Thinking about it, he knew now was the perfect time to tell her about himself; who he was and where he came from. “I sort of told you about my parents. What I didn’t tell you was that they a
re real God-fearing Christians, devout to the Lord. Before my brother was born, they worked as missionaries, going all over the world to instill their faith. By the time I came along, my siblings were as big of believers as my parents were.” Her fingers were drawing circles on his leg as he spoke. It was hypnotic. “I could never identify with our religion. I felt like it was wrong for me. I still don’t know why, but I have always felt like I was meant for something else.”
He remembered his brother and sister telling him he was going to Hell for not believing. “When I was old enough, I researched like crazy to find out if there really was a higher power. Being told it was true just wasn’t enough for me.” Casey paused looking down at Ev quickly, her breaths were shallow, and her eyelids kept fluttering up and down in rapid pace. She was trying to stay awake. He hadn’t lost her yet. “I had to have proof. I was a firm believer in if I couldn’t touch it or see it, it wasn’t real. I never tried to sway my family about it; I just wanted concrete proof that Heaven and Hell were there. That when I died I was going to the promised land. I never did find it.”
He laughed bitterly thinking of the distaste his parents expressed when he refused to blindly believe in something they couldn’t scientifically prove to be real. “When I enlisted, I hoped maybe with the danger I was in, it would help me finally understand my family’s need to believe in that higher being. I thought it would help me understand them.”
“Did it?” she asked sleepily.
“No. I wanted to be closer to my family, but they never showed affection while I was growing up, so I’m convinced that made it harder for me to connect to any of them. They pushed me away even more when I told them I was leaving for basic training. At first, I thought it was from fear of me getting hurt or killed. It wasn’t long before I realized it was shame.”
Ev rolled to her other side so she was facing his stomach. Tears were still bright in her eyes, and tracks covered her face. “They weren’t proud of you?”
He shook his head no. “I went back to see them after I lost my leg.” Pausing to take a breath. Memories of that time never failed to cause immense pain and anger at the same time. “I think my mom wanted to try and mend our relationship, but my dad kicked me out. Said I was a failure, and no son of his could be some cripple.”
Her sniffling had him looking down at her, wiping her tears away with his thumb. “Don’t cry for me, Kitten. Family isn’t always by blood. They can be chosen, and mine fucking rock.” Her small smile made him happy.
Finally arriving home, he noted Ace’s vehicle was gone, and Dee and Jax were in the yard with the chickens. Coming upon his cabin, he saw Dom sitting on his front step, waiting for him.
He rose as Case shut the truck off. A silent question written in his features—had he brought Ev home?
Nodding his head, it seemed as though his friend breathed a sigh of relief.
“Casey?” Fear was back in her voice.
“Yeah, Kitten?” His finger trailed her jaw lightly, hopefully soothing whatever she was feeling.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Her voice cracking was his last straw. Pulling her into his arms, he climbed from the truck.
“She okay?” he heard Dom ask as he climbed the steps. Upon hearing his voice, she began to shake again. “Shit, what the hell happened?” Dom’s anger was palpable, and she felt it.
“Tone it back, man,” Case warned him for once.
“She need Dee?” He paused at Dom’s meaningful question. He hadn’t thought of it before, but it hit him like a ton of fucking bricks.
Was she raped?
The question began a sickening replay of all the times he’d seen women in third world countries during his service that had been violated in the most heinous ways possible.
Dom must have noticed the dread in his face. “Go, get her settled.”
Nodding, he carried her shaking form to his room and placed her on the bed. He drew the small afghan over her lithe body, hoping to warm her up and stop the shaking.
“Evelyn, look at me.” Her eyes were tightly closed. She peeked at him after a moment. “I’m going to make you some tea and get you some clean clothes, all right?”
Apprehension clouded her vision, and she was slow to nod. Wrapping the blanket snuggly around her, he left the room and made a beeline for the kitchen to turn the kettle on. Pulling a mug from the cupboard, he grabbed one of the herbal tea bags from the canister on the counter. As soon as the water was finished boiling, he poured her a cup mixing a small amount of honey in it, thinking she would need the boost the sugar was bound to give her.
Quietly entering back into the room, he found her eyes wide, sight unseeing. “Evelyn?” he called softly. Sitting beside her on the bed, he placed the tea on the small night table. “Can I help you sit up?” She nodded. Taking the cup when he gave it to her, she sipped a couple of small mouthfuls before handing it back to him.
“I’m so tired.” She sounded it, too.
“Want me to lay with you?” he asked, hoping she’d let him hold her. As soon as she nodded, he grabbed a t-shirt from his dresser, asking, “Can I help you change, or do you want me to leave?”
“Help me, please.” With no hesitance. He was shocked.
Taking her ripped sweater off, he had to swallow a groan because she was completely naked underneath. Her small breasts were the perfect size to fit his hands he was sure. Slipping the shirt over her head, he fought his desire off with thoughts of baseball statistics.
She lay back down so he could remove her pants, and what he saw forced his cravings for her body to the back burner as he witnessed the bruising at the junction of her thighs. Someone had forced themselves on her, and he couldn’t do fuck all about it until she told him what happened. He highly suspected it was that Marcus character judging by the way she reacted to just hearing his name.