chapter Twenty-Six
“As alone as we can be with a clubhouse full of people around,” she quipped.
“I wish we were completely alone. Just you, me, and the kids. I don’t want all this other stuff, I don’t need it right now. It just stresses me out,” he admitted. His eyes were jumpy and darted back and forth between her and the door.
Understanding dawned on her when she realized this was his coping mechanism. He wanted to bury himself in her life to escape from his. Not deal with his Mom or any of the drama that whole situation brought. She had to get his mind on something else. Sex would never be the answer to any of their problems. “Besides, before we get some alone time I need to check on my kids, and I want to check on Meredith.”
He groaned, knowing that she was right. They each had responsibilities, and it wouldn’t do to just throw them to the wayside. After seeing his mother, he felt vulnerable. He hadn’t been prepared to see her that soon, hadn’t expected the anger that came so quickly. In retrospect he should have. He always seemed to see red where she was concerned, but he wished just once he felt some other type of emotion. He hated that was all that Denise saw when it came to him and the woman that birthed him. Denise was his strength and calming factor. Sighing, he ran his hands down her arms and clasped her hands. “I know. I’m sure there’s work I could be doing too, but doing you would be so much more fun.”
She giggled as she opened the door to the dorm room and then walked out. The look she threw back his way told him that she felt the same way.
“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” he asked as he saw her stop and look both ways down the hall trying to figure out where she needed to go. Instead of asking, she turned back to him, held her hands up, and shook her head. “You’re so cute,” he told her, putting his hands on her hips.
She blushed. “You got me. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going. Can you show me where everyone is?”
He took her hand and directed them down the hallway. She loved walking with his hand in hers. She had never noticed it before, but he walked around like he owned the place. There was such an air about him, such a swagger of authority. Like he dared someone to come up to him and try to assert themselves over him. It was heady and she loved it. He made her feel protected at all times. Even now when she knew he was vulnerable with his kryptonite in the house. She had not one ounce of fear. She didn’t have any doubts – he could handle anything that anyone handed him.
“The kids will be in here,” he indicated a door with their clasped hands. “This is where the kids usually sleep when we have lockdowns.”
“Is a lockdown a normal part of life in the club?” She was genuinely curious.
“Would that change how you feel about this whole situation?” Liam hoped not. He liked their situation just as it was but knew she wanted a stable environment for her kids – and he did not begrudge her that.
She tilted her head and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t think so. I mean I’ve already been shot at. My house was vandalized, and I’ve already broken the law for you. I think it’s safe to say I’m already in pretty deep. I’m not goin’ anywhere,” she surprised him by winking.
Liam grinned, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her body so that they were flush with one another. He dropped his head and kissed her softly before pulling back and giving her the killer smile he seemed to reserve only for her. “I’m glad to know that. To answer your question we’ve only had about three lockdowns that I can remember since my dad founded this club. It’s violent, don’t get me wrong, but it’s usually not this bad.”
She cracked open the door, peeking in on her kids. She saw bunk beds taking up the walls, separated into boys and girls sides. All children appeared to be co-habitating well. She saw Mandy sitting at a laptop with another girl whose name she remembered was Layla. The two of them had taken to one another pretty quickly, and she had heard the name mentioned more than once. Drew sat at a table playing a card game with a group of boys. Feeling secure about where they were, she waved her fingers at her kids and turned back to him.
Now that she knew they were okay, she could concentrate on her friend. “Where’s Meredith?”
He grabbed her hand again, leading her into a room that had Tyler’s name on it. That took her by surprise, but she had known the Sergeant-at-Arms would be watching over her friend in some way. “She’s staying with Tyler?”
Shrugging, he knocked quietly on the door. “He found her, and he refuses to leave her side. When it comes to him, none of us really ask any questions. If he wants us to know something, he’s usually very forthcoming.”
They waited a few moments for someone to come answer the door. When Tyler finally appeared, he stepped out and closed the door so that the three of them were alone in the hallway. “She’s been asking for you,” he motioned to Denise.
“Should I know anything before I see her?”
His eyes were shadowed, displaying more emotion than Denise had ever seen from the normally quiet man. Obviously Meredith was in a bad way, and he was trying hard to keep it together. “I’m trying to convince her to either go get checked out or let me call the club doc. She’s in bad shape. I haven’t let her go take a shower yet. Try to talk her into letting someone come take care of her. Maybe since you’re a woman, you can appeal to her sensible side.”
She nodded. He wasn’t asking her, he was telling her. “I’ll do what I can.”
He smiled grimly, his lips making a thin line before stepping aside, letting her open the door. When she walked in and shut it quietly, Liam placed his hand on Tyler’s shoulder and squeezed.
