Cadence Reflection (Wheels & Hogs Book 2) (10 page)

I wait until everyone has left the office to ask Des a question that has been bothering me for a few days now, “Hey Des? Have you heard anything from your guy about Trinity?” 

Des motions for me to sit down as he leans his elbows on his desk, “I wanted to talk to you about that, kid. I found her, but I feel as if I should point this out to you. If she wanted to see or talk to you, I think she would have reached out to you by now, but she hasn’t. I don’t think after the way you treated her that she wants anything to do with you. Maybe she feels that you showed her you’re not exactly “Daddy” material and she’s decided to do this alone. You didn’t give her a reason to think that you would want to be any part of it.

I can feel my temper start to rise, “When the hell did you find her? Shit, why am I just finding this out? Fuck, Des! She’s pregnant with my kid for Christ sake.” 

Des looks at me with pity, but also a lot of anger, “Let’s be very honest here, kid. You weren’t thinking about that when you fucked her on this very desk with no concern as to what could happen.  I watched you stare at that ripped condom and not even give her the courtesy of telling her what had just happened, but instead you treated her like a piece of ass to help you get through your afternoon. Not once in these three months have you put any real, honest to God effort into finding her to check on her; see if she needed you. This wasn’t all on her Cadence. You both made a choice and you, kid, seriously fucked up. You kept up with your fuck ‘em and leave ‘em bullshit.  How many women have you fucked since that day, huh? Can’t answer? That’s my point exactly. It wasn’t until her friend knocked you around did you even give a second thought of the mother of your child, so cut the bullshit with me, kid, ‘cause I ain’t buying it.”

“I know that I’m a fuck up, Des, but believe it or not I’m not trying to run from my responsibility – not anymore. I need to find her and make her see how sorry I am.” My entire body is shaking and I feel like I’m about to have a massive anxiety attack.

Des reaches forward to grab me by the shoulders, trying to help ground me. Speaking softly, he says, “Listen, my guy found out that she is living with some old fucker in the mobile home park on the other side of town. She hasn’t been seen in a while so no one knows what is going on.  Some of my guys are taking turns staking out the trailer park, trying to get a fix on the situation.  Right now, that is all I know. I don’t know who the fucker is that she’s living with, and I have no other knowledge or information to give you. Sorry kid, but that’s what it is right now.”

I nod my head, realizing this isn’t Des’ fault. We stand and make our way to the door, “Please keep me in the loop, Boss, okay?” 

“Sure, kid. You’ll be the first to know when I find anything out.

I go back to the shop to finish the car I was working on before the meeting started.  As I work, my mind wanders to Trinity.  God, she was something. She had an innocence around her that drew me to her.  She was the one girl that I could just enjoy hanging out and relaxing with. We both loved to dance and karaoke. Sometimes just grabbing a beer after work with her, bitching to each other about our days was a luxury for me. Even though I spent time with Trinity, I was still sleeping with every slut and bar bitch in town, but she was different and I never thought of using her that way.

Having sex with her for the first time was the most amazing experience. She was beautiful, sexy, and so trusting of me, but the next day when I screwed her on Des’ desk and saw the condom was ripped because of
my
fucking piercings, I panicked and checked out. All I knew was that I had to get out of there, but in doing that, I left Des there to deal with her and to clean up another one of my messes... again.  Even now, after all my stupid and immature decisions, Des is helping me to try and fix this shit. No, not fix it, but trying to see past that and look at the man I am trying to be. I need to be there for Trinity and my baby.

All I know is that I want the chance to apologize to her and be a part of my kid’s life.  I hope that Des and his friends can help me.  I need all the help I can get right now.

D
ropping my phone on the kitchen table, I look up to see Dee Dee staring at me, looking concerned. 

“What’s up, Des? You look worried?” 

I grab her hands gently, rubbing my fingers over the top of her hands, “Damn, honey. We got trouble. Not sure how much, but more importantly, I’m not sure how Cadence is gonna handle this.” 

“Is this about that young girl, Trinity?  Is she in some kind of trouble?” 

