Lena's Happily Ever After [The Town of Pearl 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

She tried pushing him away, but he pulled her toward him then banged her back against the metal siding. She screamed, but he repeated that move three, maybe four times. She was losing her breath and her focus on fighting him. The pain was all consuming.

“You will be mine. Fuck that, you are mine. Monte, Bills, Morphis, none of them gonna ever get to have what’s mine,” he yelled at her then covered her mouth. He plunged his tongue between her teeth and groped her with his hands. He was ripping her shirt, scratching her hips and back. She thought about the night before she left home and how her mother’s boyfriend beat her with his belt because she wouldn’t let him touch her. She pulled her mind to the present. All men were pigs. All they wanted was to claim and control women and use them for sex.

Ariel may be fine with that life, but not Lena.

She fought back.

She scratched at his face and his neck then reached around by the house for something, anything, maybe even leverage to shove off of it and into him. He continued to attack. He was going to rape her right here against the damn trailer with a party going on inside.

“No!” she exclaimed as her fingers touched a piece of metal siding that was coming off of the home. She pulled it hard and struck him in the shoulder.

“Fuck! Lena, what the hell?” he yelled, releasing her and making her fall off-balance and into the bush. She swung the metal at his head, gashing him in the temple and making him fall to the ground. She ran around the side of the trailer and right to her window. She was done with this crap and this kind of life. She noticed her window was open because it was so damn hot in there at night that they had to keep the windows open. Quickly she climbed up into it and grabbed her things. She took her stash of money, five hundred dollars, and some clothes. Nothing else seemed to matter. She was going to leave Detroit forever. A glance down the hallway and she froze in shock. Her heart pounded inside her chest. She was practically gasping for air, shaking with fear and trying to remain quiet. She clutched the bag against her chest and stared in shock.
Ariel, oh no.

Ariel was lying spread-eagle, naked as about five guys had their way with her. She was laughing and rolling her head back while they did what they wanted. Lena felt sick. The bile rose in her throat, but then she heard the door smash open.

“Where the fuck is she?” Triumph yelled, holding his head with his hand. She could see the blood, and she knew that was her cue to get the hell out of there pronto, so she hurried back out the window. The music continued to fill the air as she hurried away from the trailer on foot. She couldn’t take her bike. Riding on the streets, she would be found in no time. No. She needed out of this town, out of this city, this state, and this life. She wanted better. She wasn’t a slut or a loser. She was determined to succeed. She ran as fast as she could then hid within the woods as the sounds of engines filtered through the park. She saw the headlights of three cars. She remained low to the ground and behind the Dumpster as Triumph, Bills, and Troy searched for her.

I’m as good as dead if I stay here. I will not die. He will not have me. You can do this, Lena. You can escape.

Dr. Jones was sitting in his office holding his head between his hands. He was frustrated, saddened, and mostly outraged by his son Bryant’s behavior. He had visited Bryant at the house, a secluded cottage on the homestead he shared with the rest of the family. Bryant, a Marine, injured in Iraq, should be further along with his physical recovery now than he was. Bryant had practically given up on life. He refused to see any of the family. His brother, Deputy Kenny Jones, stopped in day before yesterday, and Bryant had yelled from inside the house for him to leave. Then, of course, Dr. Jones’s wife, Abigail, and his brothers, Frank and Will, tried to see Bryant, too. He refused. He wanted to be left alone, but that alone time was killing him.

He heard the knock on the door and looked up to see his son, Quinn.

“Is everything all right?” Quinn asked, immediately sounding concerned. Quinn was a good man. The oldest son to Abigail, Frank, Will, and him, Quinn ran the horse-training business along with his brother, Blake, on their homestead outside of the main town. Over two thousand acres of property with multiple stables and tracks for the horses, the Joneses had established quite the lucrative business.

Dr. Pete Jones’s brothers, Frank and Will, had taken over the business from their great-grandparents.

“Wait, you went to see Bryant again, didn’t you? I told you not to bother. He wants nothing to do with any of us or even the business,” Quinn asked.

Pete Jones raised his eyebrows at Quinn, and Quinn took a deep breath then plopped down into the chair in front of the desk.

“He’s your brother. He went through a lot in the war, and we need to be considerate.”

“Being considerate is one thing, but enough is enough. He took a shot at me with his gun, Dad. How the hell was Kenny supposed to cover that up?”

“He didn’t cover it up. Bryant spent the night behind bars, and it set him back further.”

“Ah hell, he wants to be alone and he wants to die alone. We’ve tried. Look what he did to Blake? He broke his fucking nose, Dad.”

“Enough, Quinn. I understand everyone’s upset. Think about your mother. He won’t even see her or talk to her. The dads have tried, too, and gotten nowhere. At least he seems to be doing some of his exercises to strengthen the leg. I swear, if he would let me send someone over to help him, things would be a lot better.”

“The place is a mess, Dad. At least he comes into town once in a while. Leaving the house is good for him. Maybe seeing the people of Pearl might cheer him up. I don’t know, and I really don’t care. I actually came by to see if you were going to clear out the small cottage out by the garage near Bryant’s house.”

“Yeah, I am thinking about it, but I haven’t had a chance to clean it out.”

“Well, if you want some help this weekend, I’ll make myself available.”

“I appreciate that, son.” Pete sighed. He, his brothers Frank and Will, and their wife Abigail, were blessed with four very large, strong, handsome, good sons. Before Bryant was deployed, he was close to his brothers, but the war changed all that. He was in pain. He didn’t want any kind of attention or affection, and he pushed everyone away. Pete wished that there was some way to get through to him.

“So are you spending the night, or are you coming home soon?” Quinn asked as he stood up. Pete glanced at his watch. It was nearly seven.

