The other man had grabbed the back of Talon’s shirt. Still, Talon kicked.
I closed my eyes, brittle fear taking over my body. A kick. Then a fist. Pain lanced through my body. I struggled against the hands gripping me, but I was too little, too weak. Couldn’t get away.
Talon gasped and grunted, until a cry of “Motherfucker!” came from behind me and I fell to my knees in the dirt. Somehow Talon had gotten the hands to let go of me.
“Run!” Talon yelled. “Run back to the house! Get Dad! Run, run, run!”
I stood, dazed, immobile. I wasn’t going to leave my big brother.
“Damn it, I said run!”
One of the men shoved Talon to the ground.
“Run!” he kept yelling. “Damn it, Ryan. Run!”
I turned.
I ran.
* * *
My brother had saved my life that day. Saved me from the torturous fate he’d endured for two months, a fate I was certain I wouldn’t have survived. Talon had been three years older, three years tougher. He’d been starved, beaten, raped…and he’d gotten out alive.
I owed him my life.
I had since I was seven years old.
Now I wondered if I knew my brother—half brother—at all.
We drove up to the guesthouse where I lived, and I got out of his truck. “You can go,” I said to him.
“Nah. I’m coming in. I want to make sure you’re all right. You sure you don’t want to stay at the house with Jade and me tonight?”
He’d already asked me that three times, and I’d said no three times. I was sick and tired of repeating myself.
“Ry, you’re just not yourself,” he said as I opened the door.
My golden retriever, Ricky, greeted me with licks and pants. I tousled the sof
t hair on his neck. “Hey, boy. I missed you.”
Talon followed me in. Clearly he wasn’t ready to leave quite yet, even though I’d made it clear I wanted to be alone.
“How about a drink?” he said. Then, “Never mind. You probably shouldn’t have any alcohol. We’ll just have some iced tea.” He headed to the kitchen and opened my refrigerator.
Normally that wouldn’t have bothered me. We brothers always helped ourselves to each other’s food and booze. Today, though, I found it irksome.
I no longer thought of him as my brother. My full blood brother. And I wanted to be alone.
Talon poured two glasses of iced tea and carried them into my family room where he set them on the coffee table and then sat down in one of my leather recliners. “It’s time to talk this out, Ry.”
Chapter Seven
Ruby
I walked into work with my hair in a high ponytail. I still wore the same white button-down shirt and Dockers, black today, but I’d never gone to work with my hair any way except up in the tight bun that sometimes hurt my head.
Wearing my hair down had occurred to me, but my hair was so long, and it would get in my way as I did my work. Besides…baby steps. A ponytail was the next logical step after a tight bun. No one would notice anyway.