Chapter Fourteen
Remy
Nine Years Ago
I stuffedthe last sweatshirt into my new backpack and forced it to fit before closing the zipper. I had to be quiet, or I’d wake up Rhett. I really wanted to wake him up and tell him my plan, bring him with me, but I knew what he’d say. I could still hear what he said the last time I suggested leaving.
“You’re crazy, Remy, quit acting like an asshole to Uncle James. He’s not out to get us, he loves us, and he’s done nothing to hurt us. Just quit!”
I couldn’t let it go though. This was too good to be true. Good things didn’t happen for us, and I knew that it was a matter of time before this all went to shit. I was getting out of here before that could happen, even if it was by myself. Fuck, it hurt to think about being out there on my own, but I couldn’t stay here, waiting for that next shoe to drop and crush what little hope I had in this life left. I wanted to believe, and a few times lately, I had found myself laughing and having fun with him, and that scared the hell out of me. If you trusted, they could hurt you even worse. And I was tired of being hurt. So fucking tired. I was too young to be this tired already.
I picked up my pack by the top handle and slipped out of the bedroom I shared with Rhett. James had told us when we first got here, we could have our own rooms, but I’d insisted on staying in the same room with Rhett. I couldn’t protect him if I were down the hall. I ignored the fact that I was about to abandon him if I left. Logic wasn’t welcome tonight. I had a plan. I needed to keep moving for my sanity.
I snuck into the kitchen and opened up the pantry to get a few things for the road. I was trying to be quiet, but an unfamiliar voice broke the silence.
“There you are, sugar. I wondered where you got off to. I’m ready to rock your world, honey. You’ve never fucked anyone as good as me.”
I stood still, hoping this wasn’t real, but then strong, unfamiliar arms came around me, and I screamed. This was it. This was what it had all been leading up to. James had brought this guy here to fuck me tonight, to sell me to the highest bidder. I had waited too late to get away. I couldn’t let him do this to Rhett once I was gone. He had to be stopped!
I struggled and finally got away from my attacker. I stepped to the side, so my back was to the counter and ran my hands over the top surface, looking for any type of weapon to defend myself. I felt something sharp against my fingers and grasped the handle just as James ran in flipping on the lights, shirt unbuttoned and hanging loose, jeans undone and no shoes on his bare feet. He looked confused, swinging his gaze from me to the stranger and back again.
“What the hell is going on here?”
“I came in here looking for you and thought this kid was you, sugar.” The guy sashayed over to James and latched onto his arm, trying to pull him out of the kitchen. “But now that I’ve found you, let’s go finish what we started,” he whispered into James’s ear, but he pulled his arm away and kept his eyes on me. That was what he wanted. He wanted me to entertain, not him. I was sure of it.
“I’m not going to be your toy or let you pimp us out!” I screamed at him and startled the other guy.
“What the hell is your kid’s problem? He’s not old enough to party, although I’d do him if he were.”
“Get the fuck out of my house. I should have known you were no good, hanging all over me in that bar every time I was there.”
“What? Wait, I thought we were going to have some fun tonight. So, your kid has a hissy fit and cock blocks me? I don’t think so!”
The stranger came over to me and got into my face.
“Listen here, you little brat, I’ve had my eye on this guy for months, and I’ve finally got the chance to fuck him, and nothing is going to stand in my way. Especially not a snot-nosed, spoiled brat wanting to get his way. Now be a good boy and run along so I can get back to business.”
I gripped my weapon tighter in my hand, not knowing if I’d need to defend myself against him or not. The words were slowly spilling through though. He wasn’t here for me. He was here for Uncle James. So maybe I was wrong this time. Maybe. I was starting to calm down a little more but didn’t respond to the jerk in my space. He didn’t like my silence, so he grabbed my arms and shook me hard enough to make me dizzy. I heard yelling, and then I heard Rhett and Ladd’s voices from the hall. I heard Uncle James telling the guy to let me go and get the hell out.
My arms were finally let go, and I could move again. I heard a slamming door and then softer voices. My vision was blurry, so I closed my eyes. But then my arms were once again clasped by strong hands.
He was back!
He came back to take me with him!
He was going to shake me again, maybe hurt me worse.
I gripped my weapon tightly and lashed out at my attacker. I felt the blade sink into his flesh, and the sound of his breath leave his mouth the same time the warm blood began pouring over my hand. I opened my eyes to see his reaction and nearly fainted.
It wasn’t the stranger I had stabbed. Oh, God, no, it was Uncle James.
There was blood everywhere. It was flowing over my hand, down his side and onto the once white tile floors, now slashed red and pink with the blood. I was frozen in place, my hand still holding the knife lodged into his side. He was holding onto his side under the knife now, Ladd had gotten a kitchen towel, and he was holding it there as well.
Then Ladd was yelling orders. “Rhett, get the phone and call nine-one-one! Tell them someone’s accidentally been stabbed and we need them here now. Remy, you have to let go of the knife. But don’t pull it out. It has to stay there, okay? Remy? Let go of the handle!”
In a robotic movement, I let go of the handle and brought my hand back to my side. I leaned back against the counter because I couldn't stand on my own. Uncle James couldn’t stand either. He stumbled against Ladd and went to his knees, leaning to the side and almost falling on the handle. I jerked forward to help Ladd lay him on the floor. Ladd laid another towel under his head as I watched a red stain bloom from his side out across the stark white tiles, seeping into the grout lines and running in the channels across the floor.
Ladd was talking to Uncle James now, and I finally found my voice. I knelt by him and looked down at his starkly pale face. His eyes were opening and closing like he was trying to stay awake.
