Page 67 of The Saviors: Part One
“How did you get out, Dragonfly?”
She smiles. “Baxter and Roland. Or, more specifically, Baxter's mom, I guess.” She sits up in the chair, seeming more comfortable talking about this part. “The day I got out, we fought that morning, and he left me in a pool of blood to go to work. I lived next door to Edna, Baxter’s mom, and she waited until he went to work. She busted into the house and called an ambulance. She was taking the trash out when she heard what was going on. If it weren’t for her, I would have died on that floor.” That hits me right in the chest. Everything she’s saying is reminding me of what I went through. But she’s stronger than me.
“When I got to the hospital, I panicked, saying that he was going to kill me. That’s when she told me about her son and nephew. They run a women’s shelter, and they’re the size of tanks.” She laughs. “Anyway, they hid me there until I healed, helped me get back on my feet, and after it was said and done, I hired them for security at Daybreak.”
“Why isn’t he in jail, Gorgeous?”
“Many different reasons, but mostly because it’s my word against his. His family is prestigious in Grover. No one would have believed me, and I just wanted to be away from him.”
“He hasn’t tried to make contact?” I ask. It’s weird that he was controlling in their marriage, but then he didn’t come after her?
“No, but I’m guessing that had something to do with Baxter and Roland. I didn’t ask for specifics when they said they handled it.”
Sean raises a brow. “Are you sure he’s even still alive?”
“Unfortunately, yes, he’s still alive.”Not for long.“I know what you guys do for the Saviors, so I’m asking you to leave him alone.”
“Wait a minute, Gorgeous—”
“No. Leave him alone, Sean. It’s over. I got away, I’m alive, and I’m mostly healed. I don’t want you guys anywhere near him. I just want to forget he exists. Promise me.”
“I can’t make that promise,” I say quietly. “I wish I could, Dragonfly, but that’s not a promise that I’ll be able to keep. I will promise that I won’t actively go after him.” But if I just so happen to run into him, that’s a different story.
Sean nods. “I’ll make the same promise. We won’t track him down, but if I see him out, it’s fair game.” She doesn’t even have to ask how we’ll know who it is. We have resources that can track him down in a matter of minutes. And that resource’s name is Nolan.
Chelsea sighs. “I guess that’s all that I can ask. But now that it’s out, I don’t want to talk about it again. I just felt like you guys should know.”
Sean gets up, plucks her from the chair, and tucks her onto the couch between us. “I’m so proud of you,” he says quietly. “For getting away, building a life, and for trusting us.”
“Me too. And not just for telling us but for letting us into your life.”
“You guys are the best thing that’s happened to me since Amber. I would never have made it through without her, and I can’t imagine my life without you guys now.”
“We’re not going anywhere, Gorgeous.”
She snuggles in, and we sit in silence, letting everything sink in. I know, eventually, I’ll have to tell her what happened to me, and I will.
I just hope she doesn’t see me as a monster when I do.
Chapter22
Axel
My head is still reeling from Cole telling me he was leaving too. And, of course, that happened right after whatever the fuck happened in the bathroom with Nolan. I went to the gym to work out so I could wrap my head around that when Cole busted in, pretty much telling me he was sick of my shit. He left fifteen minutes ago, and I’ve been sitting on the front porch ever since, staring at the empty as fuck driveway. The only vehicle is my truck and the SUV that I bought Nolan. After Cole’s declaration, I canceled the mission to take down the warehouses and sent Ari on his way with Cole. They didn’t know that I still planned to do it. I was just going in alone.
I finally walk back into the house to get ready and stop by the kitchen to get something to drink. Nolan looks up from his spot at the counter with a deer caught in the headlights look and high-tails it the other way. “Nolan!” I call out, and he doesn’t stop.Jesus Christ.
I have no clue what to say to him. Do I regret it? No. Did I ever see it happening? Hell no. Was I turned the fuck on when he made the first move? Fuck yes. He’s been more confident around me, but I never expected that. Now what Ari was saying in that meeting makes so much damn sense. What Nolan doesn’t know is he’s the first guy that I’ve ever been with in any capacity. And that kiss? Fuck, it tore me up inside. I wanted to take him upstairs and explore whatever that was, but I watched him shut down. Then he ran, leaving me standing there staring at the door. I decided to give him space and work out, and that’s when my life blew up for the third time this week.
I grab a bottle of water, drain it, and go to my room to change clothes. I’m sliding my shirt on when I make up my mind that I’m not going to let Nolan hide from me. After lacing my boots up, I go to his room only to find it empty. The only other place he’ll hide in is his office, so I head that way. I push the door open, and he looks up.
“I have to—” He goes to stand up.
“Nolan. Sit down.” He drops back in the chair, his eyes drifting to a spot over my shoulder. He won’t even look me in the damn eye. Did he regret it? Fuck. I don’t know if I have the capacity to deal with this shit. I take a seat in the chair next to him. “What’s wrong?” He makes a choking noise and turns back to the computer. I spin the chair back my way. “Will you please talk to me?”
“About what?” He finally looks into my eyes. “That I sucked your dick and then freaked the fuck out? You want to talk about that? Okay. Cool. I acted on impulse because Ari wouldn’t shut the fuck up. Then Cole started too. I don’t know what I was thinking, and I’m sorry. Please don’t make me move out.” His words come out in an explosive rush.
“What? Why would I make you move out?”
