“Start with the bad,” Kenny said as he walked into the living room and sat on the end of the couch.
“He’s pleading not guilty, and the judge set his bail at one hundred thousand dollars.”
“Dammit. What’s the good news?”
“He didn’t make bail. He doesn’t have the money. And Tony got into that computer, which led us to doing a little looking around. We were able to access his online bank account. He’s only got about a thousand dollars in his account. So he’s going to be sitting right where he is for a while. He can’t afford bail. And before you ask, no, we can’t transfer the money out. She’s not on the account. That would be fully illegal, and get her in trouble if we did it.”
Kenny gave a very worried-looking Betsy a thumbs-up, triggering a sigh of relief from her. “That is good news, though,” Kenny said.
Nolan appeared from the kitchen. “What?”
“Didn’t make bail,” Kenny said.
Nolan pumped his fist and sat in one of the easy chairs to listen in.
“I’m going to file for the restraining order to be made permanent tomorrow,” Ed said. “Is there anything else we need to get for her out of the apartment?”
“Let me ask.” He turned to her. “Did we get everything you need last night?”
“Well, everything that’s technically mine. If he can’t get out of jail, I wouldn’t mind going in and getting stuff I’ll have to replace that he made me get rid of, like dishes and stuff.”
Kenny spoke to Ed. “What’s the legalities of clearing out the rest of the apartment?”
“She was a resident there. Her driver’s license lists that address. Legally, she can do what she wants with the contents. The police have released the scene. And I have a list of volunteers ready to go get everything else.”
“Do it, please.”
“Kel’s got an empty unit over at the complex. We’ll move it there for now. The Collins brothers said it’ll take less than an hour to do.”
“Do we need to bring her over?” Kenny asked.
“Not unless she wants to come. We’ll leave any men’s clothing behind. I’m sure the landlord will appreciate not having to empty the place.”
“Thanks. Keep us posted.” She motioned for the phone. “Hold on.” Kenny passed it to her.
“Ed?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Please tell everyone how much I appreciate all of this. I’ll find a way to pay them back somehow.”
“You pay them back by healing your body and making a full recovery with your life.”
* * * *
Tilly and her men arrived at a quarter till five. Nolan no sooner had the door open than she swooped in past him with a peck on the cheek, aiming straight for Betsy on the couch.
Landry smiled. “Long time, no see.” He carried Kenny and Nolan’s bag and set it just inside the door.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” He reached for the covered casserole dish Cris was carrying. “Ed said they’ve emptied the apartment except for Jack’s clothes.”
“Good,” Landry said with a satisfied nod. “That’ll be a nice surprise for him to return to, if he ever makes bail.”
As Nolan carried the dish into the kitchen, he spotted Tilly sitting on the couch next to Betsy, her arm around Betsy’s shoulders.
He suspected Tilly would practically glue herself to Betsy whenever possible. Her and Eliza both. Tilly would soon be starting work as Leigh’s assistant out in LA at their production company, and Eliza would have to stand in for their group’s de facto momma bear.
“So what’s the plan, man?” Tilly asked Kenny as he joined them in the living room.
Nolan returned from the kitchen. “I think that depends in part on whether or not Dennis comes with Mom for dinner.”
Tilly shrugged. “We going for full honesty, here? Or just ‘common friends,’ or what?”
Nolan looked to Kenny. This was his mom. He knew he had his own revelations he’d have to go through with his family, but he wouldn’t make this decision for his partner.
“Full honesty,” Kenny said. “At first I wasn’t going to talk about the BDSM stuff, but you know what? If I’m going to get it all out on the table, I’m going to feel a lot better.”
“Cool,” Tilly said. She glared at Landry, who looked like he was about to speak. “And yes, I will behave myself, Sir. Fussypants.”
Cris snickered. “One of these days, you’re going to say that to him and he’s going to haul off and spank you in the bad way.”
She stuck her tongue out at Cris. “No, he won’t. Because he lurrrrves me.” She blew Landry a kiss.
Nolan was relieved to see Betsy attempt a smile. “I hope my appearance doesn’t scare the crap out of your mom,” she said. “I look horrible.”
