Page 14

14

“ C ome on, Angel. Breathe for me.”

With another chilled can of drink from the fridge, I press it to the back of Abbey’s neck, hoping the shock will startle her out of her panic.

I’m not sure if it’s my words or the cold can, but she manages to gasp, taking in a deeper breath.

“Yes, that’s it, Angel. Try again.”

Again my words spur her on, those big wide eyes glassed over as she struggles, locked onto my face like I’m her lifeline.

Her lips part, and she manages another deep gasp as I hold her cradled to my chest, keeping the cold can in place.

“More,” I demand, and that’s when her airways finally open, and the much-needed oxygen starts rushing back in.

“Thatta girl,” I rasp, moving back to the end of the bed, sitting with her still in my arms as she takes in breath after breath of air.

“I-I’m s- sorry.” She manages to get out on a choked sob, which is when she completely breaks.

Her heart wrenching cries fill the room, her face contorting in agony that tells a tale of the internal pain she’s been suffering. Wave after wave of pain pierces the air, the anguish so intense that I feel it to my bones.

I know this pain. The undeniable crushing feeling of loss.

I don’t know what it is she’s lost. Did someone close to her die?

I fucking hope not. Being left behind by someone that makes up the other half of your heart is an excruciating death of its own. But if it isn’t that, then I’m almost too afraid to consider what has transpired to cripple her like this.

Whatever she has gone through is undeniably unbearable.

Her dainty hands clutch onto my shirt like she’s barely able to keep her head above the torment drowning her.

“I’ve got you, Angel. I’ve got you.”

I squeeze her as tight as I can, holding her to my chest as she unleashes the pain within, not knowing what else I can do but hold her through it.

And fuck, I’d do just about anything to get her to stop crying like this. To stop enduring whatever trauma she is reliving in her head.

“I’ll protect you. They can’t hurt you anymore,” I rasp against her hair, hoping my words break through enough that she believes them.

It’s a long time before her cries lessen, eventually shifting into painful sobs, but I keep holding her, rocking a little, trying anything to soothe her pain away.

I still when I find myself pressing my lips to her hair.

Did I just fucking kiss her?

If she noticed, she mustn’t care because she doesn’t stiffen, or shift, or even make a noise, which is when I realise Abbey has cried herself to sleep in my arms.

Well, fuck.

That’s just as heartbreaking.

Brushing her hair back off her tear-stained face, even in sleep she’s frowning, like the nightmare she’s lived has followed her there.

“If I could take away your nightmares, Angel, I would.”

Fucking hell, now I’m talking to a sleeping woman.

Sighing, I tip my head back to look at the paint peeling on the ceiling. I’ve stared at that fucking patch of peeling paint for months, wanting to fucking fix it, yet not really having the desire to waste my time on this fucking dump.

It’s not my real home. It belongs to the club, and is the best way for us to remain a unit with all these fucking lockdowns, but one thing is for sure, this fucking place isn’t good enough for Abbey.

I need to get her somewhere safer and fucking cleaner.

I stay sitting on the end of the bed for so long, staring at her, barely noticing the party still in full swing outside. The celebrations are out of place compared to the darkness staining the four walls of this shitty room tonight. I have to stop myself numerous times from opening the door and demand every fucker shut the hell up and have some respect.

It’s not their fault, though. They don’t know what’s happening in here. They don’t know that the female, barely a woman, that I snuck into the compound is a girl I stole. They don’t know that she’s been abused by her parents and her fiancé, and just like me, they don’t know the extent of the abuse. They don’t know the pain she is suffering. The agony tearing shreds off her soul.

After about an hour of just holding her and watching how her tears dry on her cheeks, and how her frown smooths out to finally show gentle peace, I carefully move her to the bed, laying her on top of the covers before draping a spare sheet over her.

Not that she needs it with that fucking hoodie still on, but I’m not about to disturb her to remove it. She’ll wake up and take it off if she gets too hot.

Joining Abbey on the bed, even though it’s late, I redial the number of the burner phone I arranged to be sent to Lexi, and she answers on the second ring.

“Yeb?”

I frown. “Who the fuck is Yeb?”

Lexi giggles. “Oh hi, Ringo. Sorry, I thought it was Abbey.”

“But you called her Yeb?”

“Well, yeah. I can’t say her real name until I know it’s her calling. What if the cops had gotten your phone and called me? I can’t let them know I’m in on Abbey’s kidnapping.”

“True,” I say, relaxing back against the shitty cane bedhead, glancing down at Abbey’s sleeping form, her lips parted as she snores quietly. “But why Yeb?”

