Key to Hell (Hell Night Series Book 4), page 7
I glance over at Aziah, and my smile fades when I find his intensely dark eyes centered on me. His gaze holds me captive, and I’m not sure I ever want him to let me go.
CHAPTER EIGHT
EMO
“SHE TURNED OUT TO BE a beautiful woman,” Judge comments, crossing his arms over his chest.
All four of us stare out the windows to the backyard. Rella, Remi, Eden, and Ellie are out back with Elijah, Maisy, Judge and Ellie’s daughter, and Thea, JW’s little sister. They’re setting up a girls-only picnic. Remi said Elijah doesn’t count because he’s just a baby.
I grunt, because beautiful isn’t the word to describe Rella. Stunning, gorgeous, mesmerizing, magnificent, devastating, alluring, graceful. She’s all of those things wrapped into one. Times a thousand.
“How is she holding up?” JW asks.
“The better person to ask would be Emo. He’s been her constant since she got here. Doesn’t let her out of his sight.”
I shoot Trouble a scowl, but keep my mouth shut because he speaks the truth. For the last twenty-four years, Rella’s just been a painful memory. She’s haunted my dreams and has filled my conscience with guilt. The guilt still festers, even more so now that I know what she’s been through. But I’ve felt more since she arrived. I was empty before, just a desolate black hole of nothingness with no way to climb out of the dark abyss. Now, for the first time since we found her on that gazebo all those years ago, there’s a light in the darkness. It’s small and at times dims, but it’s beautiful and constant.
Now that Rella’s here, I’m not sure I can go back to a world where she’s not alive. Keeping her in my sight guarantees nothing will happen to her.
“What are you thinking, Emo?”
I glance over at Trouble and find his eyes cast down. I follow his gaze, and my jaw tightens when I realize I’ve pulled the key out of my pocket and I’m fisting it. There’s no sting of pain, so it hasn’t broken the skin yet.
I shove the key back in my pocket, let it go, and pull my hand back out. I ignore the looks from the others and direct my eyes back out the window.
“Have you found Marco and Gabriela yet?” I ask.
From the corner of my eye, I see JW take a pull from his beer before tossing the empty bottle in the trash a few feet away.
“No, but I’ve got some feelers out. We should hear something soon.”
“I don’t care what you have to do, I want them found.”
I don’t need to feel the vibes coming off Trouble’s body to know he wants the same thing. We all do, but no one more than Trouble and me.
“Neither of you answered my question. How’s Rella doing? Physically, she looks fine, but how’s her mental state?”
“As you already know, she has issues with people getting too close. If they do, she shuts down. Emo is the only one who has gotten within touching distance.” I ignore the question in his tone, and after a moment, he continues. “Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who’s been through what she has.”
“She won’t even let Remi get close?”
“No. She hasn’t had the best experience with women either, so it comes as no surprise.”
I grind my teeth together. Women can be just as disgustingly twisted as men.
JW continues. “She met Layla through an online support group, right? Has she actually spoken to a professional?”
Trouble blows out a sigh and rests his shoulder against the window frame, slouching his shoulders and gazing out the window at his sister.
“She said she tried a couple of times, but both times resulted in episodes when she walked into the crowded office. She never left the house much because she feared being around people and worried she’d break down. I want to suggest she speak with Luke, but I already know what the answer will be. I’m going to call and ask if he can make a few trips out here to Malus.”
Luke Stoops is a psychologist Trouble met at a medical conference a few years back. He has an office in San Antonio. But like Trouble said, I highly doubt Rella will go see him.
“Is there anything else, or just the proximity thing?” Judge inquires.
“Yes,” I rumble.
All eyes turn to me.
“You’re with her all the time,” Trouble says. “What do you see that I don’t?”
I cross my arms and squeeze my biceps. “She has nightmares. Bad ones.”
Trouble leans away from the window, his brows dropping. “How bad?”
“Bad enough that she wakes up screaming and scared shitless.”
“Screams? It’s been quiet at night. I would have heard her scream.”
“You’re on the other side of the house, and she’s only done it once. I always get to her before it reaches that point. The fear in her eyes when she first wakes up….” I trail off, unable to describe the pain and rage I feel every time I witness that fear.
I flick my eyes to Trouble and see the same anger and hatred blazing in his eyes.
Face as hard as granite, he turns to JW. “Get in touch with whoever you need to. Offer whatever the hell you need to. I want those fuckers found yesterday.”
JW nods tightly, and we all turn back to the window. Rella has Elijah in her arms, smiling at the cute little boy. Without knowing much about the adult version of Rella, I have no doubt she would make a good mother someday. She’d be fiercely protective and would love her child unconditionally. I just hope she allows herself to find that particular happiness. It’s something she deserves more than anyone else.
Through the glass, I hear Rella laugh at something Elijah babbles at her. She leans down and places a tender kiss on his chubby cheek. He begins to squirm, so she sets him on his feet. Remi scoops him up and puts him in his highchair. They all take their seats around the picnic table. It twists my insides into knots when I notice the others taking care not to sit too close to Rella.
