I PEEKED AROUND THE CORNER and watched Stacy as she fought the two rough looking guys grabbing her and then shoving her into the van. Stacy wasn’t a friend of mine. She’d taken a blanket and even food from me before, but what I was seeing wasn’t what she deserved. I spotted others in the van and I knew something wasn’t right. I studied the men. I was sure I’d seen one of them before, and I definitely remembered the vest they wore with the bike and huge crown over it. I squinted in the evening light and was sure it reads ‘The Devil’s Queens.’
Oh shit! I needed to get the hell out of there.
I backed up against the wall, and as I turned, I accidently knocked a stupid coke can. Argh! I hate people who littered! I hope they don’t hear me!
“What the hell? Did you hear that? Go check it out.”
I ran.
“You go,” a deep voice yelled back.
“Fine. Deal with this?”
I didn’t hear anything else because I was running for my life. I ran, and I didn’t look back. Why did I need to be such a sticky beak? Why couldn’t I have just stayed hidden instead of trying to see what was going on?
When I saw the main road ahead I thought I’d gotten away, but I was grabbed from behind by large beefy arms that squeezed so tight I was sure I heard something crack. I fought. I clawed. I scratched and kicked and screamed at the top of my lungs. I felt his grip slip and the rip of my clothes before I bolted and hid. I was a good hider.
When it was quiet I got out of my hiding spot and ran, and this time I knew the best place to hide. I found my hidden sack and made my way to my spot, the place that always made me feel safe.
I gripped my clothes together, I didn’t have time to change because I needed to get to my safe place. Once there I could change and take a look at the damage to my body. I was so focused on getting to where I needed to go, I missed them coming out of the shadows ahead of me. They weren’t in uniform, but I knew they were cops; I’d seen them before.
Solid arms wrapped around my waist and dragged me against a big body. “Don’t resist arrest.”
I knew they wouldn’t take me into the precinct. If they took me away I was going to where I’d seen those girls. Images flashed before me of what I’d seen when I’d spied the houses and warehouses. I was not going to let that happen to me. Shutting the images behind doors in my head, I locked them and thought of my family to calm myself.
The guy’s partner came toward us and it was now or never. I let myself go limp, becoming a dead weight for a moment, and then I stiffened and threw my head back with everything I had.
His grip on me loosened and I slipped free. “Fuck. You stupid bitch! I’m gonna kill you.”
The back of my head throbbed and I stumbled away but missed seeing the guy aiming his knee at my chest. Screaming in agony, I crawled on the ground and tried to shield myself from the second kick as I rolled, but it hit my side.
Searching for something to grip, I found a branch and held it tight. I started to stand and when they came at me I swung it around. The officer I headbutted got the full impact and fell to the ground, out cold.
“You. Are. Dead. There’s nowhere you can run we won’t find you,” the other officer growled.
Blocking out his voice I charged him, and as he went for the branch, I let it go and kneed him in the balls, turned, and ran.
The gym that had security all around had one weak spot that I snuck past and got to my hiding spot. It was my place. I knew not even those crooked cops would follow me there.
My box was still where it always was and as I tried to take a calming breath in, I cried out in pain. I fell to the ground, my adrenalin gone and with it any strength I had left. But as I crawled to my box, a calm washed over me and a feeling of belonging settled in as I gave in to the pain and closed my eyes.
I AWOKE ON A GASP of agony as the wind whistled by my alcove. I huddled back against the cardboard box as I shivered with the cold. The pain clouded my vision, but I needed to stay awake, if only for a moment or two. I tried not to think of how my life had changed so quickly in the last four, almost five years, but as the cold wind bashed against my flimsy home and my teeth chattered, my ribs and leg hurt from the fights I’d gotten into when I’d seen what I shouldn’t have. It only got worse when I ran to my safe hiding spot. I’d failed at keeping to the shadows and not being seen when I left the first hiding spot, and I’d almost been caught by the police. I’d learned early on that they just wanted to put me back into foster care or worse. I didn’t want to think about those cops but now, cold and alone, my mind couldn’t stop the flood of memories of how I’d gotten here. Me on my thirteenth birthday waiting at school. The only nice cops I ever remembered. And then, the foster homes. I gripped the doors in my head, not wanting them to open, but between the cold and the pain, I couldn’t keep them shut and she popped into my head.
I washed the last of the dishes and gave it to Dorthey, who was ten and another foster kid. She went to put it away and it slipped from her fingers. I darted my gaze around for the dust pan and brush but before I could tell Dorthey to run, the evil woman was on us.
