Micah (9 page)

“
I want to go home.”
Nodding, he sat up and stretched. She could see the bandage on his
shoulder and wondered about it until he stood up. Christ, he didn’t
have a shirt on. There was more to this man than just a simple cop.
“You shouldn’t be here.”

“
But I want to be here.”
She nodded, and when he took a step toward her, she moved as far
away as she could on her bed. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just
wanted to check to see if you’re still bleeding. Nolan said you
could leave if the bleeding stopped.”

“
And Nolan would be who?
The guy who shot me full of drugs when I was brought here?” He told
her it was his brother. “Just how the hell many brothers do you
have? I’ve heard of three so far, counting you. Your mother must be
a saint to put up with you three.”

“
There are six of us.
Boys, I mean. And my mom is a saint. Just ask her.” If there was a
joke there, she didn’t get it. But when he pulled her gown back to
look at her shoulder, she turned her head away. Blood was not her
favorite thing, especially not her own. “It looks like it might
still be seeping. I’ll make sure he looks at it when he comes
in.”

“
I’m not going to be
here.” When she tossed back the covers, she saw that there was a
cuff on her ankle and all she could do was stare at it. Her
breathing started to hurt; her head pounded hard enough that she
couldn’t hear. Micah was speaking, saying something, but she had no
idea what it was. All she could see was that she was chained up
again. Grabbing the piece of chain, she heard screaming. Reggie
knew it was her, knew that she was screaming, but for the life of
her she could not stop. The pain in her face made her turn, and
when she was jerked around, her chin in a firm grip, she tried to
focus on Micah.

“
I’m taking it off.” She
felt the chain give and the tightness around her body, her mind,
and heart lessen. “It’s gone. You’re not held anymore.”

“
He hurt me. They all hurt
me. Chained me to the wall and they hurt me.” He nodded and pulled
her head to his chest. Reggie knew that she should just shove him
away, tell him she was fine, but like before when he held her,
things just felt right. The noises in the room had her pulling
back, but he held her there.

“
I had to remove the
handcuff.” Someone said something, and Micah laughed. “No, I didn’t
have time to wait for a key. Didn’t you hear how upset she was? I’m
taking her home today. Can you call Nolan and let him know he has
to come see her?”

“
I can’t afford Nolan.
Just give me some release on-my-own-good-behavior papers.” Micah
pulled her head back by gripping her hair, and she looked up at
him. “I want to leave here before the bill is more than I can
handle. Not that I can handle too much more, but I can’t have it
run up because you say so.”

“
There won’t be any charge
for you being here. You were hurt in the line of duty.” She frowned
at him. “You saved a few people yesterday. My mom said you did
field work all the while you were talking to the police. Had you
not given them the information needed to take that man out, he
might have killed more. The city is picking up the tab.”

She pulled away from him. It was
getting to be much too comfortable to be pressed up against his
body. This time he let her go, but he didn’t move away. Reggie
found herself wanting to lick him, just to see if he tasted as good
as he looked. Shaking her head, she got off the bed on the other
side. When she swayed slightly, he was right there.

“
I’m just fine. Don’t you
have…where is your shirt anyway? Go and find it and put it on.” His
chuckle made her pissy. “Don’t you have a wife or someone to go and
bother? Or your mom? Go and bother your mom.”

The door opened just as she was
reaching for the little bedside table to make her way to the
bathroom, and in walked several people. She knew a couple of them,
Joey and Mrs. Bentley. Nolan was there too. And Reggie would bet
her last dollar that the rest of the men were related as
well.

“
Hello, my dear.” The
elder woman smiled at her as she handed her a robe. “You no longer
have much, so we chipped in and got you a few things to wear.
Gracie and I had a wonderful time shopping for a young
person.”

“
Shit.” She looked at the
younger woman and flushed. Reggie had no idea why this woman made
her feel like she needed to behave, but she did. “Crap. I forgot
about that. My place is gone. I’m homeless as of right
now.”

She sat down on the side of the bed.
Nothing. She had less than nothing right now. Everything she’d
owned, which was very little, was all gone. Her money. She looked
up when someone said her name. This man looked familiar in an aged
sort of way.

“
You have a place to stay.
We’re going to have you live with us until you get on your feet.
Micah is going to be there as well. Gracie has a room all set up
for you two.” Reggie looked at Micah and then back at the man. “He
didn’t tell you, did he?”

“
I’m thinking not.” She
turned on the bed and stared at the group. “I’m assuming this is
not an intervention of some sort. I don’t do drugs, not that I
could afford them. I don’t drink for the same reason, though there
have been times when it’s been tempting. Like in dealing with
Micah. I’m not in a cult. I don’t hang out at airports giving out
pamphlets. And I’m reasonably sure that even if I did all those
things, you’d not be the people that would help me get over it. So
what gives?”

“
You’re my mate.” She
nodded, then shook her head at Micah. “Do you have any idea what
that is, or are you still working through who we are?”

“
Oh, I might not know
names, but I’m pretty sure these men are your brothers. The younger
woman is your mom. I met her. This has to be your grandparents, and
since neither of them look like Mrs. Bentley, I can only assume
that they’re your paternal grandparents. How am I doing so
far?”

One of the brothers laughed and told
her she was dead on. “I’m Tony, by the way. This is my brother
Garth. And yes, these are my grandparents on my dad’s side. Howie
and Katie Bentley. The other two men you might know, Joey and
Nolan. You know Micah, and that other guy is Burke. And this lovely
woman is our mom, Gracie Bentley.” Mrs. Bentley slapped at him and
moved forward.

“
I’m assuming you have no
idea what is going on.” Reggie shook her head. “That’s fine. We’re
a bit much for anyone to take on first meeting. I did try to teach
them manners, but I’m afraid that they’ve got it into their heads
that they know more than me.”

