10 Your Happiness

Lisa's P.O.V.

Chris reluctantly placed me back on my feet. His cold eyes met mine before he pulled me by the hand back to the door.

"Not a word, Lisa, or it's going to be a lot worse," he warned me.

My mind was racing, trying to find an escape. Maybe I could pop my thumb out of its socket and slip my hand out of the cuff. I've seen them do that in movies, but this isn't a movie and I don't know that I could do that. Chris pushed me to the side so I wouldn't be seen when he opened the door.

He plastered a fake smile on his face before he turned the doorknob and opened it, letting in the moonlight. Next thing I knew, there was a fist in Chris' face, hitting him so hard he fell back. It pulled at the cuff roughly as he weighed against it. I let out a yell of surprise, covering my mouth as Chris' eyes looked at me before they snapped back to the person at the door.

"You laid your hands on her again!" his voice boomed through the house in an accusatory tone.

Davis.

"Who do you think you just hit?!" Chris snapped, standing back up and eyeing Davis down.

"Lisa!" I heard Davis call me, not having spotted me yet. I pulled the door open more, immediately feeling safe as I laid eyes on him.

"Davis," I cried his name out as the emotions flooded out of me through my eyes.

He came to save me.

"I'm here now. I've got you and I won't let you go." He ignored Chris completely, taking a step towards me.

"You're going to regret this," Chris threatened, but Davis paid him no mind. He had frozen in place when he saw the cuff around my wrist. His fury turned to Chris again.

"Let me make something clear, boy." Davis' voice was low and threatening, sending a chill down my back even though it was not directed at me. "Lisa is now under my protection. Touch a single hair on her head again and I'll rip your arms off and beat you with them. You're a small man, running around with Daddy's money. You're not the only one with money around here, only I have the muscle to back me up."

As he spoke, Carter entered the room along with Liv. My heart froze as I stared at the three of them side by side. I couldn't look away from Liv, her fiery hair tied up in a high bun with curls poking out in many directions.

Her eyes were fixed on Chris in a deadly manner. As happy as I was to see them all, they shouldn't be here. This would only make things worse. My stomach twisted at the thought of Dad coming after Liv.

"You shouldn't be here." I shook my head, feeling the tears flow freely now. "He'll come after you and Abi."

This wasn't supposed to happen. Davis wasn't supposed to tell them.

"You promised," I looked at Davis.

"I kept my promise. I didn't tell Lucas."

Clever fox.

"Get out of my house before I call the cops!" Chris threatened, seemingly forgotten by all of us.

"And say what? You're literally handcuffed to her!" Liv yelled, gesturing with her hand at my wrist. "I can't stand men like you!"

Her eyes held a murderous intent as she stared down at him. Despite her shorter stature, she seemed like a giant. She held so much power in that small body of hers.

"We're taking Lisa, and your sorry ass won't bother her again."

"If you do that, the contract will be broken. My dad will take half your company," Chris reminded me, making me grow pale. Dad would make all our lives hell.

"No, don't," I begged.

"Send your friends away, Lisa. Stay here and I won't tell my dad anything."

"Lisa, don't. We can handle ourselves. You don't need to do this," Liv swore, but she doesn't know. She doesn't understand what Dad was like.

"You don't get it Liv. He'll take away your job. He'll come after your marriage and then he'll come after Abi. He'll take your house, your money, and your happiness."

"My happiness is Lucas and Abi, and he can never take that from me."

"But he can, and he will. He'll place Abi in foster care when you have no place to stay. He'll annul your marriage to Lucas and probably send him overseas with the promise of leaving you alone. There was no getting out of this now that the contract was signed, Liv."

I shook my head, feeling the tears flow out of me like a river. I wanted nothing more than to run out of this house with them. There was no going back. I had to stay, and they had to go. My heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces inside my chest.

I had to send them away and accept whatever Chris was going to do to me.

"Lisa, I swear to God if you send us away and stay next to him, I won't let you in my house again. I'm telling you flat out that we can take care of your dad without you doing this. Trust me, Lisa. Stop being scared."

Liv was absolutely furious, but this time it was at me. It surprised me, as I had never once seen her mad at me. Her icy blue eyes stared at me with such anger, looking as if she could slap me across the face for saying what I had. She meant every word she said. She wouldn't allow me to see Abi again.

Maybe that was for the best.

Abi shouldn't be around me if I had to be with Chris. She shouldn't be around a weak woman like me. The only influence she should have should be Liv. I dropped my head, unable to stare into those eyes of hers any longer. I swore I would protect them, and this was the only way I could.

