Page 3 of Property of BamBam
“Why don’t you try and get some rest?” I ask. “It’s gonna be another hour or two before we get to the clubhouse. I’ve alreadysent a text to my president so they’re getting a room ready for you and Theo.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for getting me some wipes and Tylenol, Mongrel,” she says. I glance in the rearview mirror and see her take several of the pain killers and swallow it down with the soda that Mongrel got for her. He also got drinks for the two of us since our cooler was pretty much empty.
“I think you should wait to clean off the blood,” I tell her when she opens up the wipes. At her questioning glance, I continue. “It could all start bleeding again. I’d feel better if you waited for Doc to check you over because some of them could need stitches or something.”
“Good point,” she murmurs, grabbing the fuzzy throw that wasnoton the list and covering herself.
I glare at Mongrel who merely shrugs. “She looked dead on her feet and my mama always said a woman couldn’t have too many throws. If it makes you feel any better, I picked those few things up with my own money since they weren’t on the list.”
While I was initially ticked that he added things without talking to me first, now I’m angry because for whatever reason, Livy’smineto take care of. Instead of yelling at him, I nod because he’s right. Issy may not be the stereotypical female, but she enjoys her throws and they’re all over the place at the clubhouse now that she’s at the ranch full time. Granted, they live in the big house, not the physical clubhouse, but her influence has spread everywhere. Hell, I’ve caught a few of the brothers using them when they decide to nap in the common room, for fuck’s sake.
Shaking my head, I keep my thoughts to myself and with the satellite radio on low, continue the journey toward home. AsI drive, I run over what I think Livy’s going to need to fully heal from the hell she’s been living with. She definitely needs therapy, and while that’s not something we’ve ever dealt with, if I know Issy, I’m sure she’s already doing research on how best we can help her.
CHAPTER
TWO
Olivia
The truck lulls me into a light doze which I don’t fight off because I’m utterly exhausted. First, from fighting for my life, then from running from Jasper. Any reserves I might’ve had are long gone, the adrenaline dump having taken the last vestiges of my strength. I just wish I could sleep deeply, but my life with Jasper taught me differently. As the miles pass, I slip into dreamland.
“C’mon, Olivia, it’ll be fine, you’ll see,” Jasper says as I weigh the pros and cons of moving in with him.
He was my high school boyfriend, and when my parents died right after graduation, I was trying to figure out what to do. We had broken up, however, when I realized there were some aspects of his personality that I didn’t care for at all. The house we lived in was a rental, and with no job outside of the waitressing I did at the diner which didn’t pay all that much, I couldn’t afford to pay the rent. In fact, I was technically now anorphan, but too old for foster care, not that I thought it was the best system available to kids who need homes.
“Are you sure?” I question. “We only dated for a little over a year, Jasper, then we broke up. Remember? Hell, we haven’t even had sex yet.”
He leers at me which sends a frisson of fear coursing through my body. “Well, that’ll soon change,” he replies. “There’s plenty of room at my house, and you’ll be able to keep your waitressing job at the diner.”
Only… that’s not what happens. Within two months of me moving into his trailer, my parents’ vehicle was sold off to cover the bills because Jasper lost his job after he called in one too many times after an all-nighter with a case of beer and his buddies. Then, I end up pregnant since I couldn’t take any of the birth control my insurance paid for, and he wouldn’t wear condoms.
Iwasable to keep working up until I started having problems with my pregnancy. Spending the last month on bedrest was next to impossible since Jasper expected a hot meal when he got home in the evening, and he was a slob. Theo was born one stormy evening; I was by myself and unable to reach Jasper who went out with the boys for the night. He was definitely pissed when he got home and found me gone.
That was the first time he hit me, although thankfully he waited until I was home from the hospital. Granted, it wasn’t the last time, and while I wanted to leave more than once, with no vehicle and no job since I was let go, I was stuck. It wasn’t until I read about how one woman finally left her abuser that I began tucking money away and making plans.
I can hear whimpering but it’s not until BamBam lightly touches my shoulder that I realize that it’s coming from me. “Shh, it’s okay, Pixie,” he murmurs. When my gaze hits his, he asks, “Nightmare?”
Nodding, I reply, “Yeah, guess my brain decided to relive the past twenty-four hours or so.”
“But this wasn’t the first time he hit you, was it,” he states.
Shame has me dropping my head as I slowly shake it back and forth. “I had nowhere to go and nobody to help me,” I whisper.
“What about your parents?” Mongrel asks from the other side. Glancing over, I see that he’s efficiently changing Theo.
“Dead,” I reply. “You’re good at that,” I remark once he returns Theo to the car seat.
“Oldest of five kids,” he says. “There’s enough of an age difference that I helped my mom with the younger two.”
“You gonna be alright, Livy?” BamBam asks, drawing my attention back to him.
“Eventually,” I tell him. “I’m well aware that I’m fucked up, and probably need professional help of some sort so I can understandwhyI never left before, but my priority has been Theo since he was born.”
“We’ll get you sorted, Pixie,” he replies. “Promise you that. In fact, I’m almost positive that by the time we get back to the ranch, Issy will have a list of people who can help you heal.”
“I won’t leave Theo,” I warn, even though I have no clue who Issy is at all.
“No one will make you leave your son,” he promises. “Now, we’re not too far from the ranch, you good to go?”
