Broken Free (The Broken Series) (8 page)

“Fuck, it’s the house.”

Sofia was ready to ignore it until flashes of a cat fight between Dara and Sarah ensued in her mind with Gammie on the floor knocked out. “Dammit, get it.”

He hit the button seeming to feel the same as her. “Hello?” He paused briefly and handed her the phone. “Sarah,” he mouthed, a frown on his brow.

Sofia took the phone. “Hello?”

“Call to see if we are still going to see Seth?”

Sofia looked at Daniel, lost. “Hold on, let me ask.” She covered the phone and whispered, “She wants to know if we’re still going see Seth!”

His face filled with what the fuck, followed by him mouthing,
I never told her that.
Then Sofia mouthed her
me either.

Sofia put the phone back to her ear. “Honey, I’m so sorry, I think we forgot all about it. When did we make this plan?”

“Oh…I say to you how I want to see him and you say to me that you will find a way. You say I will find a way today.”

Shit. Sofia closed her eyes.
“Honey, I’m so sorry, I meant I’d find a way today not that you would see him today. But guess what?” Sofia perked up, narrowing her gaze and waving her hand at Daniel to not start the car. “Daniel did tell me today that Seth will be coming home soon.” Sofia grimaced at Daniel, hoping she wasn’t jinxing stuff. He nodded it was fine and Sofia widened her eyes at him when he started the car to leave before she could do him.

“When we get home
,” he promised.

“Right away?”
she whispered, putting on her seatbelt.

“He come back right away?” Sarah asked.

“No, he’s not coming back right away, but soon. We’re on our way home, see you in a bit?”

“Have dinner cooked, I make this Spanish dish I find in cook book.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Gammie helps me to
read
it.” She sounded nothing short of thrilled.

“Oh my, wow, we cannot wait to taste it.” She giggled at seeing Daniel’s
who’s been cooking in my kitchen
big bad wolf look. “Okay bye.”

“Please tell me she didn’t cook.”

Sofia leaned and sucked his neck hard, moaning heavily. “I’m going to make you forget your precious kitchen.”

He moaned back and slid his fingers in her hair. “How?”

She smiled. “You know how. You know what I’m going to do to you. I think I want you tied up. Face down. On the bed. Legs. Wide. Open.”

“Holy fuck,
” he croaked. “Yes.”

“You’re going to shower for me. And I’m going to lick it first.
Put my tongue in it. The way you do to me?”

“God yes,” he groaned.

“Don’t wreck,” she whispered, smiling while nipping his ear lobe.

“I’m not. What else.”

“Then I’m going to use my finger…until you’re groaning and pumping your perfect ass on the bed, begging for it. And then…” she bit his lobe hard and he gasped. “I’m going to
fuck
you with my cock. I’m going to lay on you and dig my nails in your shoulders and pull your hair while I grind my cock in you. Is that what you want baby?”

“Oh my God, yes. Fuck me hard
Sofia.”

Sofia closed her eyes, dizzy with the desire to do that. She loved nothing more than giving him what he wanted in a way that didn’t hurt him. Even if the desire was born of horrific sins. It was who he’d been made to be. She could take the horror and sin out and make this okay. Make it clean. He’d learned to love the bad. Now…she could give him the physical pleasure
without the nightmare that went with it. “I love you,” she whispered.

He cupped her head with his hand and pressed her forehead into his neck. “I love you more.”

Judging by his hoarse rasp, he’d been extremely touched. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his neck.

“God, get in your seatbelt, please.” Like he just realized he was putting the most precious thing in the world in danger.

She smiled and hurried to comply, giddy that she was the source of so much joy for him. That she was the answer to all his problems. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.

Chapter Eleven

“You have a visitor.”

Seth jerked his head right at the guard’s voice. He sat up and scrubbed his face then followed him out. All the way to the door leading to the visiting room he wanted to ask who it was but knew it was the kind of pansy question you just didn’t ask. Couldn’t afford to show weakness at any time, not even with the nicest guards. You didn’t care if you got visitors, and you sure as hell didn’t care who they were if you did. It was hard enough to keep that
fuck it
gait when what he really wanted to do was run wide open while praying it was his brother. Who else but him? Another reason he wanted to run, he fucking missed him.

It was the strangest thing the bond that they’d developed so quickly. Like the void of their long lost sibling lives suddenly rushed back together and collided with a
vicious
boom.
It marked him in a way he couldn’t explain, he only knew that his heart and body ached for the protection of his big brother. Craved to fill in all the empty spaces where their childhood dreams should’ve gone. Hungered to create something new. Safe. And clean.

That was Danny. Safe. Clean. New. Every part of him. He’d not had the type of hell he had. He’d been spared. Educated. Loved.
Daniel could show him normal. He could help rebuild him. And Daniel wanted to. His brother loved him. And Seth wouldn’t trade that feeling for the world.

Seth paused before sitting at the chair
at the window. Not Daniel. Daniel’s father. His father too, technically. What was he doing there?