“That was one of my guys that’s been keeping an eye on that trailer park I told you they found Trinity in.  He said that she finally stepped out of the trailer after the old guy left this morning,” I run my fingers through my hair, “Fuck Dee! He said her face was black and blue, and any body part showing was bruised all to hell.  Her eyes are swollen shut, lip split. He also said she looks to be skin and bones.  She’s fucking pregnant, into her second trimester by now, and she looks like that?  What do I do, Dee Dee? The kid is going to lose his shit, and who the fuck is that old motherfucker she’s living with. He’s obviously the one beating the shit out of her so what else is he doing to her?” 

Dee takes a minute to think, then squeezes my hand and explains, “We need to do whatever we can to help her.  God, Des. We can’t just leave her there.  Call Cadence now and tell him to get over here. We need to make a plan to get her out of that hell she’s living in.” 

I pick up my phone, doing exactly what Dee tells me to. We wait for Cadence to arrive so we can tell him what is going on, and what we plan to do about it. 

I
arrive forty minutes after I get a call from Des, asking me to come over because he has some news.  As I enter I give Dee a quick kiss on the cheek and she gently reaches for my face.  I see something in her eyes that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, “What’s going on, guys? Something wrong?”

I watch Des go to the fridge and grab three beers then head to the family room, “Take a seat, kid,” he says as he pushes a beer toward me, “I think you’re going to need this.” 

I sit and listen to all that Des has to tell me, feeling my anger build and build.  Fuck! What the hell has Trinity gotten herself into? She’s carrying my kid inside of her and she’s letting herself get beaten?  Why the fuck hasn’t she called me for help to get her out of whatever mess she’s in?  Maybe it’s because this kid isn’t mine after all.  Why I even think up such a ridiculous idea, I have no idea. I just know that I’m scared, pissed, and thinking like an asshole.

I realize that Des has stopped talking so I look up and see both of them staring at me, waiting for me to say something, “WHAT? I don’t even know what the fuck you both want me to say?” 

Dee glares at me, “Do you even care that she’s being abused, Cadence?” 

I look at Dee, feeling the anger in me coming to the surface. “What fucking kind of question is that, Dee Dee? Do you think that low of me? Do you?”

Dee Dee’s body jerks like I just slapped her as Des jumps to his feet, grabbing me by my shirt, “Don’t you ever talk to her like that again you little shit. Do you hear me?” 

“Let him go, honey.  He didn’t mean anything by it, did you Cadence?”

“Shit. I didn’t mean any of it. I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you, Dee. That was so fucking uncalled for and I am so sorry.” 

Des lets me go and puts his arm around Dee to pull her close to his side, glaring at me, “Well this one is on you. What are we going to do to help this girl, kid? It’s your call.”

I look right into Des’ eyes, “We need to get her out of there Des, no matter what.  That’s where we start.” 

Des reaches for his phone and speaks with a guy named Matty, the guy staking out the trailer.  He asks him a few questions and hangs up, “Okay. The old fucker isn’t there. Matty had one of the other guys follow him to a bar in town, so it’s now or never.  We need to go get her out of there and we don’t have a lot of time, but before we do this, we need to understand that we could be bringing some major shit down on us without any knowledge of this old fuck and the situation. I have a bad feeling about him and it’s not just because he’s beating her. If you’re ready to handle what could come knocking on our door, then I’ll let Matty know to call in some guys so we can get this done tonight.”  We all three agree and Des makes the call.



Des pulls his king cab truck up behind Matty’s Mustang.  We all get out of our vehicles, meeting around the back of the truck.  Matty is a guy who apparently likes to work out a lot. Another car pulls up as three guys get out and walk toward us.  Des gives them a nod and introduces them to us, “This is Mike, Drew and Toby.  Guys, this is Dee and Cadence.”

We all nod at one another when Matty starts to talk, “She’s alone and George is at the bar, watching the old guy so he doesn’t surprise us.” 

We all leave the vehicles on the street, walking toward the trailer Trinity is staying in.

I
walk up the stairs with Cadence as he knocks on the badly rotting door.  We wait a few minutes before he knocks again until we hear a noise from inside and a soft “
just a minute
.” We listen as she unlocks the door and opens it just a crack. She looks up, sees Cadence and slams the door closed, locking it shut. 

He bangs on the door, “Trinity! Open this fucking door right now. We don’t have much time.” 

