Redeeming Rue AP4 (18 page)

He heard her gasp of surprise at his harsh tone, but he could give a damn about hurting her feelings.  There was a short pause and Dom said, “I know where he is.  I’m sending you a text of a screen shot of his location.”

Relief flooded through John.  “How?”

“I got off the phone with Henry long enough to download the app that lets you find your phone if you lose it, and I signed into the program with his information.  It opened a map of where he is.  He’s not far from us.  We’ll meet you there.”

“Dom,” John said, his throat tightening with relief, “tell Henry we’ll be there as soon as possible.  Thank you, son.”

“We’ll be there.”

John ended the call and looked at James, who shook his head. “I’m relieved and pissed at the same time.”

“Me, too,” John admitted.  “Let’s go get Henry.”

* * * * *

Rue paced in front of her car, chewing on her thumbnail while Henry and Dom stood a little ways off, glaring at her.  She’d already apologized to them, but they weren’t interested in her apologies, which made her ache to the very center of her being.

Twenty minutes after they’d found Henry, standing just inside the tree line at the side of the road, James and John arrived in John’s SUV.  They both got out, ignored her completely, and walked over to the kids and hugged them.  She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

It felt like an eternity before James and John walked over to her.  “Dom is going to drive Henry back to the boarding house in the rental car.  I trust you aren’t going to protest?”

She shook her head.

“Good.  Drive safe, Dom,” James said.  She watched Dom and Henry hurry past her and get into the car.  The car pulled away quickly, and she stared everywhere but at their faces.  She knew they were angry, and they had every right to be.  She’d messed up.  Again.  She’d always dreamed of one day finding a man who would be strong enough to protect her and she’d had two of them, and she still ran away.

James wrapped his hand around her elbow and led her to the SUV.  John opened the passenger door and she sat down, cringing when the door was slammed.  They both got into the front seats; John drove with James in the passenger seat.

The utter silence in the vehicle made her heart feel empty.  She didn’t think she’d ever felt worse.  When her family betrayed her, she spent many years missing them.  She missed the long talks she’d had with her mother over breakfast, missed watching old movies with her dad.  Eventually, she’d realized how easy it had been for them to turn their backs on her, and that real love didn’t just suddenly stop.  She’d wondered if they’d ever really loved her at all, since they’d been able to stop loving her so quickly.

But in all her years since her banishment, she’d never felt as badly as she did now.  She’d betrayed James and John, who were willing to go through anything to help her when she was just a strange woman they felt connected to.  How much worse was it that she’d waited until the first night they’d made love to disappear?

She and Dom had been an island, keeping to themselves and never letting anyone know anything about their situation for such a long time that she hadn’t even seen the reality of the situation.  She didn’t have to be an island anymore because James and John could be part of her life.  The pride was filled with honorable men who went striding into the woods with her to help save a child they’d never met.

She hadn’t just betrayed James and John; she’d betrayed everyone in the pride, and she’d tried to cut off contact between Dom and Henry, when Henry was the one who had helped Dom come back from the edge.

Fuck, she was an idiot.

She’d basically spit in the pride’s face.

The problem was that she didn’t know how to trust anyone but herself.  She didn’t know how to let go of that crippling fear that if someone knew
everything
about her, she’d be vulnerable.  But if she didn’t let go of those fears and tear down those walls, she’d lose the only people who had ever cared about her without reservation, and that was a fate worse than death.

* * * * *

John pulled the SUV into the empty space next to Rue’s rental car.  The boys were already inside.  John had told them to go straight up to Henry’s room and wait for them to come talk to them.

John was livid that Henry had taken off.  James had thought that the worst thing he’d ever endured was the rejection of the female who bore his kids.  He’d tried so hard to get her to love him, never really understanding that it was impossible outside of a mating connection and sharing blood.  After meeting Rue and feeling the connection as a mate to her, he knew that he’d never had feelings that intense with anyone else.

Which made her disappearance burn all the more.

He was pissed, but he was sad, too.

John turned off the engine as James got out and opened Rue’s door.  John joined them.  She climbed out and stood silently, shoulders hunched, arms wrapped around her middle, eyes on the ground.  There were only a few feet that separated them from her, but it felt like a million miles.

James stepped close and cupped her face, tilting her head until he could look into her eyes.  Tears pooled in the green depths, and the look of utter dejection was enough to smash through the anger and disappointment.

He could have yelled at her.  He could have tried to make her feel guilty.  But all he really wanted to do was make sure she understood that nothing had really changed.

“I’m freaked out, baby.  You took off in the middle of the night without a word.  If Henry hadn’t followed you, we might never have found you.  That scares the hell out of me.

“I’m s-sorry Henry g-got lost,” she said, sniffling, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

“It’s not about Henry.  It’s about you.  Us.  Did you really think that John and I would let you go?  That we’d just tuck our tails and not fight for you?”

She closed her eyes and gripped his wrists tightly, holding his hands against her face.  “I don’t know anything anymore.”

John stepped behind her and laid his hands on her waist.  “We’re here, Rue, but you have to let us in.”

“I don’t know how.”  She opened her eyes and stared at James, and his heart cracked.

“We’ll help you,” James promised.

“I’m sorry.  I’m so damn sorry.”

“We forgive you,” John promised.

James pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “Do I need to bust out the handcuffs to make sure you’re still there when we wake up?”

