Foreword:
Part VI here includes a rewrite of the ending for Part V based on some feedback that, rightfully so, pointed out some issues. This series is meant to be relatively light-hearted with semi-realistic reactions to occurrences happening in the world, and I broke that rule in the previous version. I've redone the ending to keep truer to that rule.
Bully Troubles (Ending Rewrite)
Rina lay in Callie's arms, eyes half-hooded, a dopey grin on her face, as she held Kimi's hand.
"Did Daddy breed you too," Kimi asked in a hushed tone.
"Not yet, but I think I might be a buttslut," Rina answered. "You should try it. Oh. My. God."
"Okay, but make sure to get bred so that we can both be pregnant together." Rina giggled as she patted her sister's cheek.
"Okay, but this one wasn't really my fault," Josh said.
Callie glared at Josh. "What part of 'rescue' didn't you understand, Daddy?"
"I mean, it all kinda worked out, right?" Josh asked.
Callie closed her eyes and took another deep breath. This wasn't daddy's fault. She had wanted to introduce them anyway. It was just the timing that sucked. She exhaled slowly.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," Callie said. "I was just so worried that something terrible was going to happen."
"It was so amazing," Rina mumbled.
Josh knelt down and wrapped her in his soft embrace. "It's okay now. Everyone's safe."
"Oh, not everyone," Callie growled. "I'm going to smash that little bitch's face in. I'm going to stuff her into that hole and have everyone fuck her raw. I'm going to stream her face so that the whole world knows exactly what she is."
Callie rapidly spiraled into an uncontrollable rage. Her fingers dug into her palms as she shook.
How dare they? How dare they hurt her family? How dare they all let this happen? Who else had known and let them be abused like this? Why hadn't anyone stopped this?
A soft humming entered her ears, bringing her out of her nosedive. Her body rocked gently back and forth, wrapped protectively in Josh's arms. Her tunnel vision began to expand, the worried faces of her cousins staring back at her.
They were the victims here, not her.
She held out her arms, and the girls rushed in to hug her. She burst into tears and squeezed them tightly.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I didn't know. I'm so sorry. It'll be okay, girls. We're here now, you'll be okay."
Josh encircled them all and kept rocking them as they cried.
"How? How will you take care of it?" Kimi asked. "Audrey and Winter have been abusing us horribly for months, and no one has done anything. Not even our own parents."
"Daddy, can we get dad to help?" Callie asked, rubbing her eyes.
That was the smart play, get the lawyer involved.
"I'll call him from the car. Let's get everyone back to the house, first."
"I'm not leaving them with their psycho parents. They're staying with us until dad crucifies them all."
###
"And the girls are alright? They're doing okay? They're going to their counselling sessions?"
Charles asked over the speakerphone.
"Yes, they're doing fine, Charles," Josh answered as Callie lay beside him. "We'll keep them safe."
"Good. Good. Ah, the case, yeah, it's pretty much a slam dunk. Everyone from the school board to the teachers and staff starting throwing each other under the bus once the search warrant turned up all the registered complaints of physical and sexual abuse. The girls, Audrey and Winter, tried to delete their data, but a warrant got the provider to turn over all those records. Blackmail, extortion, and threats. Kimi and Rina weren't the first either. The parents are big investors, so they likely had the administration sweep it all under the rug."
"Thanks, Charles."
"Don't mention it. It's family. I'm just sorry that I hadn't known any of this was happening. I should have checked on them more regularly."
"Don't beat yourself up, daddy," Callie said. "There's plenty of blame to share. I should have checked on them too."
"Alright. Well, I need to get back to this case. There are still a lot of threads to pull at. And, Josh? Thank you. Really. You've saved my family again. I can't possibly repay you, but I'll try."
"Like you said, Charles. It's family. They're family, as are you."
###
Recruiting
Sevana had seen a lot of bad shit. She'd been running drugs since she was thirteen, seeing the worst humanity had to offer. Husbands selling their wives by the hour, young girls turning tricks, loan sharks busting knees, she'd seen it all. Then she'd moved up, hopped on a sweet ride with Domingo as he rose through the ranks. Now she was running production and distribution for him. They'd chased out the gangs, taken over the streets, and cleaned the trash out. But she'd never seen anything quite like this.
"Who the fuck did this to her?" she asked, her mind still not fully wrapping itself around what she was seeing in the pictures. It was one thing to kill someone. It was another thing to do... this. The message was clear though.
Mess with us, and we'll break a foot off in your ass. Literally.
"Uh, she's still pretty fucked up. We can't get much out of her. She keeps babbling about a slut, though." Mateo, her second in command, swallowed heavily before continuing. "We did, ah, get the foot out. We're pretty sure it's Luis'. Same boots he used to wear."
Sevana dropped the pictures on the table. She wiped her face, her hand trembling slightly as she did so.