CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

Luca

 

I BRUSH MY FINGER along the bottom half of the image I’m working on, giving it a smudged appearance, then drop the pencil. Rubbing the back of my head, I look over the drawing I’ve been working on for months. Another vision came to me this morning, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate until I added it to the rest. I still don’t know what it all means, but the dream I had of her and Theo in the field suggests it has to do with Jules.

My phone vibrates beside me a second before the screen lights up with an unfamiliar number. I swipe my lead-stained finger across the screen and bring it to my ear.

“Hello?”

I hear breathing on the other end of the line, and I’m just about to hang up on whoever the fucker is, when a slight voice speaks.

“Luca?” I know right away who it is before she even tells me. “It’s me, Jules.” Another pause, and what fucks with my head is the hitch in her voice. “I need your help.”

My chair creaks as I sit up straight.

“What’s wrong?” I demand.

“I-I can’t tell you over the phone.” Her deep exhale of breath blows over the speaker. “Can you come to Theo’s?”

“Are you okay, Jules?” I growl the question, needing to know the answer before I do anything else.

“Y-yes,” she croaks. She doesn’t fucking sound okay. “But I need to see you. Please. Right now.”

The urgency in her tone has me getting up from the chair. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Thank you,” she breaths on a heavy sigh.

Blood rushes to my head as anger over I don’t know what flows through me. What in the hell is going on? What’s gotten her so frightened?

“I’m getting in my truck now, Jules. Meet me at the front door, okay?”

I receive her acknowledgement, end the call, start my truck, and haul ass the three miles to Theo’s place. When I walk up the front steps, the curtain flutters as Jules looks out the window. A moment later, I hear the locks disengage and she’s pulling the door open. The minute I see her, I know something major is wrong. Her eyes are slightly swollen and red from crying and her cheeks are pale and even more shallow than they were the other day. When she sees me, her body visibly slumps, as if in relief that I’m there.

I don’t stop until I’m inside the house, forcing her to move back or get her feet stepped on by my boots. I shove the door closed behind me with more force than I intended, and she jumps when it slams shut.

“Th-thank y-you,” she stutters. She pulls in a breath and tries again. “Thank you for coming.”

“Tell me what happened,” I order.

Her fingers interlock in front of her, and I notice the white in her knuckles.

“Would you like something to drink?” She looks around nervously before bringing her eyes back to mine. “I can get you something to drink first.”

“Jules,” I bark when she turns to go to the kitchen before waiting on my answer. “Why am I here?”

Her head drops, and her back is still facing me. I wait her out and a second later, she turns back. Her voice shakes as she gestures to the living room. “Can we sit?”

I jerk my head up and follow her to the couch. It’s apparent something is wrong, and it must be really worrying her for her to call me. I should be the last person on her short list of names to ask for help.

She settles down on one end of the couch, and I take the middle cushion. I should have taken the opposite end, but something tells me I need to be close to her. Her hands run up and down her jeans-covered legs and her chest pumps too fast to be normal breathing.

“Jules.”

When I call her name again, her face snaps to me. Fear and uncertainty mingle in her eyes. It breaks something in me, wondering if those emotions are directed toward me. But then, why would she call me if she were so scared of me?

Before I can stop myself, I reach over and put my hand over both of hers before she rubs a hole in her damn pants. She glances down at my big hand, frowning, so I remove it.

“I’m sorry,” she starts. “I didn’t know who else to call, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Just tell me what’s happened. Does it have anything to do with Theo?”

I’ve got my answer when the fear in her eyes triples. White-hot anger rushes through my veins. My jaw fucking aches from clenching my teeth so hard. Before she has a chance to answer, I growl, “What in the fuck has he done?”

Her lips rub together, and I feel her hand beneath mine dig into her thigh. Her eyes skirt away from mine to land on something across the room.

“He uh….” Her brows furrow. I squeeze her hand, telling her without words to continue. Her eyes slide back to mine and so much pain reflects in them it almost knocks my breath away. “He almost raped me last night,” she finishes on a warped whisper.

Red clouds my vision as her words echo over and over in my head. My body vibrates as violent rage fills me.

“Say that again?” I say with a deadly calm voice. I need to make sure I heard her right.

Jules flinches at my side, but she opens her mouth and repeats the words that send my blood from boiling to volcanic hot.

“Theo almost raped me last night.” Her voice cracks. “I was dreaming and when I woke up, he was touching me. I wanted him to stop, begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t.”

