Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (34 page)

              The first was of the picture of me, smiling at the camera with everyone squashed into the picture, everyone trying to fit into the shot with me. The pictures that followed were random shots of the guys making faces at the camera, most of them grinning or smiling.

              I kept flipping through the pictures until I came to a video. I turned the volume on low to make sure that Roger wouldn't hear it, then hit play.

              The camera swung around, showing Dylan, Wyatt, Gavin, Chili and Polly waiting around on the porch. This must have been when I was upstairs getting my bag, when Landon had my phone.

              "Okay guys, this is a video so say what you want to her," Landon's voice came through the speaker. He must have been doing the videoing.

              Everyone froze, looking like they were being put on the spot, not sure what they should say.

              Polly smiled. "Well, I'd like to tell her how special she has become to us during her time here." Polly fell silent, not saying anything, causing Landon to sigh heavily and the camera shake.

              "Then tell her, this is a video to her."

              "Ah! Is it on now?" Polly asked, looking closely at the phone.

              "Yes," Landon said.

              "Nova Honey, you came to the ranch completely lost and alone. You've grown before my eyes so much since then, and I hope that you have found yourself. No matter what happens today, you're not alone and you never will be again," Polly spoke loudly, like she had to for the phone to pick her up.

              "Okay Dylan, what would you like to say?" Landon asked, moving past Polly to zoom in close on Dylan's face.

              Dylan froze and blushed, being picked on by the other guys to say something. Finally, he spoke, "I guess, I would like to tell you that I will miss you every second that you're gone until you come back."

              "Aww!" Landon said, the camera jarring as he moved around to sling his arm over Dylan's shoulder, ruffling his hair. "You just have to love this guy, right Nova?" Landon smirked at me through the screen, making me swallow the sob that was trying to force its way out of me.

              "Well of course she loves me, who wouldn't?" Jayden's voice was muffled slightly, before the image blurred and the phone was pointed at him. He had a hold of my phone now, shooting a video of himself with his usual grin. "You've got nothing to fear at court today, who would want to send that sexy body of yours to jail? Unless there was a possibility of you and another girl fighting in the jail yard, all sweaty and hot..."

              "Give it back Jayden, we don't need you making your sex video on her phone," Landon complained, the image blurring again as he tried to steal the phone back.

              "Well, now you've given me an idea," Jayden said, coming into focus again with a wink.

              Landon had the phone again and was walking away from him, rolling his eyes as he focused on the camera. "Okay, that's it from us, you should be down any minute and we don't want you seeing this until later."

              "This is a see you later from your hot cowboys," Jayden spoke, running a hand up the front of his pants and underneath his shirt, showing off his abs with a sexy smirk.

              Landon sighed and shook his head. "See you later Nova."

              All the guys waved, except for Wyatt, who raised his fist in the air and made a punching motion at the screen. Gavin watched him and frowned. "What the fuck was that?"

              "That was—" The video ended cutting off Wyatt's words. It didn't make a difference. I knew what he was reminding me of, what he wanted me to do.

              Fight.

              They had to hate me now for leaving them. Whatever cruel words they would end up sending me when they realized I wasn't coming back, I deserved to hear them all. I deserved to feel that pain and so much more. They had been wrong about me after all, thinking that I wasn't the person everyone thought I was. I was evil for playing with their feelings and leaving them. I was worthless and weak for letting my guard down, for believing that I could be someone I wasn't.

              How could they still feel the way they did? No one had ever asked me to stay, no one had ever cared before.

              My phone pinged in my hand, reminding me to turn the phone back on silent mode. Texts were coming in from the guys via the single bar of service. What really caught my attention was a text from someone I hadn't heard from before on my phone.

              Gavin.

              I only knew it was him because the guys had programmed his number into my phone too. He had never texted me before now, but I knew that unlike the other guys, he wasn't going to say anything nice or sweet. He would tell me everything that I expected to hear from the others. I wanted to hear his harsh words telling me off, it would be much easier to hear than loving words from the others. With shaking hands, I opened the text and read the two words typed in all caps.

             
*Gavin - COME HOME

              I covered my mouth my hand, gasping as a sob racked through my body.

              He wanted me to come back. Even after everything that I’d done and everything that he'd said, he wanted me to come back to them.

              There wasn't any possibility that he was wanting me back just for himself. He wasn't in love with me, he barely tolerated me. Yet he had changed his mind, deciding that he thought I was worth risking everything they had at the ranch for. I didn't think I was worth that much.

              His words were giving me a true opening to a better life, all I had to do was take it and fight for it.

              I didn't even think about going back to the ranch to escape Roger, I wouldn't do something like that to the guys. They deserved better than a forced return on my part.

              I had no one that nice telling me that I shouldn't go back to them, so why was I hesitating? I was going to end up overthinking it and making the wrong choice.

              The wrong choice of leaving them behind, which meant the right one was going back.

              Before I could overthink it anymore, I quickly typed a message back to him and hit send. One word, even shorter than his, but would hopefully ease his and the others worries. I’d made my decision and there was no going back now, I just had to survive the night.

              Panic filled me when the lock on the door slid back and the door opened. So he hadn't passed out, that just meant that he would be angrier and even more drunk. I quickly shoved the phone in my back pocket, hoping he wouldn't notice it and take away my only contact with the guys.

