Love Slave for Two

Chapter 5

The next morning, Thomas had to go to work. He knelt by Nevvie’s chair and took her hand. “How do you feel, sugar?”

Her face looked red and puffy in addition to being bruised and battered, the black eye horrible. They’d stood outside her bedroom in the middle of the night and listened to her crushing sobs. They’d wanted to go in and hold her and kiss her tears away, but she needed time to decompress. She would come to them if and when she needed them.

“I’ll be all right, Tom. Thanks.”

He kissed her hand, squeezed it, then stood and patted her shoulder. Tyler looked at him from where he prepared her breakfast, his normally playful blue eyes hard and cold, mirroring his own anger. Thomas leaned over the counter and kissed him goodbye.

“Call me later,” he whispered in Tyler’s ear. “Let me know how she is.”

“I will.”

When Thomas left, Tyler set her plate in front of her. “Nevvie, sweetheart, we need to talk.”

Her eyes flicked to his face, then down to her plate. She nodded slightly.

She flinched when he gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear. The black eye looked even worse today.

“I’ve made you an appointment to see our doctor this morning. She’s good.”

“Tyler, I can’t afford—”

“Stop.” He took her hand and waited until she finally met his eyes. “Nevvie, Thomas and I will take care of you. We’re paying for it. You need to get checked out, and she can do everything, including a full woman’s exam. After what he did to you it’s best you see her.”

“Will you please go in with me? I hate doctors,” she whispered.

He firmly gripped her hand as she trembled. “Of course I will, darling. I won’t leave you alone. Ever.”

Nevvie could barely walk from the pain. Tyler kept his arm around her through the parking lot and lobby. She shook so badly he worried she’d faint. He’d called ahead and the receptionist waved them through to an exam room, not wanting Nevvie subjected to the stares of other patients.

She sat on the exam table, leaning against Tyler, his arm protectively around her while she filled out forms and signed releases.

Dr. Aston walked in and paused when she glimpsed Nevvie’s battered face.

“Miss Barton? I’m Dr. Aston.” Dr. Aston’s voice was kind and soft. In her fifties, she had a friendly, motherly face and demeanor.

Nevvie shivered under Tyler’s arm. “Hi,” she whispered. She tightly clutched Tyler’s hand.

The doctor noticed. “Would you like Tyler to stay?”

Nevvie frantically nodded. Dr. Aston patted her knee. “It’s all right. We don’t mind if you don’t. What happened?”

Nevvie shrugged, not meeting the doctor’s gaze. Finally she whispered, “Tyler and Thomas rescued me. My boyfriend went nuts and attacked me. He’d never done that before. Not like that. He saw the necklace they gave me for my birthday and accused me of cheating and went crazy. When I didn’t show up for work, and Ty and Tom couldn’t get me on the phone, they came looking for me.”

“Did he rape you?”

“No. The boys got there in time.”

“Did you press charges?”

“No. I want to forget about him and get on with my life.”

“I can help you talk with the police.”

Nevvie frantically shook her head.

“We wanted to call,” Tyler said. “She wouldn’t let us.”

Dr. Aston’s expression was unreadable. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to do the exam.” She called her nurse, who brought Nevvie a gown and started taking her vital signs. The nurse finished and then drew several blood samples.

He’d already told the doctor he wanted a full screening done, for normal health issues and full STD/HIV testing as well. God only knew what that stupid bastard had done to their poor girl.

The nurse handed her a plastic specimen cup. “We need a urine sample, too. The bathroom’s right across the hall. Leave the cup on the tray in there, then come back here and change into this paper gown. Here’s a sheet to cover yourself. We’ll return in a few minutes.”

Nevvie nodded. Once alone with Tyler, she tried to stand and couldn’t get off the table.

“Can you help me to the bathroom?” she whispered.

“Of course.” Tyler grabbed the specimen cup and helped her across the hall. He turned to leave when he felt her hand on his arm.

“Stay in case I need you, please?”

He locked them in, turning his back while she slowly did what she had to do. When she finished, he heard her groan as she tried to stand.

“Are you all right?”

“No. I need you. I’m sorry.”

He turned to help. “Sweetheart, don’t apologize, ever, for anything like this.” He braced her while she pulled her pants up, then helped her to the sink.