“You said almost.” I try to keep my voice calm through the vicious fury simmering in my system. “What does that mean?”

She licks her lips and water pools in her eyes, making my anger ramp up more.

“H-he didn’t have t-time to… push himself inside me before Aria walked in the room. I don’t think she knew what he was doing.” My hand on my thigh cramps from fisting it so hard. “I don’t know if he would have stopped or not, but it wasn’t the first time he’s almost lost control like that.”

“Fuck!” I bellow and launch myself from the couch. I kick the coffee table across the room. The small lamp on the table by the couch is next as it smashes against the wall. Jules cries out, but I’m too far gone in my rage to comprehend it.

My brother. My fucking brother. I stalk across the room, stabbing my fingers through my hair. I would have never thought my easygoing and laid-back brother was capable of something so violent. And for him to do it to his wife… twice. A wife he claimed to love so much.

But then again, his demeanor has drastically changed since Jules has been back in the picture. He’s been bitter, irritable, and a downright asshole lately. Even our parents have commented on his attitude.

The wild possessive look in his eyes from that first day comes to mind. It’s that look and the difference in his temperament lately that has me so easily believing Jules. A growl tries to rumble free when I think of him touching her without her permission. Even one touch is too much when the person doesn’t want it.

I spin back around and face Jules, my eyes no doubt carrying a wild look.

“Why in the fuck are you just now telling me?” I yell the question. “Why in the fuck didn’t you say something the first time? To anyone in the family.”

Her face is red, and she’s shaking like a fucking leaf as she stands at the end of the couch, far away from me. I throw my hands on my hips and drop my head, taking in deep breaths of air, trying like fuck to calm the raging fire burning through me. She’s already scared enough, the last thing I want to do is frighten her more, especially given our history.

“Because I was scared. Because he said he was sorry, and I believed him. Because I knew this couldn’t be easy on him either. His memories of me are intact. He remembers everything we shared. He remembers the love we had for each other and the times we were together… intimately. I couldn’t imagine living with someone you wanted, knowing you’ve had them before, but the person doesn’t remember you. I tried really hard to make it work between us because of the past we shared. I was giving him a chance.”

By the time she’s done talking, her chest is heaving. Her arms are folded tightly across her stomach, likes she’s protecting herself.

“None of those reasons give him the right to lay a finger on you when you don’t want him to,” I grind out.

“I know.” Her voice is small. “But he’s your family. I didn’t know if you, your sister, or your parents would believe me.”

“Why didn’t you call the cops?”

“I just want to be away from him. That’s all I want. I can’t….” Her eyes close for a brief second before sliding open again. “I don’t want to involve the police. I just want it to go away.”

I tip my head back and close my eyes for a moment, then make a decision.

“Grab your shit. You’re coming home with me.”

Her eyes widen, then turn hesitant. “I don’t want to leave Aria here.”

“He won’t hurt Aria,” I tell her and speak the truth. He may be a shitty dad at times, but he loves his daughter and is fiercely protective of her when it counts.

She shakes her head. “I still don’t want to leave her.”

I glower at her. “So, what? You’re just going to stay here and let him follow through the next time?”

She recoils as if I slapped her, but fuck, she needs to understand this is something I refuse to allow to happen. She’s not fucking staying here another second. I’ll carry her ass out of the house and throw her in my truck if I need to, and not feel one bit of guilt afterward.

I inhale deeply, then release it, pushing back those dark thoughts. “I don’t want Aria here any more than you do, Jules, but I can’t just take her, especially once he finds out you’ve left him. No doubt he’ll retaliate for me taking you by calling the cops and claiming kidnapping. I swear to you, he won’t hurt her. I need time to think of what to do.”

She wavers, and after a moment, her shoulders sag. She nods, but I can tell she agrees reluctantly. As she leaves to grab her things, I stand in the middle of the living room, barely containing the need to hunt down Theo and beat the shit out of him. Ella’s words of the other day take forefront in my head. I know of the angry look she spoke about. I saw it in his eyes the day the whole family was over. I assumed the look was only directed toward me because of what I had done, but now I wonder if it was more. I just don’t get why. Why would he be angry at Jules? What in the fuck has she done to garner such animosity from him?

Theo’s my brother, my twin, my fucking family. I’ve always been fiercely loyal to and protective of my family. Jules is part of that family now. She’s more than just Theo’s wife. I don’t know what she is exactly, but she’s just fucking more.

I vow to myself, standing in his living room while waiting on Jules, that there will be hell to pay, and Theo will the one cashing in his ticket.

