Page 35 of Broken Innocence
Jessie sighs and adjusts the curtains to hide the obvious bodyguard. “Nathaniel filled me in on why we need beefed up security, but do they have to dress like the Terminator and stick so close to the house? We’re surrounded by acres of land. Surely, they can catch bad guys before they make it this far.”
“I told Mathias and Dmitri that they need more women in Blackthorn. At least enough for Polina’s Place.” Allie joins me in sorting the clothing as she eyes the now-covered window. “Guys with guns may be necessary for protection, but they’re not exactly a welcome sight for most of the residents who pass through here, since a lot of them are escaping abusive partners.”
“I told Nathaniel the same thing.” Jessie rolls her eyes at the mention of one of Blackthorn’s team leaders. Apparently, he’s Dmitri’s right-hand man and who the rest of the Blackchapel Bastards call on when they require personal security for sketchy situations.
Like what happened to Allie in Paris.
She told me all about Mathias’s showdown with his father and how it ended in bloodshed. I pray it doesn’t come to that with Luca and Enzo, but it’s probably a fruitless endeavor. Revenge rarely involves peace.
Especially since Luca was the target of the drive-by shooting that brought Allie and Mathias together. One orchestrated by his father and carried out by D’Amora men.
“Oh…” A quiet voice comes from the hall. “S-Sorry for interrupting, but one of the girls started her period. She bled through her pants and needs replacements.”
Jessie immediately goes to the timid woman with a gentle smile. “Of course. We’re just cleaning up. This is Allie and Eden, and I’m Jessie, in case you forgot.”
“Rowan.”
“Such a pretty name. Now, what size are we searching for?”
She rattles off the size then hunches back into herself, a waterfall of red hair spilling forward to cover her face. An oversized hoodie skims her chest and belly while black leggings cover her legs. She fidgets, shifting on the balls of her feet, like at any moment she might need to bolt from the room.
Empathy clamps around my heart. I can’t imagine the hell she’s been through, and despite being safe here, it’s still an unknown place with strangers roaming about.
“Do you need anything else?” Jessie asks after handing over a pair of blue jeans.
“No, t-thank you.” Rowan escapes down the hall, and Jessie sighs.
“This is the toughest part: earning trust and proving you’re not going to hurt them.”
Allie pats her shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but you’ve got this. I’ve been volunteering here long enough to know that you’ll do the best you can for these women. It just takes time.”
Jessie smiles in gratitude, and I vow to make volunteering more of a priority. I've been so focused on changing my life and dealing with my problems that I forgot there's a whole world out there that doesn't revolve around me.
AroundThe Family.
These women deserve the best care possible, and if I can contribute even a little bit to improve their situations then it'll be worth it.
***
The minute Allie and I return to Blackchapel three hours later, a Blackthorn guard is waiting on the stone steps leading inside and asks me to follow him at Luca’s request. He leads me through barren hedges and gravel paths until we reach an enclosure covered in dormant vines.
Luca stands at its entry—a cute sage green door that probably hides well when everything is in full bloom.
“Thank you, Kenneth,” Luca says as the guard retreats to give us privacy. He reaches out to take my hand and pull me closer for a kiss to the forehead. “How was your time at Polina’s Place?”
“Good. We made decent progress in the wardrobe organization, and Jessie was able to inventory what was left and what she needs to restock.” I study the tall brick wall that blocks anyone from seeing inside its depths. “What is this place? Allie mentioned a chapel being on the premises, but this doesn’t look like a normal building.”
“Because it’s not.” Luca unlocks the door with an old-fashioned key with elaborate loops and notches. It’s a piece of whimsy in his roughened hand. “The chapel is on the east side of the manor and was here long before any of us arrived. This is something I added to the property years ago.”
The door swings open, and he waves me through the arched doorway before closing us in with a soft click. A swing hangs from a thick tree branch while a bench rests in front of a cute pond surrounded by sleeping flowers. I can only imagine how magical it looks in the spring and summer.
“It doesn’t look like much now due to the season, but this is a secret garden I built for mymamma,” he explains with a barely detectable catch in his lowered voice. “When I first came to Blackchapel Manor, it reminded me of her favorite book,The Secret Garden. Of course, the ensuing years of violence at Conrad’s behest ruined that false belief, but after Dmitri and Aleksei created Polina’s Place in honor of their mother, I wanted to do something similar to honor mymamma’smemory.”
“That’s beautiful. I’m sure she would have loved this.”
“It’s not complete yet.” His fingers break off a couple of random twigs from a bush. “I keep adding more to the garden whenever I find something that reminds me of her.”
My eye catches on a familiar design. “Those butterflies look like the suncatcher you gave me,” I point out. Rather than the delicate piece I have, though, these are sturdier to withstand the weather. Welded to the stop of iron stakes they decorate the garden at random intervals.
