Page 48 of Judge
Judge
Ididn’t think she would do it. I thought perhaps she would see Sniper’s piece of shit brother and take pity on him, help him, instead she did what Sniper couldn’t bring himself to do. And she did it without flinching. In fact she didn’t flinch until she saw me, one look at her and I knew she was about to run.
Looking around me I decide this is probably better done in one of the trailers, or better yet, the house I’ve built just down from Tank’s. When Marx and Pops revealed there was space for us all to build cabins similar to Chewy’s family, I leapt at the chance. Kaia’s house is nice and all, but it’s not near my family and more importantly, I don’t live there. I want them here, with me, the way they should always have been. I take Kaia’s hand, leading her away from the Rev Room, following the dirt track to where the houses are. I move past Marx’s, Wire’s and Tank’s, coming to a stop in front of a cabin with a blue door and a wraparound porch. Guiding Kaia up the steps is enough to snap her out of her silence.
“Where are we?” she peeks inside the door when I swing it open, the inside bare save for two camp chairs where Tank and I had a beer last night.
“Welcome home, Kai,”
Her wide eyes snap to mine. “What?”
“I built this for us, our family. I want this Kai, you, me, the twins. Together, the way it should have been.”
She sniffles, turning her back on me. “Leo, there are things you need to know. You might change your mind,” her voice is small, her arms wrapped around her middle.
“I know that you’ve taken a life before.”
She nods, looking so fucking tiny and vulnerable. “You need to understand, Leo, the me you know here, from the diner, that’s not who I was for a long time. I never had many friends, I was insecure, and then I was a mom.”
“Kai?”
She raises her hand, stopping me, “I need to get this out. Please?” I nod and she gives me a tight smile, before staring out the window, not looking at anything in particular. “I had a … boyfriend. Seth. He was nice, charming. Was happy dating a single mom.” she huffs, her voice detached like she’s telling someone else’s story. “We started off friends, then it slowly became more.” She takes a breath, looking over at me. “I didn’t realise how unhealthy the relationship was until it was too late. The barbs about my cooking, cleaning, my looks. Isolating me from my dad. Slowly chipping away at me until he controlled everything. The money, the house, the kids, me. I worked all the hours I could get and yet it was still never enough. Seth wanted me to earn more. Then one night he comes to me with an idea, to sell pictures of my feet. I mean, what could it hurt? No one would know it was me right? But that was just the start of it.”
My fists clench as my stomach sours. I don’t want to hear it, and yet I need to.
“The next thing I knew it was live cam shows of my feet. Then the underwear I was wearing in the cam shows would be sent to subscribers. Then it was blurring my face out and posingfor nudes. It all came to a head when I came home one night to find him and a friend waiting for me in their underwear, the camera pointed at the bed. I went nuts, knowing the kids were upstairs, knowing that Seth had arranged this without my knowledge. His ‘friend’ flipped out, told him to call him when I calmed down.” She takes a deep breath, her gaze back out the window again. “He lunged toward me, slapping me so hard I saw stars. He was wild, threatening all sorts of things. Threatening that Annie would take my place if I didn’t do as I was told. I freaked out, ran upstairs and locked myself in the twins’ room.” Fury rushes through my veins, the blood making my head pound with pure rage. “I couldn’t let that happen so I called my dad to come get us then started packing. I woke the kids, told them we were going to stay with grandpa for a bit. They were so fucking excited. I waited the ten minutes it would take dad to get to us. I heard his voice shouting downstairs, banging, then quiet. Too quiet.” Her shaking hand comes up to cover her sob, and I reach for her, stopping short when she swallows thickly, pulling her shoulders back. “I unlocked the door, snuck downstairs to see my dad lying on the floor, blood coming from his head. I ran to him, to help him and Seth, he-he grabbed me. I fought as hard as I could, I bit, kicked, scratched, everything I could think of but Seth was bigger, stronger. He slammed me into the wall, his hands around my throat, screaming how I’d cost him money. I must have blacked out because when I woke up Seth was on the ground, Annie was on the phone to first responders and Jax was staring at Seth with a baseball bat in his hands. My baby boy, my fucking baby had to save me from the bastard I had brought into their lives.” She whirls to look at me, eyes wild, “That’s the type of mother I am, Leo. A mother who brings a monster into our lives and whose babies had to save her.”
I pull her into my arms, wrapping her tightly, rocking her side to side, “Shhh, baby, I got you. None of this is your fault.Men like that, they fucking choose women they can control. You were young, alone with two kids, an easy target.” I push her away from me, holding my face in her hands. “When shit went bad you knew to get out of there. You’re a fucking amazing mother Kai, don’t let some fuckhead make you question your worth.”
“But-”
“No buts baby.”
“He’s the reason Annie is skittish around men and why Jax is so overprotective.” She cries again, staring at me as if I’m not taking her words in.
I’m hearing her loud and clear. I initially thought that was their personalities, but now I know what they all went through, the way they are together, it makes so much more sense. The kids are fourteen and yet they don’t behave their age at all. Annie seems young for her age whereas Jax is like an old soul.
I hug Kaia to me tighter, silently trying to give her my strength. I know that she must be carrying a fuckton of guilt around what the kids went through, but shit, if they hadn’t intervened, then she wouldn’t be standing here right now and who the fuck knows what type of life the twins would have had living with that motherfucker.
I wait a moment until she settles, before murmuring into her hair, “What happened to your dad, baby?”
She swallows, her face pressed to my chest, arms wrapped around my waist. “They put him into a coma, but his brain never recovered fully. He came home with me needing round the clock care, feeding, changing, the works. He didn’t want to live like that. Everytime I sat with him he’d use his energy to tell me to let him go, it wasn’t the life he wanted.” She sniffs, swallowing thickly, “So one night the kids and I had a movie night with him. We sat on his bed and shared stories and cuddles. Then once the kids fell asleep I held his hand and we said goodbye. I overdosedhim on pain meds and lay with him. He pressed a kiss to my head and then he was gone.”
I, too, press a kiss to her head and she breaks down, the trauma and pain and guilt leaving her body through her sobs and wails, my woman held together only by the safety of my arms. It breaks my fucking heart knowing what my family went through, but not for any longer. From this point forward every breath I take will be to make their lives better, no matter who I need to kill.
“Where is this Seth fucker now?” I growl as soon as she quiets.
“After dad died his assault and battery charge was upgraded to manslaughter. He went to prison, b-but he’s out now. He found us at the diner.”
A chill runs down my spine and I push her away from me, my grip on her shoulders tight, her skin under my palms the only thing keeping me grounded. “When?” I growl, ignoring her wide red rimmed eyes.
“Just before we left to come here,” she whispers, shrinking in on herself.
“Fuck! Did he hurt you? Touch you at all?” I run my hands over her body, not fucking surprised that the bastard choked her out. She’s goddamned tiny.
“No, he threatened me and Annie, but I-I grabbed him by the balls and twisted until he almost passed out,” her lips tip up and I know that’s a fucking big deal.
“Good girl,” I praise, getting a smile from her before it fades.
