Broken Free (The Broken Series) (9 page)

Chapter Twelve

“Where are you going?” Sofia
looked around the crowded mall parking lot.

“Get a frame for
my
son’s
picture.” He said it like what else would he do immediately after getting that.

Sofia smiled all giddy. Daniel’s cell vibrated in the cup holder and
she picked it up. “The house.” She answered it and a rattle of gasped Romanian flowed into the phone. “Dara? Slow down, what’s wrong?”

“Oh my God oh my God momma, he’s
here!”

“Who’s there?
” Sofia snapped her gaze to Daniel.

“Seth! Seth is
home!
”

“Seth is home?” She
widened her eyes and Daniel covered his face with both hands. “We’re on our way.” She hung up the phone and immediately hugged Daniel who again, broke down.

“Fuck,” he gasped. “I feel like all my dreams have come true in one day.”
Hearing the joy and emotion in the rasped broken words brought Sofia’s own tears. She grabbed his face and kissed his lips over and over. “You deserve this baby, I love you so much.”

The drive home was nauseating for Sofia. Watching Daniel
go slowly home had to be the hardest thing ever. They
finally
pulled into the driveway. “Go, I know you want to, I’m right behind you.” Sofia undid her belt and tears gushed when he tore out of the car like a child on his first Christmas morning. Sofia stood at the car and paused when Seth met him halfway. They both froze a few feet away from each other.

“Look what the cat dragged home
,” Daniel said.

The sweet smile Seth gave was apparently as heartbreaking to Daniel as it was to her. H
e pulled his brother into a tight hug and Sofia let out a sob as she made her way toward them. She neared and the sound of their broken cries made her bawl. She put her arms around both of them and soon Dara was in on the hug as well. Sounded like a damn funeral.

“What the hell kind of soap opera you all got going on out here.” Gammie slowly made her way out. “You realize you have a corner lot. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself plastered all over that You Television.”

They all gasped a laugh at her. “You Tube Gammie,” Sofia said, wiping her eyes.

“Yeah that. Ben has been making me watch it with him. Seems there’s an endless supply of reality comedy.”

Ben? Who the hell was that?

Sofia looked aroun
d for Sarah. Where was she?

“Wow, look at you,” Seth said, facing her. He pointed at her belly. “I see Danny is taking good care of you.”

She smiled and gave him a tight hug. “Welcome home, we missed you.” She hoped it wasn’t too much, Daniel was still easily provoked to jealousy. And she didn’t mind that at all. Seth kept the hug cordial thankfully, not that she expected anything else. Was hard not too though after the fits Daniel had about him at first.

“Did you see Sarah?” Sofia whispered in the ear opposite of Dara.

He shook his head and whispered back, “Didn’t know she was here.”

Oh my God. “Yes, I hope that’s okay, we just thought it was…”

“I’m glad,” he hurried then raked his short cropped blonde hair with a hand as though he’d said too much.

“Let’s bring this soap opera inside as Rachel puts it,” Daniel said.

“Isn’t he adorable momma?” Dara put her hands on Seth’s cheeks and shook his head a little. Then kissed him. He seemed to let her but it was hard to know if he wanted to. Time would tell.

Sofia hurried inside to find Sarah, wondering where she was, kinda scared to know. She went to her bedroom and then the closed bathroom door and knocked.

“Yes?”

“It’s me. Sofia.”

“I…I am…”

Sofia listened closely and was sure she heard crying. “Can I come in?”

A few seconds later, the door unlocked. Sofia carefully went in and shut the door. “Why aren’t you out there?”

She sat on the toilet, looking down and shook her head.

“What? What’s wrong?”

She shrugged her shoulder and wiped tears away.

Sofia went sit on the tub next to her and saw that she’d been crying a while. “Talk to me, let me help you.”

She gasped a dry laugh. “Help me? You can help me be beautiful like her?” She threw her hand toward the door.

“Honey, you’re beautiful too, why are you saying that?”

