Page 16 of Faith
Nina met their gazes with a strong one of her own. “I wasn’t held by a man. I was with a woman. She’s the one in charge. The one who did all of this.” Nina pointed to her throat and eye, the bruises more prevalent than the night before. “I left so I could help take her down. Her name is Gwendolyn Lennox.”
4
Nina watchedthe two most important people in her life as they absorbed her words. Zeke leaned against the wall, and Monty dropped to the seat next to her, his head in his hands.
She would have been more shocked if they didn’t know the name. Nina was sure everyone knew Gwendolyn Lennox by now. But their reactions confirmed they were more than aware of who she was. They were intimately knowledgeable about what Gwendolyn was capable of.
“How are you alive?” Monty whispered. He lifted his gaze to hers. The pain in his was enough to send Nina to the chair next to him.
She wondered the same thing over the years, but she never let herself dwell on it. If she did, she would have lost hope, and hope was the only thing she ever had. The only thing Gwendolyn never took from her. “She liked me. I was… She called me her sister. Said we were alike, and she took care of me.”
“Shitty sister,” Zeke growled, his gaze locked on the handprints around Nina’s throat.
Nina instinctively reached up to hide the marks. She’d done the same for years. Whenever Gwendolyn got angry withher, she would leave marks on Nina. The marks would anger Gwendolyn even more because if Nina was given to one of the customers with marks on her, the men would think it meant they were allowed to leave their own. Gwendolyn was horrible, but she didn’t like her women getting beaten. Unless she was the one doing it.
“Don’t cover up what she did. You need to report this. It’s more evidence against her. More that can be used to keep her ass in jail when she’s found.” Monty’s voice was harsh. His glare was worse.
Nina shivered as she removed her hand. “This is nothing compared to what she’s capable of.”
“We know,” the men said together.
“Fuck,” Monty whispered. “All this… I can’t… I’m so fucking sorry.” He hauled her from her seat and into his arms, burying his face in her neck.
Nina held on to her brother, never wanting to let go. She trembled against him. Over the years, she’d almost lost hope of seeing him again. Gwendolyn told her he’d left and never returned. That he moved on without her holding him back. She reinforced the decision seventeen-year-old Nina made and said Montgomery was better off without Nina in his life.
Nina hoped she could one day see her brother again, but she never hoped it would be in the same town where they always lived.
“When did you come back to Niagara Falls?” Nina asked against his chest.
Montgomery sniffed, pulling back from her and wiping his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat on the edge of his desk. “After my four years were up, I came back. Everyone told me you were gone, but I couldn’t give up. I started all of this hoping I could keep someone else from losing their sister the same way.”
“And you didn’t get married? Did you break up because of me?”
Monty looked past Nina to Zeke.
Nina followed his gaze and caught Zeke shrugging.
“I was never engaged,” Monty said.
“What? I thought…” Nina closed her eyes. “Kids?”
“None of those, either. Why would you think that?”
“Gwendolyn told me you settled down and had a good life. Said you were better off without me.”
“I’m going to kill that bitch,” Zeke growled. “What did she tell you about me?”
Nina shook her head. “She never mentioned you. I… When I left, I wanted to put everything that happened behind me. We talked about my family, and I told her I couldn’t have Monty give up his dreams because of me.”
“I would have given up everything for you.” Monty grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his. “Everything, Nina. I wanted to. The only question I had was what the Navy would say.”
“You would have gotten in trouble. I heard you talking about it after Mom’s funeral.”
Monty shook his head. “I could have, but being your guardian would have been a special circumstance. I would have delayed enlisting, but it was possible.”
“I didn’t… I didn’t know.”
Monty shook his head slowly. “We can’t go back. All we can do now is move forward and put that woman in jail forever so she never hurts anyone else.”
