Never Forever (BlackPath MC Book 1) (33 page)

Chapter 8

Tommy

 By
the time I make it close to home, I have had hours thinking about what could
have happened today. I’ve talked to Cam and I know how he found my baby sister.
I could kill Karen for the way she traumatized Callie, and I know how much
worse it could have been.

 Right
now I just want to concentrate on how to help Callie. Once again I have to ask
my little sister to be strong. Stronger than a lot of adults can be. I just
hope she has more left in her to follow through. If Karen is not dead now, she
will be soon. It’s the only way Callie and I will have any peace at all in our
lives. I know this now. The woman is pure evil and she directs it all towards
Callie.

  I
see the hospital ahead and I feel anxious to get there. I just need to feel her
safe in my arms again. Cam said she hasn’t talked yet and her eyes are showing
no emotion at all. They sedated her and she is sleeping now. I want to get to
her before her nightmares begin. I know she’ll have them. She can’t even get
peace from Karen in her dreams. It’s been some time since she has had one, but
with today’s events I know they’ll be back. I want to be there to hold her
through them. I know Cam will take care of her, but I just need to get to her.

 
Trent just turned into the hospital parking lot. We can’t get parked fast
enough. I don’t know what I would have done without Trent and Bourbon today. We
put Trent’s bike in the trailer while he drove back. I point to the drive in
front of the hospital and I guess Trent already had that thought, because he
stops the truck in front of the entrance and I hop out and take off in a sprint
for the elevator. I get in and hit the third floor button and it seems like it
takes forever to come to a stop and the doors to open. I see Cam talking to a
doctor and I can’t get there fast enough.

 
“Mr. Black, I’m telling” I cut him off.

 “I’m
Callie’s brother, doctor, can you tell me how she is?” I know I’m abrupt and pushy,
but right then, I could give a fuck less.  The doctor looks shocked at my
behavior.

  “I
was just telling Mr. Black that she will be asleep until morning with the
sedative we gave her. She didn’t have any sign of head trauma so I thought it
would be best for her to sleep for tonight. She did not have any signs of
sexual assault. She was fighting us, so I thought the sedative was the way to
go. She has some bruising and abrasions on her torso, buttocks, and face.
Nothing that won’t heal, but her mental state is another subject all together.
She has been severely traumatized. Tonight we watch her and we will know more
when she wakes in the morning. I would suggest you get some rest. You’ll need
it for tomorrow, because that little girl is going to need you both. I hope
you’re ready for it.” With that he turns to leave. Cam and I go into Callie’s
room.

   I
see Callie lying in a hospital bed, again. I have let her down, again. I
promised her I would protect her. I should have never left her. I know Karen is
unpredictable. I’ve had a feeling for the last few weeks she was going to try
something. I should have taken Callie with me, or just not gone at all. She is
mine to protect. How can I make this up to her? How can I expect her trust me again?
No child her age should feel unsafe. No child ever should feel unsafe.

 
“Stop it, Tommy. This is not your fault. No one can predict what that bitch
will do. You had to do your job. If it was your fault, then it was mine, too.”
Cam always knows what I’m thinking. I know Trent and Blake always have my back
but Cam is the brother I never had. We can always tell what the other is feeling.

 
“Cam, she is my sister. My responsibility. It’s my job to protect her.” There’s
nowhere else to lay this blame.

 “That’s
a shit thing to say. I love her as much as you do. She may not be my blood but
she is mine, and you can’t take that away from me.” I know Cam is serious.

 
“Or me.” Blake and Trent are standing at the hospital door, half in and half
out.

 “Me,
either and I’ll kick your ass if you try. She’s always been all of ours and
that will never stop.” Trent is as serious as the other two.

 
“Ok then, what do we do about Karen? She can’t hurt Baby Girl anymore.” We have
to find a way to stop her.

 “We
will if it kills us.” Cam is serious. If he only knew a month later he would
regret those words.

Chapter 9

Tommy

I’m
lying beside Callie and she starts to shake in her sleep. I know the dreams
have started. I don’t know if I should try to wake her or let her sleep until
she wakes screaming. The doctor said she needed her rest, but how can this be
good for her? To be trapped in her nightmares with no way to escape. I place my
hand over her heart and it is beating a little fast.  Though she’s shaking she
looks peaceful. I just keep my hand on her and watch her face. If I see
distress on her little face I am waking her. I can’t stand this. I look over
and Cam is asleep in the recliner. He doesn’t look very comfortable. His big
body is almost too big for the chair. Then I hear the slight whimper coming
from Callie and I know I can’t wait any longer so I gently tickle her tummy.
This is the way I usually wake her for school. That way she wakes with a smile
on her face.