“Yeb was her code name when we were kids. We wrote our names backwards and took the first three letters to make our code name.” Lexi giggles. “Genius, right?”

I chuckle. “Sure.”

“You’re just jealous you weren’t as cool as we were when you were little. ”

“You have me there. I was nowhere near that cool,” I tease sarcastically.

“Especially since your name would have been Nor.”

“Fucking hell.” I snarl as Lexi laughs uncontrollably. “Why do you know so much about me?”

The fact that she knows my real name is annoying. Not that it matters, but in my line of work, we stick to road and nicknames.

Lexi sighs, turning serious. “I visit Muz’s grave every month, Ringo. Your name is on his headstone.”

I forgot about that.

Shit.

“Every month?” I ask and she sighs.

“The stupid lockdowns have made it harder, but I try.”

Shit. I don’t even go to his grave that often.

I’m a crappy brother.

“Is Abs okay? The call disconnected earlier.”

Reaching out, I stroke back some of Abbey’s blonde strands that have escaped her braids. “I think she had a panic attack. I managed to get her to breathe properly again, but then she just broke.”

Shit. My voice cracks as I speak, and a moment later, I hear Lexi sniffling on the other end of the line.

“Ringo, she’s a good person. She’s going to tell you she isn’t. Be hard on herself for some of the shit that went down eighteen months ago, but you have to remind her that she’s still a good person for me, okay?”

“I can try, but I don’t know if I’m helping her or making it worse. There’s a fucking orgy happening outside my room right now, and given her reaction to some of the stuff that’s happened…” I trail off, not able to finish, but Lexi already knows.

“She may be fragile, but the girl I knew before all this stuff happened was excited about life, about love, was super curious about sex. Hell, she lost her virginity before I did. Yes, she’s been in a really fucked up situation, but if you give her time, she’ll learn who she can trust again.”

“I don’t know if I’m the man for the job, Lex.” I remind her, my gaze never wavering from the angel asleep next to me.

“You’re the only one that can help her. The only one with the skills to keep those people away from her.”

“Why can’t she go to the police?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Lexi admits. “But I believed her when she told me she can’t trust the cops. And when you can’t trust the cops, who can you trust?”

Fuck.

She’s right.

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks, Ringo.” Lexi’s tone is nothing but sincere. “Oh, and if you really want her to trust you, tell her your real name. That way, you’ll appear more human than thug.”

I chuckle. “Goodbye Lexi.”

“See ya,” she giggles before ending the call.

Shit.

Now I’m even more confused.

I’m inclined to think I shouldn’t be the one looking after Abbey, but after speaking with Lexi, I suddenly feel like I’m the only person for the job.

Lexi does have a way of making me feel like some sort of God.

Maybe it’s because I helped her and her boyfriend when my dick of a little brother put them in an impossible situation. Or maybe it’s because she knows I’m the one who made a secret deal with her mum and burned down her childhood home and all the darkness it carried for the both of them.

Or maybe, it’s because I encouraged her to visit Muz in the hospital before he died, and then invited her to the funeral, even though she blamed herself for his death.

Whatever it is, Lexi trusts me. She trusts that I’ll take care of her friend, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Staring at my phone for a long moment, I consider who my next call should be to.

I could reach out to the Marx family, the heavy hitters of Melbourne’s crime world, but that means bringing in more men, and I get the feeling Abbey could use more women around her. Women who aren’t here to flop a nipple out on demand for one of my club brothers.

Opening my contacts, I select The Angel Sisters, and hold the phone to my ear as it rings.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t one of the Southern Sadists most notorious.” Amanda teases before her sister, Bec adds her two cents worth.

“Oh, I don’t know. President Smitty is a lot more badass if you ask me.”

“Hmmm.” They both hum in agreement and I roll my fucking eyes.

“You two done?”

Bec laughs. “Not nearly, but to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Abbey Delaney,” I say quickly, and the two women’s humour falls away.

“What about her?” Amanda asks abruptly, and I frown.

“You know her?” I ask, my gaze darting down to her sleeping form once again.

“We know of her, and that she went missing two nights ago.”

Normally, I’d be surprised the Angel sisters already know of Abbey, but after their secret weapon, Hush, turned up in Fox Pines a year ago, I’d already assumed Abbey would be on their radar.

“She didn’t go missing,” I deadpan. “I took her.”

“Damn.” Amanda draws out the word. “You’d better start talking really fast, Ringo, because I’m about to send a whole lot of trouble your way.”

“Calm the fuck down. I took her as a favour to Lexi West. Abbey’s situation exploded, and I went in and did a snatch and grab.”

I’m glad for Amanda’s reaction, although it shouldn’t surprise me.

