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Reflex had Ellia’s fingers folding over the sheathed knife the moment Theodora left her sight. Fray observed the move, his deep-set eyes narrowing as he determined what it was.
“You won’t need that,” he said.
“Really?”
“I only want to talk to you El-”
“About?”
Frayzer studied the murky contents of the cup he held. “I think we’re finally on our way to getting my cousins out of the business,” a smirk of agitation ghosted across his mouth then. “It’ll take an executive order to have them removed and that requires votes from the major stockholders.” His gaze made a sudden shift from the mug to El’s face. Her expression struck him like a blow.
“So this is about business?” She asked.
“You’re a major stockholder.”
“You think I care?”
“I know you don’t, but because you are, it involves you in the issue.”
“The issue? Damn you. My name is only on your sham documents, because your aunt asked me to put it there. I did it because I love her, but don’t you stand there and act like your family offered The Taylors, Croixs and Desmonds interest in that business for any other reason than a payoff.”
When she rolled her eyes, Fray knew she must’ve seen his gaze drift to her hair. A tendril had escaped the elaborate braid that drew her coarse mane away from her face. He eyed the frizzy lock in helpless fascination. The spell broke when she shook her head and began to speak.
“I guess we should be grateful for stock options. They’re a lot easier to take than your other forms of coercion.”
Having thoroughly lost interest in the coffee that smelled like it would’ve been a treat for his taste buds, Fray set aside the cup.
“El-” He’d made a move toward the desk, but stopped mid stride when she not only clutched the knife, but stumbled back away from her desk until the wall broke her retreat.
The rest of what he’d been ready to say was wiped clear of his mind as he watched her. She’d all but scrambled away from the desk in the manner a squirrel might scurry from the path of an approaching car. She hugged the wall, the knife pressed close to her heaving chest as she watched him in a way that screamed something other than the anger and hate he’d been prepared for.
“It’s alright,” gradually he raised a hand to urge calm. “It’s alright, Elli.” He initiated a retreat of his own then. His steps took him the way he’d come through the office door.
“I’ll um, I’ll come back at a better time.” The sandpaper raspiness of his voice was softer given the quiet, stunned tone of his words.
Ellia followed his departure with steady yet terror-filled eyes. When he’d gone, she slid down the wall and hugged her knees. A better time, he’d said. He would come back at a better time. When? She searched the recesses of her memory. When was the last time a better time had resided between them?
***
New Island, Charleston~16 years earlier
“So how was it?” Moira Croix’s slanting doe eyes sparkled like twin amber moons.
“Moy!” Seela Desmond slapped her cousin’s arm.
Moira waved Seela off like she was a fly to be swatted. “Come on El. No way are you keeping your virginity story a secret from your favorite cousins.”
Ellia attempted to do precisely that while fiddling with a tassel from her sweatshirt. “Miss Bin says a lady never kisses and tells.”
“Good! Since I’m not asking you to tell me about the kisses.”
Seela gasped while El burst into the laughter she’d been working to stifle.
“Damn El, at least tell us if it was good or not?” Moira’s features twisted to display a look of playful torment. Seamlessly, her expression transitioned into one that was more sly than playful. “If Fray’s built like Zy then I’m betting your time in bed was damn good.”
Seela let out another admonishing sigh and received another wave-off.
“Save it,” Moira ordered. “I’ll bet chances are strong that you won’t even be able to walk when you lose it to War’s big ass.”
“Alright Moy, you’re goin’ too far now,” El made the plea for propriety but couldn’t quell her laughter. “They’ve only been seeing each other a few weeks.”
“A good thing too,” Moira flipped a lock of bright hair across her shoulder. “War Noble is way too cute to be walking around depressed like he was while Seel took her time deciding whether she was gonna give him a chance.”
“Miss B says a lady should wait ‘til she’s a wife.”
“Mmm...” Moira considered Seela’s words. “Yes, we should, but hard dicks and guys who know how to use them can make that a difficult decision to stick to.”
“Quiet!” El whispered to douse the laughter that erupted among her and her cousins. “I was doing a good job of eavesdropping on Fray’s call before y’all got here.”
Zyon Hammond had left his grand aunt's and uncle’s home and returned as instructed just shy of two hours later with Warwick in tow. Joining the cousins were their girlfriends Moira Croix and Seela Desmond.
“So? Anything good?” Moira’s demeanor made a quick shift to serious.
El shook her head. “Sounded like he was making reservations and getting some grief about his age. I know we’re taking a ferry off the island tonight.”
