Zane
A zipper. Sniffling. I heard one, then the other. Emme. My eyes shot open and I realized I was alone in her bed. When I looked to the side of the bed I saw her standing up from a crouched position in front of a suitcase she had just zipped up.
Why the hell was she crying and why the fuck did she have a suitcase in front of her?
“Em?” I called out as I sat up in the bed.
“Oh no. I’m sorry, Zane. I was hoping to get out of here before you woke up.”
I threw my legs over the side of the bed, stood, and walked to tag my pants off the floor. As I pulled them up my legs I asked, “Get out of here? You taking a trip somewhere?”
She shook her head.
I stared back at her waiting for more.
“I’m leaving, Zane. I have to go.”
“Ok. What exactly do you mean by that? Where are you going?”
“I don’t have an answer to that. I have to go and I don’t quite know yet where I’m going.”
“When will you be back?” I asked.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she rasped out, “Never.”
Then, she grabbed the handle on her suitcase and walked out of her bedroom. I stood there, dumbfounded. What. The. Fuck.
I snapped out of my catatonic state, which was brought on by the fact that I had heard the most ridiculous news ever, and stalked out of the room. Emme had only made it to the family room.
“Emme,” I called out.
She turned to look at me.
“Zane please. I need to go. I can’t stay here. Nobody else can get hurt.”
“What?” I asked.
She looked away.
“Emme, look at me.”
She didn’t.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I put my hand around the side of her neck and bent down a bit so that my eyes were level with hers.
“Tell me what’s going on, Em.”
“I can’t stay. Somebody will get hurt. I don’t want anyone else hurt.”
“You are crying your fucking eyes out right now. You aren’t going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I CAN’T stay.”
“Why not?” I demanded, now beginning to really lose my patience.
“Someone is going to get hurt,” she said, still crying and now moving toward her suitcase. I instinctively reached out to grab her wrist. Her eyes came to mine.
“Emme, talk to me,” I pleaded.
“I can’t. I have to go.”
“You can’t just go. Tell me what’s going on.”
She was becoming more and more frustrated and at that moment screamed, “STOP, PLEASE. ZANE, YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO!”
I released her wrist and took half of a step back, shocked at her response to me. What was happening to my sweet girl?
Her face had a look of sheer terror on it.
Seconds later, Wes boomed in my ear, “Zane, what the fuck is going on?”
“Fuck if I know. I was asleep and woke up to her zipping that shit up,” I began as I pointed to the suitcase. “I’ve asked her what she is doing about ten times already. She won’t explain anything to me. Just keeps saying that she needs to go and she can’t stay. Says she doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. You’ve got any fucking clue what that means?”
“Oh my God,” I heard Charley say.
I turned to look at her. Something was up and she knew what it was. Charley kept her eyes on Emme, walked to her, and put her hands on either side of her face. Then she asked, “Did he contact you, Em?”
My brows drew together at Charley’s question. Emme nodded.
“He call?” Charley asked.
Emme shook her head.
“How?”
She didn’t answer.
“Emme. How?” Charley asked again.
Emme put her hand into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Charley. Charley read it and now tears were pouring down her cheeks. What. The. Fuck.
“Charley?” Wes called, trying to refocus her.
She handed him the piece of paper. He looked at it and then to my girl. “How did this get here, Em?”
“I found it this morning. Came out to put a pot of coffee on. Saw it on the floor in front of the door. I think he slipped it under the door.”
“He?” I asked as I walked over and took the paper out of Wes’ hand.
“My ex, Seth,” Emme said.
My head dropped to the piece of paper and with each word I read my blood began to boil.
You think you can run away from me, you whore? You’re mine. You better get rid of your snowboarder before he gets a bullet, too. You’ll always be mine.
Wes asked, “You mean he had someone do it for him?”
The girls shook their heads in unison before Charley added, “After Seth killed Taj he was never caught. He went into hiding and they never found him. Emme and I moved here not only to get away from the painful memories, but to make sure that he’d never find her.”
Fuck that shit. He wasn’t going to get to my girl. And he definitely wasn’t going to make her leave either. I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my pants and walked out of the room. I found the number I was looking for, tapped on the screen, and held the phone to my ear. It rang twice.
“Nearly ten in the morning on a Sunday, Zane. This better be good.”
