Chapter Twelve

Helena

M ONDAY MORNING, I headed into work, a perma-grin on my face, and sat down at my desk. I had just powered up my computer when my phone rang. “Lieutenant Helena Bridges.”

“Hi, Helena, it’s Cricket Wallace. I’m so sorry to bother you at work, but I don’t have your cell number.”

“Hi, Cricket. Everything okay?”

“Yes. First, I wanted to apologize about Saturday. I put you on the spot and that wasn’t cool. It was immature and really unfair to you, and I’m sorry.”

I smiled. “All forgiven.”

“Thank you,” she breathed out. “Cullen’s being a little harder to forgive.”

“I’m sorry. Siblings are tricky.”

“You’re telling me. Um, the other thing is I would still really love to have lunch this week if you’re up for it.”

“I would really like that,” I said just as my cell phone pealed. “Can you hold on just a second, please?”

“Oh, sure.”

I answered the call because it was my mother. “Hi, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, I just wanted to give you a heads-up Brent’s been released.”

“What?” I rasped. “When?”

“Last week.”

“I thought I was supposed to get a phone call before it happened.”

She sighed. “You were and believe me, I’m going to be having a few heated conversations with the warden and DA.”

I scowled. “Okay, thanks for the heads-up. I need to go.”

I hung up and returned to Cricket. “Cricket, can we loop back later? Something has come up. Feel free to get my number from your brother and we’ll go from there.”

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I, uh, I have to go. I’m sorry.”

I hung up and stood, settling my hands on my hips and taking a few deep breaths. Then I called Navy.

“Hi Helena, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hey, did you know Brent was out?” I demanded.

“What?”

“They let him out last week.”

“What the hell? No. I did not know that. This is not on!” she snapped. “Heads are going to roll, honey, I can promise you that.”

“I don’t think you can do anything now that he’s out,” I said.

“We can serve him with a restraining order.”

“On what grounds? He hasn’t done anything,” I pointed out.

“Let me do some research into the law and we’ll go from there,” she said. “I will make sure you’re protected, Helena. I promise.”

“Thanks, Navy.”

“You should call Cullen.”

“I’m okay. He’s busy.”

“Trust me, honey. He’s your man, and I shouldn’t have to point out he’s a Wallace man. He’ll want to know. You should ring him.”

“Okay, Navy, I’ll call him,” I promised, hanging up, but before I could do just that, my breath left my body.

“Hi, Helena.”

I was staring into the eyes of Brent Avery.

* * *

Cullen

I was at a job site, in the middle of a complicated wiring project when my phone buzzed. It was Helena. She never called me in the middle of the day. Texted, sure. But never called. I decided to answer. “Hey, baby. How’s your day.”

“I… ah… god, Cullen. Um, can…”

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Brent’s out.”

“Out of prison?” I bit out.

“Yes. And he’s here.”

“Baby, I get that you’re tweaked, but I need more information. What do you mean, he’s ‘here’? Here, where?”

“My office,” she hissed.

“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” I bellowed. “Give me ten minutes.”

“I didn’t—”

“Ten minutes, Helena. Do. Not. Move.”

“Wait, Cullen. I won’t be here. I’m going home.”

“Okay, baby, I’ll meet you at home. Text me your address.”

We rang off and I left my tools where they lay. Letting my foreman know I had an emergency, I headed out to my truck and drove like a mad man to Helena’s home. It had taken me longer to leave than I would have liked so it took me closer to twenty minutes, which meant by the time I pulled into her driveway, there was a truck I didn’t recognize already there.

I stalked to the door and heard raised voices inside, and my heart was in my throat. And I suddenly realized, it was times like this I wish I carried a gun.

Trying the doorknob, I was relieved to find it unlocked, so I walked in and followed the sound of the voices.

“Just drop it, Roman,” Helena snapped. “I can’t do anything about it. Skip’s right. I have to let all of this go and deal with it. Cullen will understand.”

“He didn’t see your face, Helena!” Roman growled.

“What the hell’s he talking about?” I demanded, pushing into the room.

Helena spun to face me, and she shook her head. “No, I’m not going there.”

“Helena,” Roman growled.

“You keep your mouth shut, buddy. You’ve done enough damage.”

“What about her face, Roman?” I demanded.

Roman turned to her. “Show him, Helena.”

“Are you high?” she ground out.

“Show me, honey,” I prodded.

“No,” she said.

I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arm around her. “Show me.”

She glared at Roman as she slid her phone out of her pocket and pulled up her photo gallery. “Do not freak out.”

“No promises.”

“I am not going to show you these unless you promise me, Cullen.”

