Gavin stepped close to Shay’s side, his dark eyes narrowed and his black hair fell over his forehead. “Let her go, fuck-face. You have no idea who you’re messing with by putting your hands on her-”
“You see, that’s the problem.” Keenan’s smile disappeared and was replaced with a frightening scowl as he glared at the boys across from him. “I know exactly what I’m doing. You guys have been coming after us the past few months while we’ve been reorganizing our club. Our new Prez wants me to deliver a message… a warning. Stop.” He glared hard at Shay in particular. “Know that, if you come after us one more time, I now know what you hold dear…”
I trembled and felt several tears slide down my cheeks. “Keenan?” I whimpered. “You’re hurting me.” His grip on the back of my neck had hardened to the point that a sharp pain shot up and down the muscle there, and over my shoulder. My heart was racing in my chest, and the fear in my belly was growing. He tucked his chin so he could look down at me and released his hold on my nape, only to run his hand over my blonde head, stroking my braided hair.
“Sorry, Sunshine,” he murmured. Then, keeping his eyes on Shay, he lowered his mouth to my ear and whispered so only I could hear, “But you see, your big brother hurt people, and a lot of them were people I care about… you did nothing wrong. You understand that? You’re a good girl. But your brother is not good. And he needs to understand that his actions have consequences…” His words sent a chill through my veins. I had always known Shay was troubled in a way, and that he was involved in a lot of fights, but I never thought of him as bad. My mum did, but she had been stubborn about her feelings towards him ever since their first meeting. Keenan went on, “Your brother has hurt people, Mina. Lots of people. Some of them he hurt so bad, they ended up in the hospital…”
My eyes flashed to Shay’s, and I could not hide the horror I felt as my mouth dropped and my eyes widened in shock. Shay has put people in the hospital? To the place where my dad..
Shay was watching me, his expression fierce, furious, like when he’s ready to fight.
“I have no reason to lie to you, Cutie. I’m only explaining things,” Keenan raised his voice so that everyone could hear him now. “Your brother has done wrong. If he continues to, then he will be reprimanded. Does that make sense? If someone does something bad, they need to be punished, right?”
“Yes,” I agreed. It was a lesson all parents taught their kids. If you’re bad, you get a time out, or grounded. Maybe even a spanking, depending on the severity of your behavior.
“That’s right.” He went on, “But not today. Today, he has been given a warning. That’s fair, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Now, I’m going to put you down… and when I do, you head on back to your brother and enjoy the rest of your picnic. Alright?”
“Okay,”
“And Mina… keep those flowers. I meant what I said when I gave them to you.”
“Okay, Keenan…”
“Good girl.” He gave me another chaste kiss on my forehead and slowly lowered me to my feet. Before I could move, he gripped my upper arm firmly, but gently, keeping me in place. He called over to Shay, “You touch another prospect and we’ll make sure you wish you had listened to me today, O’Hare.”
Shay was seething across the way, but stiffly nodded. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go near him when he looked like he was about to explode. But his silver eyes slid from Keenan to me, and they softened. He held out his hands. “Come here, Mina.”
Keenan released my arm and I slowly walked across the space between the two groups of terrifying teenage boys. I didn’t want to make a wrong move and possibly cause them all to start fighting. I could feel all their eyes on me as I moved and at this moment, all I wanted was to go home and hide in my room and bawl my eyes out. In a way, this experience had been more emotionally terrifying than when Dana had assaulted me. I’d had physical pain then, but those girls had been a joke, in comparison. These boys, they were dangerous… I could feel it. Dangerous and angry at each other. And for some reason, I found myself in the middle of the two groups. I didn’t understand it. But I forced my feet to move forward, seeking the only comfort and security I knew, and that was with Shay.
As soon as I was within reach of him, Shay lunged and hauled me up into his arms, hugging me against his chest, and forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist. He held me up with one arm and pressed his other hand against the back of my head, pressing my face to his neck as he squeezed me close. Without another word, he turned and headed back towards the edge of the woods, flanked by the others of his group. I peeked over his shoulder to see Keenan watching us, his expression cold, as he and his own allies headed the other way. But when he caught my gaze, he grinned, puckered his lips, and blew a kiss my way before he turned and disappeared through the trees.
When we stepped out into the picnic area, the adults were already gathered and were panicking as they argued with each other. A loud shout broke out at the sight of the boys emerging from the forest and mum burst forward, tears streaming down her face and she ripped me from Shay’s grasp.
“Oh my God, sweetie, are you okay? Where were you? I was so scared! Don’t ever wander off like that again!” she cried, hugging me so tightly, I felt like the air was being squeezed from my lungs.
I was choking on guilt. I hadn’t realized everyone had thought I was lost. I didn’t mean to cause a panic. James came hurrying over then, followed closely by some of his friends who I liked, like Uncle Marty and Uncle Shawn and their wives. Mum was beside herself, but James took me from her arms and gave me a tight hug of his own.
“Where were you, Sweetness?” he murmured.
“It was the Spades,” Shay said from behind them. At once, there was an unsettling hush amongst the adults.
“What the fuck?” James spat, looking up over my head at his son. “What are you talking about?”
“I found Keenan Mathers with her in the woods…” he started to say, but at that moment, Mum completely lost it then and burst into a screaming fit.
“A teenage boy had my daughter in the woods? In the woods?! Oh my God! What was he doing? Baby, did he touch you? Did he hurt you? Let me see!” She reached for me, and at this point, I was so overwhelmed, I started crying and shaking uncontrollably.
“Emily, calm down, let him finish!” James snapped as he handed me back to her. Mum sat at one of the tables, rocking back and forth, holding me in a stranglehold grip. The other women gathered around, looking me over as though checking for injuries. The men, meanwhile, all looked murderous. “What did you see?” James asked, his tone like ice.
“He was carrying her, and when I found them, he stopped and wouldn’t let her go… not until he sent a message…” Shay’s voice still sounded pained. “…he was warning us off attacking their prospects… he said if we touch any more of them, well…” He petered off, but everyone seemed to understand what he was saying. Mum was sobbing hysterically and James’ hands clenched tightly into fists. I thought about how tightly Shay had held me when I had made it back to him. Despite how dismissive he had been about being my big brother, there was no denying the affection behind his hug. I was certain now that those had just been words. He hadn’t meant them. Seeing him so distraught and afraid was unnerving. Shay wasn’t afraid of anything… except for his nightmares. But seeing me in Keenan Mathers’ arms had clearly gotten to him. He seemed… shaken.