Dorthey was the closest to her and as she went to hit Dorthey with the broom, I grabbed it and she turned it on me. I screamed, “Run!”
The broom came down on me over and over and I tried to push the older woman away, but she was a big lady. “You ungrateful little bitch,” she yelled as the handle of the broom came down on me again and again. “I take you all in when nobody wants you and this is how you repay me?”
I fought back, kicking and punching. Her cackle of laughter as I missed hurt more than some of the blows.
When her feet joined in, I crawled to the broken plate, grabbed a shard and jabbed it into her foot with the little strength I had. I got up and ran, but I didn’t get far. I never got far.
I shivered as I came out of my memories and winced as my ribs made themselves known. I’d been on the streets for almost two years straight without being taken back into foster care. I only had five more months before my eighteenth birthday. How I looked forward to walking into the Centrelink office and getting my life back! I moaned at the thought of buying warm, clean clothes, showering, and washing my hair.
The shelters around here were good—if you could get to one safely without a gang trying to grab you—and I tried to stay within fifteen minutes walking distance of the largest. They were busy, and filled within half an hour of opening. I tried to get in because I got to have a proper shower without having to worry someone would jump me. I’d learned that a young girl on her own wasn’t safe and not to trust anyone. I wasn’t safe even when I should have been at my foster homes, but on the streets at least I could fight back and run and hide. I was good at hiding.
This spot I had was one of the best hiding spots. I knew that a lot of the other homeless teenagers and adults I met were scared of this place with all the security that surrounded it and because of some rich person’s name attached to it, but not me. It was strange. For some reason I always felt safe here. I’d always been drawn to this place, not just because of the secure feeling I got when I was near it, but because it calmed me, and wrapped me in a cocoon of warmth. It was a massive gym, with a rough fighting style look on one side, and a more leisurely feel on the other side with a pool. It was an odd U shape and in the middle of the U were the bins where I now made my home.
My teeth chattered with the cold, but I knew I would be almost frozen if I ventured out of my little corner. I should have gone to the hospital. At least I would have been looked after and if I didn’t tell them anything they usually kept the police or any child services away.
My legs ached and it was hard to breathe, but I couldn’t dwell on my pain. I was grateful that I lived in Brisbane and it didn’t ever get cold enough to snow, but at one in the morning in winter when you lived in a box in a corner nook, it was freezing. I snuggled into the thin blanket I was given the last time I got into the shelter, groaned, and I was sure I could hear my ribs creak. Closing my eyes, I promised myself I’d go to the hospital in the morning.
I WAS TIRED. IT WAS two-thirty in the morning and I really should’ve just let my staff throw the trash into the large bins outside, but I only had one other person on at this time and he was basically there as security since the gym was open twenty-four hours.
The night was a chilly one and I was sure it was one of the coldest nights so far this winter. The two massive metal bins blocked the little middle that made the building a U shape. The night was quiet. Except for the cold wind, all you could hear was the crickets. This side of town didn’t see any action. The homeless from the shelter stayed well away from me and my security. My bodyguard had gone to get the car while I did the bins. He knew I could take care of myself and my family hadn’t had any trouble in a while.
I lifted the bin lid, threw the four bags in, and shut it. I turned, rubbing my hands together, and froze when I heard a hissing noise, followed by a moan. Grabbing my phone from my tracksuit pants, I turned on the light and shined it between the small space behind the bins. Fuck. In the corner was a box and what looked to be a little girl. At least I think she was a girl. Her dirty blonde hair was a mess around her pale, dirt covered face. Her thin clothes were ripped and torn, her breasts peeking out of the ripped fabric.
Definitely a woman then.
My heart beat so fast I felt like I’d just sparred for hours as I moved the bins aside and inched closer to the tiny female. She was breathing, but barely. I could see her struggling, her chest rising and falling slower and slower. I lowered myself and ran my phone light over her once more before I called for help. She was covered in blood and her already threadbare clothes were ripped and torn in so many places they were useless. Putting my phone on the ground, I slipped my jumper off and draped it over her, before picking up my phone and calling the ambulance.
I didn’t miss the sigh as I wrapped my jumper more around her and I couldn’t help my grin as she moaned, “Mmm, smells so good.” Her voice sent a shock through my system and I knew that she was special.
This little woman was mine.
My soulmate.
Shocked, I blinked and shook my head as it flooded with all the things I wanted to do. I couldn’t do anything now. As much as I wanted her, I needed to make sure my girl was alright. My heart raced as fear flowed through me at the condition she was in. I needed to find out what happened to her. I had to help her.
