Page 16 of Unbreakable
Then shortly after the two were married, Grace's mom's bakery was burned down, with her mom inside. The whole thing was ruled an accident. Supposedly a gas leak, but Grace always felt her husband was behind the fire. Her mother was constantly trying to convince Grace to leave Ronan. The only person Grace had in her life besides Ronan was her friend Glory. They grew up together. Glory lived in a different state, so Grace said she never got to visit her, but they called each other every week. She said she only mentioned Glory a handful of times to Ronan, and after things with her husband began to change she kept her relationship with Glory a secret. Her friend was also not a big fan of Ronan, and with her suspicions of what she believed really happened to her mom, Grace was scared they would go after Glory."
"So, by this point, he had alienated her from her friends, taken care of the mother. And because Grace wanted to protect the only friend she had left, she was trapped. I'm also assuming she had her daughter by this time, which made her even more dependent on the motherfucker," Quinn interjects with anger in his voice.
Looking around the table at my brothers they all are wearing a look of anger on their face. No judgment or snide comments about how Grace could have been so naïve. I knew my brothers would give Grace nothing but love, support, and protection.
"What about the kid?" Gabriel asks. "This fucker put his hands on her?"
"No," I'm quick to answer. "Grace said she made sure her husband never touched Remi. My guess is she stepped in and took the punishments that were meant for her. She said as Remi got older she learned how to stay out of her father's way. She learned the rules of the house and followed without protest. It's because of her daughter Grace finally got the nerve to escape."
"What do you mean?" Logan inquires.
"Grace overheard her husband and his father talking. They wanted to start grooming Remi. At the time she was only ten, but her marriage was already arranged. Remi was to marry the son of another prominent Irish family. The two were to join forces, and Remi was the ticket. She would be groomed and marry as soon as she turned eighteen. Later Grace confronted her husband, and that is when he beat her bad enough to land her in the hospital. That's when she met O'Rourke."
"Fuck, Prez. His own fuckin' kid?" Logan grits out as he lights a cigarette.
Pulling out my chair and sitting, I light a cigarette of my own and take a drag before I continue. "I didn't ask Grace for details. I don't think she's ready. It was hard enough to give me what she did. I will tell ya, that by my observation of Remi over the past couple of days is that bastard has an old-school view of a woman's place in the home. I made the kid breakfast, and she sat at the table with her plate in front of her and wouldn't touch it. She was waiting and watching me. Like she wasn't allowed to eat until I did or some shit."
"Damn, Prez, that's fucked up," Quinn remarks.
"Yeah it is, but I talked with her. I told her that's not how things work around here. She understands, but I'm sure it will take some time to break out of those old habits." We're all quiet for a few minutes absorbing the information I just handed. And when my eyes land on Reid he's watching me intently. My brother already knows what's coming next. "I need you on this man."
"You got it, Prez." Reid nods.
"Thanks, son."
"In the meantime, I want you all to stay vigilant. Grace is home today with Remi, but if I know my woman she's going to want to get back to doing what she loves, and that's the bakery." I turn my attention to Quinn. "I want you with Grace whenever I'm not. If she's at work, then that's where you are. I'm countin' on you, son. Can you handle this?"
"You know you can, Prez. Don't worry; I got Grace and Remi." With that I slam the gavel down, ending church.
10
Grace
Jake's place is beautiful and secluded, which I enjoy, but I'm starting to feel a little restless. It has nothing to do with being back or nerves. I'm feeling great now that I'm home with my daughter under the same roof as me. Now that I've given myself a few days to adjust to being back home and living in Jake's house for two days all I can think about now is getting back to work. I have lazed around and relaxed along with my daughter by my side. When Jake is not home, the two of us don't venture too far from the house. One, because of the fact Ronan is still a threat to us and two we don’t know the area well. Jake lives so far out from town there happens to be a lot more wildlife we could run into like black bears.
Keeping his promise to Remi, Jake has taken her out the past two mornings to see his friends horses, and in the evening the three of us have walked the property, because Jake is adamant we learn every square inch of it, and I agree.
I've talked with Glory every day since I've been back, and I'm feeling a bit uneasy about her being alone. Glory uprooted her life to help me. She's so close to her family, and for two years she's kept little contact with them for us. I know her parents were supportive of the sacrifices she made, but it doesn’t change the fact that she won't be able to go back home until Finn has the evidence he needs to put Ronan behind bars. Finn is good at keeping us informed and the last we heard Ronan was still actively looking for me. In the beginning, Ronan and his goons harassed Glory's parents by grilling them on where his family was and accusing them of hiding us. In a way, they were. They didn’t know where we went or where their daughter went but they knew part of the reason why. After they had a restraining order filed against him, Ronan resorted to having men stand outside across the street, sometimes for hours at a time watching her parents place until they finally moved on. I don’t have my parents anymore, but I have Glory's mom and dad, and I would do anything to make sure they stay safe. They shouldn’t have to suffer because of my poor choice in a man.
I'm enjoying a soothing cup of chamomile tea when Remi comes bounding down the stairs. "Mom, these clothes are awesome. Have you seen the stuff your friends picked out for me?" She beams. Jake thought the best way to introduce Remi to everyone was all at once, and I agreed, so, the club is having a cookout later today as a welcome home party for my daughter and me.
I love that she hasn’t had any problems settling in since we got here. "I haven't, Bella and Alba will be happy to hear you like what they picked out. You can tell them in a few hours when you finally meet them," I remind her.
"I'm a little nervous," she climbs on the barstool beside me at the kitchen island and snatches a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie from the plate in front of her.
"Peanut, there is nothing to worry about. All of Jake's family are good people. Trust me, they'll love you." I try to reassure her while grabbing a cookie.
"Do I really have to go to work with you tomorrow?" she jumps straight into a new subject altogether while slumping her shoulders.
"Yes, and it's not open for discussion either, Remi," I remind her for the third time since yesterday. I know she wants to be a regular kid and go to school, but I don’t think it would be possible. It's one thing for me to go around using a fake name to get by but to enroll her in school I would have to have more than a false photo ID. Having had enough mother-daughter time she snatches another cookie from the plate and retreats upstairs to her bedroom.
A few hours later Remi and I are buckled into Jake's truck and on our way to the clubhouse. Reaching over, I grab Jake's hand that’s resting on the center console because touching him soothes me. When we arrive at the gate a new guy, I've never seen before lets us pass. "Haven't seen him before?" I comment.
"His name is Grey, he's a newbie lookin' to prospect for us," Jake explains, then pulls his truck alongside Bella's car. "Ready?" he asks as he turns off the ignition.
"Ready," I smile with confidence.
As soon as we step out of the truck, you can smell food cooking on the grill and kids laughing. The three of us proceed to walk through the front door of the clubhouse. I've never been out here or inside Jake's club before. The large room we walk into has a bar on one side, and a few pool tables, couches and small round tables with chairs spread out amongst the room.