The news had satisfaction warming Moira’s face. “Sounds like fun.”
“Yeah...I don’t know.”
“Why?” Seela only had time to voice the quick query before the guys returned to the living room.
Half an hour earlier, Fray and El had come down from Fiske and Binta Hammond’s guest suite to meet the others. El studied her boyfriend while silently recalling the look on his face when he told her they had to go. His expression didn’t look like one a person would wear if fun was on the agenda.
The guys were all smiles then however as they entered the room. Zyon Hammond’s long strides quickly carried him to Moira and he was lifting her into a throaty kiss soon after.
At 15, Warwick Noble was already over 6’5 and massively muscular. Seela giggled when he slipped an arm around her non-existent waistline and drew her close for a tight, warm squeeze.
Frayzer set his forehead to Ellia’s when he turned her into him for a rocking embrace.
“Do we have time to go back to bed?”
“Don’t tempt me Elli.”
“Does that mean there’s time?”
Fray laughed into his girlfriend’s neck. “I’m not letting you out of bed when we get to DeSaix’s.”
“DeSaix’s,” El pulled back to eye Fray speculatively. “The inn near Cooper River?”
“That’s the one.”
“We’re goin’ to DeSaix’s y’all,” El tipped back her head to inform her cousins.
Everyone laughed when Moira let out an approving cheer.
“Hey?” Warwick gave Seela another quick squeeze and turned her to face him. “You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for, but I need you to trust me and come with us, okay?”
Seela responded with an eager nod that sent her high ponytail bouncing about her dark, round face. “I trust you,” she said.
“Everybody ready?” Fray called once he’d helped himself to another kiss from Ellia.
“No one’s packed,” Moira said.
“I’ll take you shopping when we’re inland,” Zyon promised.
Moira released one of her patented purrs. “The night just keeps getting better and better,” she relished the lazy kiss Zyon put to her neck.
The couples were making their way into the grand foyer when thunderous knocking vibrated through the Hammond’s wide, Maplewood door. Ellia’s happy expression showed no signs of concern until she glimpsed the change in Fray’s demeanor. His stance had stiffened, making him appear as though he’d grown beyond his 6’2.
“Fray-” El gasped when he suddenly caught her arms in a crushing hold.
“Listen, I need you to trust me, alright? Promise to do exactly what I say, no questions.”
“Fray what is it? Why-” She shrieked when his hands tightened on her arms and he shook her.
“I don’t have time to explain- just promise me.”
El could only nod in response to the fiercely whispered order. Her heart surged to her throat when Fray took her wrist to tug her through the foyer and living room.
Warwick and Seela were close behind. Zyon and Moira remained near the foyer.
“What the hell, Zy?” Moira demanded answers from her boyfriend.
“Let’s go!” Fray called.
“Zy?!” Moira insisted, clutching a fistful of Zyon’s shirtsleeve.
“Later Moy-”
“Now-hey!” Moira was the one shrieking then when Zyon tossed her over his shoulder and sprinted from the foyer to catch up to the others.
The six were clearing the back door off the kitchen when Ellia’s scream rang out into the night. She watched Fray stagger and drop to his knees following the blow to his gut from the butt of a rifle wielded by his father.
“Disgrace,” Bronson Guthrie V sneered down at his only son.
El scrambled to see to Fray’s injuries, but found herself lifted off the ground and restrained in Russ Hammond’s unbreakable hold.
“Let her go!” Fray ordered, forced to his feet by Ellia’s screams. The move earned him nothing except another blow from his father’s rifle butt. That one landed between his shoulder blades.
“Fray-” Warwick attempted a move to his cousin, but he was held off when a rifle turned his way.
“I’m sure this is no shock,” Jock Noble was saying, “You treat Fray and Zy like brothers more than you ever did me and Scof.”
“And that surprises you, shitstain?” Warwick breathed.
His younger brother’s demeanor seemed so threatening to Jock that he retreated a step in spite of the weapon he carried.
Warwick’s focus shifted from one brother to the other. Scofield had yanked Seela back against his chest. He aimed a handgun toward his baby brother while hiding his face in the side of Seela’s neck.
“Let her go before I break you in half,” War’s words were soft with eerie promise.
“If you touch us, we touch her,” Jock threatened.
Scofield continued to nuzzle Seela’s neck. “I’m betting there’s still some places on her you haven’t touched.”