Most women are affectionate creatures. As a child, anytime Rella was around my brothers or me, she was always either close or touching one of us, despite the horrors she endured. A hand on the arm, a shoulder against our sides, feet in our lap, arms around our waist as she rode behind one of us on our bicycles. She knew how to ride a bike herself, but claimed it was more fun when she rode with one of us.
Her being so closed off from affection isn’t natural. It doesn’t seem right, and it pisses me right the fuck off that the people in her life changed her so much.
“What’s going on with you, Emo?” Trouble asks, snatching me from my thoughts. I glance over and notice that JW and Judge have moved to the living room, leaving me and Trouble alone.
I raise a brow, silently asking him to elaborate.
“I get that this is strange and very hard to take in. Hell, I’m still trying to grasp the idea that she’s really here myself. But this is more than that. It’s deeper than you needing to make sure she’s okay. What’s going on between you two?”
My eyes turn menacing. I don’t like the tenor of his voice, and I sure as fuck don’t like what he’s implying.
I take a step toward him, my hands balling into fists at my sides.
“What in the fuck do you mean by that?” I growl, getting in his face.
“Back the hell off, Emo.” He matches my tone, his eyes slitting, not backing down. “You’re mistaking me for someone who fears you. I didn’t mean what you’re obviously thinking. I’m just trying to understand your need to be everywhere she is, and why she’ll allow you to get closer than anyone else.”
I grind my molars and bite out, “You’ll have to ask her that, because I have no clue.” I draw in a deep breath through my teeth and let it out slowly. “As far as being where she is, it’s just something I need to do.” My stomach dips, and I lower my voice, giving Trouble exactly what I’m feeling. “What if she disappears when I’m not looking?”
Compassion replaces the hostility on his face. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
I stuff my hands in my pockets and finger the key with the tip of my pointer finger. Before I can put pressure on it, Trouble grabs my forearm and pulls my hand back out. He drops my hand, but reaches out for the back of my neck and tugs me forward until our foreheads meet.
“I know because this is real,” he says quietly, pushing his point home by squeezing my neck tighter. “This isn’t a figment of our imagination. She’s real, Emo. Our girl is here, and she’s not going any-fuckin’-where. Nothing else will ever happen to her again. She’s safe.”
“She’s not safe until those sick fucks are dead,” I tell him heatedly.
His eyes darken, the pupils swallowing up the blue. “We’ll get them. And when we do, there won’t be a place on their body that will be recognizable.”
I hiss out a breath, agreeing with him.
With a final squeeze, he lets my neck go and takes a step back.
“You need to go back home.” My back straightens and my limbs lock. He notices and releases a sigh. “I don’t mean permanently. There’s shit you need to take care of there. JW and I both have been by your place, and it’s not looking good.”
And that’s supposed to concern me? There’s nothing at home that’s more important than being here with Rella. Especially what he’s talking about.
“I don’t give a fuck. I’m not leaving.”
He rakes his hand through his hair and lets out a breath of frustration. He turns back to the window. “You’re a stubborn son of a bitch, you know.”
I grunt my acknowledgement and mirror his stance. All the women are laughing and talking animatedly. I wish I could hear what they were saying, especially since whatever it is, it’s putting a big smile on Rella’s face. She looks more relaxed than she has since she’s been here.
“Just so you know,” Trouble starts quietly, “I wouldn’t have been opposed if anything were happening between you and her.”
I snap my head around in shock. His head is tilted to the side as he continues to watch out the window.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe now is the time for anything like that. She still has a lot of healing to do, and she needs to become accustomed to being back here. She can’t handle anyone being near her, let alone be close enough to have any form of a physical relationship.” I narrow my eyes, not liking what he’s saying one bit. “I know that shit’s never even crossed your mind, so you can wipe that nasty look off your face.” I don’t, and his eyes slide to me. “Other than JW and Judge, there’s no other person I’d trust taking care of her than you. You’d lay down your life for her in a heartbeat and would sacrifice anything to make her happy. I’m not saying I expect this to happen or am even suggesting it. I’m just throwing it out there, because you never know what the future holds. This is hard for me to say, but out of all of us, she trusts you the most. That has to mean something.”
With that, he turns and exits the room, leaving me stuck in place and confused as fuck.
CHAPTER NINE
EMO
DESPITE THE SILENCE BETWEEN Rella and me as we walk the streets of Malus, I know her mind is running a mile a minute. Our hometown has changed a lot since the last time she was here. Several more shops have opened, and many of the older buildings have been repainted and updated inside and out. Some were torn down and never rebuilt.
Malus is small, but we have damn near everything we could ever need. And if we don’t have it, more times than not, people choose to order online and have it shipped here. It’s not that they can’t leave Malus, people just prefer not to.
It turns my stomach to compare the two, but in some ways, Malus is still a lot like Sweet Haven was back in the day. We have a very tight-knit community and prefer to keep to ourselves. Outsiders aren’t welcome. Like Sweet Haven, Malus has secrets that could cause problems for a lot of people. Unlike Sweet Haven, Malus’s secrets don’t consist of child sex rings. Our secrets are to protect victims from predators like that.