Was she even eighteen?
In spite of my racing heart and whirling thoughts, I stayed as calm as I could for my woman, because from what I could see, she needed me just as much as I needed her.
“Sir. What is your emergency?”
Blinking again, I leaned over and gently brushed her messy locks from her face. She didn’t open her eyes, but she leaned into my touch and groaned, “Safe.”
“Yes, sweetheart, you’re safe now. You’ll always be safe from now on.”
I told the woman on the line where I was and what condition my woman was in. When I hung up, I called the one woman I knew that would get what needed to be done, done. My mother, Gillian Silverman.
THE PAIN WAS GONE. WELL, mostly. I could feel it, but it wasn’t the pain I was used to, it was a dull throb. This was manageable. A warmth surrounded me like I was in a tight cocoon and floating on a cloud. I wasn’t sure if I was at a hospital because when I breathed in I didn’t smell disinfectant. The smell that surrounded me was expensive perfume. I took a deep breath in and smiled. It reminded me of the perfume my mother had worn out on special date nights with my father. I didn’t open my eyes. Nothing was going to ruin this moment.
Voices started filtering to me. There was a woman with a very sweet motherly tone but it had a stern thread through it that showed she was strong and not one to argue with. She was speaking to a man with the deepest, sexiest voice I’d ever heard.
“She’s going to need everything,” the woman said.
“Whatever she needs.” His voice sent a shiver of warmth through me.
“Oh, son, I intend to make sure she has everything. This is going to be fun.” She made a sound like she’d just clapped her hands together. “I’m going to get her everything she needs personally. From now on she will have only the best.”
There was a deep guttural grunt as a response.
Damn, even that sounded sexy.
“Son, don’t worry anymore. I have all our lawyers on the case and I’ve spoken to Evelin.” I heard what sounded like two kisses, like a mother would on each cheek. “I promise you everything will work out. No one will ever touch her again. If anyone even attempts to hurt her they’ll pay with the full force of our family’s power.”
“Never again, mum,” he snarled.
“I’ll make sure anyone who messes with our girl will pay. Never again, son. The whole family’s in agreement. She’s family now. This is good. I’ve got another daughter now. I’m so happy that you’ve found your one.”
Envy ran through me as I listened. This girl they were talking about sounded like she was cared for and was very lucky to have these two. For a moment, I daydreamed of being the girl they spoke of, but alas, I knew I wasn’t that lucky.
Opening my eyes, I groaned because not only did I see a hospital room, but I had to come back to reality. The spacious, cream-colored room had vases and boxes full of flowers, a teddy or two, and a couple of balloons that said, “Get well.” I swept the room and frowned when I realized I had no roommate.
Um, had there been a case of mistaken identity? Should I say something? Surely, I could just soak up this treatment for a little longer?
I debated if I should call the nurse or just let everything play out, but guilt won and I reached over and pressed the button.
I didn’t wait long before a nurse in pink scrubs ran in, followed closely by a woman that looked in her late forties, maybe early fifties, very classy in a white, cashmere dress, with a gold cardigan and gold heels. Her make-up was flawless and she looked beautiful. I decided right then that when I grew up I wanted to be just like her.
The delightful high bright laugh the beautiful woman let loose as she got to the bed had me sighing. “Yep, just like you when I grow up.”
“Oh, Mason. I love her. I think I have a new favorite. Do you think Bailey will mind?”
Damn, I must have said that out loud. I needed to focus, because my thoughts didn’t seem to be staying silent.
The deep raspy chuckle had my head shooting past the stunningly elegant woman to the most attractive man I’d ever seen in my life.
Damn. That giant is like a God. I bet he’s over six foot, maybe close to like seven.
His hair was a light brown that fell to his ears, but was shaved at each side.
Mmm, what I wouldn’t give to run my hands through that hair, maybe brush it over so it isn’t in his eyes. And his eyes. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that dark brown. I’m sure I could stare into them forever. Mmm, but then I’d miss his lips and that would just be cruel. I could totally stare at this guy forever. Maybe I could imagine exploring.
I let my gaze travel down his perfectly muscular body.
Whoever created this man must have been Godlike.
The groan from the man had me darting my gaze back up to his dark, almost all black eyes. The peals of laughter coming from the elegant woman were distracting, but I didn’t care. I was waiting for the God to talk.
The nurse giggled. “Yes, well the doctor did put Miss Jennings on some really strong pain meds. They tend to have patients talking and saying things they usually wouldn’t.” Hearing the nurse say that has me wondering if I have been talking out loud this whole time.
