
Torrent hadn’t had parents that he would care if he lost, but he’d be devastated if something happened to Dragon and Sally.
They’d saved him and treated him like a son.
“Are we staying here?” Calliope asked. Cecilia sat up straighter. He guessed she would want to know too.
“Let’s talk,” he said, grabbing a chair from his kitchen area and bringing it in front of the couch on the other side of his coffee table. He didn’t want Cecilia any more uncomfortable than she already was being in an unfamiliar room.
He settled in front of them once Calliope had sat down. Cecilia turned off the show.
“This is my suite of rooms, and yes, you’re staying here.
There are lots of things we need to deal with tomorrow, but for tonight, I want you both to eat supper and have a good night’s sleep,” he said, explaining as little as he could.
He’d gotten Dragon and the brothers to agree to wait until tomorrow to get all the information from Cecilia and get her agreement to marry him.
It also gave him time to think of options if Cecilia flat-out refused to marry him.
He wasn’t leaving them on their own to face the Chief.
His club was his family, and he wouldn’t leave them for anything, but if Cecilia didn’t marry him, then she couldn’t stay at the club.
If that happened and he couldn’t convince her to change her mind, he’d need to have another option to present to the club of how he could keep her safe and protect the club at the same time.
The thought of the Chief of Police getting his hands on Calliope made Torrent physically sick.
“I’m going to need more than that tomorrow, but for tonight, I’m so exhausted. Waiting until we’ve slept seems like the best option,” she said.
He couldn’t believe her strength. She’d been through what no woman wants to and fought to make sure her sister didn’t suffer the same fate. She might be putting on a brave front now, but she’d fall apart at some point. No one came away from an encounter like that unscathed.
Cecilia finished the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that Torrent had made them. She’d been surprised when he’d asked about Calliope’s comfort food and then proceeded to make it. He’d also had a roll of cookie dough in the refrigerator that he’d asked Calliope if she’d be willing to make.
He didn’t talk much. There hadn’t been unnecessary conversation between them at supper. Calliope was a chatterbox and filled the silence talking about her stuffed animals and her friend at school. At ten, she was in the fifth grade.
Cecilia had to keep pushing away the thoughts of what Horace wanted to do to her little sister or she’d throw up. She’d decided while she waited for Calliope to come home that she would do whatever it took to keep herself and Calliope safe.
Now, she had to rely on someone else to help her keep them safe.
She was torn about not talking about the future tonight.
On the one hand, she needed to know what the club was going to expect for their help.
She wasn’t na?ve enough to think they’d help her for free.
There had to be some type of agreement. But she was exhausted and barely holding it together.
She was hoping maybe Calliope would watch television while Cecilia showered.
Once she was alone, she could let down the tight hold she’d kept on her emotions.
She desperately needed the cleansing of a good cry.
Growing up, Cecilia had always been able to compartmentalize when something happened.
It was one of the traits that made her a good nurse in the ER and also with sexual assault cases.
She could push her emotions away about what was happening to the person, or had happened, to help them through it.
She was great in a crisis, but there were many nights after she got home from her shift at the hospital that she’d cry in the shower.
Some nights she’d follow it up by relaxing with a good book and a glass of wine.
She didn’t have any books or wine tonight, so she’d settle for the shower and a good cry.
Cecilia cleared the plates and bowls off the table, loading them in the dishwasher while Torrent answered a knock at the door.
She breathed deeply, counting to relax herself.
No one was coming into the room to hurt them.
While they ate, Torrent had made it a point to say they were safe and no one would get on the property without them knowing it.
She put the last dish in, wiped down the table, and slid the chairs in.
Torrent carried a large sack. “Sally brought you both clothes.”
Cecilia waited to see if he’d continue. Nope, that was it—it seemed.
“I can put them in a bedroom. Which one will we sleep in?” she asked. If she had to examine how she felt about staying in Torrent’s suite, she’d say safe. The big, unsmiling man made her feel like nobody was getting through him tonight.