With his arm around her, they slowly returned to the exam room. Tyler steadied her while she undressed. He’d given her a pair of sweat pants to wear, knowing she’d be too sore to manage jeans. She leaned against him and winced as she lifted her arms to pull her shirt off. Unable to do it, she met his eyes, and he helped her remove it. In too much pain to manage it, she’d forgone her bra.

She displayed no modesty around him. Tyler wondered how much of that was due to her emotional trauma and how much was her comfort level with him.

While he’d spent many hours dreaming about holding her naked body, the sight of her bruised and battered flesh nearly drove him to his own tears of pain and fury. He loved her—he knew that with certainty—and wanted to kill Alex with his bare hands.

The damage they saw earlier paled in comparison to the wide swaths of black and blue over her chest and back. God only knew how many times the caveman had kicked her, but she was a mess. It was a wonder she could move at all.

He helped her put on the gown, then picked her up and gently set her on the table, pulling the sheet over her. She looked at him with eyes full of tears, and he held her while she cried.

When the doctor returned a few minutes later, she stopped the nurse and told her she’d call her. Then the doctor sat and waited, meeting Tyler’s gaze while Nevvie cried.

Tyler couldn’t control the emotion in his voice. “Nevvie, please sweetheart, tell us why you won’t file charges.”

She wouldn’t look at them. “A guy raped me when I was eighteen. I told them who did it, knew him from school. They took me to the hospital and did all the exams, never even arrested him after they questioned me for hours. Blamed me for it. My goddamned car broke down on the way home from work and he offered me a ride and fucking raped me. The stupid fucking cops said it was his word against mine because his dad had money and I had nothing.” She started sobbing again, and Tyler held her, not wanting to let go.

The doctor caught his eye and motioned that she’d be right back. He nodded, fighting his own tears. No wonder Nevvie was so scared, afraid to be dragged through that again.

The doctor returned a few minutes later with a bottle of water and a small paper cup. She handed them to Tyler. “Have her take that.” In the cup was a pill.

He raised his eyebrow and she mouthed, “Sedative.” He gently shuffled Nevvie around.

“Here, sweetheart. Take this to calm your nerves, right?”

She took the pill, downing it without question. Then he sat on the table next to her as she curled up, still sniffling, her head in his lap.

When the doctor and nurse returned twenty minutes later, Nevvie wasn’t unconscious, but she was a lot calmer. She closed her eyes and maintained a death grip on Tyler’s hand during the exam. He turned his back to the doctor, keeping his eyes on Nevvie’s face.

The doctor finished. “I want X-rays of your ribs. Let’s make sure he didn’t fracture them. Have you noticed any blood in your urine?”

Nevvie shook her head.

“You can put your underwear on, but leave your shirt and pants off.”

Nevvie nodded. The doctor took out her prescription pad and wrote two scripts, handed them to Tyler. Valium, a week’s supply, and Darvocet for pain. “Did you want a prescription for birth control pills?”

Nevvie shrugged, but Tyler spoke up. “She gets migraines some months. Let’s have one. If she decides she doesn’t want it, we won’t get it filled.”

Dr. Aston handed him the prescription. “You seem to know a lot about her, Tyler.” She’d known Tyler and Thomas for years and knew their relationship.

He tucked the scripts in his pocket. “We consider her part of our family. I wish I’d listened to my intuition sooner. Maybe we would have got there before he did this to her.”

“I’ll be waiting outside,” the nurse said. “The radiology room’s right down the hall.” The nurse handed him a long gown.

He waited until they left to help Nevvie sit. She was woozy, the sedative working its blessed magic on her system.

He dressed her in the hospital gown then steadied her as he carefully pulled her underwear into place. To think, two days ago he’d be rock hard doing this, and now it was all he could do not to cry.

He fastened her gown up the back and put his arm around her waist, supporting her, guiding her down the hall. They gave him a lead apron to wear while he stood watch over her during the X-rays, then he carried her to the exam room, gently laying her on the table. She was finally asleep. He managed to dress her without waking her.

Making sure Nevvie didn’t roll off the table, Tyler waited for the doctor to return with the results. She noted Nevvie’s state.

“We could admit her right now.”

“Is she injured that badly?”

“I’m thinking of her mental state.”

“We’ll take care of her, Doc. How is she otherwise?”

“Miracle of miracles, her ribs aren’t fractured. God only knows how she managed to avoid that. Hopefully no internal damage. If she doesn’t have blood in her urine, that’s a good sign. Keep an eye out for fever, or pain that doesn’t get better. Damn, that asshole beat her to a pulp.”