“As much as I’d love you to be here for me, hot stuff,” I said to the God, winking. At least I hoped it was a wink. “I have to tell you there has to have been some issue of mistaken identity. I don’t know you. I’d like, well, like is such a little word when I could say love. Yes, I’d love to get to know you better.”
I loved the sound of his deep, rich belly laugh. “Oh, sweetheart, I can tell you’re going to be trouble.”
“I could have you talk to me all night long,” I thought. Or at least I think I thought it and didn’t voice it.
“If that’s what you want I’ll do it for you, sweetheart.”
“Thanks hotstuff, but I don’t even know your name.”
Wait a minute. They didn’t answer me about the identity mix up.
“Mason. Mason Silverman.” He stepped closer to the bed.
He really was handsome. “So handsome.” Just looking at him had anything I was going to say fly out of my head.
“Miss Jennings.” The nurse snapped my attention to hers for a moment before she started taking my temp and checking my pulse. I went back to staring at God, er, Mason. “You’re very lucky Mr. Silverman found you when he did. You had three broken ribs, a cut in your left leg that needed eight stitches, and not only did you have a concussion, but you have pneumonia.”
I didn’t feel anything but the little ache in my ribs. I nodded, not wanting to take my gaze off Mason who was smiling and, oh, dear Lord, was that a dimple hidden behind his beard?
I liked his beard, which was weird because I thought only men in situations like me who couldn’t afford housing or shaving had beards. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a beard and liking it. This Mason was like a unicorn. “My unicorn.”
“I just gave her an extra dose of pain meds,” the nurse said beside my bed. “She should drift off again soon.”
“Wait, I don’t wanna go to sleep. I want to stay awake and watch my unicorn. I wanna see him smile again. I can’t stay too long in here. I’m not going back again. I can’t do that again. My little box is better than going back. I can’t fight. I can hide. They won’t get me like they had this time. No, I have to help them. No. Must keep door shut and locked. No one can know.”
Mason’s eyebrows furrowed and little wrinkles formed on his forehead as his lips turned down. “You’re even pretty when you frown. You know, there’s probably a law that you can’t look like you do. It’s not fair. If I let men near me, I would let you.” My thoughts seemed all a jumble, but one thing I did know was I didn’t want Mason to leave. It was strange because I hadn’t trusted a man since my father, and I definitely hadn’t ever been this attracted to one. The way I’d been treated by men has put me off, but with Mason, I felt safe, and I had the uncontrollable urge to throw myself at him and jump his bones.
My lids became heavy, but I didn’t want to stop staring at Mason. Mmm, even his name was masculine and manly. His eyes were the darkest brown I’d ever seen, almost black, and as I gave into the weight of fog that clouded my mind and my lids dropped, Mason faded away.
MY EYES FLUTTERED, STRUGGLING TO open against the bright lights. At least there was less pain. I looked around the room and gasped when I saw someone new. This wasn’t my God. He looked similar to Mason, but it was hard to tell with his thick, scruffy beard and messy mop of raven black hair. He sat at the end of my bed on a computer, his whole focus on the screen.
“Who . . . who are you?” I mumbled. My heart beat faster and I wished I wasn’t hooked up to machines so I could run and hide. I didn’t know this person.
His head snapped up and his warm brown-eyed gaze caught mine. He had the same eyes as Mason. I saw then that he was safe. “You’re awake. Mason, didn’t think you’d be awake for a couple of hours so I promised I’d sit with you while he showered, changed, and checked on his gym and in with his coach.”
Blinking at the guy, I calmed my racing heart, now that I knew he was a family or friend of Mason. “You didn’t answer my question. Who are you?”
He smiled and it calmed me, not the same as Mason, but a different kind of feeling, like family, a father, or a big brother. “I’m Zeck, Mason’s brother, but don’t hold that against me.” He winked. “I’m nicer than him. Definitely more patient, too.” He shuffled the chair closer and came to sit beside me. “So, I always wanted a sister. I bet you’d be a good one.”
Opening my mouth, I went to tell him no, but then my mind just exploded, flashes of things I kept hidden behind locked doors came to the surface and right then I needed someone, anyone, to be mine, on my side. “You can’t be my brother if you’re Mason’s. I need someone just for me.”
He waved his hand like he was shooing a fly from his face. “I can be the brother just for you.” He shrugged. “Mason is closer to our other brothers, Richard and Andrew, than he is to me. So, from now on I’m yours.”
“You can’t just say that.” I fought back, shocked that he was willing to be mine, and tell me that he wasn’t as close to Mason as he was his other brothers.