“I am skinny. No breast, no butt, no…” The final word wailed out. “…no anything good. Cannot read, cannot cook, cannot…” she stopped again, straining. She shook her head and faced Sofia and it cut her breath to see the look in her eyes. The look of somebody that knew they were
useless and nothing. “Don’t know how to even dress, don’t know how to be a…a good girl, I don’t want to be bad, I don’t want to be a bad girl.” Her head shook and she let Sofia pull her in for a hug.

“Stop that,” Sofia gasped. “You’re not bad. You’re not.” She rubbed her back, the bones in her spine too pronounced. Daniel should be force feeding Sarah, not her. That needed to change. That
would
change. “Now let’s get you fixed up, okay? I can help with that!” Sofia said excited. “Would you like that?”

Sarah sobbed and hugged her tighter. “I never have a sister like this. Thank you.”

“Well first,” Sofia stood and pulled her up, “you’ll need to dry those eyes if I’m going to put make up on you.”

“Make up?”

“Yes, I’m going to make you look beautiful.” Dara would hate her for this but like Sofia could deny this poor girl that little bit. If Seth loved Dara like she claimed, then this wouldn’t change a thing. But this pitiful damaged person deserved happiness just like anybody else. She deserved a shot at it, at least. And she deserved that with Seth. After suffering through what she did with him, she’d owned that right.

Sofia worked her magic in less than thirty minutes. It was easy to do with her, she was a natural beauty. She made her take a five minute shower and wash her hair. Then she blow dried it and passed a straightener through it
before putting it up in a sensual twist with strands of hair framing her face.

S
ofia found another dress to put on her, one of Sofia’s sundresses. Red. “Ohhhh look at you,” Sofia whispered at her in the mirror. “You look like a dazzling Spanish princess!” And she did. Maybe one from a poor village but nevertheless royalty. One with a strong bloodline and prominent bone structure. Her bright green eyes stood out in her flawless skin. Well not flawless. She had a few scars on her face. None Sofia wanted to know about. One tiny white triangular one next to her upper lip. An inch long thin line on her chin. Another thicker gash across her brow. All faded white with time.

But none of it could
hide her beauty. Even after several episodes of teeth brushing, it was clear she was in dire need of dental attention. Mostly scraping and whitening, but nothing professional tools couldn’t fix easily. And those brows. She needed to harness those runaway brows.

The girl smiled with fascination in the mirror
with that expression of ‘who is that person? Couldn’t be her. Could it?’

“You ready? They’ll think we drowned in here.”

Daniel had come knocking fifteen minutes before and Sofia had explained what was going on and he covered for her. He was glad she was helping. “Make her look nice,” he’d mouthed. She knew he hoped Sarah ended up with Seth. She wasn’t sure why, but dammit, either way it was all shitty, the whole predicament.

Sofia
took one more look at her quick groom job. From her eyebrows, to her toenails, finishing with red polish. Fastest make over in the world. Sarah had no jewelry but didn’t need any. She was a half a size below Sofia in shoes so, her red sandaled pumps fit her close enough. Sofia cringed inside. Dara would
hate
her. Feel betrayed. Dara was beautiful in her own way, but this girl had much more. Minus confidence.

“Chin up. Back straight. You’re beautiful, you’re a princess, you’re Spanish royalty.”

Sarah giggled and blushed. Then she fanned her face and looked up at the ceiling before closing her eyes and muttering foreign syllables. “I am so nervous.”

Sofia suddenly
realized that maybe trying to slip in with Miss Dominican Republic wasn’t the wisest idea. “Would you prefer to say hi to Seth in private first?”

She looked unsure and hesitant
with a spark of hope and interest.

“He’d probably much prefer that. And it would give you a chance to…talk about things?” Sofia pointed to her tummy.

The girl looked down and worried at her lip while holding her womb. “So scared to tell. What if he is angry? Thinks…”

Sofia took her hands. “Seth is a good man. He cares about you a lot. Don’t be afraid of him.”

She looked down and nodded. “Yes. Very good man.” She leveled clear green eyes on her. “Not afraid of Seth.” She gave a small smile.

