The Retaliation You Deliver by Tracy Lorraine

1

Leon

Aloud bang jolts my body awake but I don’t respond. I just lie there unmoving, my eyes tightly closed.

“Come on, let’s go,” a deep unfamiliar voice booms, echoing off the bare walls around me.

Blowing out a long breath, I remain immobile.

“Dunn,” he barks. “Let’s fucking go. You’ve got people waiting on you.”

It’s those words which force me to react.

My pulse increases, my heart slamming against my ribs as I crack an eye open.

The pain in my head makes me wince as the bright light assaults me.

The officer standing in the opening of the cell stares at me in impatience.

“I don’t need anyone,” I complain, my voice rough, my throat burning with each word.

“Well, unlucky for you, they’re here.”

“Fucking hell,” I mutter, pushing myself up until I’m sitting on the rock hard bed in the cell I was thrown into last night.

Probably not the finest night of my life but the less I think about the events of yesterday, it’s probably for the better.

“I’m free to go?” I ask, shoving my feet into my sneakers and refusing to look up at him again.

“Yeah. So long as we don’t find you drunk on one of our beaches again.”

“Trust me, I’ve got no intention of coming back to Miami ever again. Only bad shit happens here.”

He’s silent as I push to stand. My head spins, the pounding at my temples almost unbearable as my stomach turns over. Sucking in a deep breath, I will the need to puke away, not really wanting to piss this guy off more by leaving the cell with the contents of my stomach on the floor.

I lift my arm for the frame of the opening the second it’s in reaching distance to steady myself.

“Nothing less than you deserve,” the officer mutters.

“Don’t judge me,” I snap, pissed off with his attitude. “If you’d been through what I have then you’d have reached for the bottle too.” He looks back at me, a little pity edging it’s way into his expression and making me instantly regret saying anything.

I sign some paperwork when we get to the desk and after a few words of warning about my behaviour he allows me to leave out of the double doors.

My steps immediately falter when my eyes land on the two people who instantly stand from the chairs, the words of the officer about people being here to collect me come to the forefront of my mind.

Peyton’s face is twisted in concern, whereas my brother looks murderous.

His teeth grind and his jaw pops as he stares at me. His entire body is locked up with tension that’s radiating off him in waves, and if it weren’t for the fact we were standing in a police station, I’m sure he’d be on me, taking his frustration out on me through his fists.

The air is heavy and thick between us like you can cut it with a knife. Even when Peyton places her hand on Luca’s chest and whispers something in his ear, he still doesn’t relax.

“Let’s go,” he spits, turning his back on me and storming through the double doors.

We both watch him go as my legs finally start to work again, taking me to Peyton.

“I haven’t seen him this angry in a while,” she mutters sadly, staring at the door he just stormed through.

My lips part to respond but I quickly find that I have no words.

Ripping her eyes from the door, Peyton turns her silver eyes on me.

“Are you okay, Lee?”

“I… uh…”

She reaches for my hand, squeezing it in support.

Pulling on my mask and finding the strength I’ve used to get me through the past ten years, I force a smile onto my lips.

“I’m good. I’m sorry I dragged you down here to bail me out.”

“Anytime. But—” I suck in a breath, knowing what’s coming next. “You’re going to need to explain what’s been going with you. You’re not brushing this one under the rug.”

“I know,” I say sadly. I think I realized last night that my days of hiding my dark past are over.

Macie knows the truth now so it won’t be long until everyone else does.

My chest aches as I think of her. Images of our final minutes together flicking through my mind. Regret floods me as I remember her cowering in the corner of the room as I took my frustrations out on everything inside her uncle’s house. The memory of the tears tracking down her face as she watched me. The horror of our reality is so clear in her eyes.

She really had no idea. But she does now.

She knows exactly who I am. She’s also discovered that everything she feared about our relationship was true. I didn’t go into it for her, not in the way I made it out like I did. I just wanted revenge. I wanted her pain. I wanted to teach her a lesson so she would know the mistake she made that day.

Peyton lacing her arm through mine drags me from my nightmare and I come back to the here and now.

Together we walk out of the station, with the sun searing my eyeballs the second I step out of the building and look up.

“You okay?” Peyton asks, clearly noticing my reaction.

I grunt a response and head toward where Luca is leaning against his car with his hands curled into fists at his sides.

“Just take me to my car and I’ll get out of your hair,” I say, needing to get away from the both of them and their probing stares.

“Fuck off, Lee,” he barks, pushing off from his car and stepping up to me.

“Can we not?” I ask, although I already know what his answer is going to be.

“No,” he snaps, his palms landing solidly on my chest and making me back up.

I don’t have the energy or the strength right now to fight him.

“No, we’re fucking doing this. Why the fuck are we here, Lee? Why did I get a call from Mom at the break of dawn to tell me that you’d been fucking arrested and needed bailing out from jail in fucking Miami of all places.”

“I’m not talking about this right now,” I mutter, trying to step around him.

“You don’t have a fucking choice, asshole,” he seethes.

“Luca, give him a break,” Peyton says softly, coming to stand beside him.

“A break? A fucking break? He’s had a long enough break. He’s been lying to me for years. We’ve bailed on classes to come and get his drunk ass. He owes us an explanation.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“I need the fucking truth,” he says, fisting my shirt and slamming me back against his car. “Why the fuck are you here? Who do you know in Miami?”

Our green eyes hold, both of our chests heaving. Him begging me to talk and me desperately trying to come up with a way to get out of this.

I don’t see Peyton move to our sides once more, but I sure hear her words.

“It’s her, isn’t it? It’s Macie.”

