Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (27 page)

“What do you mean? I thought he was always like this?”

“No, he’s usually drunk and only bothers me when I get in his way or he needs something from me, like money, but the last couple of times I’ve seen him he wasn’t drunk and his anger was worse...darker. Like maybe the alcohol suppressed it a little and without it the anger is just festering and waiting for a chance to come out.” I felt her shiver and pulled her closer.

“Don’t worry, Lily. I’m sure he’s off somewhere drowning himself in a whiskey bottle and you won’t have to worry about him.” Or at least that’s what I hoped. “So, did I tell you that your mom and my dad use to date when they were younger?”

“Who told you that?” she laughed.

“I always heard Grandma Violet make comments about how my dad was sweet on your mom when they were younger. York told me that they were all friends in school and at one point all three of them were after your mom, but apparently it was a bigger deal between our dads. I guess in the end my dad’s wild ways did him in and that’s how your dad won the girl.”

She elbowed me in the side. “That’s kinda disgusting to hear. You know that, right?”

“I know. But it also explains a lot, don’t you think?” She looked at me, totally confused. “You’re just too focused on the grossness factor to understand. It really explains why your dad doesn’t want you around me. I’m another Haven boy trying to steal a female that belongs to him. I thought it made perfect sense when York explained it.”

Her eyes grew big and her mouth hung open. “Oh my gosh, that does make total sense. When you came back to town he immediately made me swear I’d stay away from you. And the closer we got, the angrier and more delusional he became.”

“I know. That’s exactly what I thought, too.”

She stared off into the distance for several minutes, probably thinking and rethinking everything that had happened since I’d come back to town. I didn’t want her to reach the same conclusion that I had - that she was better off before I came back to town. My presence only made things worse for her.

“Don’t stress about it. There isn’t anything we can do about that. That’s all history and we have each other now.” She placed her lips on mine and slowly moved her tongue along my bottom lip, tracing the edge. Her hands gripped my shirt, pulling me against her. She raggedly released a breath that only made me want to take things further, but I knew we didn’t have time for that now.

“You really gotta get home soon. If your dad is gone, you need to get home before him. You know, maybe I should just go over there with you and make sure he isn’t there. Adley isn’t even home yet. I can call her and tell her not to come home until she’s heard from me. I won’t stay, I’ll just make sure that you get into your room safely.”

She moved away from me. “Dean, no, that’s not necessary. I’m sure he isn’t even home. It’s barely after nine. He wouldn’t dream of leaving the bar this early. Plus, I’m not ready to leave just yet.” She took my hand and led me into the house, to the living room couch. I could tell by the look in her eyes what she had planned. “I thought we’d see what else we could find to do before I have to go home.”

Even though every fiber of my being wanted her body, I put a halt to it before we got too far. “Lily, I really don’t want you getting home late. Unless you’re going to stay here tonight, and every night after, please don’t start something we don’t have time to finish.”

She pulled back and looked up at me with a smile. “Why Dean Haven, are you telling me no?”

I nodded my head and laughed. “Yeah, I guess I am. You better make note of this because it will never happen again.”

“Fine, then just sit down and I’ll leave soon.”

She sat on one end of the couch and patted her lap for me to lay my head down. I really hoped she planned to rub my head like she used to. It’s probably the first thing I remember about Lily, running her long fingers across my head and through my hair. I quickly laid down, smiling from ear to ear. She shook her head and giggled at me. As soon as my head touched her lap, I felt hands in my hair.

It felt like heaven.

I thought about trying to convince her again to stay, but I decided there really wasn’t a reason to fight with her. Ever since she was a little girl you could always tell when her mind was set. She’d squint her eyes and ball up her fist, ready to fight for what she wanted. That’s the exact look she had this morning and this afternoon when she declared she was now going to do things her way, so I knew no matter what I said or what I did, she’d stand her ground. That’s when I decided to let Lily have her way, but to also do things
my
way. Before we left the karate studio, I convinced Adley to stay the night at Derek’s house and I’d give Lily an hour to get home and in bed before I snuck into her room. She might have had her mind set on doing things her way, but I was stubborn too and my mind was set on keeping her safe.

The blowing of a train whistle woke me.

It took me a few minutes to figure out I was still on the couch. Where was Lily? I looked at the clock; it was almost midnight. I must have fallen asleep. That was probably her plan so I wouldn’t try to make her change her mind. She was smart, I’d give her that much, but I wasn’t giving up so easy. I found the keys to my truck and headed out the door.

When I pulled into Lily’s driveway, I turned my headlights off. The moon was bright enough that I could see her dad’s truck wasn’t home yet. I pulled around to the side of the house. Her car was exactly where it was always parked. I got out of my truck and immediately felt like something was wrong. I rushed to the door and saw that it wasn’t latched so I pushed it open and found that her room was completely destroyed. Her dresser was turned over on the floor, her mattress was pushed across the room, and all her pictures were ripped down. The door that lead into the rest of the house was completely cut in two, like someone had cut it with an axe. I ran screaming her name through the house, but there was nothing.

