Saved By Him (The Monster Series Book 2) (16 page)

Sophia~

We’re eating apple pie. I like it best with ice cream. It’s really yummy then.

“Miss Ella,” Jack says, “what is love?”

I smile because I know the answer. I felt it when Adam kissed me last night. I now know love is something that makes you feel safe and happy.

“Son,” Miss Ella wipes her mouth and then looks him right in the eye. “Love is like a car accident.”

I frown at her. I lean my elbows on the table and rest my chin on my hands.

“It hits you hard and out of the blue. By the time you realize that you’re in love it’s too late to run for the hills. When it’s done with your poor heart; you’re either in a world of pain, or you’re one of the lucky ones who has a great story to tell. Love will either break you or make you.”

Jack and I both just stare at Miss Ella. That’s not the same way Adam explained it to me.

River comes to sit by the table and I notice Jack tense up.

“What Miss Ella is trying to say is that love can hurt if it’s not returned by the other person, and love can be a beautiful thing if both parties feel the same way.”

Now that makes more sense! My heart was hurting when Adam was avoiding me, but now that he’s giving us a chance it feels wonderful!

“You said you love me,” Jack snaps, drawing my attention back to them.

I look to River to see her reaction when she says, “I do love you, Jack. I -”

Jack gets up fast. “Then it should be a beautiful thing! You just said so yourself!” He rushes to the backdoor and then says, “You made me feel humiliated last night. You said I should kiss the girl who gives me butterflies and makes my heart beat faster. You said it would be special then, but you lied.”

Oh no! I jump up and run after Jack.

“Jack!” He keeps walking towards the chapel and I follow behind him. When we get there I’m once again struck by how pretty he’s made it here. “It’s so beautiful here, Jack.” I walk over to a flower and smell it. I close my eyes and savor the scent before I go take a seat on the bench next to Jack.

I tuck my hands between my legs and just start to talk about the first thing that comes to mind. “I used to watch you through the window while you worked in the garden.”

Jack lowers his face in his hand and then he whispers, “Did you know about David? Did you know that he was fucking slaves?”

I lower my head and whisper, “Yes.” Jack jumps up and he starts to stalk up and down. “You are my friend, Sophia! Why didn’t you tell me?”

I flinch under the volume of his voice. “You know we weren’t allowed to talk about the masters and mistresses. They would punish us both!”

“You don’t understand,” he shakes his head and then he stops to look at me. “I was only a slave so David could be free. I thought I was keeping my brother safe that way.”

I slap a hand over my mouth. Now I understand why Jack attacked David! “I’m so sorry. You never said anything. I didn’t know.”

Jack comes to sit next to me again, and he leans his elbows on his knees. He stares at nothing in particular for a long while. I just sit by him, feeling bad for my part in Jack being a slave.

“I don’t blame you,” he says. “How could you have known.”

I slip my arm around his waist and I lean against his shoulder. “I love you, Jack. River loves you, too. It’s just hard for her to admit it. Give her time.”

He nudges me with his shoulder and he smiles down at me. “You really love me?”

A tear slips over my cheek and I nod. “You’re my family, Jack. You’ll always be my family.”

“Family, I like that,” he whispers. “I love you too.”

~*~

I’m making some coffee for us while Adam is showering.

There’s a knock at the door and I go to open. River looks shocked to see me. “Is Adam here?”

“Yes, he’s just taking a shower. Come in,” I say, smiling softly at her. I don’t get to talk to her much but I’m very grateful for all she’s done for me.

I walk back to the kitchen. “Would you like some?” I finish making the coffee for Adam and myself.

“No, thank you,” she says, smiling back at me. “You look good, Sophia.”

I feel my cheeks heat and I glance at Adam’s closed bedroom door. “Adam is good to me. He’s teaching me what’s right and what’s wrong.”

“I’m so happy for you.” River does really look happy for me and that makes me even happier. I know she and Adam are really close friends.

Adam comes walking down the passage and I take in his body. I love it when he only wears a pair of sweats. He looks at River and then at me, as if he’s worried about me. Just the thought that he might be concerned about me makes my tummy flip.

