Redemption (3 page)

His face showed a desperate plea. Dante knew better than anyone what Denver was capable of. “You don’t have to come with me, but I have to go. I have to confront him and fight for my sister because no one else will.”

Dante screwed his eyes shut. Guilt slammed into me like a truck. “Dante, you don’t have to—,”

He locked his jaw. “I’m with you, brother. Let’s do this.”

I matched his gaze to make sure he was ready. I slowly nodded. Before anyone could spot us, we ran down the long hallway and pushed opened the heavy wooden door at the end. The room was loud with laughter but dropped silent when we stepped through the threshold. I recognized a few faces, but the main one was the man smiling back at me.

“Rage, it’s nice to see you.” He gave me a once over. “Prison has done wonders for you.” The edge of his brow lifted at Dante behind me. “I’m surprised to see you here, Dante. Didn’t you have a run tonight?”

Dante didn’t say anything, and I didn’t turn to see his face, I knew he was silent because he was betraying Denver. There wasn’t any reason for him to state the obvious.

Anger soared through me when his lips pulled into a grin. The stupid suite he wore was crisp and ironed. His polished blonde hair and perfect smile fooled so many people, but it didn’t fool me—I just wished I could say the same for my sister. “Where is she?”

Denver leaned back in his chair and waved off the men standing in the corner ready for us to attack. They didn’t even realize I had nothing to lose. 

“And
who
might you be talking about?”

“Cut the fucking shit, Denver. Where is my sister?”

Denver chuckled and played his hand while laughing over his cigar. The potbellied man beside him tossed him a dirty look and slammed his cards down. “She’s at my house sleeping—waiting for me to come take care of her.”

Goddammit I’m going to kill him. 
I took a step forward, but one of the big burly twins to the side stepped forward. “I wouldn’t do that,” he whispered toward me.

I didn’t look his way. “Leave my sister alone. She hasn’t done anything to you. This is about me.”

Denver smiled and hurried the man sitting next to him along. “I beg to differ. She’s done a lot with me.”

No
. There wasn’t enough air in the room. The knife in the side of my boot felt like a thousand pounds. “I’ll start helping again,” I whispered helplessly. “I’ll deal or move it. Anything.”

Knowing that Denver Ford didn’t have an ounce of compassion for life should have scared me.  It made me seem crazier than normal for standing in a room with three armed men surrounding me, but my sister was worth a bullet to the chest and the last breath in my lungs.

Denver put his cigar out on the table and motioned for the other guys to leave. To my surprise no one said a word, and the room cleared out. A dead feeling grew in my chest, it spread throughout my veins. Denver glanced at Dante and smiled. “Take him. I’ll deal with him later.”

There was no way he could fight off the two guys that grabbed his arms. Dante gave me a look that said he would be okay but in reality, there was no way he knew what was going to happen.

They directed Dante toward the door. He tilted his head up high before they pulled him across the threshold. It gave me all the confirmation I needed to go for it. I had to move, because he had cleared out the room, and that only meant he didn’t want extra eyes around.

Before the guys around me could step, I darted across the room, grabbed the knife wedged in my boot and sliced it across Denver’s face. His scream was loud and sent chills down my body. The next few seconds was a rapid blur. Something forced me down to the ground, and I hit it like an eighteen-wheeler to a brick wall. All the air rushed from my body in the quickest millisecond of my life, and I was left gasping for breath.

“Oh, Rage. You’re gonna regret that,” Denver spat.

But I couldn’t move to look at him. I realized someone’s knee pinned me down to the ground. Wetness clung to my face, and I could feel the puddle of blood where my face had hit the cement. Despite the stars dancing along my vision, I tried to break free, only to be forced down harder.

“Do you not understand? Turn him around.”

The man above me grabbed my shoulders and violently jerked me around, using his boot against my throat for leverage. Denver’s face was a bloody mess, and the once white handkerchief he had to his cheek was blood red.

“You’re going to die now. You know that right?”

I smiled up at him. “I’m not scared of death. I’m just scared for my sister.”

Denver pressed harder onto his face and whispered, “Now you should really be scared for her. Kill him. Take him away from here. I don’t care how. I have to call the fucking medic.”

The sound of his feet bounding up the stairs was the last I heard of him. “You heard the boss. Let’s kill ‘em so we can get rid of him,” one of the men said.

