Holly's Awakening (10 page)

John nodded. “I spoke to her an hour ago. She wanted
to check in and make sure everything was fine. I told her not to worry, but
Holly has always been a worrier. She didn’t have a clue what you were going to
do.” He pointed at
Kade
.

“Nothing has happened here. Your Dad hasn’t tried to
come over?” Steven asked.

“No, I’ve not heard a thing from him. To be honest
he wouldn’t try anything with me. Last time he tried to hit me I put him on his
ass. No one hits me and gets away with it. I grew up taking his punches. It’s
not going to happen again.”

Steven looked at
Kade
.
“She’s gone to him to try and settle everything. He put the fear of God into
her. She’s not going to let it go until she knows there are no repercussions,”
Steven said. He knew Holly and had spent a great deal of time watching her.

Kade
cursed, and John had gone pale.

Chapter
Seven

Holly knew the second she couldn’t see the taxi that
she’d made a mistake coming back to the trailer. After spending the night with
Kade
and Steven she looked at the trailer where she’d spent
her whole life and felt sick to her stomach.

She’d spent so many nights looking out at the stars
praying for a better life for herself and her family. Her mother had never
stopped him from drinking or hitting them. Over the years Holly had come to
despise them for their lack of care and love. Licking her lips she turned away
from the scene before her and went to walk away.

“I see you’ve come back.” Her father’s voice filled
the space between. Turning back to him, she saw he’d been drinking. A half-empty
bottle was in his hands.

Tightening her hands into fists she stared at him.
She wore the jeans and sweater she’d worn yesterday. Holly didn’t say a word.

Anita appeared in the doorway glaring at her. The
sneer on her face couldn’t be disguised as anything other than hatred. Holly
had never understood their feelings toward her. Keeping her mouth shut she
glanced at her father. Out of the two people he was the one who could cause her
the most damage.

“You got your fancy-ass bosses to come here and get
my kids and tell me to leave you alone. No one threatens me.”

“Steven wasn’t here,” she said. His gaze cut to her,
and she wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

“Steven
is
it now? You’re fucking him I bet. The only way those men would stick up for you
was if you were fucking them. No man is ever going to love you. You’re too
fucking ugly.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she felt them ready to
spill down her cheeks. Looking down at the floor she did everything she could
to force the tears back. If she cried then he’d laugh, and he would have won.
She didn’t want him to win.

He invaded her space, grabbing her chin and forcing
her to look up at him. The moment she did the first tear started to fall.

“You see, no one will ever love you. You’re not
worth their time or effort.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” she asked.

“Because you were supposed to be a boy and not a
fucking girl. I never wanted bitches. I wanted men in my family. Bitches are
not good for anything. Look at your mother. She’s a whore. She spreads her legs
for anyone. I don’t want another like her, and you’re exactly like her.”

“Fuck you, William. You’ve got a tiny dick, and I’ve
got to get to some action from somewhere, you fat bastard,” Anita said.

His grip tightened on her chin, making Holly cry out
in pain.

“You shut your fucking mouth, bitch!” William didn’t
release her. Instead, he caught her arm in a bruising grip. “You’re going to
stop seeing those bastards or you’re going to give me money for spreading your
legs.”

She shook her head. Fear gripped her as he threw her
to the ground. With one solid kick, he landed a blow to her stomach. Curling
into a ball Holly did everything to block out the pain.

Nothing was happening,
Kade
and Steven had opened her, and she couldn’t stop the pain.

“You back the fuck down, William.”

Holly heard the sheriff’s voice, and seconds later
she heard
Kade
and Steven.

“Stay the fuck back,
Kade
.
This is my job,” Matt said, yelling. Suddenly she was pulled up by her hair.
Her father smashed the glass bottle and pressed the smashed end toward her
face.

She cringed, trying to pull away. His hands shook,
and if he pressed the glass was going into her face and she would be dead.

“Let me go,” she said. Her stomach hurt, and so did
her face. His blows had been erratic.

“No. They’ve seen me. You fucking set me up. There
is no getting away from this.”

Her mother stood by the door looking over at Matt
Dawson,
Kade
, and Steven. John pulled up seconds
later along with the rest of her family. Holly closed her eyes trying to block
it all out. They couldn’t see her like this.

“You take my money and my kids. You’re not taking my
daughter,” William said.

Opening her eyes she saw Steven and one of the deputies
holding
Kade
back. He looked ready to do murder.

“Do you really think you’re escaping this, William?
Put the bottle down and come willingly, or you’ll be making it hard for
yourself.”

She felt her father’s eyes on her. Holly tried to
turn away. The stench of cigarettes and alcohol was too much. Her stomach
turned at the smell.

“Do you think they’ll want you with a scarred face?
I could cut you and make you ugly,” he said, laughing.

“I thought you said I was ugly enough.”

John broke through the crowd. “You leave her out of
this, Dad.”

She closed her eyes hoping someone would put a stop
to it.

“What are you going to do, son? You’re a pussy and
let your sister deal with me since you left. You’ve got no dick. You’re a cunt
like the rest of them.”

“You’re not like him, John,” Holly said. She knew
her brother feared turning out like him.

“I didn’t leave her alone. Holly is with me every
day.”

William snarled. “You fucking your boss as well? She’s
a slut, and all sluts need to be punished.” The glass pressed to her face.