“Is there something you needed?” he asks River.

She shakes her head and then says, “I’m sorry for slapping you the other night. You were right and I just didn’t want to hear it. I’m so very sorry, Adam.”

My lips part in surprise. She slapped Adam? My eyes jump to his face and I watch as he smiles and then he walks over to her. He hugs her to his chest and he holds her a little while. He cups her cheek and his eyes are soft on her. “You deserve to be happy, and so does Jack.”

She kisses his cheek and gives him a thankful smile. “Thank you for always being there to point me in the right direction.”

“Always, that’s what friends are for.”

Adam sees River out and then he turns to me. “You’re going to stir a hole in that mug.”

“Oh!” I stop stirring and shove the mug across the counter.

He doesn’t take the coffee, but instead he walks around the counter to where I am. He takes hold of my hips and he lifts me onto the counter. “I missed you today,” he says, his voice hoarse. It makes my insides clench in a way I’ve never felt before.

“I missed you too,” I whisper back.

I reach out and touch his chest. I trail my fingers softly over his skin. I watch as his muscles ripple under my touch.

He brings his hand to my cheek and he slips his fingers into my hair. He presses his forehead to mine and whispers, “I’m scared, Sophia.”

“Of what?” I whisper back.

“What if we have sex and it’s not good for you?”

I place my arms around his neck. “It will be good because it will be with you. It will mean I made my own choice to have sex with you. You won’t be fucking me. You’ll be showing me how it should be done.”

“I think we should wait a little longer and just get to know each other,” he whispers close to my lips.

“But we can kiss, right?”

He smiles against my mouth, “There will always be a lot of kissing.”

Adam~

Everything seems to be getting back to normal. Sophia and Jack have settled into their new lives and they really look happy.

We’ve decided to have a barbeque so everyone can just be together in a fun environment, especially after Beverly accosted Jack.

We all just need to chill.

Tristan is helping me grill the steaks. He flips them over and then says, “The meat should be ready soon,”

His eyes dart over River’s head. I see Diane and Lizzie walking towards us.

“Be careful with Diane, she’s fragile,” River says.

He frowns at her and then huffs, “There’s nothing going on between us. Besides, she’s way too young for me.” I frown at him and if we weren’t surrounded by people I’d punch the shit out of him!

River chuckles. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”

I wait for River to be out of hearing distance and then I punch Tristan against his arm. “Fucker! You told me to get my head out of my ass but look at you! You still haven’t talked with her have you?”

“It’s not that easy!” he snaps, his eyes darting to where Diane is. “She’s so withdrawn. How do I even know that she wants to be with me?”

I give him a dark look. “You fucking talk to her! That’s how you find out. Go over to her and say, hey, ‘I like you, any chance you feel the same?’ and the worst thing that will happen is her saying no, and then we can all fucking live in peace again!”

Tristan laughs at my words of wisdom. “You think it’s that easy?”

“Pretty much.” I pat him on the back. “Just tell her how you feel, man. It’s a starting point.”

“Yeah, a starting point. I’ll do it later.”

~*~

I’m sitting with Sophia pressed tightly to my chest, just where she belongs.

Everyone is having a great time. I see River and Jack dancing. Christopher and Maddie will be getting married soon. Their good news just made the night so much better.

“Fire!” Someone screams. I jump up and Sophia almost falls, but I catch her in time. Making sure she’s standing, I run in the direction of the stables.

“No!” I hear Sophia scream.

Glancing over my shoulder I see her running behind me. “No, Sophia! Stay back!”

“The horses!” I hear River scream. “Get water!”

Jack runs past me, dragging the hose behind him.

“Yes, Jack! Spray right into the flames!” The man is a genius! I run into the stables and it’s already thick with smoke. With one hand I cover my mouth with my shirt, and then I start to lead the panicked horses out. Christopher and Tristan are right behind me and we work fast to get the horses to safety. It’s hard controlling the horses. When I take the second ones, my arms are burning from all the strain.

I hear a loud crash from the other side of the stables and then a scream.