"You should go," I whispered, feeling myself break inside. I couldn't look at any of them as I spoke these words. My eyes fixed on the floor before me.

"Damnit, Lisa. I thought you were smarter than this."

Her words stung, but I understood why she was so upset. She spent most of her childhood seeing her mom abused. Then her dad's new girlfriend, who she helped escape, beaten by him as well. Liv doesn't understand why a woman would choose to be with someone that hurts them in this way.

She would never allow herself to be in a relationship like that. She helped me out the last time I was in an abusive relationship and told me if I ever got back with him again that she wouldn't help.

I was going to lose her and Abi over this, but at least they would be safe. At least Dad won't be coming after them. They could all live happily in that house Lucas built for them. In the house straight out of a fairy tale with their love as bright as the sun. Their home would stay filled with love and warmth, making all this worth it.

"I'm not leaving without you," Davis' voice pulled my eyes from the ground. I stared at him longingly, wishing he could take me, but he can't.

"She made her choice. She told you to leave," Chris reminded him with a smug smirk.

Davis marched towards us. I was worried he would punch Chris again. If he kept this up, it would only make Chris hurt me further, once they left. I stepped in front of him, causing Davis to look at me like I stabbed him in the heart. His eyes softened when he noticed my tears multiply.

He continued his way towards us until he grabbed the chain of the cuffs with his hands. I heard the snap of the chain, freeing me from Chris. Davis had broken the physical, and metaphorical, chain that bound me to Chris with nothing but his powerful hands.

"You're coming with me, and I don't want to hear a word otherwise," Davis told me sternly, lifting me up and throwing me over his shoulder.

He turned and punched Chris again for good measure. Just as Davis said earlier in the night, if he wanted me, Chris would be on the floor and I over his shoulder. He wanted me and he wasn't taking no for an answer. Liv smiled as she watched us leave, only she didn't follow. She turned and faced Chris with Carter.

"We'll handle this," Carter told Davis as he closed the front door behind us. I could see Chris' face pale with fear.

"Davis, what about Liv and her happy life? Dad will ruin it." I tried to get him to see reason.

"Your happiness is important, too."

I grew silent, hit by the weight of his words.

My happiness was important too.

Davis' P.O.V

I placed Lisa on her passenger side seat, taking my place behind her wheel. I held my hand out for her to hand me the keys. My blood was still boiling and my heart was breaking. How dare he touch her?

She was going to stay.

I admired how adamantly she wanted to protect Lucas and Liv. She would set her own happiness aside for them. Willing to be broken and beaten to keep them safe and happy. I could never be mad at her for that, but God, do I wish she could understand that her happiness was just as important.

She didn't have to do this. We would all protect Lucas and Liv. They had many friends, a lot of them just as powerful as her dad. I would beat his ass if he ever came for my girls.

My girls.

Lisa, Izzy, and Liv were my girls in different ways, but they each held a big part of my heart.

"Davis." Lisa's small voice brought me back to this moment. "I'm sorry."

Her apology only hurt my heart further. She shouldn't be going through any of this. I grabbed the keys from her hands without a word. There was nothing I could say, but when I got her back home, I would show her. I would show her how she should be treated. She would see how a real man takes care of the woman he loves.

I love this woman.

This feeling of want for her has grown and festered, pulling me off the edge until I started falling. I was falling hard for her and hoping to never reach the ground. She was bringing this heart of mine back to life and filling it with a love I didn't know I still had in me.

I would keep you safe, Lisa. I would make you happy.

It was absolutely silent as I drove us back to my house. I clutched the steering wheel for dear life as I thought about Chris over and over. Having seen the way he dragged her inside by her beautiful hair. I was ready to kill him, but Liv stopped me.

She made me wait until she was sure I wouldn't murder him before we knocked on that door. I could only imagine the hell Liv and Carter were giving him now. Chris would never lay a hand on what was mine again.

**Song Suggestion: If You Love Her by Forest Blakk**

I pulled into the garage, stepping out once the car was parked. I opened her door, leaning down and unbuckling her from her seat. My arms wrapped around her shoulders and under her knee as I picked her up. There was one room I had in mind…mine.

Lisa leaned her head against my chest, relaxing into my arms. I like to believe that she feels safe in my arms. I honestly hope she feels the same way about me, but who really knows? She has been through so much that I could just be a placeholder. I could be a guy she was with just because she felt safe with me.