When a bag was shoved at her, Reggie
found herself in the bathroom. She stood staring at her reflection,
trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened. Not getting
in the bathroom…she knew that Mrs. Bentley had helped her with
that. But what the fuck were these people doing here? It was…it was
kind of like a family reunion of sorts, only she was odd man
out.

Undressing as quickly as she could,
Reggie looked at her body in the mirror. She didn’t do that often,
but she did pause this time. The scars were still there…faded but
there. She’d been brutally raped when those men had come into their
home. Beaten, burned, and tortured endlessly.

She’d been hidden for the first three
days of their invasion, so she supposed that was what had saved her
life. But the last two, the two before the police had come in and
killed them all, they’d made up for it and then some. Shaking her
head, she pulled out the blouse that was in the bag.

“
Fuck me.” It was
beautiful. Not only that, but expensive. The tags were missing, of
course, but she could tell quality when she saw it. Pulling out the
pantie and bra set that was under it, she knew that these people
had money to burn. Why else would they “chip” in this much money
for a complete stranger?

Everything, of course, fit. Even the
shoes. They were flats, which was all she ever wore. Being tall
like she was, wearing heels to add height to her already six-foot
frame seemed stupid. There was another bag within the bag, and in
it were a brush, toothbrush, paste, and a few other personal items.
Reggie was staring at the makeup, not having a clue what she was
supposed to wear it to, when someone knocked on the
door.

“
I was wondering if you
needed help.” Her face heated when she thought of the kind of help
Micah could give her. Reggie had no idea why this man affected her
this way, but she wasn’t going to act on it. “I mean with your
hair. My mom said she could come in and help.”

Instead of answering him, she opened
the door. They were all still there, three of them sitting on the
bed until she came out. They popped up off it like they’d been
shot. Shaking her head, she looked for Mrs. Bentley.

“
You spent too much on
this. I appreciate it, but it’s entirely too much to give to a
stranger.” Gracie only smiled at her. “I need to figure out where
I’m staying. I need…everything I had was in that house. Money I had
saved, some personal…not much personal because I was starting over,
but it was all I had.”

“
You’ll come home with
me.” Mrs. Bentley acted like she was used to getting her way and
for the life of her, Reggie didn’t have a clue why she was letting
her move her along. It wasn’t until they were at the elevator that
she remembered Boyd.

“
I have to go somewhere.”
She had no money, so a cab was out of the question. “I don’t
suppose you could drop me off at the house—where the house
was—could you? I need my car.”

“
I’m afraid that
everything is gone.” She looked at Micah. “The building came down
during the standoff and it landed a half a city block around the
area. Anything that was within the perimeter is gone
too.”

“
I have no car?” He nodded
and pulled her into his body. She was beginning to think this was
the best cure-all for everything. But now she had…there was nothing
at all left. Not even her car, which had a stash of money in it for
Boyd’s next month of care. “I’m so fucked. I’m so very
fucked.”

~~~

Micah watched her carefully as he
drove her to see her brother. She was too quiet. Not only that, but
she seemed to be in some sort of melt-down. Glancing at Joey in the
back seat, he saw that he, too, was concerned about her. Since
she’d been told about the car, she’d not said a single word other
than she needed to see Boyd.

I’m worried.
He nodded at Joey as they spoke through their
link.
She should be pissed, not…whatever
this is. What do you suppose happened that triggered this? Can you
look?

He already had. And it
wasn’t good.
Her money was hidden in the
car. Just over four grand. It was for her brother’s upkeep. She’s
terrified that he’ll have to go to a county home if she can’t
figure out a way to come up with the funds. She…Joey, she sells her
blood for extra money, has two jobs, grades papers on weekends, and
helps people with their résumés to find a job. Shouldn’t there be
more help for her?

If she’s paying four grand
a month for him to stay there, she’s being ripped off. There isn’t
that much work going into his care. I’ve been back there where he
is. The bed is shit, his clothing is worn out, and there are boxes
stored in his room that have medical supplies in them. I’m guessing
they figure he’s not going to bother them, so they can put extra
shit in his room.
Micah glanced at Reggie
again, wondering if she knew this, and thought perhaps she
did.
I’m having him moved sooner than I
said…today if she’ll sign off on it. There is a facility that is
closer to our homes and he’ll get better care.

I’ll pay.
Joey nodded.
She’s not
going to like this. I think she’s going to have an all-out temper
tantrum about it.

It might be just what she
needs
. Micah looked at his brother and
then at Reggie as he continued.
Make her
mad, Micah. It’s better than the state she’s in now.

He knew that making her mad wasn’t
going to be a problem. All he had to do was speak and she’d fly off
the handle like it was her lot in life. He couldn’t think of a good
way to tell her, so Micah decided that he’d just say it. He was
better at straight-up honesty than he was anything else.

“
The place where your
brother is doesn’t meet up to code, did you know that? Not only
that, but there are laws about storing medical supplies in a
patient’s room that could get them shut down today if they were
reported. So I’ve been looking into some facilities around the
area. And I’m having your brother moved to one of them. Today if we
can get it worked out.” She glanced at him, then away. “You’ll have
to sign off on it. That way it’s legal.”

“
I’m having to transfer
him to county. It’s all I can afford right now. The care will be
less than stellar, but—”

“
Perhaps you didn’t
understand me. I said we’re moving him to a better facility. He’ll
get the best care there is. I just need you to say it’s okay.”
Micah had a thought that perhaps this wasn’t the best time to be
doing this. He was driving, and if she got really mad at him, they
could have an accident. While he was all right now, he didn’t want
to have to go back to the hospital with her.