Everything ruthlessly bulldozes through me. The whirlwind of information Adonis shared and Dana showing up. The hardest part for me to get over is how my appearance here has caused nothing but trouble.

Usually that's my staple and I own it.

Not this time.

There's movement in the living room and Dana shrieks out, "What the hell?! I help you and that's what I get?"

Adonis's low voice hits me hard in the chest as he growls out, "That's not a form of payment you're getting... ever. There's only one woman I want to kiss and she isn't you."

My retinas burn and I take a deep breath. It's not his fault but Dana's mouth on his has literally opened up a part of me I didn't know existed... a jealous hulk.

I'm in my head which is a dangerous place for me to be, but at this point I don't care anymore.

"You alright, Tater Tot?"

When I turn I'm met by Bones, not Adonis. "Peachy."

He sits on the seat in the kitchen and I narrow my eyes at him causing him to lift his hands up. "Hey, I'm not the enemy here, I promise."

I shake my head and turn back to looking outside the window above the sink. I feel sick and dizzy probably from lack of sleep and this blasted kitchen. All hope of reverting back to myself for that one glorious moment has been squashed again. The fight for my sanity and spunk is back at full force.

I hate her.

He chuckles. "I bet you do. Don't blame you either."

I slouch down and put my head into my arms. "He pushed her off."

"Yeah, he hadn't agreed to that term of payment. He's devotedly yours, babe. You can blame me for needing her assistance. She was closest and loyal to the club despite everything," Bones explains. "Payment for her help was letting her back around."

I bite my tongue from lashing out my thoughts and taste blood. I'm losing it. Swallowing the iron down, I realize that I need a distraction or else I may wind up going all Norman Bates and shoving a steak knife repeatedly into Dana.

"What was he like before?" I ask.

He shifts in the chair as I tear my eyes away from the sunrise and dig in the cupboards for a baggy. "He wasn't someone you'd want to be in the same building as. You probably would've walked the opposite way if you had seen him. Scared and timid."

"Is that how everyone sees me? Because I'm small I'm timid and scared? Sorry to break it to you but I'm not. In fact, I can't remember that last time I was actually scared of anything."

Besides myself.

Bones examines me, but doesn't answer my questions, knowing they weren't aimed at him. Instead, he continues. "He was cold, ruthless, calculating."

"Still is calculating," I say as I dig in our freezer for ice.

"Wicked smart." I pull a chair in front of him and wrap the baggie in a paper towel and put it on his face as he talks . "The only good either of us had was JoJo. She brought so much light and kindness into our dark lives. He couldn't get enough of her, walked her to school every day, had adventure time with her, and would even pull me into tea parties. There was this one time he was late picking her up from the bus. He booked it to get to her."

God that's cute.

Bones smirks. "You really do say everything on your mind." He pauses. "JoJo held his hand the whole way to her first day of school, and every day after. At first, I thought it was for her because she was nervous or something, but then I realized she was doing it for him. She knew how much he hated being away from her."

It's quiet for a little.

"What about your mom?"

"She bailed right after JoJo was born. She got sick of Dad's cheating and abusive ways."

"She just left you guys?"

Bones gives a bitter laugh. "And never looked back."

"I'm sorry," I say and mean it.

Bones touches the scar on my cheek. "Same here."

He drops his hand and gives a deep sigh. "If only he hadn't been the first to have seen you.

I would've loved to have snatched you up."

I roll my eyes. "Trust me I'm not your type... or his."

"You're every guy's type." He holds up his fingers and starts ticking them off one by one. "Curvy, bite-sized, with big innocent blue eyes—"

"Innocent?" I cut him off. "Pfft. Yeah and thrown in a splash of schizophrenia with a pinch of episodes, you've got yourself a real winner."

He stares at me as I grab his hand to take over icing his face and move until my face is centimetres from his. "I have demons no one will ever understand."

I get up and walk over to the window again. "Why were Adonis and JoJo so close?"

Bones drums his fingers on the table. "Adonis was there when she was born. Mom came home in labor and he took her to the hospital. He was the first person to hold JoJo. I think that's why he had such a special bond with her. Not that I didn't, it was just different with Adonis."

I peek at him and see his face is scrunched up in thought and pain. Someone calls out for him and he gets up without another word and leaves.

I have no idea how long I stand there for, just staring at nothing. Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the edge of the counter and touch that flab.

Visions of blood staining the floor flashes in my mind and I jerk away so harshly I can't catch myself and my broken wrist tries breaking my fall. It hurts like hell, but I swallow that cry trying to escape my lips.

"What was that?" Amber's voice calls out.