She didn't know me enough to love me the same way I loved her, but that was okay. I would take what I could get from her and I wouldn't say a word in complaint. If she decided I was not what she wanted, then I would be happy with the time I did get with her. Right now, I planned to make the most of this time. I laid her gently on the bed, climbing in beside her and holding her tight against my chest.

"I will not let them get to you, Lisa. You're safe here with me. I will keep you safe," I swore as I rubbed her back and arm. "Don't sacrifice yourself like that again. Never put yourself in harm's way. You don't have to do that anymore. I'll be by your side for as long as you'll have me. I'll fight alongside you. We'll be strong together."

Lisa's tears soaked into my shirt as she clung to me closely. She seemed to be having a breakthrough or maybe a melt down. I wasn't sure, but I held her lovingly as she let it out. I kissed the top of her head, ?continuing mindless caresses on her back. She cried for a while before she began to sniffle and calm herself.

"Davis, what if he comes after you? I can't live with myself if anything happens to any of you because of me. I have to go back and fix this," she said, sitting up on the bed as if she would run at any moment.

I quickly grabbed her wrist, holding her in place as I sat up beside her. I took her sweet cheek in my hand gently, cupping her face lovingly. My eyes met hers as I looked at her with all the love I had. She grew still, leaning into my hand without looking away from me.

"I don't care if he comes for me. He wouldn't be the first man, but he'll be the last. I know how to handle myself, Lisa, but you don't know that. So, let me tell you all about myself, about my past. If after hearing it, if you decide that you want to go back, I will take you myself. But trust me when I say we can handle your father."

She nodded her head against my hand, staring at me like I held all the answers to the universe. Her gaze softened as she grabbed my hand and held it tightly with both of hers. I was nervous to tell her my story, but I know she needs to hear it to really believe in me.

**Song Suggestion: Epic Emotional AShamaluevMusic**

"Once upon a time, I used to be a prosecuting attorney. I was twenty-nine, ?thinking I was some hot shit. It was my first year on the job and I had yet to lose a case. I was doing this while raising Izzy with my wife, Grace." My voice cracked, lending way to the emotions that were stirring inside of me.

"Izzy was six at the time finishing up kindergarten when the DA handed me a high-profile case. I thought it was because of my success rate thus far, but I had just drawn the short straw, literally. I didn't know it at the time, but this man was known for going after the prosecuting attorneys who worked his case. It's how he had stayed out of jail for so long. Important evidence would suddenly disappear during his trials, or witnesses, for that matter. Na?ve me was excited about the chance to put away a criminal that others hadn't been able to."

I took a deep breath in, trying to calm my mind and aching heart as I put myself back in those shoes. The shoes of the man who thought he knew it all, but was so sorely mistaken.

"The trial began, and it had consumed almost all of my time. Grace complained that she was losing her husband and Izzy, her father. To appease her, I dropped Izzy off at my mom's and took Grace on a romantic date for our anniversary." I couldn't look at her as I continued, feeling the weight of my stupid decisions.

"We ate at the restaurant where we had our first date and took a walk under the moonlight like we had done many years prior. The man I was prosecuting was the head of a large gang and he'd ordered his men to intimidate me. Back then, I wasn't the large man you see now. I was fit, but I didn't fight. I didn't lift and my muscles weren't exactly the strongest. Five men grabbed Grace and I, as we walked by, pulling us into a dark alley. Immediately, I knew we were in trouble and I knew I was the one to blame."

My heart raced with the reminder of that moment, the grappling fear of it all. It was as if it was playing out before me again. The horrors of that night haunt me daily, causing nightmares most nights. I swallowed those feelings down and continued my story. Lisa was listening so attentively, letting me tell it all uninterrupted.

"The men didn't waste time as they beat me, pummeling me to the floor in seconds. Three of them were on me while two of them held Grace down. She yelled and screamed, and fought as hard as she could as they tore at her clothes. I tried to fight, but these men were unrelenting as they punched and kicked me until I was on the floor, unable to move." My eyes shut tight at the memory, clearly seeing it in my mind, forever ingrained.

"I was bleeding and doomed to watch as these men raped Grace in front of me repeatedly. She had stopped fighting after the third time. Her eyes locked with mine as she stretched her hand out towards me. I tried to crawl to her, to grab that hand, but so many of my bones were broken. I couldn't see out of one of my eyes, and I could hardly breathe from the many broken ribs. The last man was too rough with Grace, killing her in front of me as he choked her while he raped her. I witnessed the life leave her body as she took her last choked breath."

I felt the same brokenness I felt that night. My heart and my mind would never let me forget that my arrogance got my wife killed. I would never forgive the weak man I was. I fought back the tears that threatened to build as I tried to continue.