“Okay. You go in your room and I’ll…get him?”

“My room?”

Sofia eyed her.
“The one you sleep in?”

She appeared confused then gave a small smile and nodded. “My room. I go…to my room.”

Sofia’s heart clenched at how the poor girl got so much joy out of the strangest thing. Like that being
her
room. Sofia had told her that before, but apparently she didn’t believe her? Hear her? Who knew? And really it was Daniel’s office. He’d moved everything into the garage and covered it so that she had her own space. 

Sofia left and went signal Daniel.

“Figured it might be a better idea for Seth to go see her in her room? I didn’t want to embarrass anybody.”

“Fantastic idea baby.” He kissed her forehead and rushed off to get Seth.

Chapter Thirteen

Seth followed Daniel to the back when he got the hand signal. Seth met him in the hall near the bathroom and leaned in close to his brother at seeing it was something on the down low. Daniel pointed to his office door and whispered, “Sarah is in there.”

His heart jolted with fear. “She okay?”

Daniel nodded and leaned close again. “She’s…shy. Dara isn’t exactly taking kindly to her being here.”

“Why?” Anger zapped through him.

“Jealous bro. You know how it is.”

“Jealous of what?”

Daniel flicked his thumb at the door. “She didn’t know at first that Dara was into you and well, she didn’t hide the fact that she really likes you.”

Seth’s heart raced at just hearing it.
Out loud.

“Anyway, she’s feeling…
less than
, let’s say.”

Seth nodded
. He understood the rest. She was feeling like trash, scum, worthless. Ugly. “Okay, thanks.”

Daniel gave him a one armed hug and put his forehead on
Seth’s briefly before walking off.

Seth took a slow breath and put his hand on the door and hesitated. What was his problem? This was Sarah.
They were adults now. Things were different. She was… He opened the door a crack and froze at seeing her sitting on a bed. Shit, she was definitely a woman now.

She jolted toward him as he stepped in and shut the door. “Hey,” he said.

Seth was awestruck with her beauty as she slowly rose, her green eyes brilliant with make-up.

She bit her full
red lower lip and he remembered how fragile she was. “You look…pretty.” Seth scratched his cheek while he continued to stare at her. His eyes moved with ease over her. “Really pretty,” he added, feeling like pretty by itself was wrong.

She smiled the most beautiful smile and looked down. “Thank you,” she sort of sang softly, her accent coming through. He
smiled at hearing it. He loved her accent, he realized. She used to sing this Spanish song to him. She didn’t remember what it meant, only that her mother sang it to her when she was very young and she’d sing it softly and quietly to him sometimes when things were really bad.

His body tensed with the urge to touch her. She stood next to the bed seeming unsure of what to do. That made two of them. Touching her
had never gotten easy because of the things he was forced to do. No matter how much he told himself it wasn’t his fault, that he didn’t mean it, she didn’t hold it against him, she knew he cared, he still hated himself for it.

And now, so much time had passed
between them. What did she think about all that shit now? “Thank you,” he whispered.

She
hit him with a direct gaze and his breath caught. He knew if he just looked in them, he could forget again. The urge to play that pretend thing was coming over his body. Only he didn’t really need to pretend anymore.

She walked the few steps that separated them and Seth found himself stuck in stupid. He could only stand there and stare. Fuck, she was beautiful. Without warning, she plastered herself to him, her whole body.
Hugging
him tightly.

Seth slowly closed his eyes, feeling. With tender hands, she stroked over his back and s
nuggled her face into his chest. She mumbled into his shirt and he put his arms around her. Kissing the top of her head was as logical and easy as breathing. Then he realized she was singing that song. For him.

They stood there forever it seemed just comforting each other. It was the most amazing feeling, the most strange. Any second it’d all be beaten out of them. That’s what their bodies told them and so they continued hugging tightly, for as long as they were allowed, not a second less. But nothing or nobody came to stop them. So they didn’t stop.