Luca’s brows pinch at her words.

“You came with her.” Peyton says matter-of-factly.

“Why?” Luca asks, clearly assuming that his girl is right.

“We’re not doing this here.”

“No? Then where are we doing it?”

“Not in a fucking parking lot when I can barely see straight.”

“You’re not getting out of this.”

“Take me to my car.”

“Fuck that. You’re not getting behind the wheel. You smell like a fucking brewery. Get in my car. We’ll get yours brought back.”

Thankfully, he takes a step back, getting out of my face.

“What about Macie?” Her name is like a gunshot through my heart and my eyes immediately find Peyton’s.

“What about her?” I spit. “She’s where she should be.” In hell.

Luca lets out a sigh.

“Just get in the fucking car,” he demands, ripping the back door open and all but throws me inside.

“Alright, alright. Jesus.”

I climb in, and immediately rest my head back.

I’m so fucking tired.

I almost drift off instantly until there’s a loud thud against the car and my eyes fly open.

“Great,” I mutter to myself, finding Peyton crushed up against my window as Luca damn near attacks her mouth.

All I can hope is that she helps chill him the fuck out because I already know that I’m not going to be able to cope with the long drive back to MKU with him demanding to know everything.

I need to tell him. I know I do. But not like this. Not when he’s driving and has no way to react in a manner I know he’s going to.

Closing my eyes once more, I cut off my view from what’s happening outside my window.

I should probably remind them that we’re in a police station parking lot but I don’t. Watching them both get dragged in for public indecency might be the only thing that could amuse me right at this moment.

Not long after the show they’ve put on, the driver’s door is ripped open and Luca drops into his seat.

“What? Not gonna fuck her?”

“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” he groans before Peyton joins us.

I keep my eyes closed but I feel the second she turns back to look at me, her attention makes my skin prickle with awareness.

“Just drive. I don’t need your pity.”

“What? That wasn’t—”

“Don’t justify yourself to him, P,” Luca snaps.

“Fine.” Rustling tells me that she spins back around before the car rumbles to life and we start to move.

“Who are you messaging?” Luca asks.

“Letty. I’m getting Macie’s number.”

My fists curl at my sides that Peyton feels it’s necessary to check up on her.

“Leave her alone.”

“I love you, Lee. You know that. But nope… that’s not going to happen. I know something big has happened to find you in this position and something tells me she’s hurting just as much as you are now.”

That same image of her cowering flickers through my mind once more before it morphs into me being inside that room with him. My body being forced over that desk and just waiting for the pain.

“You know fuck all.”

“Leon,” Luca growls.

Ignoring both of them, I lie across the back seat of his car and beg that the car will lull me to sleep.

* * *

“No, please. No, don’t,” I cry as his hand grips the back of my neck, forcing my body to bend over.

“You want to be the best, boy, then you need to learn to follow instructions.” His voice is deep, hoarse with his excitement. I recognize it from the previous two times.

When it’s like this, just the two of us, he’s like an entirely different person. One that I’m sure very few know exists.

Only, he’s not a person. He’s a monster. One who haunts my nightmares, constantly makes me look over my shoulder and generally fear life in a way I’ve never experienced before.

If I thought being the forgotten twin was bad, then this… this is insurmountable.

His hand slides down my spine causing bile to rush up my throat, burning the sensitive flesh as I fight to keep it inside.

Throwing up all over his desk won’t make this stop. Nothing short of killing him, or myself, will make this stop.

“No,” I cry, unable to contain it when he pushes my shorts down, exposing me to him. “No, please. I’ll do anything, please.”

A jolt from a touch pulls me slightly out of my nightmare before the warm hand continues to nudge against my shoulder.

“Leon, it’s—”

I react without thinking, swinging my arm out to get him away from me, anything to get him the hell off me. Only when I hear a cry, it’s not from an angry turned on man who I’ve just encouraged even more, but a soft female one that turns my blood to ice.

My eyes fly open and I find Peyton hanging between the two front seats, tears filling her eyes as she cups her mouth.

“Holy shit, fuck. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay, Lee. I know you didn’t mean— Luca no,” Peyton cries out and the door above my head opens and two large hands grab me.

“What the—”

“Luca,” Peyton screams again but before I know what’s going on, I’m thrown against the car and his fist connects with my jaw.

I don’t fight back. Why would I?

I’m the one in the wrong here. I’m the one who just hit his girl, I’m the one keeping secrets, driving him crazy.

He gets two more solid hits in before Peyton manages to scramble out from the car and calm him down.

“You fucking hurt her again and I’ll fucking kill you. Twin or not, you’re not hurting anyone else I love. I’ve sat by and let you destroy everything around you for years. I’ve watched Mom stare at you when she knows you’re not looking with tears in her eyes wishing she could somehow get to you. Whatever this bullshit is, Lee. It’s over. You owe me the truth.”

“I owe you fuck all,” I mutter, keeping my eyes on the dirt beneath my feet.

I have no idea where we are, and when I look up, I find we’re just on the side of the road.

“Let me help you.” His voice changes, the anger subsiding and the caring brother I know slipping back in. “Let us help you. Whatever it is, we can handle it together.”

With a nod, I step forward and pull Peyton into my arms.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper in her ear as I hold her tight.

She returns my embrace and until her warmth surrounds me, I don’t realize just how much I need it.

“It’s okay. Just please, let us in. We’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

I nod against her, willing the emotion filling my eyes and clogging my throat to subside before I pull away.

“Take me home, please.”

Releasing Peyton, I slip back into the car without looking at Luca.

I can’t. If I see the concern that I know is written all over his face, it’ll break me.