The Angel sisters run an organisation called Angel Org. They help vulnerable people escape their situations. Mainly women and children, but that’s the main part of what the world thinks they do.

Underneath their well-run organisation are two very powerful women, who help dole out justice. They have contacts all over the world. Control most of the east coast of Australia. And have a list of secret assassins who make people disappear, along with some super creative suffering beforehand.

They are vigilantes, and the Southern Sadists, along with the Marx crew, often work alongside them when needed.

We all commit crimes, but there’s a moral code we stand by.

“Huh. Hush didn’t have that intel,” Bec says, and I nod, even though they can’t see me.

“Doesn’t surprise me. Lexi has been tight-lipped regarding her involvement.”

“Well, I think that’s something to celebrate. What an awful situation that poor girl has been in,” Amanda says, and I hear rustling down the line like they are moving or walking. “So, how can we help?”

“I need intel. What do you know about her situation and family?”

“She grew up in Fox Pines. Her family has always lived there. Her parents were part of the main Catholic Church until a couple of years ago. It took us a while to find out where they moved their worshipping to.”

Sitting taller on my bed, I frown. “And?”

“They moved to the Valley of the Trinity and Merciful Fellowship.”

I stiffen. “Hold the fuck up. Didn’t Hush and the Marx crew eradicate that group after finding they were linked to Carnal Unicorn?”

Carnal Unicorn was a dark web syndicate of predators and paedophiles. A sick group of men and women I thought were dealt with.

Amanda sighs. “Yes… well, that’s what we thought, but it turns out new ministers stepped in to take over the church aspect of it. Those cultish churches are popping up faster than this annoying virus is spreading. Our teams have been watching on, but as far as we can tell, Carnal Unicorn hasn’t resurfaced, and the church sessions seem just as normal as regular church.”

Bec scoffs. “How would you know what regular church is like? We’ve never been.”

“That’s what our intel says,” Amanda snaps as Bec laughs .

I can imagine they are pulling faces at each other on the other end of the line.

“So, they are a religious family, which I already picked up on, but how does Daniel fit into all of this?”

“He started off as a nice guy, luring Abbey in, but once they got sprung playing hide the sausage, Abbey’s mum went bananas.” Bec rushes out, the anger in her tone evident. “The next thing you know, Priscilla, that’s her mum, has arranged for the two kids to be married, had Daniel’s parents sign a contract, which is when Priscilla started controlling just about every aspect of Abbey’s life.”

“Daniel the pin dick fucker turned into a real piece of work after that,” Amanda snaps. “Didn’t like being forced into an arranged marriage, and instead of blaming his parents or even himself, he made Abbey the focus of his rage.”

“Yeah, like her parents, mainly her bitch mum, used the pending nuptials as a way to make Abbey obey, threatening that if she misbehaves, the wedding will happen immediately.” Bec growls and does an angry screech afterwards.

“But why would Daniel’s parents agree to this?” I ask, fucking confused. It all seems very far-fetched, yet I know it’s real.

“That’s what we don’t know. We think Priscilla has something over them. They also go to the same church, so maybe it has something to do with that,” Bec states.

Fucking hell. There’s so much we don’t know.

“Do you have any idea why the wedding was moved up?” I ask, and Amanda hums.

“So that’s why things exploded? Something must have happened. Abbey must have done something wrong in her mother’s eyes, if that’s the case. ”

Glancing down, Abbey shifts, curling in closer to my legs, but she remains asleep.

“I need to get Abbey out of here. After everything she’s been through, living in an MC compound isn’t the right place for her.”

“Oh, my god! You took her to the Western?” Bec screeches.

“Where the fuck else was I meant to take her?”

“Uh… your house. You have a house, don’t you?” Amanda asks.

“Yeah, where my mum and sisters live. I can’t take her there.”

“Why not? Too personal for you?” Bec teases.

“I was actually hoping you’d have somewhere for her,” I snap, ignoring Bec’s dig.

“Shit, no. Not unless you send her to Devon. Otherwise, we are at full capacity. The lockdowns have increased the domestic violence in the state.”

Shit. I’d been relying on them having space for Abbey. I don’t have a fucking backup plan.

“I’ll figure something out.” I sigh.

“Sorry big guy. The best we can do is help you get across the border. If you need to get out of the country, Barrett Marx is your best bet.”

“Thanks.” I grunt, raking my hand through my hair, feeling like I’m back at square fucking one.

Ending the call, I toss my phone on my bedside table and shift to lay down next to Abbey.

“Looks like I’m it,” I whisper to her sleeping face, feeling the weight of my words.

I’m all she has to keep her safe from her parents and her fiancé.

But who the fuck is going to keep her safe from me?