“I will be headed home shortly. I just have a few notes to write down and then I’ll head toward the ranch.”

“Sounds good. Good night, Dad, and I’ll see ya in a bit.”

* * * *

It was nearly nine in the evening when Pete Jones decided to close up the office and head home. He got caught up in an article on post-traumatic stress syndrome and then on military soldiers struggling to adapt to normal life after experiencing war. There was a lot of useful information in the articles, and tomorrow he would search for more.

As he gathered his belongings, he heard some weird noises coming from outside the back door. He figured maybe it was from the raccoons again and they were trying to get into the garbage. Crazy critters caused nothing but damage and a mess to clean up. Frustrated, he opened the door, saw what looked like a teenager and quickly closed it a little so the kid couldn’t see him. He swallowed hard as he watched the teen move the garbage bins into a circular formation then pull a fat duffle bag into the circle. The teenager then pulled out a blanket and placed it over the top of the garbage bins, making an instant shelter.

Who can this teenager be? There are only a handful in Pearl.

Then it hit him. What if the kid was a runaway? What if their parents were searching for them? He wasn’t sure what to do when suddenly his cell phone rang, disturbing the silence. He pushed open the door the same time the blanket moved, and garbage pails tumbled over, spreading garbage all over the place.

“Hey, wait!” Pete called out as he reached for the teenager. She screamed, and he pulled his hand away, instantly knowing it was a girl. As she pushed past him and into the light, he yelled to her.

“Stop! Don’t be afraid. I’m a doctor and this is my office. Please don’t run,” he begged of her. He was compelled to find out who she was and why she was alone out here at night.

She turned to him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make the mess. I was just looking for a place to hang out for a while.”

He saw her tattered clothing, her dirty face, covered with grime, but the bright, aqua-blue color of her eyes stood out more than anything. They were gorgeous, and he was at a loss for words.

“It’s okay. Please don’t be frightened. I thought I was going to find raccoons out here.”

She stared at him and showed no emotion. He could tell she didn’t trust him, and her stance was defensive.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. When did you arrive in Pearl?” he asked.

“Listen Dr, sir, or whatever you are, I didn’t mean to cause any damage. I’ll clean it up.”

He looked at the abundant mess. “Well, I’ll help you. It’s quite the mess after all.” He began to pick up the garbage containers she’d knocked over. The young woman quickly cleaned up the mess. As he thought about what to ask her next, they both turned around to the sound of a vehicle pulling into the parking lot.

“Cops,” she stated then grabbed her bag and took off across the side of the building.

“Wait! It’s okay.”

* * * *

“What’s going on, Dad?” Deputy Kenny Jones asked as he walked over toward the side parking lot where his dad stood calling into the darkness.

“Did you see her?”

“See who?”

His dad looked around then back at his son.

“Forget about it.”

“What the hell happened here?” Kenny asked as he eyed the mess of garbage on the ground along with a blanket.

“Damn raccoons,” his father stated.

“What’s this?” Kenny asked his dad as he held up the blanket.

“Oh, I’ll take that. What are you doing here?”

He raised his eyes at his dad’s question. He was acting funny, and it didn’t seem like he was calling after raccoons, but rather, a person.

“You sure that nothing is going on?” Kenny asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure, Deputy. Let me lock up so we can head on home.”

“I’m working until midnight.” He told his dad as he watched his father grab his things from inside then lock up the door. Once again, his dad glanced into the darkness at the same area he was looking into before when Kenny first arrived.

“Are you coming, too?” his dad asked as they walked toward the truck.

“No, I’m working until midnight. Wyatt’s working the night shift.”

“Oh, okay, then. Good night.” His father got into his truck and left.

Kenny stood there watching. The town was so quiet at night. He could hear the sounds of the crickets and the slow trickle of water dripping from the gutters on the side of the building, and it was peaceful. He took a deep breath then walked back to his patrol car.

* * * *

Lena continued to hide out around the corner of the building between two large, thick bushes. Perhaps this was a better place to hide tonight than the small garbage shelter by the doctor’s office. The man seemed very nice, but she knew that people couldn’t be trusted. Trust was something earned, and she wasn’t willing to take any unnecessary chances. She wondered how the hell she wound up in this town called Pearl? That little old lady with the three men with her seemed awfully nice. She claimed that they had lived in Pearl for many years and were taking a trip together. The men watched the woman closely, and they seemed to really care for her. It gave Lena a weird feeling inside. The lady told her about the town and made it sound so magical. Before she knew what she was doing, she paid the extra fifty bucks for the bus to bring her to Turbank. From there she walked to Pearl. It had been a hell of a trip. She had hoped that Pearl had a public restroom or somewhere she could get cleaned up. Maybe a pond would be okay, but she knew nothing about the outdoors, never mind living and surviving in Texas. Were there wild animals, snakes, and poisonous spiders? The thought gave her the heebie jeebies.
Yikes.

She shook then closed her eyes. A bath would have to wait. Then she wondered why the doctor hadn’t told that deputy about seeing her. Would the older man want something in return? She felt funny thinking that the man had done that to help himself not Lena. Her gut told her that he was a nice man. She didn’t have much of a choice now. She was down to her last twenty bucks. She needed work and a place to stay. She snuggled deeper against the wall between the bushes and hoped to get some rest. It had been days since she slept more than a few minutes. It was peaceful here, and all she could hear were the sounds of what living in the country in Texas was like. She thought about poor Sage and hoped that she was okay. She actually felt guilty for leaving her. Even though Sage was Ariel’s sister, it had been Lena who kept Sage out of trouble and got her the job in the restaurant. They would have been fine if Ariel hadn’t gotten involved with Triumph and his gang.