“Bla. I can do what I want and I say from now on you’re my sister. No more brothers.” I giggled and he winked at me again. This time I noticed he had two dimples behind his beard. God, when was the last time I laughed? “Trust me when I say having you as a sister and no more brothers is a way better deal than I had before today.”
Warmth spread through me and I knew from that point on Zeck would be my brother. “Thank you.”
He waved his hand over his face. “Don’t mention it. You’re way cooler than my former brothers anyway, plus my mum totally loves you and I’m her favorite, too. So, I figure we stick together.”
I giggled again and closed my eyes. Safe. I loved the Silvermans.
IT HAD BEEN A WEEK since I’d found Alexa Jennings, seventeen-year-old run away from foster care, and my soulmate.
My one.
From what I heard of her ramblings the first couple of days, she would never be going back to any of those homes. I would be looking to see what I could get on them and make sure they never fostered again. I was at least ecstatic that she was attracted to me and felt safe. I loved that she told me over and over that she felt safe with me and never to leave her. I knew it was the meds that were making her talk, but I didn’t care.
My aunt Evelin had spoken to DOCS and had gotten guardianship of Alexa, thanks to her already being an approved foster care as she’d taken in Jade, Stephan’s wife, when she was underage. Alexa had five months left until she was eighteen, which meant I had five months to woo her.
I was over two years older than her, and though I did turn twenty-one a month before she turned eighteen, it was still a smaller age gap than my brother, Richard, and his wife Bailey, or my uncle and his wife. My own mother was three years younger than my father. I just hoped with Alexa’s history she wouldn’t have any issue with it.
The last two days Alexa had been more coherent as they eased her off the stronger pain meds. I was happy she still talked to me and felt safe, but since she’d started the oral medication they were discharging her. For some reason I was nervous. I stared at her hospital room door and heard my mother and Aunt Evelin talking to Alexa.
“We had a ball shopping for you. Evelin and I went a little crazy. I can’t wait for you to see your room. Evelin and Lucas have this gorgeous house on the water in Southbank. I know the Gold Coast is an hour away, but—”
“No.” Alexa cut off my mum.
“What do you mean honey?” Evelin asked in her sweetest voice.
“I mean no, I’m not going to live with you Evelin. I can’t. I just can’t.”
“Honey,” my mother intervened. “If you don’t stay with Evelin the state will put you with another foster family.”
“No. No, no, no.” Alexa cried out and I couldn’t take hearing her distress anymore. I opened the door and barged in. I watched as Alexa’s gaze landed on mine and when it did, she jumped out of bed like she wasn’t even hurt, and threw herself at me, clinging like her life depended on me. “No. No.” She shook her head franticly against my chest. “I’m not leaving you. No. No. Please don’t make me. Please. I promise I’ll be so good. Please!”
My heart broke as I stared down into the pleading eyes of my soulmate, of the woman who would be the love of my life. Right then I knew this woman already had me wrapped around her little finger because I would do anything for her. Anything. “Sweetheart, I promise you I’m not leaving. How about I move into my aunt’s house? She has plenty of rooms.”
Tears slid down her cheek and I hugged her tighter against me. Before I knew what I was doing I leaned down and kissed her tears away. She dug her nails into me and her legs practically cut my circulation off. “No.” She shook her head vehemently and for a moment I worried she didn’t want me, until she continued. “I want you in the same room.” She stared up at me with big doe-green eyes. “I love those moments when you would sneak in and get on the bed to cuddle with me. Sometimes I deliberately pretend to be asleep just so I can be in your embrace or I’d awake and be cuddled up to you and go back to sleep almost instantly. I don’t know what it is about you, but I know I’m safe.” I almost missed it when, in the smallest whisper, she added, “I feel loved.”
Holy crap, my woman not only broke my heart with those words, but she put it together again and made it whole. No, better than whole. Full. “Sweetheart, I should say no and that it wouldn’t be appropriate, but I can’t. I love holding you in my arms and knowing you’re all mine. That with me you’ll always be safe, and I want you to know that what you feel, I feel it, too.” I kissed her forehead. “This isn’t a part of my plan. I was going to woo you. Not move into my aunt’s and cuddle you all night—”
“Please. The nightmares go away when I’m with you.”
I looked up and caught my mother and aunt Evelin with tears running down their faces and Evelin nodded her head at me. “I should be a gentleman and say no, but damn, I can’t resist you.” I sighed dramatically and the giggle she gave me filled my heart to bursting. I’d just found my new favorite sound and intended to make sure I heard it a lot more.