“This might sound wrong,” Kenny said, “but I’m going to put it out there anyway. I’m honestly hoping she feels so badly for you that she sort of glosses over the whole BDSM revelation. That, and that we’re sometimes poly with a woman.”
Tilly gasped. “You two sometimes partner up with women?” she said, sounding totally surprised. “I had
no
idea.”
Now Betsy laughed. She patted Tilly on the leg. “Tilly, please. Lying doesn’t suit you. I swear that I will not get involved in any other relationship unless you and-or Eliza have signed off on it first. But it’s way too soon for you to try matchmaking, okay? I don’t even have a damn car. I just want my life back first.”
“Well, can’t blame a Domme for trying, can you?”
“No, and I love you for it.”
“Oh, she has a phone,” Kenny said, getting up to retrieve it from where he’d left it charging in their bedroom.
“She does?” Tilly whipped hers out. “Cool, what’s the number?”
“I do?” Betsy asked.
“I bought you one,” Kenny called over his shoulder.
“What?”
Nolan caught the hint of fear in her voice and called him back. “Kenny, wait.” Nolan arched an eyebrow at her. “It’s not an expensive phone or an expensive plan. But we’re doing this for you for two reasons. One, you need a phone of your own. Consider the phone and the first two months a gift. Hopefully by that point you’ll be able to afford to pay for it yourself. If not, we’ll give you two more months as an early Christmas gift.”
Her left eye closed, a tear squeezing out from under the lid as she nodded.
Tilly’s voice dropped, her tone tender. “Betsy, you’re not the first woman to end up in this situation. The difference here is you have people who love you and want to help you. Let us help you. Please?”
Betsy nodded again. “Thank you.”
Nolan nodded for Kenny to get the phone. He brought it back, showing her how to use it. Tilly immediately set to work programming a bunch of numbers into it for her, including hers and her men’s numbers, Eliza, Tony, Shayla, Ross and Loren, Ed—everyone. Kenny had already programmed his and Nolan’s cell and work numbers into it for her to have.
After Tilly returned it to her, Betsy stared at it for a long moment, then handed it to Tilly. “Take a picture of me,” she quietly said.
Tilly’s brow furrowed. “Uh, why?”
“Because I never want to forget this. I want a picture of how I look right now, so if I ever start to do something stupid again, even after I’ve forgotten how badly this hurts, even after I’ve moved on and have my life and independence back, I want to be able to look at my face and remember why I can’t fuck up this badly ever again.”
Kenny wasn’t the least bit surprised when he heard a car door shut two minutes before six and glanced out the front window to see his mom walking up their driveway.
Alone.
He already had the front door open when she stepped onto the porch. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. Extra guests for dinner?”
He took the red velvet cake she’d made from her. “Yeah, that’s…complicated.”
“Compli—” Her jaw snapped shut when she spotted Betsy sitting on the couch.
“Mom, it’s a long story, and I promise you, you’ll get all of it.” He made a quick round of introductions while Nolan came and took the cake from him.
His mom walked around the coffee table to sit on the other end of the couch next to Betsy. “I hope the son of a bitch who did this to you is in jail!”
“He is, Mom,” Kenny assured her.
He started with the quick version, that Betsy called Tilly for help, and a bunch of them rushed in to provide said help.
When he finished that part, his mom glanced at Tilly, her men, then back to him. “Okay. So what aren’t you telling me?”
Nolan had joined them out in the living room. “You know how that one night after dinner we had the TV on, and one of those commercials for the
Fifty Shades
movie played?” Kenny asked her.
“Yeah?”
“We all live it in real life.”
The room went tomb-silent.
Kenny watched his mom as her gaze swiveled from him, to Betsy, to Nolan, then to Tilly and her guys. “So you three,” she said, using a finger to indicate Tilly, Landry, and Cris, “are a…group?”
“Triad,” Landry offered. “We’re a poly triad. Tilly is my wife, and Cris is my slave, and we’re all partners.”
“And it’s really complicated if we explain more than that,” Tilly added, this time without any of her characteristic snark added for conversational flavor.
His mom nodded, then looked back at Kenny. “So, some of those women you and Nolan brought around before?”