Minutes later Colby comes stumbling past me, coughing and covered in soot.

“Adam!” I hear River scream, her voice hoarse from the smoke. “Get Colby! He’s got something to do with this!”

She points in Colby’s direction and I see he’s heading for the trucks. I run and when I catch up with Colby, I take him to the ground.

“It wasn’t me! I swear!” He starts to defend himself and that only tells me he did have something to do with the fire.

Seconds later Jack comes walking towards us. He’s carrying … Beverly? “What the fuck is she doing back here?”

“Take her,” he breathes hoarsely. He almost throws her on the ground and then I see him running back in River’s direction.

Nanna! My heart clenches at the sight of Nanna unconscious. Jack picks her up and I’m torn between going to her and staying with Colby and Beverly.

I glare down at the two by my feet. “What the fuck did you do?”

“I swear man, it was all her idea!” Colby starts to ramble.

“As if!” Beverly says hoarsely. She shoves at him and I watch the two get into a full blown argument over whose fault it was.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Christopher and Tristan handling everything. I open the truck nearest to us and take some cable ties from the glove compartment. It’s a struggle but I get their hands tied. The last thing I want is a fight.

Doc pulls up behind me and I point to the house. “It’s Nanna! They took her inside.”

“Ella!” he shouts and I watch as he rushes into the house.

I shake my head and then it comes to me – Nanna, Sophia, River – they could’ve died tonight.

I yank Colby up by the front of his shirt and then I throw a punch. “Fucker! You could’ve killed someone!” I spit the words at him and then I drop him like the sack of shit he is.

“How did she know where the plantation is?” I demand. “You fucking betrayed us!”

“It wasn’t like that!” Colby shouts. “Things just happened between us. You know how it is, man. You like a girl and she likes you. We’ve been dating for a couple of months and I just wanted to show her a good time. I took her out a few times, but that’s all! I swear. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“What’s going on here?” River suddenly asks behind me.

“Nanna?” I mouth the word to her. She gives me a smile and nods her head. Nanna is fine! Thank God!

I point to the two on the floor. “Well, from what I can understand Beverly and Colby are in some sort of relationship. Apparently he’s been sneaking her in and out whenever she felt like she wanted go to town. It’s been going on for months. That’s how she knows where the plantation is.”

I shove my hands through my hair, feeling that all too familiar rage burning inside of my chest. I feel like shit for not noticing Colby and Beverly sneaking out. If I was doing my job none of this would’ve happened!

“I’m sorry, River, I was so caught up in Sophia, I never saw this coming.” I fucked up badly!

“Just let us go,” Beverly moans, “we won’t tell a soul where you are.”

River turns to me and whispers, “You know what we have to do. They can’t talk. We have too many lives that depend on us.”

I give her a firm nod.

“You can’t just off us!” Colby screams as River walks away. “River! I swear it’s all her. She made me do it! The fire was her idea! I never wanted to hurt anyone!”

“We gave you the choice! This is all on you,” I snap at him. “You knew what would happen if you turned on us. I told you that the day you started working here. You knew! Don’t blame her for your mistakes.”

Beverly starts to cry and for once I feel nothing at the sight of a woman crying.

“Get up and into the truck,” I order them. Beverly moves quickly, but Colby is another story. I have to shove him into the truck before I get in too.

Beverly is a blubbering mess and Colby keeps pleading. I drive them away from The Sanctuary before I say, “Would you calm the fuck down! I’m not going to kill you!” They both shut up, except for the sniffling coming from Beverly. “I’m going to drop you in the next town over. I’ll pay an amount into your account as soon as I get back to The Sanctuary.” I give them each a hard look. “You will fucking disappear! If I so much as get the feeling that you’re close by I will kill you. Do you understand me?”

Beverly nods quickly and Colby starts to cry from relief. I hope the scare was enough to keep them away for good.

“Thanks, man,” Colby starts to ramble. “We’ll disappear. I promise, man.”

“Shut up!” I growl at him. I just want to drop them off and get back to the plantation.