              As he descended down the stairs towards me, I took a deep breath and stood so he couldn't kick me right off.

              I felt like this time would be different. I wasn't just going to take his hits and let him win. This time, it felt like I had the power of the people that cared and loved me behind me. I wouldn't just make it through tonight, I would fight for life.

              His fist hit my cheek first, faster than I thought it would happen. I’d forgotten how quick he was, even when he was drunk. I stumbled back, feeling my head smack against the wall. His hand grasped my arm in a bruise inducing grip that made me wish for Gavin's gentle grasp.

              He hit me again and again, never giving me enough time to recover before another punch landed.

              Finally, he paused and let me tumble to the floor. "Gretta and me were planning on getting married and adopting you so we could have some fun with you. But why not just report you as a runaway and keep you locked down here instead? You got away from me once, you won't be doing it again. I'll make sure you never see the light of day again if I have to."

              Gretta? Was he talking about Mrs. Dollghen? How could they have already talked? Except if it was over the phone, but then he wouldn't have known it was me. Who cared about that though? He was planning on lying about where I was and keep me locked down in this basement for the rest of my days, using me as a punching bag whenever he felt like it.

              I’d been through that before, only I’d had social workers checking in. This time would be different, he would keep me a secret from the world and I doubt the bitch would tell on him. Which meant that he wouldn't have to watch what injuries he gave me, not that he'd ever cared before.

              Another hit landed to my stomach, though it didn't do much but cause pain. I’d already lost my breath from his previous punches. I felt the hopelessness seeping in, but the memory of the guys flickered up, making me wonder what they would do to someone like him.

              Probably more than I was doing, I hadn't even been able to lay a finger on him yet.

              "Over my dead body," I whispered, struggling to stand up. When I was on my feet, I lunged at him. I surprised him, slamming my fist into his nose.

              This only enraged him.

              He grabbed me by my hair, landing his hits randomly. I struggled to try and get away, but he was bigger and stronger.

              "You want to fucking hit me huh? Go ahead, hit me again. Hit me!" he screamed as he punched me over and over again.

              I could taste the blood in my mouth already, which was nothing new to me. I could live with blood in my mouth, what I couldn't live with was blacking out, but that's exactly what was happening. I felt dizzy with pain, my vision fading occasionally, letting me know that I didn't have much longer until I was completely useless.

              I took deep shallow breaths, then kicked him in the stomach. He bent over for a split second and I took the opening, darting towards the stairs and the open basement door.

              He recovered quickly, grabbing my hair again and yanking me backwards to the floor. Air rushed from my lungs and didn't come back, his shoe slamming into my body over and over again until I finally drifted into painless darkness.

              When I blinked my eyes open again, my face was bumping against his back in a position I recognized all too well as being slung over his shoulder. He had taken me upstairs, dumping me onto the kitchen floor.

              I made the mistake of groaning in pain when I hit the floor. He'd been waiting for me to wake up, because what's the fun in beating an unconscious person? Apparently he did. He started kicking and punching me and the pain faded as my vision did. Everything went black.

              I kept my eyes closed when I woke up again, not wanting him to know I was awake. Still he seemed to know, landing a kick to my hip, the same one that I'd landed on the stairs earlier. He stepped back, waiting for me to do something. I could hear the sound of him drinking more beer as I focused on catching my breath and gathering my thoughts. We were in the kitchen last time I opened my eyes, so there had to be a weapon of some kind around here somewhere.

              Wait a minute, I'm such an idiot. I have a weapon in my pocket, the pocket knife I always carry.

              What would be the best place to stab him that I couldn't miss?

              I opened my eye just a slit, watching as he drank beer and paced the kitchen.

              I waited for his back to turn, then made my move. Snatching the knife from my pocket and flipping it open, I lurched to my feet, trying to ignore the pain that shot through my body. It slowed me down enough that my knife didn't go where I'd planned. Instead of hitting an artery in his neck, it just grazed his shoulder.

              He spun, grabbing my wrist and squeezing hard, making it feel like my bones would snap at any second. I screamed as I was forced to release my knife.

              I was so dead.

              He turned the knife on me, grabbing my throat and slamming me against the wall. He pressed the knife to my throat. "You're really starting to piss me off now. I think you've gone without punishment for too long, you think you can fight back. That's not what I use you for, so you either take it or die," his voice was deadly calm, his eyes filled with rage and hunger for the pain he was causing.

              A knock on the door shocked us both.

              He squeezed my throat tight and cut off my air supply. I struggled against him, clawing at his hands. If I can just get enough air, I could scream.

              It took me until I was about to pass out to realize that I would be better off to fake passing out. So, that's exactly what I did. I slumped in his grasp, staying limp as I focused on keeping myself from blacking out.

              He finally released me, letting me crumble onto the floor. His footsteps moved away and out of the kitchen. Only then did I allow myself to gasp for breath, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

              I heard Roger open the door as I blinked through the fog in my head, coughing softly into my shirt.

              "I'm here to get Nova," Gavin's voice shot through the house, stern and solid. It was heavenly to hear his voice, but it didn't make sense that he was here. Was I hallucinating? I tried to speak, but every time I did, I just coughed more.