Page 6 of Single Mom's Biker Brigade
“My stepfather is drunk and hitting my mother. He’s trying to rape me.” I blasted the words as fast as I could while Wade scrambled to his feet.
“You’re going to regret that.” He waved the whiskey bottle side to side, his entire body weaving.
I might regret it later, but right this instant, I needed him to go away. I needed a second to breathe and figure out what to do next.
Mom always told me the Jamesons were tough.
We never asked for help. I understood that mentality, but if the police could get Wade out of our house long enough for me and Mom to find a safe place, I’d call them a million times over.
Sirens sounded. Wade cursed and flung the bottle at my head.
I raised an arm to deflect it, and the solid thunk clipped my shoulder instead of my face.
The door flew open behind him and police swarmed inside. I’d never seen anything like it, and my jaw practically hit the floor as the leading officer took one look at the situation and slammed Wade into the nearest wall.
Wade bellowed and cursed, trying to buck off the officer twisting his arms behind his back. “You’re going to regret this.” He laughed, eyes crazed and spittle flying from his mouth. “I’ll have your badge for this. You don’t know who I am. Who you’re messing with.”
“Are you okay?” A female officer cut between me and Wade. She wore a dark blue uniform like the others, but the understanding in her eyes set her apart. “You have a cut.” She tapped her cheek.
“Mom.” I barely managed to say that much before I fell into the nearest chair with a bone-rattling thud. “Can you help my mom?”
A shudder rippled through my entire body, and I shivered.
“Sure. We’ll see about her too.” The woman angled her head toward Mom. “My name is Officer Davis. I have a few questions for you.”
A man and a woman dressed in white shirts and blue slacks carried medical bags inside.
One stopped next to Mom, and the other came my way.
I waved them off, pointing at Mom.
My teeth chattered too much to speak, but they understood.
The woman draped a thick blanket over my shoulders, retreating when I flinched.
Two officers wrestled Wade through the busted door and into a cop car.
The red and blue lights from the emergency vehicles spun in dizzying circles my eyes tried to follow.
I slumped against the wall and tried to pay attention to Officer Davis. “He threatened to kill us. He…” I swallowed hot bile, unable to continue. Others had suffered so much worse. All I’d endured was a few hits and tonight’s fumbling kiss. It was more than enough.
“It’s going to be okay.” Officer Davis patted my knee, then wrote in her little notebook. “We’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“How?” Tears blurred my vision. I refused to cry. He wasn’t worth it, so I took a deep breath and willed my body to straighten. It would take more than a creep like Wade to break me.
A few of our neighbors strolled past the open door. Whispers drifted on the night breeze, my name mingled among the whispered words.
They’d blame me for this. Mom did, so why shouldn’t they?
Officer Davis continued to reassure me, mixing in a few questions along the way.
By the time she wrapped everything up and left with her partner, Mom had been checked out and bandaged.
One of the EMTs handed me a sheet of paper.
I scanned it, my eyes narrowing on the words BATTERED WOMEN’S SHELTER written in bold ink.
Mom would never go.