Is Hannah okay? Will he kill her now or just toss her out by herself?
Something hard hit my side, and vomit rose in my throat. I looked up at the florescent light. The shadow of the man above me swung a tire iron, and I felt it in my gut.

I had to fight for her.
She has no one.
Another blow hit hard but this time to my leg.
Fuck
. Before long I couldn’t move or think. The only thing that I could focus on was Christmas. Hannah loved Christmas. Even though it was months away, I didn’t want her to be alone for it.

I had to survive for her.
Survive you fucking asshole. If you do anything, just survive for her.

Everything went black a few seconds later.

***

Crickets chirping softly woke me. My first thoughts felt hazy. My surroundings were different, but I could tell I was outside. The sun was rising, but I was too weak to keep my eyes completely opened. Water lapped against me, washing away the evidence of blood that surrounded me. 

I’d been in pain before but nothing compared to this torment. Everything throbbed and a low unsteady heartbeat flickered in my neck.
How am I even alive?
They’d beaten me until I thought I was dying.
Hell, I thought I was dead.

The heaviness of my lids weighed on me, so I forced myself to keep them open a little longer. Trees and more trees. I had no idea where I was or if I could get help.

A sharp pain erupted in my side, and I growled loudly into the quit woods around me
. No. No
.
Someone has to be out there. Please.

I hadn’t prayed in years
.
Not since I’d begged God to bring my parents back from the fiery depths of our burned house.  But all I could think about was Hannah and how she was with Denver. How she’d never know what really happened to me. How’d I’d never see her smiling face again.

“Please,” I rasped. “God I—please bring someone to help. Anyone.
Please
. I can’t leave her alone. I can’t leave her with him.”

I watched the bright blue sky, the rising sun casted pink over the hills, and I let the heaviness overpower me.  I helplessly closed my eyes, and all my hope slipped into the dirty creek bed beneath me. 

Chapter Three

Neveah

Lucy woke me the next morning with her tongue on my face. I cringed and wiped at my mouth until she started bouncing next to the bed.

“Okay, I’m getting up,” I whined. “I’ll get you something to eat.”

I drug the covers from my body and stood abruptly causing a flood of stars to block my vision.
Whew, I am
not
a morning person.

I trudged toward the kitchen and found a note from Dad on the bar.

There is cereal in the cabinet and gravy and biscuits on the stove. See ya soon.

I glanced at the food sitting on the stove, and my stomach grumbled. After giving Lucy her food, I made me a quick plate and ate while I got ready for my run. It was a sunny day compared to the rain storm that blew through the night before. It’d be muddy, but it’d be worth it to get some of the stress off of my back.

Lucy and I left the house in a run. The trails were like a maze weaved into the thick woods around us. I knew them like the back of my hand. The leaves were thick, and the sun had already started to beam down hotly on my shoulders. I’d have my tan back in a few days.

Lucy trotted beside me. Her tongue flopped outward, and her tail wagged heavily behind her. The scent of pine and summer brought back so many memories from my childhood. Dad and I would go fishing in a pond close by for hours when I was younger.

My mom died when I was two-years-old, so I was mostly raised by my dad. Though I’d struggled emotionally with not having a mother growing up, I didn’t miss out on anything girlie because my Aunt Shelly wouldn’t allow it.  Dad made up most of everything else. The boxing gym always came second to me, but I’d always liked helping out. I’d spent my afternoons hurrying with my homework so that I could spar with the boys. There had always been a part of me that loved to box, but Dad had promised Mom if anything ever happened to her that he wouldn’t let me fight—professionally at least.

Dad boxed professionally for a year or two before he broke his leg in a fight. Then he took pride in training other people to do great things. His gym was very popular, and when I moved to college it became his life.

Lucy’s ears perked upward, and her taking off full speed brought me back to earth. The pond glistened in the distance, and I figured she wanted to jump in. I wasn’t going to join her, but she could go right ahead. The pond was eerie and grimy. Not somewhere you’d want to take a dip.

She bounded into the water but froze along the bank when the water touched her chest. She bent her head downward and stared back at me.
What was it? A snake
? I may be southern but snakes and I didn’t get—
oh shit.

My feet stopped quicker than my heartbeat.
Is that a person
? My heart hammered deeply in my throat making it hard to breath. Lucy sniffed the object and then looked back at me, waiting on me to do something.
What do I do?

