Authors note: Hello, everyone. As a disclaimer, there is not much eroticism to this story, so if you are after a stroke piece, this might not be for you. For those that dare to read, I hope you enjoy the next instalment of the Patchwork Princess. As always, if you enjoy it, please comment and vote. If you hate it, please do neither, ~ellie.
Patchwork Princess Ch 3.
"Tell me the full story or at least as much as you know," Saxon said gruffly. He would back up Teddy just as the man had backed him up repeatedly, but he wanted to know exactly what he was walking into when they got to this girl's apartment.
"I met Teddy when he was young enough to believe he was eight foot tall and invincible. He and his little crew were responsible for the decimation of the Kallikantzaro club despite all being barely eighteen. No one considered that a bunch of kids could be responsible at the time, which was how they got away with it. He was in foster care with Grace when he started his reign of vengeance," Beau started his explanation.
"He did that because of this girl?" Saxon asked, showing little emotion despite being impressed again by the balls the kid had at such a young age.
"The story goes that the Kallikantzaro president's youngest son took advantage of the war and, when they killed O'Callaghan, took Holly as his trophy. Only he didn't know that the family members who survived the battles began pulling the underground apart, searching for her. She'd been branded and tattooed by the little psycho, but somebody cut those marks out of her body to try and hide the club symbol burned into her skin. Then she was dumped at the hospital. The grandmother of the family, who was in charge at that time, told everyone that Holly had been sent away to school to keep her safe. Teddy didn't find out the truth until Holly was reported dead from the injuries she sustained in the kidnap. That's when he formed his crew and began his vengeance," Beau tried to wrap up the convoluted story quickly as they grabbed their gear and made their way down to their bikes.
"So, she came back?" Saxon surmised.
"Yeah, her grandmother died, and she had to come and deal with the estate and stayed. She and her friends own a business on the north side of the golden mile.
"So, what's going on tonight?" he asked.
"It seems his girlfriend has a stalker now," Beau chuckled. It seemed to be a pattern with the women the six came to love. "A stalker who knows intimate details about her kidnap and injuries, which Teddy didn't even know without fighting for that information."
"Girlfriend?" Saxon raised an eyebrow. He hadn't realised Teddy was serious about the girl and had thought her a childhood friend.
"Rekindled, it's reasonably new," he confirmed as they walked through the speakeasy to where Steve sat at the bar with Grace, who had finished her set minutes before.
"Jack's upstairs with Daisy, and Mitch is already on his way there. So let's not keep them waiting," Saxon commanded.
"I'm patched in with Kris already. I gotta say it, Teddy's crew is good, almost too good. We're lucky they're our brothers," Ian chuckled as they made their way to their bikes.
*****
It was late, and Holly was barely holding herself together when she heard several men arrive at her apartment. The police, she guessed, and she hoped without any real conviction that the officer who had come had some knowledge of her previous kidnapping and assault. She didn't want to repeat her history in front of Teddy and his crew. She didn't want to tell them why the arrival of the doll had freaked her out and why she remained hiding in her bedroom, pretending to be asleep.
While the Ativan she had taken earlier had helped take the edge off and calmed her from the hysteria she had felt when she first saw the doll, she still felt anxious and as if she could jump out of her skin if anything else happened tonight. Carter came in and sat on the bed, reaching out to stroke her hair.
"I know you're awake," she said softly. "Teddy made some calls, and his brothers came to offer their support. They found a detective who knew about your case from a decade ago. It would be best if you talked to her. You can do it here or out there, but either way, Teddy won't leave you alone with a stranger right now, so he will be there no matter what you choose.
"I can't face all those people out there," Holly whispered, finally opening her eyes.
"If you want me to stay, I will," Carter reassured Holly. She looked into the other woman's eyes, knowing how the PTSD had affected her, and while the panic attacks were fewer, Holly's anxiety could cripple her for days after an attack. But, at least this time, they had been able to raise her from the nightmare in her mind relatively quickly. Her resilience tonight seemed partly due to Teddy's presence when the attack hit rather than any real progress in her acceptance of what happened to her. For that reason alone, Carter was willing to leave her best friend with the man who claimed to love her while the detective questioned her.
"Hey," Teddy said gently as he entered the room and went to sit on the bed beside her. He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. The sooner you talk to the police, the sooner it is over," he said softly.
"Who else is here?" she asked.
"My brothers and my sister, Grace, who is impatient to meet you," he sighed.
"You don't have a sister," she frowned.
"Foster, sister. Her name is Grace, and she saved me when I lost everything," he admitted.
"I didn't know you were in foster care," she frowned again.
"A lot happened to all of us back then," Teddy shrugged as if it was no big deal. "You'd already left by the time the dust settled."
"No! I will not wait one more minute," Nicky raged at someone in the living room as she pushed one of the men out of the way to barge into Holly's room and flung herself on the bed to hug her friend. "This is fucked up, and you will not face it alone. We got you, girl! Get your skinny butt in here, Nessa!" Nicky yelled through the open door.
