Hell, Fire & Freedom (Fighting for Freedom) (22 page)

I’m completely okay with having my special day a secret, though. It’s still a celebration of my independence. My first birthday not living with Carl or my mother. Sure, Tara and the women’s shelter are still helping with my bills while I get back on my feet, but at least I’m trying.

I roll over and think back to the horror I felt earlier this week after Blaze and I fell asleep after being intimate.

His cell phone started ringing just minutes before Marie was set to get home. The fogginess of sleep started to lift as I heard Blaze growl into his cell phone.

“What the fuck do you want?”

I kept my eyes pressed shut, praying he would think I was still sleeping so he’d keep the conversation going. I’m not usually a nosy person, but it sounded like this was the reason he’d been in a bad mood for a while, and I needed to know why.

“No, listen to me, cocksucker. That was the deal; I gave you what you asked for, and you better hold up your fucking end of the bargain, or you’re going to see a side of me you’re not going to like,” he said irately.

“You do that, and I’m coming after you hard,” he promised.

“Two million was the fucking deal, grease ball. You’re lucky I don’t report your ass,” he threatened.

“Yeah, well that’s the only reason I’m fucking talking to you, now isn’t it? Now stay the fuck off my back, before you piss off the wrong person,” he growled before hanging up the phone.

What the hell was he talking about? Is something wrong with his dad’s business, or is it more serious than that? Maybe he’s a gambler, or worse, in the mob. Ha! I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and attempt to forget the clearly private conversation I had overheard. I continued on with my sleeping façade, hoping he bought it. Luckily, I think I have it perfected thanks to my years of living with Carl.

“Beautiful, we fell asleep,” I heard him say, as he began trailing kisses over my cheeks and forehead. I opened my eyes sleepily, looking around and pretending to be confused.

“So sorry, I wish I could have let you sleep longer, but Marie’s going to be home any second,” he said, looking worried. I wondered if it was actually about Marie, or if it was about the phone call he had just received. I wrapped the sheet around myself so that he wouldn’t see the bruising, and rushed to get him dressed quickly, but Marie buzzed up to the apartment. I knew they would meet in the hallway if I sent him out the door now, and he wasn’t exactly decent. I grabbed his shoes from the front door so she wouldn’t know he was still here, and then I ran and pulled on some pajamas, keeping my back to him. I threw my hair up in a ponytail and closed my door, locking Blaze inside, until I could distract Marie long enough in her room for him to sneak back out.

“Hey,” Marie said, coming in the door.

“Hey yourself. How was swim practice? How did you get home?”

“Not bad, and Jill drove me. Where’s Blaze?” she asked, curiously eyeing my pajamas and looking around the condo for him.

“He went home earlier,” I said, lying through my teeth.

“Right,” she said disbelievingly. “You do know his motorcycle is still parked outside, right?”

Shit. Fucking shit. I blushed from head to toe, trying to come up with an excuse to why he would have left his vehicle here. “Ah, he got called into work. They picked him up in the fire truck,” I said, panicking.

She burst out laughing at this point, and I felt completely ashamed. “All right, Brynn, you’re a grown woman, you do know that, right?” she said, laughing so hard, she was almost crying. “Well, since you can’t sneak him out your window, I’d better get down to my room so he can sneak out the door. Tell him not to forget his keys on the counter,” she said, still laughing as she walked down to her bedroom and closed the door.

When I went in to go let Blaze out, he was laughing, too. I guess I was the only one who failed to see the humor in the situation. Hopefully she just thought we were making out. Right, Brynn, she’s sixteen. She definitely knew. Damn it. Oh well, at least he made it out without her physically seeing him.

I’m brought back to reality when I hear some clanking in the kitchen and decide to check it out. I grab a sweater, pull it on over my nightie, and walk into the kitchen to find Marie stacking pancakes exceptionally high as she tries to balance them all.

“What’s this?” I ask, a smile spreading across my face.

“Trying to reciprocate the birthday pancake, but I think you’re getting too old,” she laughs, trying to stack the pancakes even higher.

“I didn’t think you’d remember.”