 

 

JULES IS QUIET ON the way to my place, which isn’t really surprising since I only live a few miles away. Her silence speaks volumes though. It shows her trepidation over the situation she’s about to be in, living with me, her fear of the one she just left, and her unease about leaving Aria behind. The first one I don’t blame her for, given past circumstances. The second one I’m trying to push to the back of my mind for the moment, so I don’t go off the wall and rearrange Theo’s fucking face. The third has my chest expanding, but again doesn’t surprise me. Aria is an easy girl to love. She wraps every person she meets around her tiny fingers, and Jules, it seems, is not immune to her sweet and innocent charms, even willing to go so far as to stay in a hazardous situation.

I pull into the driveway, then reach back and grab her small bag before opening my door. I’m halfway around the truck when Jules climbs out. I watch her closely and notice her rubbing her lips together, giving away her nervousness.

It enrages me that’s she’s here for the reason she is, but I can’t help the adrenaline rushing through me at having her in my home, so close to me. My obsession with her hasn’t waned in the slightest, and the thought of having her so close on a daily basis really fucks with my head and body.

I lead her inside and drop her bag on the couch before turning to her. She’s stopped in the middle of the living room, her arms tightly folded across her chest, looking around. I don’t have a lot, but I’ve worked my ass off for what I do have. It’s no doubt a lot less than what she had growing up.

When she turns to face me, her eyes carry a bleak look.

“Thank you,” she says quietly.

I walk to her slowly until I’m only a couple of feet away. Her head is forced back as she looks up at me.

“Don’t thank me, Jules. That shit should have never happened, and I’m sorry my asshole brother thought he had a right to do what he did.”

She nods and bows her head, her thick hair falling over her shoulders, hiding her face. I reach out and gently grip her chin to bring her head back up.

“You’ll be safe here with me,” I let her know. She needs to understand that just because I flipped my shit years ago, doesn’t mean it will happen again. I’d sooner rip off my arms than do anything to harm her. “I swear, Jules. You have nothing to fear from me.”

Her small smile is watery, and it rips a hole in my heart, but when she whispers, “I know,” and looks like she really believes it, it mends back solid.

Fuck if this woman doesn’t wreak havoc on my emotions.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?”

She shakes her head. “No, thank you.”

She looks tired and her whole body sags, like a thousand-ton weight rests on her shoulders. My anger toward Theo strengthens.

I grab her bag off the couch and gesture toward the hallway. “You’ll be in the room I keep for Aria when she’s over. You look exhausted. Why don’t you rest for a while?”

She nods, then follows me down the hallway to the small room that has a twin bed covered in a bright purple bedspread. I drop her bag on the end and turn around. Jules is at the side of the bed, gently running her fingers along the blanket, a soft smile playing on her lips, making her look even more beautiful.

“This is the second bed I’ve slept in that belongs to Aria.”

I don’t know why that knowledge pleases me, but it does. I assumed she slept in Theo’s bed from the beginning. Anytime that thought crossed my mind over the last few weeks, barely restrained anger coursed through my body.

“She won’t mind,” I inform her.

“I know. She’s such a sweet girl.”

I walk over, then before I can think better of it, I bend and place a kiss on the top of her head. She stiffens slightly, but doesn’t try to pull away.

Stepping back, I look down at her.

“Get some sleep. I’m gonna go make a phone call to my parents.”

She nods, but then bites her lip in worry. “Do you… do you think they’ll hate me?”

I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, needing to touch her, even if just briefly.

“I don’t plan to tell them the details yet. I just want to warn them in case Theo stops by. And no, they won’t hate you. They’ll be shocked and angry and hurt on your behalf, but they won’t hate you.”

Her head dips in acknowledgement, hopeful relief flashing in her eyes. “Okay.”

I leave her behind and walk out to the living room, the rage in my blood once again heating now that I’m not in her presence. My feet pound the floor as I make my way out of the back door and into the backyard. The green grass flattens beneath my purposeful strides. I don’t stop until I’m behind the small wooden shed in the far corner of my property. It’s there that I stand, tilt my head back, and roar to the blue sky. My fist flies forward and lands hard against the structure, splintering it enough to leave shards of wood embedded in my knuckles when I pull it back. The stinging in my hand only amplifies my need to run my fist through Theo’s jaw. With another bellow, I repeat the move over and over again, until my hand is a bloody mess and there’s a hole the size of a soccer ball in the wall.

It does nothing to wash away my anger, but at least now I can think past the blinding rage.