Page 24 of Stranger Gifts

“If she doesn’t, Nash, it will eat her alive. She’ll continue to fold into herself and hide from the world. She’s too young to do that. Too full of life, love, and goodness to hide. Don’t allow her to do that.”

“Winter, I can’t force her to speak with me,” he said shaking his head.

“I don’t want you to force her. I just want you to be there for her. She’s going to crumble at some point.” Nash just stared at the couple unsure of what he was supposed to do.

“Listen, Nash. When Winter arrived here she was a shell of what you see now. She barely spoke to anyone other than Keegan. She kept her hair over her face, she hid the marks and tattoos that had been placed on her.”

“Tattoos?”

“My grandfather’s motorcycle club put an ownership tattoo on me. Hiro bought the laser machine that took it off,” she said smiling at her husband. “That’s how I knew he would never harm me. Also, he didn’t push me. He was there, ready in case I fell. But he never pushed me. I think the turning point for me was the day I screamed.”

“Dear God,” muttered Nash. “You screamed?”

“It’s not what you think. I screamed to let out everything I had held in. You see, my grandfather delighted in hearing the women cry or scream. Me included. I was caged, forced to be without clothing and food, beaten, raped, and sodomized.” Nash had tears in his eyes shaking his head.

“Winter, I’m so fucking sorry,” he wept.

“I know,” she smiled, touching his arm. “I was lucky. I had all these people to help me. I’ve watched the film of Jenna. It was-it was horrible but I noticed something. Although she attempted to fight back, she never screamed. Never.”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

“We think that she was probably taught that screaming was not appropriate,” said Hiro. “The convent would have encouraged her to be a quiet, well-behaved sister. Even while being beaten and raped, she didn’t let go of that. If I had to guess, she was most likely praying that God would help her. That’s why she’s lost her faith right now.”

“What if those men find her?” asked Nash. “What happens if she actually has to face that guy in a courtroom? I’m not sure she can manage that. She thinks she’s doing well, managing things well, but I don’t think she is at all.”

“I can’t answer that,” said Hiro. “You being there for her makes a difference. All of us being there for her. She won’t crumble but if they have a good attorney, she might find it difficult to speak about the details.”

“I don’t want her to go through that. It’s not right,” he said. “Did you face your grandfather?” Winter smiled and nodded.

“Not in a courtroom, but I faced him. I stood in front of him and let him know that he would never touch me, or any woman ever again. Then I shot him.” Nash smirked at the tiny woman.

“Good for you,” he grinned.

“It felt wonderful,” she said. She looked up to see Jenna seated on the dock and kissed her husband. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to offer a makeover for Jenna. Hair, nails, make-up, all of it. It usually makes a woman at least feel better for a while.”

They watched as she walked toward the woman who was seated with her head down, not looking at anything except her feet.

“She won’t be able to handle the courtroom, Hiro.” He nodded as they turned to see the man walking toward them.

“I have an idea.”

Weaver Crup pushed what passed for food, around on his plate. He was losing weight every day trying to avoid the slop they were feeding him. His old man promised that he’d have him out and he trusted him. He wouldn’t lead him on.

Twenty-six and the bastard son of the head of one of the most vicious one-percenter clubs made him feared by many. For the rest, he was their daily target. Fortunately, he’d learned to fight and that was keeping him alive and preventing him from being raped.

When the alarms went off, again, he knew someone was doing something fucking stupid.

“In your cells!” yelled the guard. “Crup! Move!”

“I’m moving. Fuck!” he growled.

He walked up the steps to the level of cells above them and took a seat inside his own cell. When his cellmate didn’t arrive, he wondered if it was him causing the problems. He seriously doubted it. The guy was afraid of his own shadow.

The doors closed and the locks were engaged, the sirens still blaring. He leaned his head against the wall and let out a long sigh.

“I fucking hate this place.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be leaving soon,” said the voice.

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