Page 53 of Ensnared By Silence
She looked at me and replied, “Yes, I do. I have nothing to be ashamed of. Not anymore.”
Looking back at the group, I saw Devlin, James, and Skid with barely controlled rage, and Elise and Amaya both openly crying. Aubrey spoke quietly, and I wanted to push the palms of my hands to my ears and block out her painful confession.
“I woke up to someone having sex with me and then . . . two more guys joined in. I couldn’t open my eyes or move a muscle, but I was aware of everything they said and did.” She cleared her throat and James handed her a bottle of water, his eyes filled with worry. Taking a small sip, she smiled at him and he relaxed slightly. “They went outside, and I was able to move slowly. I got dressed and stole a bike from the side of the house. I rode to my foster parents’ house, packed everything I owned into the beater they helped me get, and I drove until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”
She smiled sadly and explained, “I pulled into the parking lot across the street and fell asleep in my car. I felt safe here and made myself small so I wouldn’t draw attention. If they couldn’t find me, they couldn’t hurt me.”
James ran his hands into his hair and gripped tightly as he let his head fall forward to his chest. Amaya was crying, rubbing her hand on her husband’s back, and Skid was clenching and unclenching his hands as he stared at a spot on the wall. It was Devlin’s reaction that gave me pause.
His eyes were almost black, but simmering barely under the surface was a rage unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I feared for whoever he took his anger out on. Elise slipped her hand into his and the trance was broken as he smiled sadly down at her.
“I didn’t think anyone would believe me because of where I came from. I refused to let the system make a victim of me again, so I kept my mouth shut. When I saw . . . Tucker and Jared . . . at Hayden’s yesterday, instinct kicked in and I ran. I didn’t know what was going on and I was fearful that they’d found me, so I disappeared. I’m . . . I’m sorry if I made any of you worry.”
“We’ll always worry about you, but please, don’t run from us again. We’re a family and we always stick together. We’ll always protect you and we’ll always stand beside you, fighting whatever battles you face,” James explained, and Aubrey’s chin trembled as she nodded.
He linked his hand with hers and I saw the emotion on Amaya’s face as she watched her husband connect with his sister. Skid cleared his throat, and everyone gave him their attention.
“How are we going to handle this?” He stroked his beard as he asked, “This is a different situation than what we’ve dealt with in the past, and if we’re planning on doing what I hope we are, discussing it could be considered conspiring.”
I caught a disturbing smile spread across Devlin’s face and a shiver spread down my spine. The man with the reputation of a killer sat before me, eager to coat his hands in blood.
Devlin
Listening to Aubrey tell her painful story drove the monster inside me closer to the surface than it had been in years. I should have done more for her all those years ago, but I couldn’t take responsibility for two young girls. Keeping Elise close with Chuck and Blaire was selfish, and I thought sending Aubrey away was kinder. She needed to be far away from the scourge of the Flats, and once I knew she was safe in a loving foster home, I lost track of her, hoping all her dreams come true.
Instead, she was dragged kicking and screaming into a nightmare. My vision was hazy and all I could see was Roger’s sickness hurting Aubrey and remembering the condition I found Elise in the night I killed him. It could have just as easily been my precious lamb who was being hurt and I clasped my hands together, fighting the urge to kill. James and Skid had the same looks in their eyes, and Hayden sat across from me, his eyes telling me he was ready for war.
I felt the smile break out on my face as the monster cracked his neck, preparing for the tasks ahead. Elise slipped her hand into mine and I looked down at my precious lamb. I could see the guilt pressing down on her. When I told her generally what happened with Aubrey ten years ago, she cried, thinking by being saved, Aubrey was punished in her place.
That wasn’t the case, and I held my lamb while she purged more pain from the dark recesses of her soul. Feeling her tears soak my chest, hearing her cries, was as a painful to my soul as a bullet to my heart. Seeing how these women were stronger than any man I ever met filled me with pride. They dealt with pain, deceit, betrayal, and the worst injustices imaginable, only to come out stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. And maybe a little deadly.
“I think that until we have a better background on Aubrey’s attackers, we need to proceed with caution,” I responded and Hayden gave me a confused look. I winked discreetly at him and continued, “Aubrey, what would you like to see happen to them?”
She licked her lips and sat forward. Her resemblance to my best friend, my brother . . .our brotherwas unmistakable. “Would it be wrong to admit I want them to suffer?” she asked, and James chuckled.
I shook my head with a smile and replied, “No, little sister, there’s nothing wrong with making someone suffer.” Her eyes grew watery, and I kept my gaze locked with hers as I explained, “Your brother is my brother. You are my sister.” My eyes turned to the man standing strong next to her, the same man who for years I’ve held an unrealistic grudge against for his care of my lamb. “And you’re in good hands with Hayden.”
He snapped his gaze to mine, and she smiled up at him with love and trust. I was glad she had that with him, and as much as I wanted to tell her how I saved her all those years ago, Hayden and James agreed that was a conversation best left for later. Aubrey lived within a pair of lies, choosing to remain silent in the face of her anguish. As her family, we will give her a voice.
Aubrey yawned and leaned against Hayden’s shoulder. She looked exhausted and there was only a few things left to discuss.
“We have their confession recorded, but we need to get your statement down as well. As much detail as you’re comfortable giving,” I explained, and she sat up with a smile on her face I’d seen on James’s many times through the years.
“I have something better. Before I left my foster parents’ house, I recorded my physical state and made a verbal account while it was fresh in my mind.”
I could see Hayden tense next to her. I met his gaze, and he closed his eyes briefly. When they opened, I saw brown eyes filled with the same raging fire that was blazing in my soul. If he used that anger as fuel, I knew that Hayden would be bloody before this was over.
“Do you still have the recording?” James asked, his eyes cutting to mine.
One of us would have to watch her confession and I don’t know how far over the line it would push James. Silently, I let him know I would do it for him. I would watch, one more time, as Aubrey recounted her pain. Images of what I saw on Roger’s computer still haunt me, but my monster was born to handle this kind of thing. He will absorb her pain and use it to destroy her betrayers.
She pulled out her phone, and after a minute, there was a chime on my phone. I opened my email to see a cloud link and looked at her in confusion. We searched every nook and cranny of her life and never saw this account.
“When did you create this account? And when did you disconnect from it?”
That had to be the explanation for how we missed it. “That night. I uploaded the video, then logged out of the account. I wiped all traces of it from my internet footprint. It was my insurance policy. I’m surprised you missed it.” There was a sly smile when she shrugged.
“You’re going to have to teach me your tricks,” James chuckled, and she blushed from his praise.