“Wasn’t that where the Hall was?” Rella asks, coming to a stop and facing the playground in a grassy courtyard.
“Yes. That was the first building we destroyed when we came back.”
I turn my head slightly and look at her. Her eyes are fixed on the kids on the playground. There’s a certain look on her face I can’t decipher. Her shoulders are hunched, and her brows are knitted down.
“Why a playground?”
“We wanted to replace the evil with something good and pure.” I cross my arms over my chest. “There were a few people left when we came back. All good people. Two days after we got here, we all stood around and watched the building burn.”
“I wish I could have watched it,” she says, a hint of wistfulness in her tone.
“Can I ask a question?”
She drags her eyes away from the playground and casts them my way. “Sure.”
We both start walking again.
“Why the name Holly?”
A small smile touches her lips. “I always hated the name Daisy, as you know. When I found Layla in that support group, I couldn’t give her my nickname. I mean, how common is the name Rella? Gabriela and Marco told me everyone thought I was dead, but it would have been too much of a coincidence for Layla not to figure out who I was. I refused to even acknowledge the name Daisy. Holly was the first thing I thought of.” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe it was my way of sticking as close to the truth as I could, because both names are plants.”
We continue our walk, and it’s quiet again. Several people out on the street pause and watch us walk by. I give each and every one of them a look that has them turning tail and going back to what they were doing. I don’t know how far the rumor mill has gotten, but I’m sure most everyone knows who Rella is and is curious about her.
New people aren’t treated too kindly here. It’s not that we’re a bunch of assholes or mistreat people, we just don’t give off a welcoming vibe to outsiders.
Rella may be new to Malus, but she’s a native Sweet Haven resident. I’ll be damned if she’ll be mistreated in even the slightest way. Heads will roll, and pain will follow.
She slows to a stop in front of The Hill. “Does Mae still live in the house behind The Hill?”
“Yes. Her house is one of the only places here that wasn’t refurbished or torn down. She wanted to keep it the same from when Dale was alive.”
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” she whispers grievously. Her sadness makes my chest feel tight. “How did he die?”
“In his sleep. His heart gave out. It was painless.”
“Well, at least there’s that. I’m glad he didn’t suffer. I can’t imagine the heartache Mae went through.”
“It was tough the first few months, but once she came here, things got better for her.”
She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and regards me. “She didn’t come with you guys when you first came back?”
“No. Her and Dale wanted to stay in Kentucky.”
There’s more to the story than that, but Rella’s not ready to hear it yet. In time, she’ll know everything.
“Tell me about the night you escaped.”
My scalp tightens, and anger has my fingers twitching. The night of the raid is something I’ll regret for the rest of my life. Not because of what happened, but because of what I didn’t do. Standing in front of Trouble and Rella’s house, my gut told me to go inside and beat the truth out of their parents before the cops got to them. On top of waking up to hear Rella’s screams the night before, I was in denial that she was really gone. It was too painful to believe. I should have listened to my gut. Rella could have been with us this whole time.
I fight the urge to reach in my pocket for the key and turn to face her instead.
“Mae and Dale got the note Mick and Deanna sent the night before. It was Hell Night, but things didn’t go down until early in the morning, after everything ended. Trouble, JW, Judge, and I were to meet Mae and Dale behind The Hill. It got so late, I worried the note was fake and the police weren’t going to show up. But then they did, and they were all over the place. Breaking into houses, chasing after people who were running. Some were shot when they fought back with their own weapons.” The vein in my neck begins to throb as my blood pressure rises. “Some managed to get away. It took us time to navigate around everything going on, but we made it behind The Hill and we all left. We went to Kentucky, where Mae’s great-aunt left her a place when she died.”
“You said some got away.” Her voice quivers, uneasiness creeping on her face.
“Yes, but you don’t need to worry about them.”
There’s only a few more people left of the ones who got away that night, and their time is coming to an end. I keep that to myself.
She shivers, and it takes every bit of control I possess to not pull her to my chest to warm her. Which is very uncommon for me. I’m not like Rella; I don’t dislike touch because it terrifies me, but because it comes with emotions. Every touch means something. Whether it be for love, compassion, joy, heartache, or trust. Doesn’t matter what. I just don’t want anything to do with it. Aside from my brothers, the only thing I feel when I touch someone is pure hatred, and that kind of touch is extremely painful for the person receiving it. The exception is on the occasions when my mind turns black and I need an outlet, but there’re no perpetrators to take my anger out on. Even then, my sexual exploits would be considered dark and a bit insidious.
For me to want to touch Rella now in any way is foreign to me. What’s more strange is the fact that I didn’t cringe or back away the day she explored my face.
“Emo?” A voice calls from behind me, and Rella and I both turn around.
Grace is walking down the street toward us. Her eyes move to Rella, a curiosity crossing her face.
“Grace,” I grunt as she comes to a stop.
She quickly flicks her eyes to Rella for a second before moving them back to me. “How have you been?”