“I will not freak out,” I said, and she handed me her phone.

I should not have made that promise.

Helena had not disclosed just how much she’d fought for her life and sure as hell had not disclosed the level of injuries she’d sustained while doing so. I held myself together as I flipped through her phone, even as my blood boiled, and rage poured through my veins.

“Cullen?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Are you freaking out?” she rasped.

“No.”

“Really?” she asked, hopefully.

I met her eyes, and she stepped back slightly. “Give me back my phone.”

“No.”

“Oh my god, you said you weren’t going to freak out. Your eyes are… are… like black.”

“I’m not freaking out,” I lied as I forwarded the photos to my phone.

“You look like you’re planning something,” she said. “Are you planning something? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do,” I said, low and lethal. “I’m not going to freak out.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I’m not going to freak out while my hands slide around his throat. And I’m not going to freak out as I dig my thumbs into his eye sockets. And I’m not going to freak out as I punch him in the skull until there is only squishy goo remaining.”

Roman laughed. “Right on.”

“Oh my god,” Helena chirped. “You can’t do that, Cullen. You’ll get arrested.”

“No I won’t,” I said, handing her phone back to her. Then I pulled out my own and called my brother.

Hatch answered immediately. “Hey, Cull.”

“Hi, I need your assistance.”

“Anything.”

“See what you started?” Helena hissed at Roman.

“Sorry, buddy, I’m with them. The sooner that piece of slime is off the streets, the better,” Roman returned.

“Do you remember when you used to have my back no matter what?” Helena asked.

“What do you think I’m doing right now?” Roman challenged. “I know you’re strong and you’ve moved past what happened to you, as best you could, but I also know like most strong people, you tend to hide when you’re wounded and vulnerable.”

“Look, I don’t need you two—”

“The only reason that predator was able to get to you last time was because you had no one around to protect you,” Roman growled.

“You can’t keep blaming yourself!” she bit out in frustration. “You were on assignment.”

“Well, I wasn’t here and that’s on me, but now you have more than me to protect you and you’re gonna fucking let us do that.”

“Baby, are you okay with me sharing a couple of these photos with Hatch?” I asked Helena.

Her mouth dropped open as she threw her arms in the air.

“I won’t if you don’t want me to,” I said.

“Go ahead. They were part of the evidence that put him away, so it’s not like they aren’t in the public record.”

“I absolutely won’t freak out when I castrate him,” I bit out as I forwarded a couple of the pictures to Hatch.

Although, I had no technical reason to send these photos of Helena beaten to a bloody pulp, I knew once Hatch saw them, they’d act as a declaration of war and rally the troops to find Brent Avery and burn his life to the ground. The Dogs of Fire put a high value on women and us Wallace men, in particular, had a pathological need to protect our own.

Even though Helena had barely been introduced into the family, she was still mine, therefore, under the full protection of both my brothers and the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle Club. Neither of which you wanted as an enemy. And god help you if you found yourself in the crosshairs of both.

“Who did this?” Hatch roared, pulling my focus from Helena and Roman.

“Helena had some trouble with a coworker,” I said, and filled him in on what I knew including his prison time and subsequent release.

“And they let him back out on the street?”

“Yeah, and he showed up at her office today,” I said.

“Put her on the phone,” Hatch demanded.

I slid my arm around Helena’s waist again, guiding her into her living room and onto the sofa. “Hatch wants a word, honey.”

“Great,” she grumbled sarcastically.

I sat on the coffee table across from her, while Roman flopped in one of her chairs by the window. I put the phone on speaker. “Okay, we’re here, brother. Roman Ellerson’s here too, just so you know.”

“Hey, Roman,” Hatch said.

“Hey,” Roman replied.

“Helena?”

“Hi, Hatch,” she said.

“You gonna be home for the rest of the day?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you mind if I swing by?”

Helena met my eyes.

“He won’t invade your space if you don’t want him to,” I assured her.

“It’s fine,” she breathed out.

“Text me her address, Cull,” Hatch said, then hung up.

“Baby, are you sure? Because I’ll tell him not to come.”

“It’s okay,” Helena said.

I nodded, texting him her address, then setting my phone aside.

“Looks like you have everything sorted,” Roman said, rising to his feet. “I’m gonna head out.”

Helena and I stood, and she hugged him. “Thanks for rushing over.”

“Always.”

He shook my hand and then walked out the door. The second we were alone, I pulled Helena to me and held her close. “Tell me everything.”

Sliding her hands up my back, she squeezed tight. “I just need this for a minute.”

We stood holding each other for a while before she raised her head for a kiss.