“What about the rest?”

“We’ll have STD, HIV, and blood results back in a few days. And she should be retested in six months. I’m assuming I should call your number?”

“She’ll be with us.”

“What’s going on, Tyler?”

“Thomas and I will take care of her. Tell me what I need to do to keep her comfortable and get her through this.”

“You don’t get this involved over your cleaning girl.”

He looked into Nevvie’s battered face. “She’s special, Doc. Thomas and I care for her a great deal. We want to take care of her.”

She shook her head. “I hope you boys know what you’re doing. I’ll send the paperwork back here so you can check out. They’ll help you get her to your car through the side door. No reason to take her out the front. She’s been through enough.”

After settling the bill, Tyler handed the nurse his car keys and carried Nevvie to the Lexus, buckling her into the front passenger seat and reclining it so she didn’t slump forward. At home he carried her into the living room and settled her on the sofa. He had to go shopping, get her what she needed—so much to do. He walked into his office and called Thomas.

“How is she?”

“Asleep. They gave her a sedative at the doctor’s office, knocked her out. When can you get home?”

“I can leave in an hour.”

“I need to get her prescriptions filled and go shopping. I don’t want to leave her alone. I want someone here when she wakes up.”

“Hold on.” Thomas briefly spoke with someone. “I can leave in five minutes. I’m supposed to meet with a client, but Kenny’s back from lunch and he can meet with them.”

“I’ll see you then.” Tyler returned to the living room and sat in a chair across from her. He turned on the TV, kept the volume low. Forty minutes later, Thomas rushed in.

“How is she?”

Tyler held a finger to his lips and motioned him to his study. “She’s still asleep. I don’t know what they gave her this morning, but they gave me a script for Valium.”

“This isn’t how I wanted it to happen, Tyler.”

“Join the club. I nearly lost it at the doctor’s office. She told us why she refused to go to hospital—”

“The hospital.”

“Whatever. The hospital yesterday. Or let us call the police.” He repeated her story and Thomas’ warm face shifted to a granite mask.

“We can’t let her leave. We need to protect her.”

“If she decides to go we can’t stop her.”

“We love her.”

“I know.” He put a comforting arm on Thomas’ shoulder. “The best thing we can do is show her how much she means to us. Let her get to know us without any stress, just back off and let her be.”

“Romance is the last thing on her mind.”

“Exactly. Let nature take its course. Once she’s feeling better we’ll set up a working arrangement. I expect if we insist she lives here carte blanche and no strings attached, it will make her nervous. We’ll still pay her, and she can keep up her duties and learn how to work at your office.”

“Maggie’s maternity leave starts in five weeks. With twins I’m sure she’ll be out at least six months.”

“We’ll have more than enough for Nevvie to do to keep her busy and not put any pressure on her.”

Thomas hugged him. “Please tell me she’ll stay.”

He rested his head on Thomas’ chest. “If I have anything to say about it, she’ll never want to leave.”

Tyler’s BlackBerry rang as he prepared to depart. He glanced at the number and did a double-take—Nevvie’s phone. She’d never called the house, only his cell. Their home number was unlisted.

He waved Thomas into his office and closed the door before he answered, punching the speaker button. “Hello?”

There was a moment of silence, then a ragged voice. “Is that you, you goddamn fag?”

Tyler’s blood boiled. “Yes, it’s me, you fucking bastard. How’d you like your first look in the mirror today? Did my sweet Thomas put a hurting on you?”

“Watch your back, fag boy. If I catch up with either of you, I’ll kill you. Where’s Nevaeh?”

“She’s no longer your concern. She’s decided she’d rather be with us. She wants nothing to do with you. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave her the fuck alone.”

“Listen you goddamned queer—”

“No, you listen.” Tyler’s voice hardened. “You’re lucky you’re not in jail. If it was up to us you’d be getting your arse reamed out in a cell by a bunch of men who know only chickenshit peckerheads beat up women. If you so much as look at her again we’ll bring some friends with us and show you what a bunch of pissed off fags can really do. Remember, we know where you live, dickhead. Don’t you ever come near her again, and don’t you ever call me again, or it’ll be the last phone call you ever make.” Tyler hung up and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

Thomas smiled. “That was…” He pulled Tyler to him and kissed him. “Sexy.”

“You did the hard work. I’ll be damned if I’ll let a piece of shit like him push me around.”