“Need your help, Levi. Going to text you an address. Need you to get here now. Bring Cruz with you.”
Suddenly very alert, Levi asked, “You alright, man? What’s going on?”
“Should have fucking called you a week ago when I learned of it to have you look in to this shit. Didn’t think twice about it though because my focus was on Emme. Found out last weekend that the real reason she moved here from California was because her ex-boyfriend beat the shit out of her. He did it for years, man — fucking years. And the last time she saw him was the night he beat her so bad she called Charley’s brother to come take her to the hospital. He got her out of there, but he was shot and killed by Emme’s ex. Levi, she landed in the hospital for weeks and nearly died. Girl only has one fucking kidney he beat her so bad. Just found out minutes ago that the fucker was never caught. He slid a note under her door this morning.”
“One fucking kidney, Zane? She was beaten that badly?”
“Dude, my blood is already boiling and I’m fucking livid as it is. Need to get back to her right now and I need you to get here.”
“Right. Text me the address. I’m throwing on some clothes and getting Cruz. See you soon.”
I disconnected the call and immediately sent a text to Levi with the address to Emme’s condo. I walked back out to the family room to find my sweet girl in the corner crying her eyes out. Wes had his arms wrapped around her and was talking softly to her trying to console her and offer her something in the way of comfort. He looked up and saw me approach.
“You call them?” he asked.
I nodded.
Wes moved away from Emme as I wrapped my arms around her. I pulled her into my body and whispered in her ear, “You aren’t running, Em. He’s never going to touch you again. I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep you safe, sweetheart. I promise you.”
“Zane, please let me go,” she whispered. “I could never live with myself if something happened to you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. And sorry, but I just got in here,” I said pointing to her head. “Not a chance I’m letting you go now.”
“He’s dangerous, Zane. Please,” she pleaded with me.
“Emme, listen. Two days ago, you became mine. Mine, meaning I do what I’ve got to do to protect you and keep you safe. Mine, meaning I make sure you feel loved and respected. Mine, meaning nobody, and I mean absolutely fuckin’ nobody, puts the fear in your eyes that I’m seeing right now. That motherfucker does not scare me and he better hope for his sake that I never find him because if I do, swear to God, Em, he’s going to wish he never harmed a single hair on your beautiful head.”
With that, Emme gave in and curled her body into mine. I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. I held her in my lap for a good while trying to settle her when I heard the knock at the door. Emme tensed.
“It’s ok, Em. It’s Levi and Cruz.”
Wes, who had moved to the kitchen with Charley, came out and went to open the door. I heard him talking to my brothers and then I heard him introduce them to Charley.
Emme pulled her head back from my chest, which was now wet with her tears, and asked, “Why are they here?”
I tilted my head at her and answered, “Seriously?”
She held my eyes, but stayed quiet.
Seconds later, Levi and Cruz entered the room. I could see the looks of concern all over their faces. Emme looked to them as they walked in. The tension in her body was palpable and I was hoping that before they left here she’d be reassured that they’d take care of this for her.
“Hey, Emme,” Levi greeted as he sat on the chair opposite where we were sitting.
“Hi, Levi,” she said, her voice a hushed whisper.
Cruz came over and sat next to us on the couch and nodded to Emme. Wes sat in the chair next to Levi and Charley climbed into his lap.
Emme looked to me and asked, “What’s going on?”
I took the note that was left this morning and handed it off to Cruz. He read it, clenched his jaw, and passed it off to Levi.
“Zane?” Emme persisted.
“Sweetheart, Levi and Cruz are going to find him and make sure he never touches you.”
Her eyes rounded and she looked to my brothers. “Oh my God. No, you can’t do that,” she said to them.
“Why not?” Levi asked.
“You’re both Zane’s brothers. Please don’t do this. I can’t be responsible for the death of a brother of another person I love,” she answered as she brought her eyes to Charley. My body went solid.
Charley’s eyes had welled with tears, but she, too, realized what Emme had said.
“Emme?” I said, my voice hoarse.
She turned her head to look at me.
“What did you just say?” I asked.
“I don’t want Levi and Cruz to do this. Charley’s brother is no longer here because of me. If something happens to your brothers, Zane, I can’t…” she said before I cut her off.