She was gone.

I was having that nightmare again. I was lying in the dirt, surrounded by thick ivy. Blood and dirt were coating my mouth. I struggled to wake up; why couldn’t I wake up? My head was pounding and I felt cold and sluggish. There was a sharp pain in the back of my head that shot down my neck. I tried to move, but my arms were stuck behind my back. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself by breathing deeply. Three deep breaths, in through my nose and out through my mouth. I finally felt a calm feeling spread through my body.

I was having a hard time focusing, everything was blurry. I turned my head to the side and saw the moon directly above me. It was a perfectly round moon with a huge halo around it. I could slowly see the stars appearing as my vision was clearing. I focused on what was around me. I was completely surrounded by dirt and thick branches, or maybe they were tree roots. They were long and thick, covering the walls and floor where I laid. I tried again to move my arms, but could feel something tied around my wrists. I was able to swing my legs around; they were tied together with a thick rope.

The last thing I remembered was going home from Violet’s. I pulled into the driveway and stopped to look for my dad’s truck, but didn’t see it anywhere. I got out of my car and saw Red sitting on his perch by my door. He started flapping his wings and shrieking at me. The closer I got to the door, the more frantic he got. I saw that the door was slightly open and my heart stopped beating. That was when I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head and fell to the ground as I watched Red flying towards the moon.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I yelled. I knew who would answer me,
if
anyone answered me.

“Aww, sleeping beauty finally wakes up. Too bad you don’t have Prince Charming here to protect you,” I heard my father yell back in a calm steady voice.

“Surprise, surprise…it’s you that tied me up and threw me into a hole in the ground.” I knew I should be scared right now. I mean, this was beyond crazy, even for him. But that was the furthest from what I was feeling right now. I was pissed!

I heard him growl in frustration. “Even when you’ve been beat, you’re still going to be smart with me? That boy really has done a number on you. Those Havens are poison.”

“This has nothing to do with Dean! Leave him out of it!” I pulled against the rope holding my wrist and felt it give slightly. I thought that if I kept at it I could get loose.

“This has everything to do with those Havens. They think they can just come in and take everything that belongs to me! Well, they’re wrong. I’m done letting them ruin my life.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve lost it. You hit me over the head, tied me up, and threw me down a hole because you don’t want me to be with Dean? Would you seriously listen to yourself? You haven’t cared about anything I’ve done my entire life, why are you going to start know?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Liliana. This has never been about you. You’ve just been in the way since the day you were born.”

“Oh, well that’s heartwarming,” I muttered under my breath.

“This has always been about revenge. Everyone thinks they can take away what’s mine, but they’re wrong. I’ve been sitting by, watching them do to you what they tried to do to Julie, and I won’t let it happen any longer. I finally decided to take care of it.”

“Are you talking about Mom and Dean’s dad? I wasn’t even born when that happened. What does that have to do with me?”

“Yes, I’m talking about John. Julie was mine from the time we were children and he thought he could take her away from me. Luckily, they were both easy to trick into believing whatever I wanted them to.”

“What are you talking about? Mom wanted to be with John and you tricked her?”

“Damn right I tricked her. Made her think he was messing around with anything wearing a skirt and he was wild enough that she easily believed me. Didn’t take much for me to win her over after that, but I almost lost her when she went and got herself pregnant by John. He’d already screwed everything up by then, so even being pregnant with Easton didn’t make her stay with him. He’d also gotten Dean’s momma pregnant at the same damn time. Julie practically begged me to marry her after she found out about that and she actually thought I was doing her a favor by hiding her bastard child. John was dead by the time you were conceived, so lucky for you and Dean we know you’re
this
Daddy’s little girl.” His manic laugh sent chills up my spine.

“Easton? They’re brothers?”

“Yes, Easton. You never wondered why he and Dean looked so much alike? Well luckily no one else did, either. I’ve spent over 25 years dealing with those Havens trying to sabotage my life. I sat by and let Violet try to steal you away since she didn’t have Easton anymore, but the day Dean came back with his eyes set on you I knew I had to finish it. He’s going to regret ever coming back to this town.” I heard the door of his truck slam and the engine start.

“Wait, where are you going? Leave Dean out of this! Stop!”

But it was too late. The sound of the truck grew faint as it pulled away.

I fought against the restraint on my wrists. I could feel it getting looser, but only by a fraction, and it dug deeper and deeper into my flesh. I twisted and pulled as the rope bit and ripped at my skin. I started pulling my legs apart, trying to break free from the rope around my ankles, but the pain was even worse. I had to get them off of me and find a way to save Dean.