Pulling through the gates at my house and then up to the driveway, I see Damien's car and some kind of blacked out Rolls-Royce, which I assume belongs to the doc. We hop out and walk to the door. Inside, I find Marco sprawled on the couch while an unfamiliar man looks him over. The doc is cutting his clothes off because they definitely aren’t salvageable. He’s covered in dried blood. If he looks like this, I’m scared to even think what Luis looks like.
Chapter 19
Damien
We’re all sitting here waiting for the doc to tell us what else he needs. Raven walked off either because Marco is basically naked on her couch or she couldn’t bear to see him like this. The front door swings open, and I glance up to see a frantic Naomi standing in the doorway. She looks at all of us, then down at the back of the couch. Rushing around to where we are standing, she gasps and covers her mouth.
“Who the fuck did this to you?” she breathes, bending down beside him.
“Bret. He called me and wanted help with a job Eddie sent him on, or so I thought. Next thing I know, I’m in that basement chained up,” he says with an oomph sound as the doc runs his hands over his ribs.
“And he did all this?” she asks, pointing at all the bruises that litter his body.
“I remember some, but not everything. He had chains wrapped around his fists and was using them like a whip.Probably why my sides look the way they do,” he replies, grabbing her hand.
“I need more towels and warm water. Will you fetch it for me?” the doc says, getting my attention. Nodding, I turn and walk out of the room.
Walking into the kitchen, I find Raven sitting on a barstool, completely zoned out, staring at the wall while Reyes is at the stove making something.
“Hey, you okay, Angel?” I ask, walking up beside her and gently touching her shoulder, causing her to jump.
“Umm, yeah. Fine. What’s up? Is the doc done?” she rambles, looking up at me.
“No, he just needed more towels. After this, I will buy you more towels and we can throw away the used ones.” I let a slow grin pull at my lips. “Naomi’s here, by the way. I didn’t know if you heard her come in or not,” I say, and she looks past me to the living room.
“No, I didn’t. I’ll go check on her,” she replies, standing from the stool. “Oh, Loverboy. Whatever you're making, will you make me some too, please?” she begs, putting her hands together in a prayer-like motion.
“Already on it, Babygirl,” he says with a chuckle as she walks out of the room.
I grab some towels from the laundry room and walk over to a cabinet, pulling a big bowl out from under it. Filling it with hot water, I look over at my brother and he meets my stare.
“Is she okay?” I ask, and he just shakes his head.
“Nah, I don’t think she is. Between her wreck and Luis being gone, not to mention finding Marco when we all thought we’d find Luis, I think it’s fucking her up,” he says, flipping a grilled cheese onto a plate and starting another.
“We all understand that. We’re all on edge at this point, just waiting for the next fucking ball to drop.” I sigh, turning off the water.
“I nearly lost her once, and I won't let her own mind take her from me. I know exactly how she is, and she will withdraw into herself. God forbid she does something worse, like the last time she couldn’t get a certain someone out of her head,” he whisper-shouts, slamming both hands down on the counter.
“We won’t let that happen,” I reply, patting his shoulder before grabbing the bowl and towels and walking back to the living room. Handing them to the doc, I notice Naomi and Raven are on the opposite couch. Raven is soothing Naomi as she cries into her chest. We probably owe her an apology for even trying to think Marco had any part in the shit that has gone down, but with the way everything pointed in his direction, it made it easy to pin the blame on him. I leave the doc to do his thing and walk over to the other couch, sitting down next to Naomi.
“How are you holding up?” I ask, and she looks over at me, her cheeks red and puffy from crying.
“I just don’t understand any of this. Not only did he take Luis, but Marco too?” she breathes out, wiping her eyes.
“We will put an end to all of this,” I say with a promise, and she nods, leaning her head on Raven’s shoulder.
“I know it wasn’t Luis you found, but thank you for bringing Marco home.” She looks up at Raven with a sad smile.
“Babe, I’d do anything for you. You are my best fucking friend, and I’m so sorry I doubted Marco for even a second. All this shit is fucking with me mentally,” she replies, looking away from both of us.I hate to see her this way. My girl doesn’t cry, but this shit is taking its toll.
“It’s okay, I hate this. All of it. We will find him, and you will be whole again. Please don’t go dark on me again. Besides, Idon’t think the guys could take it either,” Naomi says, and looks at me, then to Reyes, who’s bringing food in.
“Figured you girls were hungry,” he says, handing them a plate.
“None for me? Damn, bro, I see how it is.” I chuckle, standing from the couch.
“It’s in the kitchen,” he replies as he nods in that direction. Pausing, I turn and face Naomi again.