"They left me for dead in that alleyway. I stared at Grace's lifeless body as I slowly crawled to her. I passed out the moment I grabbed her hand. She felt so cold despite the warm spring air. She was no longer my wife, just a shell of the woman I loved for a decade. I woke up in the hospital a week later under protective services." I cleared my throat, daring to look her way once more. Her blue eyes held mine so attentive, filled with tears.

"I met many cops in my line of work, so they treated me like their own. Izzy had been watched like a hawk by all the boys in blue while I was in my coma. My friend at the time, Derek, took over the investigation into my wife's murder, and my assault. It didn't take long to find the low-lifes that killed her. The problem was I felt no satisfaction from putting those men behind bars." I remembered the day of their sentencing and the absolute rage I felt. It ate me up inside, fueling me with a need for revenge.

"Only one of them got a life sentence and the others a decade. It wasn't enough—none of it was. I felt cheated by the system, so I took matters into my own hands. I quit my job and began to train for a year."

"Izzy was raised by my mother at the time, since I'd all but lost my mind with grief and thoughts of revenge. I didn't think Izzy was safe with me. I used everything I learned from my job and found the man that turned my life into hell. But I didn't kill him. I beat his guards and kidnapped him. He was scared even if he didn't show it."

"He had a look of fear in his eyes as he took in the abandoned warehouse basement and the many tools I had brought out. I tortured that man for hours in ways I won't describe, but at the end of it, I didn't feel much better. There was nothing I could do to bring my wife back, to bring me back."

The tears I had been holding back betrayed me as they slid down my cheeks. Lisa's face reflected my own, crying for me. Her hands squeezed mine tightly, comforting me as best she could.

"I was lost, and that's when I met Carter. He was twenty at the time and trying to avoid the gang lifestyle. He had seen me drink myself stupid and brought me to an AA meeting at his church. I wasn't an alcoholic, but I certainly had a drinking problem at the time." I cleared my throat, wiping at my tears.

"We talked about a world where there was no gang violence or drugs. That's when we decided to train people to fight so that they could defend themselves. We opened a gym together, and that later led to sparing and eventually our underground fighting ring. The money we made from it, we would donate and use it to pay for classes to teach self-defense to women."

At this point, I was so surprised Lisa hadn't spoken once. I wondered what she was thinking, and if by any chance she would flee when I finished telling her everything about me. Especially about how much of a shit father I had been to my daughter.

"Izzy has a hard time forgiving me for what happened to her mother. She has an even harder time forgiving me for not raising her. She has every right to hate me, so I don't pester her." My head hung in shame, knowing I let her and Grace down. It tore my heart with guilt when I thought about it.

"The point of me telling you this dark, horrid story is so you can see that I have been through hell already. I know how to work the system, and I still have friends in high places. Currently, Derek is helping me find what we need to bring your dad down legally. But if that doesn't work, I will take matters into my own hands. I promise you that."

I squeezed her hands in mine, engulfing them as I did. "I have nothing left to lose but you. So please, stay. Stay here with me and let me save you. Let me make you strong, and fight alongside you. Don't do this alone. Don't go back to that asshole because you think you need to."

I held her eyes with a plea, begging her to stay here. I don't want to lose her. She needs to believe that she has a choice. She needs to know that marrying Chris isn't the only way to keep Lucas and Liv safe. I watched her face closely for any signs of what she may say, of how she may be feeling. She was hard to read, aside from the tears she let slip from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Davis." It felt like my heart exploded at her words. It seemed it didn't matter what I told her, she had made up her mind. She doesn't want me. I was sure my story scared her away more than helped.

"Please, don't go, Lisa," I pleaded with her, taking each of her hands into my own. She shook her head at me, further tearing into my heart.

"I am sorry that happened to you, Davis. I am sorry you had to go through any of that. I can't imagine the pain you went through. You're an amazing man, Davis. It's why I'm so surprised you want me. I'm weak and stubborn and I can be so crass sometimes. How can you want me?"

I wasn't expecting these words to leave her mouth. I was certain she was rejecting me, but now I was not so sure.

"Lisa, are you kidding me? You're an amazing woman. Look at what you're willing to go through just to keep your brother safe. That mouth of yours is something I love. You have a powerful spirit. You don't know it yet, but there's a warrior in you, and I plan on bringing her out. I want you, Lisa. All of you. Will you stay with me?" I asked her, begging and hoping for the universe to give me a miracle.

Please, for once, let things go my way. For once, let me be happy.