~*~

When I get back to The Sanctuary, I go straight to Nanna. She’s lying on the couch, fighting with doc. It’s clear she’s fine.

“Nanna,” I kneel down next to her and take her hand. “How are you feeling?” I look up at Doc. “She’s gonna be fine?”

Doc makes a snorting sound through his nose. “She just needs to rest for a couple of days but the old woman is too stubborn to listen to me.”

“Old woman,” Nanna shrieks. “I’ll show you who’s old!” She looks at me. “Adam, go fetch me a pan so I can knock some sense into the old fart!”

I start to laugh. Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with my gran. “I’m going to leave you in the capable hands of Doc.” I kiss her forehead and then go look for Sophia.

I find her out by the stables, or what’s left of it. When I get close enough I see her shoulders shaking and then I hear her sniffling.

“Sweetheart,” I say and I quickly take her in my arms. I hold her tightly to my chest. “It’s okay, no one got hurt.”

“The wood,” she cries, “it’s all gone.”

Fuck, the stables meant so much to her. I quickly glance around until I see a piece that I can salvage. I pick it up and dust the soot off of it. “It’s not all gone. Look, here’s a piece. There are lots of pieces lying around here. I’ll come get them tomorrow.”

“You’ll save them?” she asks in that innocent way that has a way of burrowing deep into my chest.

“I’ll do anything for you.”

I take her back home and get her into the shower first.

~*~

I get up early so I can go gather those pieces of wood for Sophia. I’ll make something for her so she can always keep it close.

There’s a knock on the door and when I open it, Jack is standing in front of me. He still looks like shit. “Jack?”

It’s clear the man is losing it. He’s shaking and I almost reach out to him but I don’t know how he will react to my touch.

“I need your help,” he whispers.

I make sure Sophia hasn’t come out of her room before I step outside. I close the door behind me.

“Let’s go look at the damage that’s been done to the stables and then we can talk.” We walk in silence until we reach the stables. I start to pick up some pieces of wood and then ask, “What can I help with?”

Jack starts to help and then he says, “I want to go back to Cameron.”

My head snaps up and I feel the shock hit hard.

Jack quickly carries on, “The past few weeks I’ve been living in a trance. I need to go back and make them pay for what they’ve done to me.”

Fuck, at least he doesn’t want to go back for other reasons! “So you want revenge?” I ask.

“I’m going to go back and kill them. You can come with and help me or I’ll go by myself, but those monsters need to pay for what they have done.”

I can understand where the man is coming from. I’d do exactly the same thing if I was in his shoes. Fuck, I want to kill them for what they did to Sophia and Jack. But what Jack is asking of me is huge. It’s a risk.

“How do you plan on making them pay?”

“That’s why I need you. I want to go when it’s one of Cameron’s busy nights. I want to get as many people as possible. You can take me as your slave. Just get me in and I’ll do the rest.”

There is no way in hell I’m putting Jack at risk like that. River will have my balls on a silver platter!

“You still haven’t told me what you’re planning to do once I get you in.”

He points to the stables. “Did you see how quickly it all burned down?”

I nod and my mind starts to race with ideas of how I can help Jack.

“They burned my mother so I want to make sure every last one of them burns the same way.”

I take a deep breath as another wave of anger hits. My heart goes out to Jack, but I need time to think this through. It doesn’t help we rush into this and in the process we get ourselves killed.

We work in silence and when we’ve gathered pretty much all the wood that could be salvaged, I say, “I’ll do it.”

I move close to Jack and whisper, “I’ll do it because I can’t imagine what you and Sophia must have gone through. But you need to understand what you’re going to be doing. You’re going to kill people. I’m doing it to stop them. There is no right reason for killing another human being, but when they are so far above the law then it’s up to people like us to stop them. I want you to make sure that you can do it. I don’t want to get there and you freeze up on me. We’ll be endangering everyone here if someone sees us.”

I can see Jack’s thinking about what I just said. “If we’re going to a party or scheduling a meeting they will see us.”

“We don’t have to attend the party. We just go, set the place alight and make sure no one leaves alive. Then we get our asses out of there.”