Seth sat
. He was more curious than anything. He had no feelings for this person, this man that was his biological “dad” as far as he knew. He wasn’t sure why or how he didn’t feel anything for the man, and didn’t really care to know. But for some reason, the man didn’t faze him one way or another. He should have, he’d given him away to a very bad person. Used his body to give Danny a good life. Seth used to hate the thought of it. But since he and Danny became close, he felt…like he had worth. Like because of him, he was able to become the amazing man he was.

Seth picked up the phone and waited. Seemed only fair
the man speak first.

“Hey.” He grinned with a look in
dull brown eyes that Seth knew. It was a universal look, one he’d recognize anywhere. Contempt.

“Hey.” Still no emotion. Didn’t know why the man would find contempt with him. Made no sense, really.

He sniffed, the right of his upper lip raising in a near seductive sneer. “You’ll be getting out of here in a week. Wanted to come and let you know personally that I pulled a few strings.”

Seth’s heart be
at too fast at those impossible words. He sat there and didn’t say a thing, he couldn’t, not even when the man before him shot out a machine gun laugh, apparently pleased with Seth’s dumbfounded reaction. The dude’s countenance slowly morphed into that of a diabolical teenager who’d secretly drowned kittens. He wasn’t well. Maybe he’d lost his mind along the way.

“
What do you mean?” Seth heard the question and realized it was him that asked it. It was definitely the question he wanted an answer to.

“I mean…” he leaned in closer, his grip on the phone fidgety like a man itching to do things. “…that I made some calls to the boys upstairs.” He bounced his brows before lowering them back to the kitten killing height,
his eyes going dark and pensive, tongue darting out to wet his lower lip before they spread to show tobacco stained dentures.

Whatever the fuck was going on, Seth knew one thing.
Seth knew to shrug. “Okay.” Seth knew to play it cool. This was normal. Maybe even expected. Certainly not shocking or surprising. Seth was the villain. Seth was the tough guy. The untouchable soul. Seth was nobody. And Seth was quite comfortable in that invisible skin.

As he
made his way back to his cell, it felt like he’d slipped into another dimension of the Twilight Zone. When his prison door clanged shut and the guard was entirely gone, he laid on his bed, not feeling. No feeling allowed. No hope. No hope. No hope. Despair. Prison. That was reality. That was the only reality. He needed to keep it, guard it carefully. No hope. No hope allowed.

The no hope concept was a familiar one to Seth. But it never failed to take him back to the nightmare. Back to the place where he’d learned that secret talent. Learned to give up, let go, and just deal.
But those thoughts also came with her. Sarah. And the few clean memories they’d managed to steal while growing up together. Her smiling face came to him. The memory of her feeding him stolen food while he was tied to the radiator in the basement. All at the horrific risk of…Seth gritted his teeth, hating how all of his precious memories ended. She still bore the scar on her forehead for that one.

If he got out…what would he do with her?
He only knew one thing. She was his to take care of. He wouldn’t pretend he didn’t see her feelings for him. She adored him to a near worshipful point. It wasn’t healthy but he was the only person in her life that had ever shown her any love what more could anybody expect?

And it wasn’t that Seth hadn’t wanted to
be with her back then. It was in fact the one thing that made it all better. To be able to touch her was something he craved. Not for the pleasure. Just for the contact. He’d liked her. Really liked her. She was a ray of hope during a dark time in a strange way. When he did things with her, he could pretend. And he did. He pretended that they were married and in love. He’d kiss her tenderly. Touch her with reverence even though he knew he’d get beaten for it. No kindness. No tenderness allowed. But he didn’t care, they’d beat him anyway.

Seth smiled remembering how the
y eventually found a way to communicate their feelings without getting punished. A soft touch where they couldn’t see. A soft kiss between the pain. She began following his lead and did the same thing to him. It was their secret. Right under their noses, they managed to sneak a tiny bit of goodness into the hell.

But
Seth didn’t forget the days when it was more than either of them could take. It would end in crying and screaming. Begging for fucking mercy. He’d never beg for her mercy. He’d made that mistake only once and he still couldn’t get around the guilt of what that had gotten her. He thought she’d died. All the bad was sandwiched among the few moments of good he’d ever known. And he’d learned to remember both just like he’d learned to live it. 

****

“That bastard is going to make me call him,” Daniel muttered.

“Oh honey, don’t even think of that, today is special.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right.” He pulled her close after hitting the fourth floor button in the elevator then kissed her on the top of the head.

Sofia smiled to herself.
“You want me to call him? After the appointment, I mean I don’t mind.”

“What? God
no.”

“Okay, okay.”
She leaned her head on his arm. “Are you ready to see your son?”

“My son?” The door dinged open. “You know something I don’t?”

She giggled. “Well, I have a feeling.”

“Are you serious? You think it’s a boy?”

The immense excitement in his voice made her panic. “I’m not
positive
baby, I just said I have a feeling.”

“Oh my God. How long have you felt that way?”

