“That was the night my life changed…or life as I knew it, rather. When we got home, I went upstairs to my room, did my homework, and then went about getting ready for bed. My brother Rory came in and told me about some game he was going to be in that Friday and made sure I knew what was happening for the weekend. We had all the same friends, so my birthday party was going to end up being more than just the girls I hung out with. I was excited to have my first boy/girl party, and Rory was just as excited because he had a crush on one of my friends at the time.
“Not long after he left, my mom and dad came in and kissed me goodnight like they had always done. I was lying in bed thinking about how awesome my day had been when the door opened and a small beam of light shone in, only showing the outline of a figure. I wasn’t even afraid.” I feel tears fill my eyes and I rub my face against his chest.
“Thad came in, closing the door behind him, causing pitch blackness to fall over the room. I wasn’t even worried that he didn’t answer when I called his name, and I didn’t even think to be nervous when he came and sat down on the bed next to me.” I whisper the last part.
“Stop!” he thunders, making me jump.
But I don’t quit. I can’t. I need him to understand.
“He raped me for three years,” I whisper. “It wasn’t every night, but it was often.”
“He’s dead. I’m going to fucking rip off his dick and feed it to him. I swear to Christ, he will not be alive long.”
“He told me he would kill my parents if I told them, and I believed him. I hated it, but I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I was alone.” I sit up and pull away until my back hits the headboard. “I stopped doing well in school. I stopped caring about life in general. All I wanted to do was get away. That’s why, when I got accepted into culinary school, I took it and ran.”
“I wish I would have known then,” he growls.
“No one knew. I was worried about him killing the only people I considered family, two kind people who had accepted me with open arms into their family. I hated it, every second of it,” I cry, covering my face with my hands.
“Come here, makamae,” Kai says, pulling my hands away from my face and tugging me into his chest.
Even though he’s comforting me, I can feel that every muscle in his body is taut, like he’s preparing for battle.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just couldn’t, no matter how many times I tried to convince myself to,” I whisper.
“I know now,” he whispers back as his hand at the back of my head travels down over my hair and to my back so that he can pull me closer to him. After a few minutes, he pulls my face away from his chest and tilts my head back to look at me. “I’m going to go get Mom so that she can stay with you while I’m gone,” he says.
My body instantly stills. “Where are you going?” I breathe out in a panic.
“I’ll be back.” He evades my question as I attempt to cling tighter to him. “I have to go, makamae. I’ll be back. I promise.” He kisses my hair then pulls me off him as I struggle to keep ahold of him. He walks to the door, leaving me on the bed sobbing.
A few minutes later, his mom comes in, crawls into bed with me, and holds me until I cry myself to sleep.
Kai
“Get up and get dressed.” I kick Aye’s bed then walk across the hall and do the same to Pika’s.
It takes two minutes for them to come out of their rooms dressed and ready to go. I knew in my gut what was going on with Myla, but I didn’t want to believe that something so fucking horrific could have happened to my beautiful girl.
“What’s going on?” Pika is the first to ask as he tucks his gun into the back of his jeans.
“I need you two to help me track down Thad.”
“What happened?” Aye asks, but when my eyes meet Pika’s, I see understanding.
“We’ll talk in the car,” I mutter, heading towards the front of the house.
I know where Thad was a few hours ago when I saw him, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to get him while I can. And since he has been hanging out with Paulie Jr., there’s a good chance he would hide him away if he found out I was looking for him.
“Now do you want to tell me what’s happening?” Aye asks as soon as we’re in the car and heading towards downtown.
“Fuck!” I roar, pounding the steering wheel as a fresh wave of rage begins to pump throughout my body. “What I’m going to tell you is never to fucking leave this car. Got me?” I say through clenched teeth.
“You got it,” Aye says softly.
I see Pika nod out of the corner of my eye.
“I know that each of you has been around when Thad’s been brought up, and I know you have seen Myla’s reaction to even his fucking name,” I st
art, trying to take a calming breath as I feel my hands grab the steering wheel so hard that the rubber compresses under my touch. “He raped her.”
I hear my voice crack, and I know I’m on the edge of losing it. Knowing that my wife—the woman I love, the mother of my child—suffered at the hands of someone like him causes my chest to crack open.
“You cannot be fucking serious!” Aye yells, punching the back of my seat so hard that I jerk forward from the blow.
“He’s dead,” Pika grits out.
I stop the car in the middle of the road and turn so that I can look at both of them. “He’s mine. The only way you guys get a shot at him is if something goes wrong and I can’t finish him myself.”
“We both care about her,” Aye says, but I shake my head.
“He’s mine,” I reiterate, and they both nod reluctantly.
I put the car in drive and head towards the warehouse we were at when I saw Thad earlier. The parking lot is empty except for a large, white van, and I know instantly that they are just here for cleanup. I pull my phone out and send a message to Kenton to tell him that I’m cashing in my marker. His man Justin will be able to get me whatever information I need almost instantly. It takes less than a minute for me to get a message back from Kenton, and less than three for Justin to send me everything I need to know about Thad.
I send a reply message, letting him know that the offer I gave him a year ago still stands. I tried to have the kid come work for me, but he wouldn’t budge.
His reply of, Sorry, Charlie, almost makes me laugh. I have to respect that, because loyalty is rare these days. I put the car in drive and head towards the Strip. Thad used his credit card there twenty minutes ago, and based on the amount he withdrew, he was sitting at a table.
“He’s at Bellagio,” I say then look in the rearview mirror. “Aye, he doesn’t know you, so I need you to get close to him once we’re inside.”
“What’s the plan?” he asks, cracking his knuckles.
“I’m going to find a woman who will help me get him outside.”