“Jesus.” She rubs her eyes. “I don’t want her to be haunted by that pig. She should be free now he’s dead.”
“That’s not how it works, and you know it. She has a secret weapon, though, something that will give her strength and a reason to carry on even on the days she doesn’t want to.” I rub my stomach as I speak and see Nevaeh’s lips part in understanding.
“Star.”
“Star.” I nod. “She loves that little girl more than her next breath. And if you wish away the man who hurt Citi, you wish away the little girl who saved her—who keeps on saving her. I’m not saying it will be easy. Far from it. But with lots of therapy and people she loves around her, she’ll carve out a life for herself and her little girl—one where she’ll be happy. But you have to understand that she will never wake up one day and forget what happened to her. It’s not something she’ll ever get over.”
She sighs and leans back. I glance around and realize Amity and Lil are watching us quietly. Lil, with a knowing gaze that I hate. She looks away as if worried I’m able to look inside her head and pull out all of her carefully guarded secrets. I wouldn’t, though. I know how important it is to find the strength to stand up and tell your own story without having someone come along and tell it for you. Your pain can only be expressed in your own words for it to truly be felt by others, without them ever having to shed the blood that you did.
“So, Midas said your things were ruined?” Amity breaks the silence, giving Nevaeh a second to collect herself.
“Did he tell you how?”
She shakes her head. “Said you’ll fill us in.”
“I bet he did.” I sigh, curling my feet underneath me, which is getting tricky now with my ever-expanding bump.
I open my mouth to give them the abbreviated version and find myself spilling my guts and telling them everything, even the part about me and Midas sleeping together. Once I’m done, I’m not sure who is more surprised, me or them.
“Okay, that’s a lot,” Nevaeh says, making me laugh. Pretty soon, the others join in.
Once we calm down, Lil leans forward. “That’s why they gathered the club girls together, isn’t it? Someone is targeting them. Havoc gave Amity and me a warning about staying safe, too.”
“That’s the theory they’re working with.”
Lil leans back and sighs. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel bad that I’m not being singled out, or relieved.”
“I get it. I think there’s some comfort in knowing it’s nothing personal.”
“Unless you die for a cause that has nothing to do with you,” Nevaeh says, absently rubbing her neck. I know she’s thinking about Driller and his vendetta against Havoc.
“So the plan is for you to stay here until the men have dealt with the situation?” Amity questions.
I nod. “Though I doubt I’ll go back to the apartment, regardless. I won’t feel safe there anymore. However, I do need to go back and clean it up. I’ve already paid my rent in advance, so that’s lost money, but I could really do with getting my deposit back.”
Amity stands up. “Okay, so let’s go clean it up. We’re all here, and we’re all free. I can call G and get a prospect to join us. You’ll only stress about it until it’s sorted.”
I look up at her. “You guys don’t have to do that. Seriously, I love you for it, but it’s pretty bad.”
“As if we’d leave you to deal with it alone. Amity’s right. We can help. You’ve gotta let us.” Lil stands next to Amity.
“I get wanting to stand on your own two feet. I commend it even, but we want to help you, Legs. We still feel bad for how things played out. Let us help make it up to you,” Nevaeh says softly.
“Ugh everyone wants to make it up to me somehow. It’s not necessary.”
“We’ll just beg to differ.” She stands up and moves next to Amity, presenting a united front.
“Okay, fine.” I give in, wondering if I can summon the energy, but maybe Amity is right. If I get it over and done with, it will be one less thing to stress about.
“I’ll head down and let Midas know what the plan is. Call G to see if he has anyone spare to accompany us. This asshole targeting club girls knows where I live and has already proved he can get in. I’m not risking any of us for a security deposit.”
“I’ll call him now,” Amity agrees, pulling out her cell and walking across the room where it’s quieter.
“I’ll see what kind of cleaning supplies Midas has.” Lil heads off to the kitchen, leaving me with Nevaeh.
“I’ll take care of the most important thing then. Food.”
I chuckle because, despite being smaller than us all, she out-eats most of the brothers.