“Not that, Em. You said you didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a brother of another person you love.”
She held my eyes for what felt like hours. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you the day you took me to Yellowstone. I knew for sure the day Nikki and Monroe called you when I had another nightmare. You didn’t hesitate in coming here. Every day I’ve talked to or seen you since then I knew my love wasn’t misplaced.”
“Yellowstone?” Charley said, pulling me out of my head.
“Nightmare?” Levi said.
Shit. Why did all of these people have to be here right now? My girl just admitted she loved me and I couldn’t do anything about it. At least, not the way that I wanted to.
I looked to Levi and Cruz. “What do you need to know? We need to do this right because I’m not taking any chances with her, but we need to do it as quickly as possible.”
“Can’t rush it, Zane. Need details.”
“Levi, my girl just told me she loved me for the first time, at least the first time consciously. I’m feeling the need to do something about that. Need you to make it quick, brother.”
He smirked and shook his head.
“Your girl? And, what do you mean consciously?” Emme asked.
“Yeah, Em. My girl. Why is that even a question? And, Aspen. The night you left the pub early. I found you asleep on the couch and I carried you to your bed. You said it then, but you were sleeping,” I answered while giving her a wink.
“Ok, I hate to interrupt the declarations of love, but we need info,” Levi said.
“No. You can’t,” she said as she sat up in my lap.
Cruz spoke, “Beautiful, don’t know the full story yet, but with the very little that we know trust me when I say you won’t win this battle. Levi and I have every intention of finding this motherfucker. You giving us some details will only make our jobs easier.”
“Emme?” Charley called. “Let them help.”
“Charley,” she cried as the tears welled up in her eyes.
“Honey,” Charley began. “I’ve lost my brother. It’s not your fault and you know I don’t blame you. Right now, I’m really worried about you. You’re my sister, and I need you safe. Please let them help. Don’t risk it because I can’t lose you, too.”
Wes wrapped his arms a little tighter around Charley as we waited for Emme to say something.
After a couple minutes of silence, she took a deep breath, looked to Levi, and asked, “What do you need to know?”
The guys smiled at her, Charley let out a breath, and I squeezed Emme’s thigh. She had the support of everyone in this room and we’d do whatever was necessary to get her through this.
“Going to need to know the basics about him. Name, last known address, physically identifying details, previous work, anything you know about his family, but also going to need to know some specifics about your relationship with him. Don’t want to put you through painful shit, beautiful, but the more we know about how he works, the better our chances are.”
“His name is Seth Miller,” Emme said. She then went on to give Levi and Cruz all of the rest of the basic details.
“Thanks, Emme. Ok, now we need to get into the tough stuff. Can you tell us a little about your relationship with him? Starting at the beginning.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I started dating him when I was sixteen. I was with him for eight years, but should have left four years into it. When we first started dating he said all the right things and made me feel special. It was the definition of a first love. I was so caught up in him that when he started changing I refused to acknowledge it. I was basically blind to the abuse.”
“The abuse started four years into it?” Levi asked.
She shook her head.
“It was probably a year and a half into it when it started. It only started as verbal and emotional. He would say things to manipulate me and prevent me from being with my friends. He put a strain on my relationship with my parents. I loved him and just wanted to make him happy so I allowed it to happen. Four years into the relationship is when the physical abuse started. During the first year of physical abuse it was just a slap or backhand across the face or he’d pull my hair. As time went on, it got worse. Slaps turned to punches and shoving turned into kicking. The verbal and emotional abuse continued. I was consistently isolated from my family and friends. I could only leave the house if I was going to work or if I was with him. He’d take the money I made from my photo shoots. And then, over the course of the last year he,” she paused and became visibly uncomfortable. A single tear fell from eyes and she looked to the ground.
I squeezed her shoulder. I could feel the tension in her neck, back, and shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve never told anyone this.”
“Take all the time you need,” Cruz assured her, gently.
A minute later, with her head still down and her eyes still on the ground, she said, “I guess it should come as no surprise that after everything he was doing to me I was no longer interested in…being intimate with him. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter what I wanted; he wouldn’t accept that.”
I was going to lose my fucking mind. Emme’s head was still down and I looked to everyone else in the room. Wes’ jaw was clenched, Charley was quietly crying with her palm covering her mouth, and my brothers had their hands balled in fists. They all fucking knew what she was going to say.