She made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob.  “I’ll stay.  I know my word isn’t worth much to you, but I promise I’ll be there when you wake up.”

He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and dropped his hands, taking hers and linking their fingers.  “I believe you.”  He really did.  He couldn’t quite explain it, but something seemed to have changed between them.  She wasn’t just sorry she’d gotten caught running away; she also was sorry that she’d run away in the first place.

She seemed surprised.  “Thank you.  For coming after me when I didn’t know I needed you to and for not being mad at me.”

“Oh, I’m mad at you, baby,” he said, “but we all make mistakes and I’m not going to hold it against you.”  He smiled wryly and she let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his middle.

He smiled at John as she hugged him.  She turned from James’ arms to John’s and hugged him.

John said, “It’ll be okay, Rue, if you just let us in.”

She promised to try, and James believed her.

* * * * *

John was relieved that Rue wasn’t trying to run away again.  She seemed genuinely sorry for walking out.  John had wondered if James would read her the Riot Act for what she’d done, but he seemed to be willing to let it go.  She was sorry, they were sorry, and as long as they were together, they could get past it.

They walked into the house together, and John left them at the second floor.  “I’m going to talk to the boys.  I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Rue squeezed his hand.  “I don’t want them to think I’m mad.”

“I’ll be sure they know that.”

John watched James lead Rue to his bedroom, and then he walked up to the third floor.  He knocked lightly once and opened the door to find Henry sitting on the edge of the bed and Dom pacing.

“Is she okay?” Dom asked.

John shut the door.  “Yes, but I’m not.”

“What?” Dom asked.

“Your mom was really upset.  You sided with us against her.”

“She was wrong,” he protested.

“I don’t care.  That’s your
mom
, kiddo.  No one in this house has a biological mother who loves them except for you, and you chose Henry, who you’ve known for only a few days, over her.”  John leaned against the door and folded his arms.  “Your mom was going to sacrifice herself for you.  The night you were taken, she knew that you could be killed for being born, but she was going to go to Gerarli willingly and offer to not fight her death if they’d let you live.”

Dom swallowed hard.  “I didn’t know that.”

“I know you were nearly whipped to death, and I know that you and Henry have some kind of supernatural connection, but your mom was walking straight into hell to save you without even giving it a second thought.  That’s the kind of love that every male in this house would kill for, and you’re treating her as if she has no value.”

“I am not.”

“Yeah, you are.  I get that you’re young and you want to stay with us, but you never
ever
turn your back on your family.”

“Henry is my family, you and James are my dads because you’re mom’s mates.  I didn’t turn my back on anyone.”  Dom’s face turned red with anger.

“Your mom is your true family.  She’s been hiding your whole life to keep you safe.  She’s never dated, never let anyone see her without a wig, never showed anyone her brands or shared her story.  Don’t spit on her sacrifice by choosing us.  You could have been pissed all you liked with her, but you should have been standing by her side when we came to the woods tonight, not leaving her standing all alone.”

Dom looked stricken.  “I didn’t say I forgave her.  She apologized and I ignored it.”

“Me, too,” Henry said quietly.

“Your mom is dealing with a shitload of emotional stuff right now.  She’s never trusted anyone besides you, and you basically turned your back on her.  I’m not trying to make you feel bad.  I just want you to understand that you weren’t helping her come to terms with anything by acting like assholes and giving her the silent treatment.”

Both boys said, “I’m sorry” at the same time.

“You don’t need to apologize to me.  You need to apologize to her.”

“Can we do that now? I don’t want her think I hate her,” Dom said, standing quickly.

“Sure, but first I want to tell you your punishment.”

He turned to Henry, whose eyes went very wide.  “Punishment?”

“You took off in the middle of the night without telling anyone.  You could have been hurt.”

“But —” he started and John cut him off.

“But nothing.  You’re grounded for a week.”

“No, Dad, please!  I wanted to go to the party in Bent Creek tomorrow.”

“Since you already committed to going to that, your grounding won’t start until you get home.  While you’re grounded, you’ll be handling the setting and clearing of the table for every meal, cleaning all the bathrooms in the house, and doing any laundry that any pride members want to give you.  Plus, no leaving the house except for school, not even to play football in the yard.”

Henry hung his head. “Geez.”

John tried not to smile.

“What about me?” Dom asked.

“I’m not going to punish you for leaving with your mom, or for being an asshole to her.  I think your conscience will handle that.”

“I’m going to help Henry with his punishment.”

“That’s fine.”  John did smile then, glad that the boys were sticking together.

They came to him and he hugged them both, promising he wasn’t mad and that he accepted their apologies.  Then he took them down to James’ room, where a tearful Dom begged Rue’s forgiveness, which she freely gave.  Henry’s apology was just as heartfelt.

John put his hands on their shoulders and looked at Rue.  “They’re going to go with Melody, her mates, and her uncles down to Bent Creek, Ohio, for a party with her friend Scarlett’s pack.  They’ll be home tomorrow night and then Henry’s grounded for a week for taking off.”

“Have fun tomorrow,” Rue said.

“Thanks, Mom,” Dom said.

“Yeah, thanks, Mom,” Henry repeated.

John sent the boys upstairs, reminding them to set their alarms so they didn’t oversleep and miss leaving for the party in the morning, and shut the door.

Rue was in his arms in a heartbeat and he chuckled in surprise, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close.  “Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“Standing up for me with the boys.  I didn’t expect that.”