"Nothing." I yell back. "Just dropped the coffee container. Hope you all want some coffee."

I snap up, despite the pain and fumble for coffee supplies and get it started. I hold my cast to my chest and dig my teeth into my cheek.

"What did you do to your wrist?" Comes Adonis's low melt me into a puddle accent.

"Nothing, it's fine," I say and push the pain to the back of my head as I move it around like normal, finding a sweet numbing crawl all over me.

"Tater Tot—"

"Don't call me that." I snap, turning around. "Go away and leave me alone."

His footsteps echo against the kitchen walls until his chest is so close to me that all I want to do is lean back against it. "You hurt it. I can tell."

I spin hotly on my heel hissing out. "She kissed you like a freaking dehydrated dog that just found its dumb water bowl."

He pins my body against his and the counter. "I didn't kiss her back. She does nothing for me, only you have power over me. I'm yours, Georgie."

I push his rock hard chest away and bust out of the kitchen and into the garage. The nerve. As if I could believe that, as if I could forget the image of her lips on his.

Yeah.

Not going to happen.

I lay down on the garage floor for a while and stare up at the dark ceiling. The storm has drifted into the early morning hours as well. Lightning lights up the garage with that pale blue glow every once in a while and I close my eyes enjoying the flashes against my eyelids. I fall asleep.

*

"So, you're her."

The voice is deep like a radio host but it doesn't carry any of that warmth or fun tone to it. More like wicked sarcasm. My eyes slowly open and I sit up, crossing my legs not knowing how long I was out for or how I didn't hear someone come in.

A man is sitting against the wall with his long legs crossed over one another as his muddy boots perch themselves on one of my paintings. A face that's handsome despite its age catches my attention and I see intense green eyes. He has a black beard surrounding a mouth that's smiling darkly at me and black hair pulled in a low ponytail.

He's big like his sons, heck even more so, and holds himself with swagger so heavy I could choke on it. I can't decide what's worse, Dallas's cologne or this old dude's swagger.

There's a cigarette hanging from his lips and it glows as he takes a drag from it, then blows it out.

"I have a sneaking suspicion you're not a nice stranger." I snarl out.

That smoke better not make my paintings smell.

His chuckle is deep as he takes his cigarette while staring at me and snuffs it out on my painting his boots are on.

Oh heck no!

Biting my tongue, I wonder if he knows Adonis and Bones are here.

"Anyone else here with you?"

Well, that answers all my questions.

I tilt my head. "Nah, it's just me unless you count my twenty cats." I throw up my good palm and use it to get his attention to my artwork. "I'm that stereotypical crazy art lady with a crap ton of cats."

His gorgeous greens eyes narrow as he smirks at me, liking the game I'm playing. He obviously knows who I am, but I'm stalling and he knows it. "Oh, really now, sweetheart? You don't look all that crazy to me."

I snort. I've been locked in a mental ward so..." I shrug and leave it at that as I bounce up and head to my art supply table acting totally clueless to him. "I've got to thank you for coming here and waking me up. If you didn't I'm afraid I would've gotten to know if those myths are true about cats eating you when in the face of starvation. I'm in dire need of kitty food."

"What they said is true," he says with what almost sounds like admiration.

"What is?" I ask sickeningly sweet.

He examines every part of me and it somehow feels violating. "You don't scare easily."

A smirk slowly rises on my face. "That's where you're wrong. I don't scare at all."

"I'm going to need you to come with me, sweetheart, and preferably without you putting up a fuss. Wouldn't want to cause any more damage to you."

"Oh, that won't happen. I never not put up a fuss."

Loud voices boom from inside the house and I give my biggest smile to him. "Ah, those pesky kitties, looks like they turned on that gosh darn tv again."

I move as quickly as he does. My plan was to knock him out with a can of paint, but luckily it hadn't been fully sealed the last time I had used it, so not only did it strike its target, but he's also covered in thick, slippery navy blue paint from head to toe.

I want to laugh but realize he's coming for me. I spin on my heel but slip on the paint causing my escape to fall to pieces as Adonis's dad grabs my arm. We both keep slipping trying to keep our balance while wrestling with each other. We fall to the ground and this time I land on my shoulder, which is a much better cushion. A big hand wraps around my ankle and pulls me right under him and he pins me to the ground.

"Tater Tot, sorry I know you want some space but—" The garage door swings open and Adonis with Ducky right behind him freezes when they see the sight before them.

It's not a pretty one.

Paint everywhere, probably ruining some of my paintings, and Adonis's dad pinning me to the ground as both of us are covered in said paint.