With legs that felt like rubber, I walked over toward the body and glanced down at the bloody mess. The biscuits and gravy that filled my stomach tried to force their way up. His mop of raven colored hair was tangled and dried with blood, but nothing compared to the once white shirt that was soaked a crimson red. A large gash severed his upper arm, blood still oozed from the wound.

“Oh, God,” I mumbled.

The bloody mess of his face was calm beneath the grotesque scene. I wanted to reach down and magically heal every cut that caused all of that blood. I went to reach down when his eyes popped opened, and two grey stones stared up at me. “Oh shit,” I screamed, dropping down to my knees. “Can you hear me?”

His thick lips opened, and a low groan slipped from his mouth. “Yes.”

“I—I don’t have my phone.” His eyes screwed shut, and he slumped back against the muddy ground.

Shit. Shit. Shit.
His jeans were torn and bloody, but I reached down into the front pocket and found a cell phone. “I’m going to call the ambulance—,”

“No,” he ground out
.
His voice was deep and raw but most of all filled with pain. “No, please.”

No?
“You’re dyin’,” I said, pressing my palm against his forehead. “You’re freezing, too. Please let me call the ambulance.”

Grey Eyes groaned and tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down. “Don’t move. I’m going to call my dad then.”

“No,” he rasped out.

I searched his face. “I can’t carry you back. You’re gonna die.”

He knew that, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t look him in the eyes and let him die. I dialed my dad’s gym. The four rings felt more like fifty.

“Joe’s Boxing Gym—,”

“Dad you have to come home right now. There is a guy dying in the woods by the house.”

“Neveah, what? Are you serious? Hold on. Where at?”

I stuttered over my words and took a calming breath to slow my drumming heartbeat. “By the pond where we fish.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I pressed the
end
button and clutched the phone between my palms. Lucy laid beside his body, and my eyes rounded when he brought his fingers out to meet Lucy’s nose. She licked him like she knew he was hurt, and tears spilled from my eyes.

Get it together, Neveah.
Fumbling with my light weight jacket tied around my hips, I got it off and ripped the sleeve from the seam. I carefully raised his arm and tied the fabric above the worst cut toward his shoulder.
That should help for a while.

“What happened?” I whispered, my eyes examining his large bruised body. One man wouldn’t have been able to do this to him. There had to be two or three big men.

His gaze turned from Lucy to me, and his mouth parted. Through his blood caked face I could see he was handsome—
very
handsome. The way his full lips turned down at the corners, I knew he wasn’t going to share, even if he could talk.

“Who did this?”

This time he just stared and despite him being beaten, his eyes searched over my face like he was trying to memorize it. I pushed back the burn between my legs, ashamed that I was turned on at a time like that.

I sighed and reached over to hold his hand. The way his fingers flinched from my touch sent heat over me—again. Shock stamped his face, but the pad of his finger slid down the length of my hand. A gurgled cough vibrated in his chest, and more tears threatened my eyes.
What had happened to him?
My mind raced back to the gang that had brutally beaten the kid in Dallas.
Had the same thing happened to him?

“You’re gonna be okay,” I whispered, stroking his fingers.
“I’ve got you.”

The corner of his mouth drug up an inch, it was his eyes that told me he didn’t believe he’d be okay. “I’m Neveah,” I whispered.

His gaze turned toward mine, a look I couldn’t pinpoint crossed his face. “
Heaven
spelled backwards?” he groaned.

I nodded.

I knew when Dad had arrived because Lucy bounded up to meet him.
But it wasn’t just Dad who ran toward us, Cooper was with him
.
Dad slowed when he saw us, and his brown eyes widened.

“Holy shit,” Cooper whispered racing toward us.
His light eyes briefly flickered to mine before he bent down and started pulling his things out. He was the gym’s medic. We’d dated for a couple of years in high-school. I had momentarily thought we’d get married but things didn’t end on the best terms with us. Him wanting to stay together but me knowing a sixteen-hour long distant relationship wasn’t what I wanted.

“Why didn’t you call the ambulance?” he hissed. “He’s badly beaten.”

I narrowed my eyes at him before meeting mystery guy’s gaze. “He doesn’t want to go to the hospital.”

Dad patted my shoulder from behind me. “It’s okay. You did the right thing, sweetie.”

Cooper ran a hand through his ruffled blond hair. “We’re going to need water to clean him up. Let’s get him to your house and then I’ll start.”