“Why was Brent at your office?” I asked as gently as I could.

Before she could answer me, however, we heard the roar of pipes pulling into her driveway.

I sighed. “You can still send him away.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

I kissed her again, then pulled open the door.

Hatch walked into the house, setting his helmet on the side console table, and giving Helena a glance over, then leaning down to kiss her cheek. “You okay?”

She nodded before leaning heavily against me.

“If that changes, you let me know,” he said.

“Can I get you a beer?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Come on in,” Helena said, and led us both back to her living room. She and I sat on the sofa while Hatch took the chair Roman had previously been in after he removed his leather jacket, setting it beside him.

“Cullen filled me in on the attack and subsequent prison shit,” Hatch said, and I heard the control he was using in his voice. “You wanna fill me in on what happened today?”

Helena reached for my hand, and I took it, weaving my fingers with hers. “Um, well, my mom called letting me know Brent had been released last week. That was my first hit of the day because as the victim, I should have been given warning. I wasn’t.” She took a deep breath, gripping my hand like a talisman. “So I called Navy, who was pissed because as my attorney, she also should have been notified. She wasn’t.”

I switched hands with her so I could wrap an arm around her and pull her close. She folded into me and took a deep breath.

“She told me I needed to call Cullen because not only was he ‘my man,’ he was a ‘Wallace man’ and he would not be happy if I didn’t call him, so I picked up my phone to do that and Brent was right there ,” she whispered ‘right there’ like she was reliving her attack, and it took all of me not to barrel out of the room and find this asshole right then and there.

She cleared her throat and squeezed my hand as she continued, “Anyway, he just looked at me and said, ‘Hi, Helena,’ like he hadn’t tried to kill me with his own bare hands.”

“Who let him in the building?” Hatch asked.

“My uncle,” she said. “He’s my captain.”

Hatch scowled, giving her a nod to continue, but saying nothing. I know that silence cost him, but I appreciated his restraint.

“I asked Brent what he was doing there, and he said he and my uncle were having lunch.” She looked at me. “Just like that, Cullen. Me and my old buddy are having lunch. Like he didn’t try to kill me with his bare hands! ”

I pulled her even closer and held her tight.

“And you confronted Skip?” I asked.

“No, he walked up to my desk and just laid it out for me. ‘Don’t make a scene, Helena. Brent did his time. He got anger management while he was inside, and now he’s all good. Act like an adult and be the good girl I know you are, and just let it go.’” She scowled. “‘Be the good girl,’ Cullen. Like I’m a child . Fucking misogynistic piece of shit.”

Hatch shifted, but his face showed everything he was feeling. “Right, anything else I need to know?”

“Oh, god, you’re going to kill my uncle, aren’t you?” Helena breathed out. “Forget I said anything.”

“No one’s killing anyone, honey,” I promised.

“I thought you looked scary when you were mad,” she said, turning to my brother. “You’re terrifying.” She then turned back to me. “I cannot have either one of you going to prison on my conscience, Cullen. And if you do something to Brent or Skip and go to jail, I could never live with myself.”

“Are you saying that the only thing you’re worried about in this scenario is one of us getting caught?” Hatch asked, his mouth twitching. “Not whether or not we fuck up this Brent asshole or your uncle?”

“Is that what I’m saying?” Helena bit her lip. “Oh, god, maybe that is what I’m saying. No, that would be wrong.”

“I have what I need,” Hatch said, rising to his feet.

“Wait,” Helena rushed out, standing. “Please, don’t do anything rash.”

Hatch smiled. “I never do anything rash.”

“Oh my god, that scares me even more.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Just stick close to my brother. I’m gonna have a prospect watch your place. If Brent comes anywhere near you…” He shrugged. “Well, you won’t know about it.”

She frowned. “I don’t know if I want someone watching me.”

“You won’t even know they’re there,” he promised, grabbing his jacket. “Walk me out, Cull.”

“I’ll be right back,” I told Helena and followed my brother, stepping onto her porch and pulling the door closed.

“I want you to come down to the club for some practice shooting this week to see how rusty you are.”

I sighed. “Don’t know that we need to go that far, do we?”

“If that asshole gets past Flea or one of the prospects, or god forbid, corners her somewhere and you’re barely on time, you’re gonna want a gun, brother.”

He had a point.

“I don’t even own one.”

He smirked. “Good thing I have twelve.”

“Jesus,” I hissed. “Do you really?”

“I’ll neither confirm nor deny.” He shrugged on his leathers. “Go take care of your woman. Flea’s up first.”

I nodded, hugging my brother, then heading back inside.