CHAPTER NINE

MAV

Lucy gets up and grabs a duffle bag and starts packing shit in it. With tears running down her face, she grabs a picture off the table beside the bed. It's an image of her when she was probably five or six with both her parents. After seeing the way these assholes treated her and fucking spoke to her, I suddenly understand why she was so anxious about it. She throws the bag over her shoulder, and I shake my head at her. "Give that to me," I say as I take it from her.

"I can carry my own bag, Mav. I'm capable of a lot of things."

With a smirk I tell her, "And you will do a lot of things later. Carrying your bag isn't one of them. Come on, ladies. Seriously. Gage is going to lose his shit," I say as I turn and walk through the door with my gorgeous women behind me. I'm intentionally going downstairs ahead of them in case things have gotten violent. I told Gage to be civil, but it's Gage. He's not known for good behavior.

Sure, enough when I make it down the steps, I immediately spot Gage with Mr. Greene pinned against the wall. What surprises me is the much cooler tempered Sebastian, standing on the side of Gage with his hand wrapped around Lucy's father's throat, literally growling at him, "Call her a whore one more fucking time. I dare you, old man. I fucking dare you."

The mother stands gaping in absolute horror but doesn't move. She won't dare. Until Lucy comes downstairs with the same look of terror on her beautiful face. "Gage! Sebastian!"

Her mother bites, "This is what you choose for yourself? A bunch of animals?"

I snort. "We fuck her like animals too."

Do I know I shouldn't have said that? Yes, I'm well aware that she's going to bite my head off about that comment at some point, but I think the polite ship has sailed. We are way beyond things going pleasantly. They should be thankful I'm not giving them a demonstration by fucking her in front of them. I'm kind of proud of myself actually but then, I'm kind of classy that way. It's time to take control of this situation before it becomes a bloodbath, something these two assholes are more than capable of, but I'm not interested in doing anything Lucy can't forgive. And as much as I'd be just fine with these two fuckheads dead, our girl would not be cool with that. So like the hero I am, I'll diffuse the situation.

"Gage. Sebastian. Time to go."

What a surprise this day is turning out to be, because Gage lets him go, but Sebastian tightens his grip on the old man's throat. "I'll be watching you, we all will. The next time you speak to our girl, it'll be with fucking respect. She might want you to live, but our lives would be much easier without you in them. So I suggest you treat Lucy like she deserves. If not… I'll fucking end you myself."

He lets go of him, and Mr. Greene collapses to the floor coughing and grabbing his throat but doesn't dare speak a word.

Lucy stands staring between her parents and us at the door, looking torn. No! She is not considering staying here. I will let Gage and Sebastian kill them both before I lose her. Going back to the United States without her is not an option.

"Lucy!" I bark, letting her know I mean business. Do I want to force her out of here? No, I really don't want to go back to that shit, but I will. There is nothing that I won't do to keep her. To keep us all together.

SEBASTIAN

I stand near the door with Gage, and we both turn back to see Lucy standing there like she has a fucking decision to make. She doesn't. There's not a single thing for her to debate.

"Lucy!" I snap, because I'm about five seconds from dragging her the fuck out of here. We were trying to do the right thing by letting her see her parents, but it's clear right now that was the wrong choice. All three of us guys are ready to snap as Stella grabs Lucy's hand. "Come on, Peanut. I'm ready for you to show me the best Europe has to offer."

As she moves to the door, the mother snaps, "Lucille Greene. If you leave this house with them, you're dead to us."

She jerks away from Stella's grip and turns to her parents. "If I choose happiness, I lose you? Am I understanding you correctly?"

"Yes," her mother bites, with her hands on her hips.

Lucy lowers her gaze to the floor, concerning me, because she looks so fucking submissive to these assholes who do not deserve her submission. "So if I leave with them. That's it?"

Her father folds his arms over his chest. "Yes. What's it going to be?"

Lucy holds her head high and smiles. "Hold on. Let me think for a moment. Either I stay with two people who have never valued me as a human being, and have kicked me repeatedly like an abused dog, or leave with the only true family I've ever known. Tough choice."