“Guess we can’t say the same for your slut, can we Zy?” Keene Hammond sent a leering glance toward Zyon who held a squirming Moira in a restraining hold.
“Cocksuckers!” Moira snarled and kicked up dust beneath her sandals as she fought against Zyon. “Let go of my cousins, you pricks!”
“Good job, boy,” Bronson Guthrie moved to clap a hand to Zyon’s shoulder. “This is the kind of cooperation I want from the rest of you. Handle your girls or we’ll have to.”
“War?” Seela’s voice trembled.
“It’s alright See-See,” War soothed, forcing an encouraging smile.
“Such a sweet thing,” Bron Guthrie favored Seela with an encouraging smile as well. “War’s right, honey. Everything will be alright as long as everybody cooperates.”
“You don’t have to do this, Poppa.” Fray had staggered to his feet while he spoke.
“Seems we do, son. A reminder to you of your family and its traditions.”
“Grandpa outlawed-”
“No! No.” Bron gave the second denial in a more cajoling tone, along with a deceptive smile. “My father went soft like his father- my grandfather- before him. We are who we are today-have what we have because of what your great great grandfather put in place all those years ago.”
“A system of fear, you coward! Brutality against his own people!” Ellia snapped, wincing when Bron Guthrie’s harsh laughter rang out.
“I could probably like this girl of yours, son if she wasn’t a Taylor.” Bron looked back to Fray then, again he shook his head in disappointment. “You’re a Guthrie- could have any number of girls from appropriate families.”
“That’s rich!” Moira fought pointlessly in Zyon’s embrace. “Appropriate girls for the most inappropriate family ever created! All of you sons of cum filled bitches-!”
“Little slut!” Bron returned to Zyon’s side in the midst of Moira’s tirade. He punished her with a powerful backhand fist that left her limp.
Seela and El screamed, working in earnest to free themselves of their captors.
Zyon followed Moira as she slumped unconscious. Gently, he settled her to the ground. Bolting up, he advanced on Bron Guthrie with his fists clenched and eyes ablaze. Bron merely aimed his rifle inches from the young man’s face. A second later, he was cocking the weapon.
“Alright Poppa! Alright, you win!”
The elder Guthrie’s lethal grin had emerged by the time he faced his son. “Now that’s more like it.” Dismissing Zyon and his rage, Bron lowered the rifle and went to Fray. Soon, he was leaning close, speaking so that only Fray could hear.
“Bring them or we’ll be back and if we have to come back for them I can promise what’ll be waiting for those girls on the other side of this island will be more than what they’ve already got coming and it’ll be a damn sight less enjoyable than what you’ve been givin’ that sweet ‘lil thing of yours inside your grandaunt’s house all afternoon,” Guthrie paused for another wild grin.
“Oh yeah, son. I knew all about your little rendezvous here. I even know about your plans to take the ferry to DeSaix’s. Now let’s stop all this madness and go honor those who got us here. Otherwise, I’ll let the boys have a high ‘ol time with those sweet pieces all night and toss ‘em on their mama’s and daddy’s porches ‘fore daybreak tomorrow mornin’.
You just have to ask yourself what’s more important- convincing your sweetheart to honor tradition or leaving her to us and risking her going through things even more damaging.” Bron clapped a hand to his son’s shoulder and winked. “Let’s go, boys!” He called to the others.
Russ and Scofield surrendered their holds on Ellia and Seela and followed Bronson Guthrie into the night. Unmindful of the guns Jock and Keene still wielded, the girls scrambled over to where Moira still lay unconscious.
“Easy now,” Jock urged his brother and cousins while he and Keene backed away with rifles still aimed to ensure a safe escape.
Once the rest of their family had disappeared into the night, War, Zyon and Fray dropped down next to the girls.
Zyon handled Moira gently, cursing viciously at the bruise beginning to bloom on her cheek. “Babe?” He brushed a kiss across her forehead when she whimpered.
“Elli?” Fray faced her where she knelt beside her cousin. “I need you to come with me,” he said when her eyes met his. He looked to Seela and then spoke to War. “We need them to come with us.”
“Are we going to the ferry?” El asked.
Fray took her hand, squeezed. “Elli, I need you to trust me. Please trust me and know I love you.” He offered his other hand.
Even as she took it, El listened to and believed the voice that warned her life would never be the same after that night. Her relationship with Fray would never be the same after that night. She stood.
War took Seela’s hand and tugged her to her feet. Zyon lifted Moira into his arms to carry her. Together, the group ventured toward the forest.