The guys grab Cadence, pulling him off the small porch as Toby jumps up and kicks the door wide open, causing Trinity to scream. I enter the trailer and the smell hits me immediately.  I’m not sure what it is that’s making my stomach heave, but I go toward the terrified young girl.  Holding my hand out, I reach for Trinity, “Hi, honey. I don’t know if you know me, but I’m Dee Dee. I work at the garage that Cadence works at. We’re here to help you, Trinity, so please don’t be afraid of us. 

As she lifts her head, I’m shocked at the brutal slit right down the middle of her full lips.  Her arms are folded around her stomach with dark bruises on every inch of skin. You can actually see the deep handprints bruised into her upper arms, but what catches my eyes is the way she has her arms folded over her belly.  She is protecting her little one the only way she can.

I walk to her carefully and softly repeat, “We are here to help you, Trinity.  Please, I’m begging you. Let us help you.”

I wait patiently as Trinity stares at me, and then she finally lets out a ragged breath and falls forward, right into my arms while sobbing uncontrollably.  I hold her tight and let her have the release she desperately needs.  Trinity’s whole body shakes violently as she continues to cry and the guys wait patiently while Trinity sobs. Looking at each of the men, I can see this is tearing at their hearts.  No young girl should have to go through this. 

She continues to cry and we all take a look around the trailer. We are all shocked at the filth that covers the floor, counter tops, and even the furniture. Between rotting food, blood splatters that I would assume came from Trinity, and the smell of urine, none of us can wait to get out of this hellhole.

When she finally gets her tears under control, I push her hair back and use my own t-shirt to wipe the tears and snot off her face before Des, Cadence and Matty come forward.

Des looks around me and into Trinity’s eyes, “Sweetheart, you had my number. You should have called me and I would have helped you. I told you if you needed anything, and I meant that.”    Matty bumps both men and looks at his watch.  Des quietly tells Trinity to let me help her get her stuff together because we are taking her out of here.  She starts to shake as tears begin to fall down her cheeks again, telling us that he will find her and punish her again.  I’m holding her tight when the first words out of Cadence’s mouth are, “Who the fuck is he, Trinity?” 

She raises her tear filled eyes to him and says, “My father.”

I
’m shocked. What father does this to one of their own? I remember my parents, who would have done anything for their children and here’s Trinity’s dad, beating his precious daughter who’s pregnant and couldn’t care less about her. Fuck, what a mess.  We still don’t know what we’re going to do with her once we get her out of here, “Okay, I’m ready.”  I look around, telling everyone to meet at my house in approximately thirty minutes.  They all agree and move to leave.  Trinity takes a last look around then heads out following Dee to my truck. 

As she goes to get in, Cadence tries to give her a hand but she quickly pulls out of his reach. I see this, knowing this is going to be a rough fucking night, and here it starts because the kid doesn’t take the rejection well, “What the fuck, Trinity? All I wanted to do was give you a hand up.” 

“Don’t you think you’ve given me enough already. I don’t need or want anything else from you, Cadence Power. I don’t need help from a boy who pretends to be a man. Stay the hell away from me.”

After arriving home, I put a call in to Doc to come take a look at Trinity.  Once he arrives, Dee, Cadence and I sit quietly as Doc examines Trinity across the room.  A very pale Fern is holding her hand as Doc talks to her, asking her questions.  She looks exhausted but continues to listen to both of them.  Doc is moving her arms to the front, then back, lifting while poking her sides.  On her left side, when Doc pokes her there, she grimaces, so Doc asks more questions, waiting for her reply.  He listens to her heart then puts the stethoscope to her belly. 

We all wait until Doc is done. Fern stands up, asking me if she could help Trinity take a shower.  I tell her to use the master bath as Fern leads her down the hall.  Doc walks over to us, shaking his head angrily, “She is in pretty bad shape.  Besides the bruising, I would like to get her eyes checked as they are both swollen shut for the most part and her pupils don’t look right to me.  She might have a broken rib or two on the left side. She’s extremely malnourished, but what worries me the most is that she hasn’t been to an obstetrician yet.  I am very concerned for her baby.  I strongly suggest that we get her some professional help guys, and soon.  The only positive I see is that the baby is still small and protected in her uterus.  Hopefully that has helped the baby with the beatings that poor girl has been receiving.”