“Of course I remember!” she says defensively.

“Here,” I say, grabbing a skewer and sticking it through the center of the pancakes before helping her stack the final few on top.

“Thanks,” she says, pulling me into a hug. “Happy birthday, sis!”

“Thanks Marie. This is too much,” I tell her, swelling with gratitude.

“It’s no big deal,” she says sweetly, pulling the same lighter and candle out of the drawer that I had used only a few weeks ago. She lights the candle and places it on top of the huge stack of pancakes.

“Make a wish.”

I close my eyes, trying to think of something I could wish for. I have more than I could have ever dreamt of having this time last year. The only thing I can think to wish for is for Carl to disappear. I shiver, remembering his threats from the hospital. Clearly, he doesn’t know where we live, or he would have made an appearance by now, though. I try and relax so the worry doesn’t show on my face before taking a big breath and blowing out the candle in a single breath.

“Now listen, I think this is getting a little crazy; there’s no way I can finish this,” I say, staring at the mound of twenty three pancakes piled high. I grab two forks from the drawer and the maple syrup from the fridge. “What do you say, can you help a sister out?” I ask, feeling full from just looking at them.

“You bet,” she says, grabbing a fork from my hand.

We eat as much as we can of the pancakes, but there’s still well over a dozen left when we finally give up. I get ready for work, cleaning up the dishes while Marie showers. I knock on the bathroom door before leaving for work.

“See you after school,” I holler through the door.

“Have a good day, and happy birthday!” she hollers back.

I arrive at work a little earlier than usual and head back to the staff room, walking past Amber and Diane who are brewing up the morning coffee. They mutter a sleepy hello. Clearly they haven’t had their morning cup yet.

“Happy birthday,” Wren and Stella holler out as I enter the room.

“Whoa,” I say, startled. The girls are both in their work uniforms, and there’s a birthday cake sitting on the table. It’s absolutely beautiful—white fondant draped elegantly over a round cake, topped with black fondant circles and a big fondant bow on top.

“How did you know?” I ask, completely surprised. I had never mentioned my birthday to anyone here before.

“It was on your application,” Stella says, smiling. She crosses the room and pulls me into a huge hug. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” I say, tears threatening to spill over. In all my years, I’ve never felt so loved on my birthday. I’ve also never had a real birthday cake. Ma never had the money, and Carl never wanted me to get fat.

“I’ve gotta get back to work, but have a good day, and take an extra-long break today,” Stella says with a wink. I thank her again.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” I croon, staring at the beautiful workmanship on the cake.

“Thanks,” Wren says, “I do them on the side. Always wanted to open my own bakery, but that’s easier said than done in New York.”

“If it tastes half as good as it looks, Wren, you’ve got my business.”

“Thanks, maybe someday, right?” she says dreamily.

“You’ll get there,” I promise her.

“Well, we had better go open up. Happy birthday again!” Wren says, sauntering out to the storefront.

We start the day out great—work is busy, and the customers are in a great mood. I love Fridays. I’m waiting on a cute little blonde woman when a florist walks in with a giant bouquet of roses. I mentally cringe. There’s no flower I dislike more than a red rose. Sure, it’s a beautiful flower, but I just feel like it’s so cliché. I hand the customer her latte and scone before the florist approaches me.

“Brynn?” he asks.

“Yes?” I answer skeptically.

“These are for you. Could I get you to sign here?”

“Sure,” I say feeling a little disappointed. Yes, I thought Blaze didn’t know about my birthday, but Marie must have told him the other night. I remember the first time Blaze bought me flowers, and they certainly weren’t roses. I believe he even said something about me being as rare and exotic as the flowers in the bouquet. I guess he doesn’t think so now. It’s the thought that counts, though, right? Even if little thought does go into choosing roses.

I sign for the flowers as Wren, “Oohs and ahhs.”

“Thanks,” I say to the florist.

“Go take your break! I’m sure lover boy will be in soon to see you anyway,” Wren says slyly.

I grab the bouquet of a dozen red roses and walk back to the staff room. I open the envelope with my name written across the front.