 “No!
No! No!” Callie is yelling out and I try to get just as close as I can and
sooth her. Her eyes aren’t open yet, but she is fighting someone in her dreams.
Cam comes up out of the chair. He almost goes face down on the floor but he
catches himself.

 
“It’s ok Callie, I’m here. You’re safe I promise. Open your eyes sweetheart.
Can you do that for me?” She’s still thrashing. Cam walks over to the other
side of the bed.

 “It’s
ok, Baby Girl. We’re here for you. We love you and you are safe. I promise.”
Cam is trying his best to stay calm, but I can see the pain he feels for
Callie.

 
“Bubba, never ever, never ever.” She’s crying so hard. She crawls right up me
and has her arms around my neck. I’m crying with her and I don’t care who sees
it. Callie is hurting and I will do whatever it takes to stop it.

 I
look over at Cam and he has tears running down his face. I know then that the
both of us would do anything to make sure this never happens again.

  “I
promise Callie. I promise never ever again. Uncle Cam is here too. We promise.”
Cam gets as close to us as he can and Callie pushes up off me and goes into
Cam’s arms. I knew right then that I made the right decision in picking Cam to
care for Callie if anything happened to me. She would always have his
unconditional love, just like she would have mine. Cam was rubbing Callie’s
back and soothing her and she had quieted some. Then she twists around and
comes back over to me.

  “I
want a drink. My throat hurts. Bubba my face hurts.” Cam pours her a small
amount of water in her cup. She drinks it down and then snuggles back into my
chest. How could anyone hurt such a beautiful child? Her hair is almost white
and it hangs down her back. She keeps rosy cheeks from being in the sun so much
and she has big beautiful blue eyes. She lost her second tooth this week. Her
front tooth. One on the bottom and one on the top. She’s such a good child.
She’s never fussy, except when she’s sick, but then she looks so pitiful, we
overlook it. I just don’t understand the monsters in this world.

 
“Tomorrow I will see if Felix, Sarah, and Hanna can come see you.” She looks
horrified. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”

  
“Will they know what happened? I don’t want anyone to know.” Cam and I both
look at her. Surely she doesn’t think she did something wrong. Cam rubs his
hand up her back in a reassuring way.

 
“Baby Girl, you did nothing wrong. It doesn’t matter if your friends know or
anyone else.” I don’t know what to say.

 
“But I don’t want them to know Karen is so mean. I don’t want them to know the
stinky man tried to take my clothes off. They’ll laugh at me. I hit him like my
martial arts teacher told me, but I felt funny after I drank the water he gave
me. My arms felt like I couldn’t move them. I tried hard. I really tried hard.”
Callie was getting upset again. Cam had murder in his eyes. I knew the feeling.

 
“It’s ok. We won’t tell them. You can see them later.” That’s all I knew to
say.

Chapter 10

Cam

Callie
has been home for two weeks now. She seems to be getting back to normal, but
sometimes Tommy or I will catch her looking as if she is miles away in her
head. We worry. She’s told us the sound of guns scare her, so today Trent and I
are taking her and Ty out to the old home and do some target shooting so maybe
we can help her with the nightmares. The doctor said maybe if she heard it with
one of us handling the gun she might lose her fear easier. At this point we
will try anything. I know people are opposed to guns, but it’s not guns that
kill. It’s people who kill. All we’re going to shoot is some cans and targets
with a 22.

  
We drive our old truck way back in the pasture. We have a place set up back
here that has been here since before we were born. Dad has owned this place
forever. He taught us how to shoot back here years ago.

  We
have round hay bales that are replaced every so often with steel sheets behind
them. The hay is easy to move. The steel sheets not so much. We also have deer
dummies. We have skeets, too, which I love to do, but I can go through a couple
boxes in no time.

 Ty
is excited, but Callie is still trying to shy away. I would never make her do
anything she didn’t want to, but I just want to help stop her nightmares and show
her a gun is not always bad.