Holly couldn’t contain the scream. She screamed for
help. In that instant she begged, pleaded, and wished to God someone would
answer. No one answered her silent prayers, but maybe someone would answer her
now.

A shot rang out. The sound echoed, and the arm
holding the glass dropped.

She fell to the floor hoping to get out of firing
range. Covering her ears she tried to shut it all out.

Arms surrounded her filling her with warmth.

****

Kade
held
her tightly as she shook. Her hands didn’t drop from her ears. Glancing over at
Matt he saw him restraining her father, and he was pleased his arms were around
her. If not he’d have killed the bastard. There were a few cuts on her face
from the glass, but nothing would leave any permanent damage.

Seeing the danger she was in would stay with him
forever. She’d looked so small and fragile caught in her father’s grip. John
knelt in front of her.

“Holly, I’m here, sweetie.”

Her eyes opened, and she pulled away from
Kade
and wrapped her arms around her brother. They stood,
and he saw John breathe a sigh of relief.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” she said. “I knew it
the moment the taxi was gone.”

“Why did you come here?” John asked.

“I wanted to make sure there were no other problems.
He’ll never let it slide. I needed to make sure he wasn’t planning anything.
I’m so stupid, John.”

His brother looked at him.
Kade’s
heart went out to her.

She turned to look at him. “Are you angry with me?”
she asked.

Tugging her out of her brother’s arms,
Kade
inhaled her strawberry scent and hoped to calm his
raging emotions. She could have died. When he’d pulled up in the truck to see
her father kicking her, anger had filled him. There was no way she would have
come away unscathed. Her soul-shattering pleas for help would stay with him
forever.

Steven made his way over to where they stood.
“They’re arresting her mother as well. Her brothers and sisters are putting in
a complaint. My lawyer says if they agree to live with John then he could keep
guardianship. He’s working out all the problems with it. My lawyer’s been
working on this case for the last year. From the moment I first saw her I knew
I wanted Holly. She’s the woman for us. This with her father was the final
straw. We’ve got all the witnesses to prove his rash, angry, and violent
behaviour.”

Kade
nodded
and held a shaking Holly against him. Steven reached out, stroking her hair.
“You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m so sorry. I needed to check.”

Matt Dawson walked over to them with a paramedic. “I
called an ambulance. I want Holly to go with them. After the beating she took,
I want her looked over and the findings put down in evidence. There is no way
they’re getting away from this one. I want them both put away.”

Kade
recognised the anger in the sheriff. He felt the same kind of anger.

“I’ll take her,
Kade
. You
follow us to the hospital,” Steven said.

Kade
let
her go, and he hated not having her in his arms. “I’ll follow you, baby. You do
what you’re told, and I’ll be there soon.”

She nodded.
Kade
handed
her over to Steven. Besides her brother, he was the only other guy he trusted
with her.

John looked at him with surprise.

“What?”
Kade
asked.

“I knew Steven had feelings for my sister, but I
wasn’t sure about you. You’re always frowning at her. I never thought you’d
love her,” John said.

Matt cleared his throat and left them to it.

“What are you trying to say?”
Kade
faced her brother waiting for some kind of derogatory comment.

“You’re Steven’s partner. We know you’re in a
relationship with him. I didn’t think you’d want my sister. I knew Steven did.
I saw you looking at her, and I thought you were jealous, but you’re in love
with her, aren’t you?”

Kade
stared at her brother and wished he could deny his feelings. He’d only ever
been in love with Steven. There was a time when he believed he could only ever
love one person. Holly was changing all of his beliefs. His feelings for her
were powerful. He couldn’t change the way she was invading his heart and making
him feel.

“Yes, I love her.” He’d taken her virginity and made
her his woman to love and be with. Turning back to John he tapped the man on
the shoulder. “Your sister is going to be well taken care of. I can guarantee
it. Nothing is ever going to happen to her.”

Once he’d cleared everything up with Matt
Kade
climbed into his truck and made his way toward the
hospital. He couldn’t get rid of the image of William kicking her in the
stomach. Revulsion consumed him as he thought about the danger she was in. The
glass against her throat could have easily taken her life and he’d be
travelling to the hospital for an entirely different reason.

Leaving his car in the visitors’ parking lot,
Kade
made his way inside. He found Steven sat in the waiting
room of the emergency room.

“What are you doing here?”
Kade
asked, taking a seat next to him.

“Holly wanted to be checked over alone. She didn’t
want me there.”

Kade
frowned. “How come?”

“The paramedic hurt her, and I went off on him. I
think I scared her a little. It’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have reacted the
way I did. I couldn’t help it. I can’t stand the thought of her being in any
kind of pain,” Steven said.

Settling down,
Kade
looked
toward the closed off area. “She through there?”

“Yeah. I’m never going to get that shit out of my
mind.”

“Me neither. She’s a hard woman.”

“You can’t deny she isn’t the one. We both know
she’s the one,” Steven said.

“Of course she’s the one. I don’t deny it. We’ve got
to let Holly know she’s the one. We’re not letting her get away again.”

The nurse came out to find them. “Holly is waiting
for you.”

They followed the nurse back to the room. Their
woman sat on the bed waiting for them. She smiled the instant they walked
through the doors.

“I’ll get your discharge forms,” the nurse said,
leaving them alone.

Holly tucked some hair behind her ear. “I know you
guys are angry with me, but I had to do something. Neither of you know what
he’s like. He’s a hard man to live with and to deal with.”