Page 53 of Breaking Storm

“You’re married to him, Teagan. What’s his is yours and vice versa.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Joey got a raw deal. I’ve got nothing.”

Walking through an archway, he says over his shoulder, “You were all Joey wanted.”

This warms my cold limbs. The idea I’m all Joey wants is spine-tingling, toe-curling exhilaration. Three months ago, this place we’re at in our relationship would seem impossible. What Joey did was unfathomable? He assaulted me, but never struck. Afterwards, it wasmydeal,myconsent, which permitted sex into our relationship. The crux of it all, the turning point for me, was thewhy. Why he did it. And I was not ready for the revelation. I’m sure people would think it’s inexcusable, except I don’t. I can’t. The love and respect sons have for their mothers is how they’ll treat women in general. Joey loves his mom so much I became the sacrificial lamb. At this point, I’m okay with it. For me, that’s an excuse I can swallow and accept.

Sean grabs the duffel bags and I scurry to catch up. We head through a door between the sitting area and kitchen, down a hall, and enter an office. Here he deposits the money inside a walk-in safe hidden by a bookcase, keeping a couple hundred for our spending. Sean tics his head at the door and continues to show me more of the house. More. Of. The. House. Can this place be any bigger?

At the end of the hall, there are double doors, the upper half encased in glass to peer into the swimming pool area. It smells of chlorine and scented candles. The pool is massive in width and length. Lounge chairs scatter the perimeter. One full wall is windows, and it has a wide strip of windows in the ceiling. At the other end of the room is a beautiful spa area for changing and showers. Sean tells me half the basement is a full-size gym, and the other half, a movie theater.

He takes me out the sliding door from the kitchen onto a terrace, which I’m exaggerating to be the size of a football field. Not that big, but enough for bathing chairs, sectional couches, tables, a mini-kitchen, and a jumbo grill. The majority of the property is protected from the elements. Fairy lights and lanterns hang under the rooftop. It’s magical.

“When did Joey buy this place?”

“About two years ago. It’s not under his name, so we don’t have to worry about anyone finding us here.”

I snuggle into the cushions of the couch, hug a pillow to my chest, and say, “He keeps surprising me.”

“That he does.”

“What James has done to him, and his mother, is horrific. I hope he finds her, I really do, but I’m worried. Everything there is poisonous, and I don’t want him suffering anymore.”

Sean goes to the fridge, takes out some bread, lunchmeat, bottled waters, and brings them over. “Joey knows how to take care of himself. He’s strong.”

I move closer to the food and prepare a sandwich. “Do you think there are enough men who will back him up?”

He takes a bite of his sandwich, nods, and talks with a mouthful. “Definitely.”

My face scrunches at the sight of him gobbling down the sandwich. “The way you’re eating is like something from Jurassic Park.”

He flicks a tomato at me. “Smartass.”

We eat in silence, listening to the birds and the soft waves in the lake. It’s serene, and I could get used to it. The items Joey bought for the house are homey and comfortable. Wood, stone, and hints of marble run throughout the house and outdoors. For color, he added throw pillows and blankets in a variety of deep reds, blues, and the occasional yellow. The one thing missing that I yearn for is Joey. There’s a hint of his scent in the house, but not much. After this horrible day, I need him to cover me with his body. Whisper cheesy words to me andI love you’s.

“Where do we go from here?”

Sean throws an arm around the back of the couch and draws me closer. “I don’t know, Teagan. This was something none of us were prepared for.” He rests his cheek on the top of my head. “Maybe he gets the location of his mom, saves her, and they come back here.”

I sigh into the warmth of Sean. He isn’t Joey, but I’ll take what I can get now. It seems we’re just going to wait until we hear something. We settle into silence. Like me, I’m sure Sean is thinking about Joey’s well-being, and hoping he makes it back soon.

Chapter 21

I’VE SECURED JAMES’ LIMBS TO the armrests and chair legs. His face is a bloody mess, which makes me smile. Damn, it feels good, too good, to wail on him. To beat the shit out of him and know I’ll torture him to an inch of his life for information. I shouldn’t love to inflict pain on anyone, but James provided a lifetime of beatings and stole my mother away, so it’s payback time. I’m reveling in each blow.

At first, James laughs at my punches, but he doesn’t find it funny when a couple of his teeth come out. One sticks into my knuckle, so I pull it out and toss it on the ground. His nose is bent sideways, and his eyes swollen into slits.

When I called Frankie to meet me here, he brought some guys along to lock down the area with Reuben and Danny. Inside the silo, I reveal everything to Frankie from James taking my mom when I was young, up until today with his attempted assault on Teagan. Frankie stands slack jawed while I feed him my hardships. James barks a denial, but we ignore him.

This information only adds to Frankie’s hatred of my old man. There is no love lost between them. James has treated Frankie and the others like low life scum. The littlest of looks or a wrong word and James doesn’t hesitate in striking or sometimes shooting the men who work for him. He isn't a fair boss. James demands things without explanation, puts people in danger for his own ego, and punishes first, asks questions later. If he thought the animals, as he called them, were getting restless, he’d give them each a couple of hundred dollars extra to silence their frustrations.

I’m standing next to Frankie by a little table setup inside the silo, littered with tools, a blow torch, and a scalpel. My hand hovers over each tool as I conjure up different torture methods. Images of his face peeling off from extensive heat. The scalpel carving him open like a Jack-o’-lantern, extracting his bowels. A hammer flattening his hand.

Frankie gets my attention by mentioning James’ goons. There’s still a few loyal to him, especially the ones who attacked me. I’d love to add them to this torture party.

James lets out an amused sigh. “Do you honestly think you can scare me? Try and you’ll regret it.”

I walk up to him and punch him in the face. “Shut the fuck up! You’re lucky I haven’t cut out your tongue after what you did to Teagan.”

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