He pointed to the one to the right of the family room.
She took the sack from him and walked into the room.
A king-size bed dominated the room with a navy-blue comforter.
A matching dresser in dark stained wood sat opposite the bed under a television mounted on the wall above it.
Nightstands in matching wood were on each side of the bed.
The walls were painted a light gray color.
Torrent stood in the doorway. “Closet, bathroom,” he said, pointing to each door.
She nodded. She breathed a small sigh of relief knowing that if Calliope stayed in the main room with Torrent, the bedroom would be between them, which lessened the chances of Calliope hearing her cry.
Her parents had brought them up to believe that there were no good or bad emotions, but tonight, Cecilia wanted Calliope not to worry about her older sister.
“Okay?” he rumbled.
“The room is perfect. Thank you,” she said.
He nodded once and pulled the door closed. For the first time since the nightmare had started, she was alone. She opened the bag, sorting through the clothes and putting them in the dresser by size. She selected a pair of panties, sleep pants, and a T-shirt to wear to bed.
In the bathroom, she turned on the shower to warm up and then turned to the mirror.
She’d been avoiding it until she could deal with what she saw.
Her right cheek was swollen and had a couple of scrapes from where he’d hit her.
Her black eye was dark and swollen but she could see through it.
Her lip was tender and hurt every time she moved it from the cut there.
Her neck was sore and now she could see why. His hand and fingerprints were a dark pink turning to purple in some places. She turned away, removing her clothes and checking the water temperature before stepping in. She stood under the water, letting it warm her before she let the tears fall.
She’d been petrified that he’d kill her or hurt Calliope, but he hadn’t because she’d chosen herself and Calliope over him. She wouldn’t regret it either. It was him or them, and he’d made his choice when he’d said he was going to take them to the cabin and then sell them.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood there before she grabbed the body wash and cleaned her skin. She scrubbed until her skin was pink and there was no way that any trace of him remained.
Cecilia wondered what the club would ask of her. Her imagination could think of some pretty crazy ideas, but she forced herself to stop. She’d deal with it tomorrow. She hurt, she was tired, and maybe if she took some pain relievers, she could sleep.
Sally had asked if Cecilia needed to be seen by a doctor.
Cecilia had told her no. She knew her body and what he did.
He’d taken something from her, but Cecilia didn’t need a doctor.
The only positive that Cecilia could see was that he’d used a condom because she’d lied and said she wasn’t on birth control.
He hadn’t wanted her pregnant. She was still going to give a list of medicines to Sally that she wanted, that she usually offered to her patient survivors.
And didn’t that say it all as she put the clothes on.
She was a survivor. She’d done what needed to be done, and at the end of the day—she and Calliope were here and he wasn’t.
Cecilia knew that she’d struggle with what happened to her, but for tonight, she and her sister were safe behind the Grave Prowlers’ compound walls.
She opened the bedroom door to hear Calliope giggling. Bravo was sitting at the table, and Torrent had just swatted his hand away from the cookies. A young man who looked to be in high school was eating a cookie.
“C’mon Calliope. Tell grumpy that I should get one. He let Harley have one,” Bravo whined.
“No. You had one. He said you had to wait until Cecilia had some before you could have a second,” Calliope replied, patting Torrent’s arm. Ah, her sister had a little hero worship going on, it looked like, and if it made her feel safer, Cecilia was fine with that.
The young man chuckled, smacking his lips together. “Torrent, that second cookie really hit the spot.”
“Harley, you’re only a couple years away from being a Prospect. You should treat me extra nice,” Bravo said.
“You’re assuming you’ll live that long. I have been around you and know eventually, some woman is going to run you over with her car,” Harley teased.
“What did I hear about someone trying to eat all the cookies before I got some?” she said, plastering a smile on her face because Calliope needed normal, and if Cecilia looked closely, she did too.