We all stood, but Dad placed a hand on my shoulder. “Sweetie, I need you to go to the gym and take over. Can you practice sparring with the boys until I get back?”

Can I or will I?
I wanted to stay. I bit my bottom lip and watched as Cooper pulled the man’s shoulders up and leaned him upright. He groaned, but when he opened his eyes they locked with mine. Something coiled inside of my stomach at the way he looked at me. “You’re not gonna take him to the hospital, are you?”

Dad frowned. “We need to, but there is obviously a reason
why
he doesn’t want to go. Until I find out what that reason is I don’t want you here.”

I mentally rolled me eyes. “Yeah, because he really looks well enough to take me down, huh?”

Dad closed his eyes briefly. “Don’t be a pain, Neveah. Just go. I’ll be there as soon as we get him situated and find out what happened and what’s wrong.”

I gave one more glance his direction and met those grey eyes that I knew held so many secrets. “Okay.

***

I hurried over to the gym. For some reason I felt it necessary to hurry and get there to calm my nerves. It didn’t work. My hammer of a heartbeat thudded loudly in my head, reminding me each second of the dying man outside.

Only two boys had showed up so far, and I let them spar in the ring while I watched nervously from the side. Lucy yawned at my feet, and I glanced down at her big eyes. “What do you think?” I asked. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“Who are you talkin’ to?”

I glanced up at a young boy that looked at me like I had two heads. “I’m talking to my dog,” I mumbled. “Can I help you?”

He looked around, obviously confused. “My name is Dakota, and I’m looking for Mr. Wes.” He’s bushy brows furrowed. “Who are you?”

“I’m his daughter, Neveah. You want to do some sparring until he gets back? There was an emergency.”

His frown deepened, and he pulled at his gym bag that hung off his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

I had no idea. “Yes. Not a big deal.”

That seemed to satisfy him, but he quickly frowned. “There isn’t enough people here to spar yet.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the pair of gloves beneath my foldout chair in the gym. “I’ll be sparing with you.”

A look of horror crossed his face. “You’re a girl. I don’t hit girls.”

I grinned and slid the red gloves onto my hands. “Oh, don’t worry, you won’t be hittin’ me.”

The warm feel of my gloves soothed the anxiety coursing through me. The guy in front of me wore a frown that I’d seen one too many times growing up. “I don’t want to hit you.”

“You won’t.”

His eyes scanned the room, but he finally tossed his bag to the side, brought his hands up and started bouncing on his feet. I hadn’t boxed since Christmas, but it was second nature for me to defend myself. He sidestepped and gave me the weakest shove I’d ever seen.

I swung outwards and knocked him in the jaw. “Hey!” he shouted.

I shrugged. “Fight then. I’ve been doing this way longer than you have, kid.”

That made him mad. He corrected his stance and threw punches wildly at me until he was so tired he couldn’t breathe. “You need a break.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I think you do.”

“I don’t,” he snapped and tried an uppercut but missed. Aggravated sounds vibrated from his chest, and I almost felt sorry for the kid.
Almost.

When he fell to the floor, I offered him my hand, he didn’t take it. I left him sulking on the floor while I washed my face off in the guest bathroom.

The guy still sat in the middle of the floor when I walked back through.
Sore loser.

A woman came in almost an hour later. She searched the room and looked down the hallway, completely ignoring me. “Can I help you?”

She jerked upward and gave me an obvious onceover. “
Sorry
—who are you?”

Eyeing her too tight clothes, I lifted a brow. “I work here. I’m Wes’ daughter.”

This seemed to change things. “Oh, I’m Nick’s mother, just here to pick him up. Where is your dad?”

None of your business
. “Nick and I just got finished sparring, he should be about ready.”

She gave me the weakest smile I’ve ever seen and sashayed through the double doors.

Two minutes later she came storming through the door with Nick trailing behind her. Neither one of them looked my way.
Suite yourself.

***

I tapped my fingers along the desk. I knew I needed to take a look at Dad’s books, but I had too much on my mind.
Was the mystery guy okay?
Had they found out what happened? His name?

The minutes slowly ticked by, and my nerves grew wilder. My phone buzzed in my jeans, but I knew it was Heath, because it’d been him all morning long. I had no intentions of talking to him, and he would do good to get the hint sooner rather than later.