Seth didn’t know when things changed. It was like some switch went off in both of them and he wasn’t sure why or how. Her fingers became eager. With sensual purpose. He wasn’t familiar with that. Not with her. Nothing had ever been pleasurable, not physically. Emotional comfort was the most they’d managed all those years ago. But what he felt in her touch now, was different from what he’d ever felt. It was
…sexual desire.

C
ould he really ever have that with her? Judging by the throbbing ache in his cock, yes. Yes he could. And he wanted her. Now.

His hunger erupted and before he could worry if it would scare the shit out of her, she answered with her own, climbing his waist, holding his face in her hands, kissing him like she’d waited five lifetimes to do it
and had rehearsed it perfectly.

He remembered the door was unlocked the second it opened. He spun with Sarah who dropped off of him so fast, he had to catch her.

Sofia stood there, wide eyed. The tremble in Sarah’s body said her nightmare had returned, come to take Seth away. She hid behind him.

“I’m sooooo sorry, I’m leaving. I’ll lock the door.” S
ofia blindly turned the lock and Seth felt like a dummy for not doing that. That could’ve been Dara walking in. He didn’t want to hurt her. Fuck, he still wasn’t sure what to do. Feelings warred within him until he was so guilty he couldn’t function.

Th
e door shut and Seth carefully turned, hating that she trembled. “Hey, shhhh, shhh.” He pulled her against him and she clung to him fiercely. She’d done that every time they would come to separate them. It didn’t matter what perversion and sexual abuse Seth had just put her through, they’d have to pry her off of him. The worst part was having to act like he didn’t want her just to keep her from getting it worse. “I’m here, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please don’t leave me, please don’t leave.”

The ferocious animal instinct to protect Sarah returned to him a thousand fold, as though his mind and body realized he could finally do that. Back then, he had to hide that he cared. It was the only way to keep them off of her, even if only for a little while. He made it about him. All about him. He wouldn’t stop until he was near death for the sole reason he wouldn’t be able to watch over her dead.

“Nobody is ever touching you again. I promise.” The words trembled out
as he stroked her head and kissed the top of it. A staggering realization hit him. She’d kept him alive all those years—the need to protect her, keep her safe—it’s what had kept him going. He’d forgotten what she meant to him until he’d seen her that night when he and Daniel had gone to his uncle’s. And when he’d gone back to check on her. No, he’d gone back to take her out of there. And he’d found that fat fuck hurting her, he’d been blinded with rage, but it was her, she was the one who killed him. He still remembered the feral look in her eyes along with rabid terror, it had haunted him many nights in his cell. She’d done it for him. Like she’d waited forever to show him what he meant to her. He meant a hundred knife plunges into the bastards gut to her. And he let her give it to him, praying she’d mutilate every crime he’d committed against her. When she was too weak to stab anymore he’d held her and rocked her. Then he’d run with her. After he wiped her finger prints off of the knife and put his.

He lifted
her and cradled her in his arms. She clutched his neck and pressed her face against his shoulder and Seth placed a tender kiss on her cheek. He brought her to the bed and laid her down but she refused to let go of him even as he cooed and laid next to her, wrapping her in his arms and legs. He spent five minutes calming her with soft touches and words.

She suddenly let out a sob and the desperate sound of it struck fear in Seth.

“What baby, what?” he whispered.

She only continued to wail into his chest, clutching his t-shirt tightly. “I am pregnant,” she said, groaning like the words hurt to say.

A few seconds later, his oh fuck hit as to why that was so bad to her. That bastard had gotten her pregnant. He got up on his elbow. “Look at me. Sarah look at me.”

She fought to keep her face buried
, hide her shame and loathing.

“Please
sweetheart, look at me,” he gasped, his chest too tight to breathe. “Anything that is part of you is beautiful, you make all the bad beautiful, you are the sun in the dark. Because of you, I made it through hell, did you know that? Tell me you know that.” He held her delicate jaw in his hand and turned her face to him. “Tell me you know that. Everything you touch is beautiful. Pure. No evil can be where you are.”

“I don’t want…to hate my baby,” she gasped.