“We’ll find out who did this brother.”
Tyler nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll kill the motherf*cker with my bare hands.” The quiet spoken words were not a promise, they were a vow.
Denise walked in, noting that only one light was turned on and it was over on the far side of the room. Meredith lay with her back facing the door, curled into the fetal position. Not wanting to scare the other woman, Denise cleared her throat and walked over so that they were facing each other.
“Holy mother of God,” she whispered, getting her first glimpse of the devastation that had been dealt to Meredith’s face.
“It’s bad isn’t it?” Meredith asked, tears making her throat tight. It hurt to push the words out. She wasn’t sure if it was from where he’d shoved her face in the ground or where she had spent so much time screaming. All she knew was that she could still feel blood seeping from some of the wounds.
“I won’t lie to you, it is. You really need to see a doctor.”
Going to the bathroom that sat just off the room, Denise grabbed a washcloth and ran cold water over it. This gave her a little bit of time to compose herself. No matter how Tyler had tried to warn her, she couldn’t believe how bad Meredith’s face was. She folded the washcloth up in her hand and made her way back to the bed. Kneeling down, she began to clean the dried blood off of the tiny cuts marring the usually perfect skin. Tears pooled in her eyes as she gently ran the washcloth over her face. It broke her heart as tears slipped from Meredith’s eye lids, running down the dirt caked on her cheeks.
“I can’t believe I let this happen,” she whispered, a sob shaking her body.
Denise cautiously got on the bed, motioning for Meredith to sit up. Gingerly, she put her arm around the other woman, providing her as much comfort as she was allowed to. “You don’t let something like this happen. An evil person does this to another.”
“I fought him,” she choked out, sobs erupting from her chest and wracking her shoulders.
“I bet you did,” Denise whispered. She couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes. This was her friend, and she almost didn’t recognize her. It was the most horrible thing she had ever seen in her life.
Meredith held her hands out in front of her, and Denise saw the fingernails, most of them broken to the quick, stained with blood and dirt. There was evidence here, and it needed to be catalogued.
“I’m telling you this woman to woman. If I was in your situation, I’d see a doctor. There’s no shame in getting the person who did this to you.” She wanted so badly to shake her friend, to make her see that not getting checked out might as well be a death sentence. There was no telling what kind of damage had been done, not only externally, but internally as well – who knew what kind of diseases this man possibly carried.
“I feel like I asked for it,” she admitted, clearing her throat as it clogged with more emotion.
“Why? You were just doing a job.”
Meredith ran a shaky hand through her hair. “They all warned me off. Hell, Tyler told me if I went through with this he’d never be able to protect me. What did I do though? I kept at it. I kept pressing my luck. I asked for this.”
“Nobody asks for this. Nobody.” Denise had to make her see, make her agree to let the doctor come in. It was obvious that she did need medical help.
Reaching into her pants pocket, Meredith pulled out a dollar bill. “He threw this on me when he was done. He said it was for services rendered.”
Denise saw red. In that moment, she understood why others murdered. She understood the blind rage that made someone want to avenge a loved one. “You believe that and you’re a fool. You are a strong woman; you don’t let shit like this get you down. Allow a doctor to come here and nail this a*shole to the wall, Meredith. Don’t let him do this to someone else.”
She shook her head. “I just don’t think I can.”
Trying another method, Denise tried to keep her tone calm. “If it was me or Mandy, what would you say?”
A grim determination finally formed in Meredith’s eyes and she set her jaw. “I’d tell you to fry the motherf*cker.”
“Then what makes you any different? Let’s get him. If we can find out who he is, we can make sure he spends the rest of his life trying to get it up and not being able to.”
“What if the club kills him? That’s blood on my hands,” Meredith had no doubt that Tyler would gladly rip the man from limb to limb. He had all but said so in the time he had spent with her since this had all gone down.
Eyes glittering, Denise shook her head vehemently. “No, not at all. That’s a justified killing.”
Meredith saw the change come over the other woman, it was almost like she was seeing her for the first time. When they met, Denise had been mousy, so cut down by life. Now she was ready to kill to avenge another person’s honor. And not just any person. Hers. Someone who had tried to warn her off of all the changes she was making. Someone who was trying to protect her, only to end up getting hurt in the process. It was scary and amazing all at the same time.
“I don’t want anybody doing anything stupid. Especially you and Tyler, but I will consent to seeing a doctor. My ribs are killing me.”
If that’s what she wanted, then Denise would make it happen. “Let me go tell Tyler. We’ll get a doctor here as soon as possible.”
When Denise left, Meredith lay back down on the bed, her head spinning. She prayed she had made the right decision.