Hearts on Fire 4: Kisses Sweeter Than Pie(21)

“What did you do?” Buddy asked.

“I begged for him to stop. I covered my face and my head from the strikes. He warned me, and told me that I was to keep quiet, to do as he said, and to never leave him. He said he could be with whomever he wanted to be with. That he could fuck one, two, three women together if he wanted to because he was the boss, the man. He struck me again, kicked me, and I begged for him to stop. I told him I would obey him. He finally stopped, fell to his knees, and grabbed me by my face. He was wild with anger.” She took a few unsteady breaths, the tears stopped but her voice began to quiver with each new word she spoke.

“He said, ‘You’re mine. No other man will ever have you. This is your life now. I say when it’s over.’ I realized in that moment how stupid I was. How I was a bad judge of character, how I let my heart, my emotions make the decisions for me.”

“It’s not like that now, Nina. You know more, you’ve learned from this,” Johnny said.

“I learned what? That any man is capable of that, of what he did? You don’t understand, Johnny. You’re not getting it. It didn’t end there. I pushed him over the edge. I defied him and he was going to teach me a lesson I would never forget,” she stated, raising her voice. She was shaking with emotion.

“Continue. Tell us what happened,” Trent pushed. She looked at him, nibbled her bottom lip, and shook her head.

“Yes, tell us so we understand,” Buddy added this time.

“It’s too hard. It’s embarrassing, and sick.”

“We need to know everything, especially after you said you almost killed him,” Trent reminded her.

She wiped a tear away from her eye before it fell. “He stared at me in disgust, but he was the one who did the damage. The bruised, cut cheek, bloody lip, cuts and marks all over my forearms and back. He broke the skin and it burned. And he had the nerve to tell me to tell him that I loved him.”

Her lips were quivering. She was petrified as if it just happened to her now.

“I went to speak and he raised his hand at me, so I quickly said, ‘I love you.’”

“What did he do?”

She stared at Trent and Buddy with a blank look in her eyes. “He told me that I needed to show him. Then he proceeded to order me to get undressed and get on the bed.”

Buddy’s eyes widened in shock.

Nina spoke faster. “I guess I didn’t move fast enough for him. He pulled me up by my blouse, ripped it as he spoke with teeth clenched against my face. I don’t remember what he said, just that he was so angry he shook me and told me that he was in charge, that I was going to learn the hard way and to do what he said or the punishments were going to get worse.”

“Punishments? He hurt you before? He struck you before this incident?” Trent asked her.

“He was always possessive and handsy. I couldn’t walk too far away from him because he would get angry if other men looked at me. But this statement, his threats, meant more. He was going to rape me. He was going to do god knows what to me to get his message across. He tore the blouse from my body and he struck me again and again and kept yelling. ‘Get undressed. Take it all off.’”

Nina covered her ears and yelled out his words then cried and started rambling on as she clenched her fists and shook with emotion.

“He hit me so damn hard that I hit the side dresser. I grabbed onto the solid wood. I didn’t want to die but I knew it could be that bad. That he was capable of such a thing and more. I saw a marble dolphin statue as he ripped my skirt, scratched my skin like some wild animal. The anger, the need to fight filled my belly. Then I felt the strikes from his belt again. He was hitting me over and over again against my back, and my ass. I felt it break my skin and I screamed out in pain and anger as he ripped the remainder of my clothing and I knew he was going to rape me. I was losing my hold of the dresser with every whip of the belt. I gripped the marble dolphin and used all my strength to pick up the thing and I swung it around me and I hit Rico just right. He fell to the ground, blood dripped from his skull, and he passed out. I was so scared, and I thought I had killed him. I carefully went closer. I heard him moan and made the decision to run, just grab what I could and run away as far as I could go so he could never find me. I even threw his cell phone in the toilet so he couldn’t call his heavies to find me.”

She was crying harder now and Johnny pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

She pushed away but he kept his hands on her hips. “No. No, Johnny, it’s not over. I’ve been on the run for months. I thought I could settle down, but the truth is I can’t live like this. I can’t even apply for a new driver’s license or open a checking account or do anything that could help them to find me.”

“What makes you think he’s still looking?” Trent asked, joining them, standing next to Johnny and her.

“Did you not hear what I told you? He’s crazy. He’s obsessed and he said I could never be with another man. He said that he owns me and he meant forever.”

“You don’t know if he’s still looking for you.”

“I know he is. No one defies Rico or ignores his orders without there being serious consequences. I tried to kill him. I wouldn’t let him rape me and take what he wanted. He’s going to look for me until he finds me. I know this man well. He never gives up, and one day he will succeed. That’s why I can’t get involved with any of you. I can’t take that chance. He’ll find me and he’ll hurt or kill you.”



* * * *



Trent was furious as he looked at Buddy. Then he looked at Johnny just as Nina was pushing away and trying to keep some distance between them.

“Nina, look at me,” Trent said.

He knew that his brothers cared for her already. He knew he did as well. They had been hurt before. Hell, he had been with women who found his scars disgusting and they kept their eyes closed when they were having sex. He said he didn’t care and thought it was a means to getting what he needed, but that was a lie. He understood about scars that ran deeper than the surface. He needed to protect his family, his brothers. He had to get proof about this guy.

She looked at him.

“Be honest now, are you attracted to the three of us? Did you feel as amazing as we did when we had the chance to kiss?”

Her eyes welled up with tears but none fell. She covered her mouth with her hand and started to shake it side to side but then closed her eyes and sobbed the word “yes.”

“Give me his full name. This Rico guy.”

Her eyes widened and she shook as she began steeping away from him. “No. No, Trent, what are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to see if he exists. If his club exists, and maybe if there were any reports of you missing, or his assault.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, and then her mouth gaped open. “You don’t believe me. You don’t believe a word I said.”

“That’s not what he’s saying and why he’s asking. We’re investigators,” Buddy added.

“Investigating is one thing, but that’s not what’s happening here. You want more proof, yet you expect me to truly trust you, which I did and shared my entire fucked-up life with you and how this man used me, assaulted me, and then you do this?”

“We have our own hang-ups and insecurities when it comes to women and relationships, Nina,” Trent told her.

“And this gives you more rights than me?”

“Trust me please. If things work out the way we hope, then I’ll have an opportunity to explain it to you one day really soon,” Trent added.

“Please, Nina. We can help,” Johnny offered.

“We’re not leaving you or going anywhere. We’re right here,” Buddy said, and Nina looked at the three of them.

Trent feared she might push them away entirely, but he had hope when she whispered, “Fine. But please don’t let him find me.”

Trent nodded and knew he would have to be extremely careful with this. He was going to need Jake. No one was going to hurt Nina ever again.





Chapter 6




“This guy, Rico Montero is a real piece of work, Buddy. You both need to check this out.” Jake passed over a folder.

Trent opened it up, and it was Buddy who was shocked at the details.

“Fucking great. The FBI are investigating him?” Buddy asked. Jake nodded.

“Where did you get this information? How come they haven’t arrested him yet?” Trent asked.

“I spoke with Turbo Hawkins,” Jake said.

“Deputy Turbo Hawkins? What does he have to do with this?” Buddy asked.

“Turbo and Nate’s brother, Rye, was involved with a special team of military soldiers for the government. Anyway, he’s got some major connections in the federal government and ways of snooping around without raising red flags.”

“Rye, who does handyman work and construction?” Buddy asked, sounding shocked.

Jake smirked and nodded his head. “You’d be surprised at what a lot of the residents of Treasure Town have been involved in and are capable of. So far so good, of course, but still.”

“So what did he think of all this? What do we do?” Buddy asked.