“The first time he raped me was the worst.”
The first time? How many fucking times were there?
“He wanted to have sex and I didn’t. He kept pushing himself on me. I pushed back and I said no. He didn’t want to hear it. He began pulling at my clothes, ripping them off my body. I tried,” she said through tears. “I tried so hard to fight him, but after so long I just didn’t have the strength anymore. He got my clothes off and he took what he wanted. That night I realized I no longer had any control. From that point forward, I always said no, but never fought back. He would have just taken it anyway.”
“Jesus Christ,” I growled as I pulled Emme into my chest. She was full-blown crying now.
“Oh my God,” Charley whispered. “How could I have not known?”
“We’re done today,” I said to Levi.
He nodded and said, “Going to get to work right away, Zane. Your house is set up with the security system and cameras, so you need to keep her there until we find him. Going to put someone on her. I think it’s best, considering what she’s been through, that she gets to meet the team. She needs to be comfortable. My guys are the best and I trust them all with my life, but if there is anyone she’s uncomfortable with we don’t put that man on her. They’ll work behind the scenes on her case. Think you can bring her to the office tomorrow so we can make that happen?”
I nodded.
“If she isn’t up to it yet, Cruz and I will cover her until she’s ready. Get our numbers into her phone right away. If she trusts your boys, get their numbers there, too. If you need to leave your house for any reason, let us know. If she is going to be working and you can’t be there, we’ll have someone covering her. Know the US Open is coming up in a little over two weeks — if you need to leave your house to train and she’s going to be there alone, make sure we know so someone can be with her.”
“Don’t give a fuck about the Open right now,” I said as I looked to Wes. “Sorry, and no disrespect to you or the brand Wes, but she’s my priority.”
“I’d expect nothing less, Zane. Take care of your girl. The brand isn’t going anywhere and I’d be doing the same exact thing.”
Levi turned to Wes and said, “As a precaution, since the situation is the same at your house with security keep Charley there. We can get their place wired and set up with security, but for now they both shouldn’t be here.”
Wes nodded.
Levi stood to leave. Cruz put his hand on my shoulder and said, “You focus on taking care of her. We’ll worry about keeping her safe and finding him.”
“Thanks, Cruz.”
With that, they both walked to the door and let themselves out.
“Emme,” Charley called out softly after Levi and Cruz left.
She pulled her face from my chest and looked at Charley.
“I’m so sorry, Em. I should have done something; I should have done more. I knew something wasn’t right, but I never knew it was that bad. I swear, honey, if I had known what he was doing to you…” she said, before her emotions got the best of her and she broke down into tears.
“It’s not your fault, Charley. I was good at keeping it a secret.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
Emme shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know. I was ashamed, I guess. And on the rare occasions that I got to be with you, Nik, and Monroe I didn’t want to be wallowing in self-pity.”
“Self-pity? Em, you were being raped and beaten.”
“And it’s ugly, Charley. Most of my life was ugly and dirty because of what he did to me. You girls were one of the beautiful, clean things that I had left. I didn’t want to ruin that. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Charley got up and walked over to us. She pulled Emme into a hug, held her tight, and maintained, “I’m not mad at you, honey. I’m mad at myself and I’m so sorry for not being a better friend to you.”
I looked to Wes and knew he was feeling exactly how I was. These two girls had been through hell and back. It was a wonder they were still standing.
“Charley, baby?” Wes called.
“Yeah, Wes?” she said as she pulled back from Emme.
“Why don’t we go make some breakfast for everyone and then we can get to packing up some stuff?”
Charley looked at him, but didn’t move to get up nor did she say anything.
“Gorgeous, I know this isn’t going to be easy for the two of you, but Levi is right. Your safety is the number one concern right now. My house is big enough as is Zane’s. You and Emme want time together, we can easily make it happen at one of our homes. You want your girls to come in from California, we can make that happen, too. I’ll pay for their tickets and get them here if that’s what the two of you need right now. But, first, we need to get you both packed up and out of here.”
She nodded to him and said, “Thank you, honey.”
At that, the two of them went to the kitchen to work on breakfast while I held my girl in my lap and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to make her smile again.