She walks to the door, and her mother cries out in what sounds like shock, "Lucy!"

Our girl stops for less than a minute, shakes her head, then without looking back, opens the door and walks out of her parents' life.

I hate that it had to be this way, because family isn't something to take lightly. It was all I ever wanted. Yet, when it's a toxic family, what's the point? They don't love her; they want to control her. They want to stifle everything beautiful in her.

We walk back out to the van and Mav grabs her and groans, "You standing up to those assholes was fucking hot," and slams his lips to hers aggressively.

Gage comes up behind me and grabs my ass. "Speaking of hot… Pretty Boy, when I thought you might kill the old man, I was so turned on I thought I might bust a nut in my jeans."

Stella giggles as she opens the door. "Gage, you really do have a way with words."

Once we all climb inside the cab, and our driver sets off, Lucy says, "What now?"

I know our other girl wants to see shit, but I feel like today isn't the day for it. Maybe tomorrow we can do her sightseeing trip. Maybe even Paris.

"I think Lucy could use some time back at the house to unwind. Everybody agree?"

Mav smirks at her and pulls her tight against him. "Yeah, I think our girl would like to unwind while naked."

Stella giggles as she grabs my thigh affectionately. "You guys think everything should be done naked."

She's right. There are few things I enjoy as much as our ladies beneath me, taking my cock. Maybe Gage taking it. See, everything is better naked.

LUCY

Mav keeps kissing me, and telling me how hot it was that I stood up to them, but the whole time we're driving away, all I can think is, what the hell did I just do? They're my family. My parents. They raised me, and I just threw it back in their faces like I don't appreciate it, or love them. Oh my god, I just basically told my parents to suck it.

I don't even realise I'm crying, but suddenly Mav is kissing tears away, and Stella is leaning over the seat to rub my shoulders. Why am I crying? This is what burning a bridge feels like, this is what it feels like to throw away your birth family, and it's terrifying.

"They'll hate me," I whimper, burying my face in Mav's chest as he pulls me tight against him. I thought I'd cried all my tears, but I just found more, and they won't stop.

"We're nearly back at the train station," Gage says quietly, and the fact that he's doing anything quietly says a lot. He'd been ready to kill them, both he and Sebastian had been, and I know it was right to stop them, but now I have a brand-new fear.

"Oh god, they'll call the police!"

There's silence for a moment, and then everyone starts talking, but Gage shouts over them until we all shut up.

"If the police come, we'll deal with it. We survived the police back home, and they had guns, for fuck's sake. We've got this. Just let's get back to the house and we can deal with whatever happens next."

"Personally, I think we all need to fuck," Mav says, tilting my chin up so he can grin wickedly at me. He always knows how to set my heart at ease, and jokingly or seriously talking about sex usually does it, but if my parents call the police, we're going to be in all kinds of shit. Take for example the fact that my stay in the US hasn't exactly been legal, and oh yeah, we're with kidnappers who raped us. Wow. That sounds so weird now, because they're so much more than that. I catch Mav's hand as it releases my chin.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"That I'm gonna tongue-fuck you? Or that we all need to fuck?" I roll my eyes at him, but Stella's way ahead of me.

"She means about marriage."

Mav's eyes widen dramatically, and he looks straight at Gage, as we all do, and Gage's scowl tells us all we need to know. He's right too. How can any of us get married, when there are five of us together? It's insane, and it's not even necessary. I open my mouth to tell them that, when the driver speaks up a little warily. He must be wondering what the fuck this is all about, and if we're insane.

"We're here, uh… is she okay?"

Gage takes overpaying him, and probably spinning him a line, while the others pretty much manhandle me out of the car, and to the platform, since we bought return tickets. Ugh, all that and now I have to get back on the damn train. What a day, and it's not over yet. Anything could happen next. The police. Rampant sex. Gage Rage. Pretty much anything. What if that visit to my parents messes this up for all of us, because it opens up cans of worms we've been firmly keeping closed?