BK 4 - Chapter 17 - Taking Out The Trash
Alex looked down at Kiersten when he felt her shaking. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Pulling her into the other room, away from everyone, he wrapped his arms around her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, kissing her forehead while she continued to shake in his arms.
"That man who just came in. I think the woman said his name was Scott. I know him." Kiersten answered, her voice quivering as she tried to keep herself from crying.
"How do you know him?" Alex asked cautiously, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer. Kiersten took a deep breath.
"About a year ago, I was taking a walk when a few men started messing with me. They tried to pull me off the sidewalk to take me somewhere, but I pushed them off. Scott chased me and threatened that he would hunt me down if I told anyone. He said, who would believe me anyway when I was blind and dumb." Kiersten started crying as she held on to Alex. He stroked her head while trying to control his anger.
"Did you go to the police?" He asked.
"No. I heard their voices but couldn't describe them to anyone." Kiersten took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She'd hoped she never had to hear those voices again.
Neither of them noticed Lisa was standing in the doorway. She had seen Kiersten's face and heard what she said. Turning toward Scott, she stomped over and punched him in the face while everyone stared in shock.
"Lisa, what are you doing?" Jade asked as she ran to Scott's side.
"Ask this piece of shit what he does to helpless women," Lisa said as she shook with anger. Scott held his nose, looking at her in confusion.
"What are you talking about? I don't know you," He said. Lisa grabbed him by the ear and pulled him over to where Alex and Kiersten were standing.
"Would you like to tell everyone what you did to her?" She said as she kicked him in the knee, making him fall. Scott felt humiliated letting a woman treat him like that. He'd teach her a lesson if it wasn't for all the men in the house. When he looked at Kiersten's tear-stained face, he gaped at her.
"What's she talking about, Scott?" Jade asked, walking over to them. One thing she knew for certain was that Lisa would stand up for anyone who had been hurt. She felt uneasy when she looked between Kiersten and Scott.
"It was nothing. I think I better go. See you later." Scott tried to get up and walk to the door, but Trey and Thatcher blocked his way.
"I think you better answer my daughter's question," Thatcher said, his voice cold as ice.
"It was only a joke. Me and my friends saw her walking, and we teased her a little. No one got hurt. I think she's overreacting. She's blind, so she probably doesn't even know what's going on." Scott chuckled, expecting the others to join him. He didn't see Jade's fist until it was too late. It connected with his nose, and blood spurt out, making him yell in pain.
"Uncle Trey, can we file charges on this asshole?" Jade asked as she walked over to Kiersten and took her hand. She didn't know who she was, but by the way she was clinging to Alex, she figured she was his mate.
"Let me make a call. Kiersten, you can identify his voice and describe what happened, right?" Trey asked, looking toward his grandson's mate.
"Yes, but has too much time passed? It's been a year since they attacked me, and he threatened me." She replied softly. Jade punched Scott again, splitting his lip. She felt terrible for bringing him there and terrifying Kiersten.
"We can still file charges. Give me a minute, and I'll have someone pick up the trash." Trey pulled out his phone to make a call. Kiersten didn't know what to say. Despite reliving what the men had done to her, she'd never felt better than she did at that moment. No one had ever stood up for her like Alex's family did.
"A patrol car is on the way. If you want any leniency, I suggest you tell them who was with you, or you'll go down for this yourself." Trey said as he pulled Scott out the door.
"You have to be kidding me. She's nothing but a stupid blind girl." Scott yelled. Cat had heard enough. She walked over to Scott and squeezed his fingers until she broke a couple of them, making him scream in pain.
"If I hear you say another word about her, you'll regret it. Worthless scumbags like you don't deserve to walk the earth." Cat brought her knee up hard into his groin, making him fall to his knees again.
Trey dragged him down the steps just as the patrol car pulled up. He explained what had happened. While the male officer read Scott his Miranda rights, the female officer went inside to get Kiersten's statement. Once they were gone, everyone crowded around, Kiersten apologizing. When Cat and Melanie both hugged her, she began crying again.
"Are you okay?" Cat asked gently.
"I am now, thanks to all of you. No one has ever done anything like that for me before. I can't thank you enough for standing up for me." Kiersten said with a small smile.
"Oh, honey, you're part of our family now. Come on, you can help us finish dinner," Cat said as she and Melanie hooked their arms with Kierstens and led her into the kitchen. Alex watched them with a smile.
"I think you've lost your mate," Lisa said, walking beside her brother. Jade joined them. She was still beautiful with her long glossy black hair and dark green eyes.
"I'm sorry I brought him here. I swear I didn't know he was a dirtbag." She said, looking between Lisa and Alex.
"It's not your fault. At least we were able to get him arrested." Alex said as he kept his eyes on Kiersten. Valerie was sitting with her at the bar, where they were cutting vegetables together. He could still see the pain in his grandmother's eyes from the loss of Roger, but he knew being around family was helping her.
"I can't believe you both found your mates within a matter of days of each other," Saxon said, walking over to stand next to his eldest children.
"Yeah, and they'll both fit in well with our family. Neither of them has any family," Lisa said, looking at Jayce, who was helping her mom with something on the stove.
"I always said we find our mates when they need us the most. I'm glad you found Jayce and Kiersten; they both seem to be good people," Saxon said.
"Hello, family; sorry we're late," Wesley said as he and Mindy walked through the front door. Lisa and Alex exchanged a smile. That was just who they were hoping to see. Lisa walked over to Wesley as he looked at her wearily.
"Hi, Uncle Wesley and Aunt Mindy. We were hoping you would be here," Lisa said, hugging each of them.
"I promise I haven't said anything bad to anyone, and I've treated Mindy with nothing but respect," Wesley said, making everyone within earshot laugh. Carlita came into the room and smirked.
"Dang, Uncle Wesley, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were scared of Lisa." Carlita winked at Lisa while linking her arm with Mindy and Wesley's eleven-year-old daughter, Bailey. They ran out of the room giggling.
"I think you're rubbing off on her," Wesley said quietly.
"Where's Jamila and Devon?" Alex asked.
"They wanted to stay at the group home," Mindy answered before walking into the kitchen to join the others.
"We would like to talk to you about something, Uncle Wesley. Grandpa Roger left us a file that he wanted us to work on. We brought it with us if you have time to look over it with us before you leave," Lisa said with a smile. She loved messing with him, but he was one of the men she respected the most.
"We can look at it now if you want while we're waiting for dinner," He answered, breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe if he helped them, Lisa wouldn't give him a hard time. Alex grabbed the file and let Kiersten know what he was doing. She was happy staying with the others in the kitchen.
They sat on the couch in the living room to go through the file's contents. When they were done, Wesley sat back with a sigh. Everything he had read and the hidden laws that protected the monsters torturing innocent people saddened him.
"I would like to help with this if you'll let me. Let me see what I can find regarding laws protecting our kind. If there are any, that would be a place to start. If we can't find anything, we'll find something similar to use in comparison. I'm confident we can get this done," Wesley said, looking between his niece and nephew. He almost groaned as Lisa smirked at him, and he braced himself.
"Thanks. We knew you would be the best person to ask." Wesley let out the breath he was holding in relief until she continued. "After all, Carlita and Bailey are way smarter but too young, so we didn't have any other options."