 First
we go over all the rules about touching guns. Never without adult supervision.
All the safety procedures. How to tell if a safety is on and what a safety is
for. We cover every subject that is in the handbook for beginning hunters. We
have gone over and over it to make sure they understand. Callie is warming up
to the idea. Then we go a step further and take the little 22 completely apart
and teach them how to put it back together. They both like this part. They like
working with their hands. They think they will get to fire the gun by
themselves today, but that’s not the way it works. They only get to fire it
with our help today. They have a lot more practice to put in before they get to
that step. Safety first. Always safety first. Maybe it will help Callie though.

Chapter 11

Tommy

 I
have been working my ass off this week. Putting money back so Callie can start
her tumbling classes and martial arts competitions. That little squirt is good.
Just a little more and I’ll have it covered.

 It
has been almost a month since the shit with Karen and T-Bone. Neither have been
spotted. They must have found a hole to crawl into. I have been keeping a close
eye on Callie, because I have a feeling something bad is coming. It’s almost
the same feeling I had before Callie disappeared. I feel like we’re being
watched. At times, I feel chills going down my back from the eerie feeling. I
shake it off, but it’s in the back of my mind.

  
Tonight I am doing a repo for my boss and then home for some much deserved
sleep. Grandma Sue is watching Callie until I get home. My day off is tomorrow
and Callie and I are going to the park for a picnic.

 
Trent is out of town on a run, he’s been promoted to SAA since Bourbon and Rye
moved to Oklahoma. They are opening a new chapter there. Blake is gone for the
weekend on a fishing trip. Ty is spending the night with a friend camping and
Cam is doing club business. He’s been busier since he was promoted to VP. 
Tomorrow is just Callie and me. I love our little family, but sometimes I like
it just us.

 The
more I get into the night the more I want to get home. Callie has been on my
mind all night. I’ve got the car and all I have to do is drop it and then I’m
home.

 
The drop was easy and I make sure I lock everything up tight. My whole drive
home I was edgy. I don’t know what is wrong. I flip my lights off before I pull
up in the drive. I notice a black van pulled up the road from our drive and it
sets off warning bells in me. I shoot Cam a text with the tag number and
another to Whiskey. I don’t want unnecessary people close to our house. The
lights are out outside. Usually Grandma Sue leaves a light on for us. I fish my
keys out of my pocket and my phone vibrates signaling a text message. I look at
and it is from Cam. They are at the clubhouse and Fish ran the tag and it’s
stolen. They are on their way. Now I have a real uneasy feeling. I go to put my
key in the door and it isn’t locked. Now I know for sure something is wrong. I
send a SOS message to Cam. It’s our signal for bad things happening.

  I
slide in the back door and try to be quiet, but I see Grandma Sue in the
kitchen floor with a small pool of blood around her head. Then I hear Callie
scream. That’s it, I sprint up the stairs that go to her bedroom. I know she is
in her cubby hole. Both Callie and Ty have a hiding place in each of their
rooms. It is a small place hard for adults to get to. It’s just big enough for
a small child but it is deep so it’s hard to get the child out. We have taught
both of them to go to these places if an intruder breaks in. Where is the
prospect that is supposed to be watching out front? When I get to the top of
the steps I see the body of the prospect lying beside Callie’s door. He’s had
his throat cut. This makes my blood run cold. I feel a fear I have never felt
before take over my body. I know I have to get to Callie, she needs me.

  I
kick her door wide open and look around but I see no one. I call to Callie and
she is running for me before I realize my mistake. I forgot to look behind the
door. I was in such a hurry. I just wanted to get to Callie. Callie is almost
to me when I feel the sharp pain in my back. It’s in the middle of my back and
it hurts and it burns. Callie is screaming and I spin and I see the man and he
has a bloody knife in his hand and a sickening grin on his face. Callie is
trying to climb me but I can’t help her. I feel like I can’t move. I think I’m
going to be sick. The man charges me and I instinctively fight back. Where’s
Callie gone? Then I hear a gun shot. It’s not real loud but I know it is a
gunshot. Then I see Callie has a gun in her hand. I look at the man on the
floor and it is Chaz, T-Bone’s brother. I scoop Callie up or I try to. My side
is hurting so bad and I twist my hand back there and try to look. I look at my
hand and there is blood.

 That’s
when I see the other man in the door. I push Callie behind me. The man is Grit,
Chaz and T-Bone’s cousin. He looks at Chaz and then me. I take the gun from
Callie. I hear the bikes up the road and I know Cam will be here soon. Grit and
I stare at each other. We shoot at about the same time and then everything
fades to black.