I bite my lip to stop the trembling, I feel like I’m thirteen years old again and scared of my parents.
I look around the house. It’s exactly the same, just much older and everything is worn down.
I spot a Barbie doll in the corner of the room. The scared little girl is gone and is replaced by anger at what happened to Anna.
My mother gasps when she sees me. “Isabella, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with your husband?”
That sends a chill right down my spine. “We are not here to talk about me. We are here to talk about how fucking disgusting you are.”
Her face shows her shock at my language, oh yes. “What?” she says, so dramatically I want to puke.
My father stands beside her, his hand on her shoulder. “What is the meaning of this, Isabella? I taught you better than that,” he scolds me like I’m a child.
I laugh. “Are you kidding me? You didn’t teach me anything! You gave me away as a kid. I was engaged at thirteen years old and married at fourteen! I was groomed.” I stop myself from calling him “Dad”—he doesn’t deserve the title.
His face shows his anger. “You have embarrassed this family, you and your sister!” he hisses.
That pisses me right the fuck off. “Anna? She is a baby!”
His face changes to confusion. “No, Daniella.”
What? What is he talking about?
“After you got married, your Mom got pregnant again with Daniella. Daniella died soon after she gave birth to Anna.
I am floored, FLOORED. Anna isn’t my sister, she is my niece…
Maverick’s looks shocked too. “What happened to her?”
He shrugs his shoulders. He fucking shrugs his shoulders. “Daniella's husband said she was misbehaving and she was taken to the church to correct the problem, which was the right thing to do. The next thing we knew Anna was at our door. Daniella died, leaving us to raise Anna.”
What the ever-loving fuck?
My head is spinning, “What is her husband’s name?” I urge.
“Randy McCormick.”
I know exactly who that is. I rush out of the house so I can breathe. I have a sister who is dead, or is she dead?
Maverick
Bell’s face shows complete horror. I nod to Butcher and Shaylin, giving them the go-ahead to do as they please.
My girl needs me more than I need justice.
“Baby.” I take a hold of her arms, trying to get her attention.
She tilts her head up, eyes filled with tears. “They are horrible people, Maverick. They’re known for it. We need to confirm she’s dead.”
“We will, baby. Let me call River.” I open the SUV door, helping her inside so she’s not out in this heat.
I stay on the phone while she searches. She is the best and the club has been using her a lot lately with things like this.
I can hear my brother in the background laughing his ass off, probably at something completely stupid
“Found her. I don’t think she’s dead. I hacked the fucker’s—aka the husband’s—phone and he texted his father a few days ago letting him now that she should be ready soon.”
Fuck.
I don't know if I’m relieved or not to hear she is alive. I cannot imagine the things she has been through if it’s true.
I open the door, and Bell sits forward, ready to find out the truth. “River doesn’t think she’s dead. We have the address.”
“I’m on my way down there. Don’t fucking start without me. Gage, get your ass up. We’re going to Kentucky!” River yells, then hangs up. I put my phone in my pocket, gathering Bell in my arms.
Bell is horrified. “Maverick, I’m scared to see how she is.” She’s shaking. If it’s worse than the horrors she has faced…
“I’ll be back.” I shut the door and lock it so no one can try to get in. Inside the house, Butcher has the dad on the ground in a ball, crying, with knife cuts covering him.
Shaylin is cackling as she cuts Bell’s mom’s hair, leaving her completely bald with a few strands here and there.
“We need to leave them tied up for the next few days. We have some shit we need to handle.”
Shaylin pouts. “You mean no more fun?” She drags her gun down the mom’s face.
“Let me fill you in.” I wave them to the door and onto the porch and tell them all of the info.
“This is so fucked up, Maverick. I can’t stand this shit. Can we just kill them all and move on?” Shaylin throws out.
“Don’t I fucking wish.”
Bell is deep inside of her head, but the kids are keeping her happy. I can see that this shit is riding her head.
I can’t say I blame her.
The horrors she has faced fucks me up. Every night I have bad dreams. It goes against every part of me that she was hurt and I couldn’t save her.
The door is pushed open. Gage enters first and then River, grinning. “I’m here. Who’s ready to fuck some shit up?”
Shaylin tilts her head to the side, studying her, eyes narrowed. “Can you shoot?”
River smirks. “Just the balls off of an ant.”
Shaylin gets that crazy fucking grin on her face, “Do I have a mini me? I think I do. I shall teach you my ways.” She grabs River’s hand and pulls her to the side of the room where she has her guns laid out.
I look over at Butcher, who should be panicking but he’s just sharpening his knife. Smiley is grinning that fucking grin. Gage sits beside Butcher, sharpening his knife also.
River stops talking. “Where’s my mom?” she asks.
“She’s over here.” I nod to window, where Bell is partially hidden by the chair.
River walks to me. “Is she okay?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Her mind is racing with the what ifs right now.”
River walks to her mom, hugging her. Bell hugs her so tight. “I love you, my sweet girl.”
Gage watches River. “You really do care for her?” I ask him.
He nods. “Fuck yeah I do. When you know you know.”
That is without a doubt. The second I met Bell everything changed, but it’s the best change.
“We’re ready,” Smiley says.
Adeline comes over and sits beside Bell. Bell looks so sad and defeated.
I approach her. “We’ll be back soon, honey.” I kiss her on the lips, my hand on the back of her neck, pulling her in deep.
I’m not sure what to hope for.
We pull up to a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. We drove for close to an hour outside of an already small fucking town.
There is not a single soul around the cabin, just a small light on inside that looks like a fucking lantern.
“Maybe I should go first?” Shaylin suggests.
“Fuck no you’re not,” Butcher hisses, taking her hand so she can’t charge right up to the fucking door.
“I’ll go around back.” Smiley runs behind the house. I don’t listen to them bicker.
I peer inside of the window. I see a small figure sitting at the table. She turns to look at me in the window, and she jumps up from her chair, the force topping it over.