“Just…for like a few months.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought it was better to wait.”

“Till just before.”

“Yes, I mean if I waited till after, it’d seem all yeah sure you had a feeling.”

“I would’ve believed you!”

“I know, I know,” she cooed at hearing his offense. “Maybe I didn’t want to jinx the feeling either.”

“Wow, you are so superstitious sometimes.”

“Yeah, I know.” She didn’t know where she got it. Maybe experience at a subconscious level. “Let me tell you about the feeling I had.” She stopped just before the office door in the hall. “I was standing at the sink washing dishes.” She laughed at seeing his immediate perplexity. “It relaxes me. Anyway, I get this like image in my mind of a boy. A baby boy. And he tells me
I’m coming.”

His handsome face morphed with worry and s
he slapped his chest.

“I know it’s weird but it’s true
,” Sofia said, “don’t make me sorry I told you.”

He pulled her in his arms and pressed her face into his chest possessively. She closed her eyes and smiled when his warm breath hit her ear. “I love you no matter how weird you are.” He
put his hand on her belly and rubbed it with slow circles, not missing an inch. “Son or daughter, they’re perfect.”

Awwww, how sweet.

In the small exam room, Sofia laid on her back, not liking the feeling. “Can’t breathe good.”

“Turn on your side until she’s ready,” Daniel said.

She gave him her hand and he took her forearm and helped her turn. “Geeze you need to quit force feeding me, I’m getting too
fat.
”

“You’re perfect.”

“I already gained
twenty pounds!
The chart in the book said I should gain like twenty eight total.”

“Not for first time pregnancy sweet heart. Remember it said it’s not uncommon for you to gain more?”

“Not uncommon when you have a husband that constantly crams delicious food in your mouth.” She whimpered. “I’m hungry.”

“
You hardly touched your omelet.”

She snorted. “I mean like for a
waffle
or something. With syrup!”

“I tell you what, how about when we get home, I make you a huge
home-made wheat waffle with—”

“Wheat!? Not wheat
!”

“What’s wrong with wheat
? You like it.”

She so didn’t appreciate the laughter in his voice. “No I don’t I
hate
it. It’s…
dirty
tasting like somebody scraped it over the ground.”

He busted out in snickers.

“It’s not funny. You know I like sweets and you’re killing me.”

“Okay fine, I’ll make you
bad
waffles. Only for you.”

The door opened. “Bad waffles? I’d like some bad waffles.”
Dr. Bethany stopped next to the bed with her hands on her hips and a huge smile on her face. “You ready?”

“I am.” Daniel
aimed his phone at Sofia, recording. “Smile mommy.”

She grinned at his sweet tone. He was worth the hunger pains.

“Okay let’s get you prepped with goo. I need you to raise your top and lower your pants.”

“Oh, I need to take them off?”

She came with a tube of clear stuff. “No no, just the waist band, lower it.” She helped get it where she needed then pulled the machine closer to the bed. “Can you see?”

Sofia angled her head
back a little and nodded. Daniel stood on the opposite side of her and held her hand. “You can see?” she asked him.

“Perfectly.”

“Make sure it’s recording.” Once she’d missed an entire baby shower having pressed the wrong button. At the end when it was done, she hit play thinking she’d hit stop.

“Don’t worry, I am.”

She put the goo on her stomach—“Little cold, sorry”—and immediately began sliding it around. They all focused on the screen. “Ah, there she is. Sorry, she is the rhetorical sex I choose.”

“Oh my
God
look at that,” Daniel whispered.

“Nice shaped head.” She slid right and pointed at the screen. “
She’s breech but she has plenty of time to flip. Nice sized femur. From the looks of it, I’d say we’re right on schedule with our due date.” She rolled up. “Spine looks great. I’ll take measurements after we play a bit. Oh. Look at that,” she pointed to the screen, “somebody’s got a full bladder.”

Daniel gushed out a laugh and another
oh my God.
Sofia’s heart raced and swelled all at once. Such a tiny baby. Wow. And hearing Daniel’s constant sounds of sheer awe and joy was undoing her. She needed to not break down.

“Let’s see if we can get a look between those legs,” the doc mumbled, moving the
thing slowly along the bottom of her belly for several seconds while all eyes riveted to the screen. “Oh, do you see that?”

“Is that
...” Daniel pushed the phone closer.

“A very nice set of testicles is what that is
,” the doc said, sounding thrilled.

“A boy?” Sofia gasped.

“A very healthy looking boy,” Dr. Bethany added.

Daniel suddenly kissed Sofia on the lips
, a long firm kiss before whispering, “Thank you.”

“It’s my fault?” She laughed then saw the tears in his eyes and promptly lost it. She put a hand over her mouth, fighting back the sob in her chest. Then he put his face next to hers and whispered an emotional
and broken “I love you, thank you” in her ear. She held on to his neck as he
cried
on her shoulder, just openly cried. It was suddenly okay to lose it now. It was perfect.