He nodded. “They were women we were dating or playing with,” he admitted.
“And her?” She pointed at Betsy. “No offense to any of you, but she looks like she should be in the hospital.”
“I checked myself out of the ER last night,” Betsy said. “Don’t worry, right now, all I’m planning to do is survive long enough to look human again and get my life back.”
“So the guy who beat you up…”
“I was a dummy who fell for a guy who suckered me in. Most guys are nice guys. Like Kenny and Nolan. Or Landry and Cris. They don’t do this.” She pointed at her own face. “This is abuse, and believe me, I know it.”
“Okay.” She seemed to be digesting that. Then, she looked at Kenny and shook a finger at him. “I ever hear of
you
doing something like
this
to anyone? You’ll be dealing with me, young man.”
Tilly snorted. “Don’t worry. There wouldn’t be enough left of him for you to deal with.”
* * * *
Betsy didn’t know if Kenny’s mom was just that cool, or if Michelle was trying to act cool because Betsy knew she looked like complete and utter hell, but she didn’t care. The woman was sweet and ordered Betsy and the others to call her “Mom.”
She wouldn’t dare argue.
“Well, I’m glad Dennis didn’t come with me tonight,” she said as they sat down to eat. “That would have made things even more interesting.”
“So how is he?” Kenny asked.
Michelle shrugged. “Still sulking. I think he’s upset that I didn’t beg him to come with me tonight. I told him he could either act like an adult or get the hell out. I raised my child. I’m not raising another one. Especially when he’s supposed to be a damned adult.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Kenny said. “We didn’t realize he’d come home, or we would have been more careful.”
She waved him off. “It’s okay. It had to come out sooner or later. So, when do I get to plan you and Nolan’s wedding?”
Betsy couldn’t help but laugh as Kenny choked on the swallow of iced tea he’d been taking. “Mom!”
“Well? The secret’s out now, right? Get married before the boneheads in Tallahassee figure out a way to stop it again.”
“We still have to tell my parents,” Nolan said. “I’m not sure how that will go.”
Michelle nodded. “At least you boys have a supportive group of friends, if these three here—and Betsy—are any indication.”
Betsy thought she might be able to sit there and avoid talking, but Michelle, who’d sat right next to her, pulled her into the conversation. “So, what are your next plans? What did you do for a living? Any job prospects?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m going to work on my resume and talk to the real estate office where I worked before Jack made me quit. See if they’re hiring or know of anyone who might be. From there…” She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“No degree?”
“Just a two-year from community college for business. Bookkeeping, accounting, basic stuff. I couldn’t afford a four-year school and didn’t have the grades for a scholarship.”
Michelle nodded. “Well, keep me posted. If you’re familiar with real estate, have you done any property management?”
“Not really. Our office handled residential sales. Why?”
“One of the women in our office is moving in a few weeks. We’re going to post the position sometime this week. We handle commercial and retail property management. Several business plazas, a mall, things like that. It’s an administrative position. Starts at forty thousand a year, but you’ll have to apply for it. I can’t just give you the job because you’re my son’s friend.”
Hope started to catch fire inside her. “Thank you! Yes, I’d love the chance to apply.” It was a little more than she’d made at her last job, and she’d been living okay with that salary. Not high off the hog, but she’d had a tidy little apartment and a car that ran well and was paid off, with a few extra dollars to go to Venture or a movie every weekend, or to buy herself a nice dinner, if she wanted to.
“Okay. Then get me your resume as soon as you can. The sooner you can apply, the sooner we can get you in to interview. It’ll be about two weeks or so before we start interviews.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” That would give her time to heal up reasonably well.
“I’ll help you with your resume tomorrow,” Tilly said. “I’ll be over here before the guys leave for work and we’ll do that.”
“Thanks.” She stared down at her plate while fighting the urge to cry. The kindness everyone had shown her…It was the polar opposite of the hell she’d just escaped from not even twenty-four hours ago.
This time yesterday, she’d been beaten and bloody and curled up on the couch, nearly unconscious, after a day of struggling to get the chain off her foot.
Michelle reached over and touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“No, but I’m finally thinking maybe I’ll reach that point sooner than I thought I would.”