Page 28 of Breaking Storm

There’s a line pouring out the door of the funeral home to get in. I hold Teagan’s hand and tell her to stay nearby. In line, her friend Erin stands next to her and Sean behind me. My eyes roam the crowd for any issues and anyone to protect Teagan from. James notices me and walks over. I drape my arm across the front of Teagan and press her against my chest. Her hands grip my forearm, about to protest, and then she glances at James. She definitely dislikes him more than me because she presses into my front, hugging my arm. Erin slinks away.

James’ eyes shoot from me to Teagan and glide over my arm, then rest on her face. “Possessive, are we?” Like most of the time, I don’t acknowledge his comment. He greets Sean and says to no one in particular, “Good crowd. The kid was popular.” I look over my shoulder at Sean and roll my eyes. James directs his next comment at me. “We’re going after every single one of them.”

To piss him off, I mention, “Only a handful were responsible.”

James stiffens. His face hardens when he rebuts. “They all are responsible. Do you think hurting a handful will send a message? Keep them from retaliating?”

I blow air out of my nose. “Let’s respect the Ward family.”

He steps into my space, trying to tower over me, yet falling short by many inches. This bothers him, so he antagonizes me by caressing Teagan’s hand. She steps into me, and when he reaches for her hair, I grab his wrist and tighten my hold.

Through clenched teeth, I push out, “Don’t touch her.”

He takes a step back and smiles. “Yourtellsare so obvious.” His smirk lands on Teagan. “My son doesn’t freely express his greediness. You must be a good fuck.”

I grab his shirt, but Sean peels my fingers off, and stands between us to say, “James, this conversation is for another time.” James spits at my feet and walks away.

It takes a while to get to the coffin. Frankie nods and says he’d like to talk to me at his house where everyone is invited after the funeral. Grasping Teagan’s hand, we give our condolences to Frankie’s mom and dad. His mother sits to the side, staring into space. Colin was her baby. The one she probably thought could escape the streets for something better. Apparently, she isn’t aware that her sons are lifers. This is all they know and will ever want.

We arrive at Frankie’s house. It’s a sea of black in and around the place. Crying and laughter smacks the air. I’m still seizing Teagan. She’s been quiet all morning and afternoon. None of the people here mean anything to her, and James rattled her nerves. She’s clung to me without direction and Sean is always close to keep her safe. Thank God James won’t be here.

From one to another, we shake hands and talk about what happened. Talk about Colin. Several of us stand in a circle, Teagan by my side, when an old acquaintance, Noah Barkley, mentions Colin’s girlfriend.

“She’ll never get over what happened to her.”

Teagan steps in front of my left leg, hugging her body, and asks, “What happened?”

Without noticing my head shaking, he continues, “Gang raped. They made Colin watch while they raped and sodomized her before killing him.” She covers her mouth and falls into me, stepping on my foot. “Killing him wasn’t enough?”

Teagan turns to me, shaken by this information, and swallows hard. She lets out a shaky, “Can we go?”

I nod and find Frankie to tell him to call me when he has time to go over our next steps. Teagan is stunned by what happened. She’s been far enough removed from our world that she can’t even fathom this kind of violence. Because of her discomfort from street afflictions, and me being unable to protect her from it, I’m a live wire about to break. The grittiness of the underworld shouldn’t spread onto Teagan. She’s what possibility looks like. A pinnacle of dreams.

Once home, Teagan heads straight to the bedroom. Sean and I linger in the living room, talking until the sun dips lower. He leaves and I’m left to my thoughts. At the meeting, they passed around pictures of Colin and his girlfriend’s injuries. It was James’ way of inciting rage to get others onboard to retaliate against the entire gang. My guess is Colin died after the first few shots. His chest looked like Swiss cheese, and only one shot to the forehead. It’s the pictures of his girlfriend that haunt me because it can easily happen to Teagan. Filthy hands grabbing at her body. Shoving their cocks into her holes.

My body vibrates from these visions and spins one after the other. Blood smeared between her thighs and ass cheeks. Split lip. Her face swollen from so many hits. For a moment, I squeeze my eyes closed while my breath comes in quick succession. My hands clench at my sides, and I pace. I can hear the blood raging in my ears. Another image of multiple hands spreading her wide as one fucks her hard. I press my hand to my chest, promising myself that this horror will never touch Teagan.

In the kitchen, I gulp down a glass of water, swipe at my mouth and head upstairs. I strip down to my boxer briefs and sit on the side of my bed. Teagan’s in the washroom, and I hear her pull the drain out of the bathtub.

I’m trying to steady my breathing. It’s time. What occurred with Colin’s girlfriend triggers this need for Teagan. I can’t wait anymore to be inside her. Caress her skin with my fingertips. To taste her, fantasizing about a honeycomb flavor dripping from her sexuality. I want her petite, soft body below me. To lose myself in her. I want her hands on me. Voluntarily. My body craves it. It’s been so long since I’ve experienced gentleness. In this life, ferocity, chaos, and pain pummel my body. Even the sex has been rough and diluted of tenderness, until now. Of course, I chose to keep sex in accordance with my life, but this is Teagan. My wife.

The bathroom door opens, and she stands by the dresser. I glance over my shoulder to see her wearing a towel.

“Come here, Tea.”

She hesitates and responds, “Okay, let me—”

“I don’t want you dressed.”

Teagan takes her time coming to my side of the bed where I’m hanging my head.

In a low voice, she says, “I’m sorry about your friend.”

I look up at Teagan, clutching the front of the towel at her breasts, and her eyes dancing around the room to avoid mine. My hands reach out, tugging her my way until she stumbles onto my lap. Her knees straddle my thighs to prevent sitting all the way down. I’m at eye level with her neck, her head turned to the side, and I follow her strained swallow, an attempt at stopping her quickened breath. She’s squeezing the towel so tight her knuckles are white.

A half smile creeps onto my face. “I’m not going to hurt you, Tea.” She gives a swift nod.

One of my hands rests on her thigh and the other on her back, pressing her against me. I kiss the divot between her collarbones. Her sweetness is a treat as I press my tongue against the small dip, and her breath catches. She’s still, tense, and when I apply open mouth kisses along the curvature of her neck, she lets out an unsteady breath. She likes it. Teagan might not admit it, but what I’m doing is pleasurable. The hand on her thigh moves over to her grip on the towel.

---