Brynn,

Happy Birthday, Darling. Don’t think I would ever forget about you.

xo

I immediately drop the bouquet as if it’s filled with poison, letting out an ear piercing scream of absolute terror. He’s found me. Carl has found me. He knows where I work.

“Marie!” I shriek, running to grab my cell phone from my pocket. I don’t make it a single step, though, before massive arms are wrapped around me from behind. I shriek again in horror.

“Shh, beautiful, calm down. It’s just me, babe. You’re all right, you’re all right,” Blaze says softly into my ear.

“Marie, Marie, get Marie,” I sob.

“I’ll go get her,” I hear from the door. It’s Stella.

“Walker Street High School, Marie Vincent,” Blaze replies, letting go of my waist to pick up the card I had thrown on the floor. I watch as his face is overcome with anger.

“Take her straight to the police station, Stella, and we’ll meet you there,” he spits out.

“I can’t leave,” I tell Blaze. “I’m supposed to be working.”

“Girl, get out of here. I’ll call Tasha in on my way to the school, now let’s both get going,” she says, panic in her voice.

“Thank you,” I manage to choke out through my tears. Please, dear God, let Marie be okay. Blaze is clearly quicker on his feet than I am. I look over and he has his phone to his ear.

“No, I want you to take Marie Vincent to your office, lock the door, and do not let her out of your sight until Stella Morris comes to collect her,” he orders.

“No, do not put the school on lock down. Nobody is in danger besides her. Do not embarrass her!” he orders and flips his cell phone shut.

“She’s there, and she’s safe, beautiful. It’s going to be all right,” Blaze says as he sweeps me up into his arms.

“How did he find me?” I cry into his shoulder.

“I don’t know, baby, but I promise you, I will find out,” he vows.

“I can’t go out there like this,” I say, gesturing to my tear stained face.

“You don’t have to, baby. I’ll take you out the back door. I’ve got my bike here. I was going to surprise you after work,” he says, a little disappointed.

“I’m so sorry Blaze …”I start to apologize.

“Don’t you even try,” he warns, carrying me through the back door.

“How did you get here so fast?”

“I was out front in the line-up when I heard you scream. Now just relax. We’re almost there,” he says as he carries me around to the front of the store, setting me down so that I’m sitting sideways on his bike seat.

He pulls a helmet off the handle and places it on my head, strapping me in before swinging one of my legs over to the other side of the bike. He climbs on in front of me, and the engine roars to life.

“Hold on tight,” he orders.

I do as he tells me and wrap my arms around his abdomen. Unfortunately, in my gloomy state, I’m unable to enjoy his abdominal muscles. I close my eyes and rest my head on his back, letting the tears flow freely. Carl has found me, and now Marie and I are going to have to leave again.

I’m going to have to leave Blaze.

That simple statement shatters my heart into a million pieces, and I start to cry even harder. This isn’t fair. I’ve done everything I could to keep us safe since we’ve moved here. How did he find us?

We stop in the parking lot beside the local police station where Marie and Stella are already waiting. I jump off the bike, and run to Marie, wrapping her in a full body hug. I completely forget I’m still wearing the helmet until I sort of knock her in the head with it. She lets out a small cry.

“Oh my God, Marie, I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m so sorry,” I say ripping the helmet from my head and tossing it to the ground. I feel my knees give out as I start to collapse to the ground. Before I can make contact, though, I feel Blaze’s strong arms wrap around me again. I feel as if a giant piano is sitting on my chest, and I can’t breathe. All I can feel is Carl’s hands on me, and I start thrashing wildly trying to escape.

“We need to calm her down,” I hear Stella say sympathetically.

“No shit,” I hear Blaze say in a not so kind voice. He pulls me up and throws me over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, carrying me into the police station. I watch his ass as we walk in, but only because it was already in my line of vision. I feel absolutely nothing at all. That’s how numb I am. I work on trying to breathe and manually send the signal to my brain to draw in a breath every once in a while.

Stella and Marie follow in behind me, and Blaze sets me down on a couch in front of the reception desk.