He shook his head, stroking her face with his fingers and staring into her eyes. “Then don’t, you don’t have to, you don’t ever have to hate your baby.”

She gasped on a sob. “I want my baby, this not his fault, I want to love my baby,” she c
ried, like she’d been told she wouldn’t be able to.

“He’s yours, he’s all yours
, shhhhhh.” He kissed along her face, his hunger to love her growing more with every second.

“He has no father
, Seth.”

Hearing his name on her tongue with her accent shouldn’t have been so amazing to him, but damn it was. He wanted to hear her say his name over and over.
Seth stared at her agonized teary gaze and moved so that he was on top of her. He felt her slender legs go around him as if by instinct and part of him knew. She was his real home. With her was where he’d always wanted to be, in the way he was right then. “Sarah.” He waited till she looked into his eyes and confessed. “You own my breath. My blood. My bones.” He leaned and nipped her lips softly. At her slight moan, he pushed her mouth open and kissed her deeper. The delicate whimper she gave him was a gift beyond his comprehension. It meant yes. It meant love me. Cherish me. Protect me. Seth realized how badly he needed to be needed that way. “You own me. I will be anything for you, everything for you. For our baby.”

She gasped and that sudden explosion happened again and the kiss turned into the kind of passion he’d fantasized long ago, when he pretended.
She arched her body into his, the need mutual. He rose up and tore his shirt off and she rose to follow, her lips on his skin, seeming just as hungry to taste. He let her have her way, stroking her hair, watching how beautiful her lips were on him.

Th
is. This right here, they had never been able to take this away from them, all these years, it was still there, that pretend flame rekindled in an instant. But there was nothing pretend now. It was so very real.

He pulled her up and kissed her. The sound of hunger undone, passion fully unleashed. They both fought to get their clothes off while kissing
, he didn’t want to ever stop.

Somehow they managed, and Seth paused to look at
the woman she’d grown into. She slowly brought her forearms over her breasts, seeming worried.

He traced the mounds beneath her arms
, feeling tortured in a whole new way. “I need to see you.” The words croaked out sounding desperate. He was desperate. So desperate for her.

She slowly moved them away and
Seth let out a moan at how beautiful she was. All woman now. And yet perfectly delicate still.

He traced every inch of her breasts, wanting to stare at them forever. She soon began to squirm under his touch, arching into his teasing fingers. Seth was ready to devour her and had the sense to ask. “I
need to taste you.” Kinda ask.

Her fists clenched next to her head and she nodded. “Yes. Please.”
She bit her lower lip, her eyes straying over his body and landing on his erection. No longer a boy. He watched for signs of fear in her face. She gasped and moaned a little, a wave of desire moving through her body like slithering liquid.

At seeing and hearing it, Seth nearly dove on her, fighting to go slow and yet taste faster, more
, his mouth opened wide over her breast. She gasped and buried her fingers in his hair, pulling with a hunger that made him dizzy, arching to give him more. He took turns memorizing every inch of her breasts with his lips and tongue until she writhed and begged in abandon. She didn’t beg for anything in particular, but he understood perfectly what she wanted and what to do. He’d not heard that sound in her voice ever. He liked it. Wanted it. Needed more of it. All the time and forever.

He moved to her neck, licking and sucking lightly while his fingers memorized her breasts.
She gripped his waist with strong fingers and pulled him onto her. Another round of furious desire flooded him and he trembled under the assault, never having experienced anything so intense.

She reached between them and took hold of his cock and h
is breath caught at her delicate touch. “Make love to me.” She placed him at her entrance then stroked him along her hot silk.

“Oh
Jesus,” Seth gasped, clenching his eyes at how good that felt. She tilted her hips and the tip of him pressed in. Losing strength, he fell on her. The movement pushed him inside more and she gasped in time for him to feel it with his lips. “God, yes,” he moaned, nipping softly at her mouth while she gave tiny little mews. He thought he heard fear at the edge of a few and made himself slow down, focus on just kissing her until she was ready. It felt like his first time. And it was. The first time that it was completely right. Completely perfect.