Page 81 of Take Me to Church
Damien motions toward my feet. "How are you feeling?"
It's an interesting question. One I've been pondering most of the day. Technically, I was kidnapped. My feet burned like fire for the majority of the afternoon. My best friend broke her ankle and my sister is struggling with guilt and all it entails.
But I also never have to worry about my father again. I got Matthias back for some of what he's done to my family and what he helped do to victimize members of the IGL.
Today was definitely a mixed bag, but I feel like we came out on top. Like everything is going to be okay. And not just for us.
"I feel surprisingly good."
The big guy, Shaun, jerks his chin toward Christian’s office. "We need to talk."
Christian studies Shaun cautiously as he comes my way, scooping me up from the table to deposit me in the chair behind his desk. He hovers while his brothers come in.
Neither one of them seem surprised that I’m a part of this conversation, and after meeting their wives, that makes sense to me. I can't imagine Shelly ever being okay with Shaun keeping her in the dark, and knowing Josie's history makes me sure Damien would never withhold information from her.
"We had some visitors while you were at the hospital." Shaun stands by the door, expression unreadable.
Christian goes completely still. "If you're about to tell me they came looking for Rodney today—"
"I don’t think they're looking too hard for old Rodney." Damien smirks as he settles onto the sofa, stretching both arms across the back. "Seems like maybe Rodney was turning out to be more trouble than he was worth. His buddies didn't act super sorry to be rid of him."
I sit up straight, dread pooling in my belly. "They came here today?" I haven't been part of this family for very long, but I already feel surprisingly protective of them. They've all worked so hard to create the kind of safety and security they've never had before. The thought of being the one to steal that makes me sick to my stomach.
Damien points at Christian. "They wanted the money Lydia owes."
"Done." Christian doesn't hesitate.
"That's what I figured." Damien stands. "And why I went ahead and paid it."
My jaw drops open. Christian wanting to pay off my debt didn't surprise me, but Damien’s willingness to put down that kind of cash without knowing the full situation is more than a little shocking. And solidifies all Christian has told me about the men he calls his brothers.
They really will do whatever it takes to protect me. To keep me just as safe as he does.
It makes my throat ache and my eyes burn. All I wanted was to get away from the men who only wanted to use me. Manipulate me. Take advantage of me. I never even considered I’d find a family that was the complete opposite of the one I was born into.
Christian moves behind the desk, flipping open one of the file size drawers that conceals a hidden safe. He quickly enters the passcode and opens it to reveal more money than I've ever seen in one place.
Grabbing a few stacks of hundreds, he holds them out to Damien. "Thank you for handling that for me." His eyes drift to where I sit. "For us."
Damien shrugs like it's no big deal. "You would've done it for me."
I feel like I should say something, but I'm struggling to come to terms with everything that's happening. I just started to wrap my head around the discovery that my father, Jeremiah, and Matthias were capable of doing much worse things than I expected in the name of power and control. Now I’m in a room with men who Iknoware capable of doing terrible things, but not for their own benefit.
It's a difficult dichotomy to rectify. I'm sure Christian and his brothers have done much worse than what my father and brother and brother-in-law did today, but the difference is stark. It’s in the motives. The goals. Who gets hurt and who gets to gain. It's further proof that the limits of right and wrong, good and evil, are so much less black-and-white than I was taught to believe. The gray areas are almost everywhere, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up living in one myself.
"We'll get out of your way. We just wanted to be sure you knew what happened." Damien tucks the bills Christian gave him into one pocket of his expensive slacks. "I would also venture to guess we don't have anything to worry about as far as the whole Rodney situation is concerned." He glances at Shaun, lips twitching in a hint of a smile. "Someone made it real fucking clear they needed to stay as far from us as possible."
Shaun frowns, the expression consuming his entire face in a way that makes him look a little terrifying. "I haven’t fucking forgot what they did to Shelly. They needed to know I'm still ready and willing to even out the universe."
My throat flexes, swallowing of its own accord because even I am a little scared of what exactly Shaun means by evening out the universe. And I didn't have any involvement in whatever he's talking about. But the murderous look on his face gives me hope that maybe they’re right. Maybe this thing with Rodney is done.
But that seems awfully easy.
I stay put while Christian lets his brothers out, locking the door behind them before coming back to collect me, lifting me up out of the chair like he isn't just as exhausted as I am, and carrying me up the stairs to his room.
Our room.
He takes me straight into the bathroom, settling me on the side of the large garden tub before switching on the faucet.