Adonis and Ducky move fast as Adonis's dad gets off me and guns it for the opposite door. Adonis gets to him first and slams him hard into the wall as Ducky grabs him by the arms and locks him in position for Adonis to have full access to him.

"Didn't expect to see you kid. Last I heard we chased you both out of here. Apparently, I need to hand down some punishments." His dad smiles like a devil who isn't even a little afraid of being caught.

"I don't care if you're my blood. I'm going to kill you for touching her." The rage coated in Adonis's tone is heavy even though he says it calmly.

"She's something." His dad jabs his chin over at me.

Adonis ignores his father and comes over to me, helping me up and pulling me into him protectively as his eyes search every inch of me to make sure I'm alright.

I'm still angry at him. "I'm fine."

My wrist throbs in reply to my lie.

The man barks out laughing. "God, who knew you, you, the one who was like me would become such a— Oh look there's two of them."

We all look and Amber is in the doorway with a baseball bat in hand. "Need some help?"

His dad chuckles. "I guess the Salvation is good for one thing. Your women."

Ducky slams his face into the wall and growls out, "Don't tempt me to hand you over to her. She'd beat you until you're an inch from your life and begging for death."

I smile. "Hey why don't we hang him up like a piñata and all take swings at him."

Adonis lets go of me and all humor dies away when he's face to face with his dad. "You have back up out there don't you?"

Ducky lets him go as his dad chuckles. "They'll be barging in here soon if I don't come out. We can start this war right here and now, but there may be some casualties,"he says, looking straight at me. Adonis has his face set but when his dad looks at his fists they're clenched and shaking. What are you going to do, kid? I won't stop coming after her or the people you care about." He gets right in Adonis's face. "We both know you're not meant for this and that you haven't changed. You belong next to me, reigning over our empire."

"You killed your own flesh and blood,"Adonis says darkly.

A knock on the garage door distracts us and Adonis's dad opens it, but puts his hand up, stopping the group of Silencers from coming in.

"So, Bones is dead?"

"I'm talking about JoJo."

His dad stills as realization hits him. He is swift and shoving Adonis's chest. "Is this what all this has been about? You betraying us and planning against us. You idiot. She was dying. Her body was eating her alive and she was suffering. I did what I had to."

"What?" Adonis asks with wide shocked eyes.

"That time when she was bruising easily and getting sick I took her to the doctors. She had stage 4 leukemia. She was as good as dead. I made her death mean something, I—"

Adonis strikes hard. His dad falls back a little and Silencers start coming into the garage, but he holds his hand up again. Then like an arrogant gladiator he holds up both his arms. "Do your worst, son. You better give it all you've got because if I'm still standing... you won't be and I'll take her as a prize."

Gross!

He's like at least fifty.

He and his dad slam so hard into each other and hit one another that each punch makes me cringe. They wrestle and I watch as the weeks of paintings I've done fall as they crash into them.

Adonis gets the upper hand by sneaking his leg behind his dad's and gets him off balance with the agile movement and shoves him against the wall. Adonis starts relentlessly punching his father.

When Adonis attacked Dallas, it was nothing compared to this. With each blow his dad's maniac laugh bounces off the wall. Then Adonis's fist comes into contact with bone and there's a loud snap.

That sound again...

The sound of bone breaking crawls all over my skin.

A sharp searing pain blisters every crevice of my brain, like an ice cold burn. Grabbing the roots of my hair I give a low hiss.

"Not now," I whisper.

My eyes close and I see the fracture, except this time when it doesn't just split in half. It cracks all over and breaks into shards and that darkness I've kept at bay for so long consumes me. My whole body goes into a catatonic shock, like a dead deer in the stage of rigor mortis.

"Why won't you remember me?"

Everything goes in slow motion and the room spins. The skin on my arms creeps all over until those invisible fire ants return to feast on my flesh.

My fear breathes out a cold breath that drifts over and bites at me and I know exactly where it came from. My eyes fly open and the garage is filled with ashes, like a bomb had gone off. No one else notices it and as Adonis and his dad fight, I turn my head and see the silhouette coming out of the wallpaper.

No one pays attention to me as my body goes from stiff to loose limbs. Everything in me unravels and I lose all feeling and collide onto the floor in an exhausted heap. I knock over some red paint during my fall and it begins to soak into my hair and on my face that's now lying on the ground.

"Shhh, Georgie."

A shadowed foot comes out from behind the wallpaper...

Then another.

The shadow begins taking form and soon little white sandals take small childlike steps toward me until they're right in my line of vision. It bends down and I see myself as a child. Those white blonde curls fall in front of her face and she gives me a small smile.

"It's time for you to come with me now."