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"WHAT!" Steve reacted differently that I had ever expected he would. I thought for sure that he would dump me on my tail right there in the garden and walk off, but he surprised me by holding me tighter. "I'm sorry Lashana, I didn't mean to yell at you. You caught me off guard. What triggered your memory in there?"
I started to answer him, but stopped when I heard Hunter calling our names. Steve looked at me, "You promise you won't run away from me if I put you down? If you run, I'll just have to catch you again, and I'd hate to have to tackle y'ou in that gorgeous dress!"
I looked at Steve, amazed at the fact that he was able to joke in the midst of this disaster, but I smiled a very weak smile and gave him my promise. He put me down and called out to Hunter.
Glen walked around the corner and found us standing side by side in the Garden, "Damn I'm glad you two are still here. I don't know exactly what the hell happened in there, but Edge and Christian have some guy pinned in the church and he's cussing a blue streak. And it took everything that Mark and I had to keep Glen from ripping the guys head off."
I groaned and looked at Steve. "I think we need to get in there...as much as I don't want anything to do with him, letting Glen kill my ‘husband' is probably NOT a good idea."
Hunter's jaw dropped at that statement and Steve looked a little shocked. "So that was what triggered your memory...is that the same guy you saw in the bar last year?"
We started walking back toward the entrance to the church, "Yeah...his name is Michael, and it's a really long story, but I promise I'll tell you ALL about it once we get this settled."
We walked into the church and Storm met us at the door. "Lashana, are you ok?"
"Yeah...I'm alright, although this mess is far from over. Where is Glen?"
He and Mark and still in the church with Kanike and Leah...they did their best to deal with the minister, and just about all the guests have left...Edge and Christian are holding that guy in that room over there." Storm pointed to the room off to the left of the back of the church, right across the hall from where I had changed into my dress. I looked at Steve and we walked into the church to talk to Glen and Mark.
I could tell that Glen was still in an uproar, and knew that it was because he had recognized Michael from the bar. I had a vague idea as to why he had decided to show up here, after all this time, and I had every intention of making sure that he knew my memory was back and that I would be filing divorce papers, among other legal charges as soon as possible.
They all looked at me when I walked in, "Lashana...are you ok?" All four of the occupants of the room asked that question at the same time and I groaned. "I'm fine, really you all. I wish everyone would quit asking me that."
Glen walked over..."Lashana, who the hell is that guy? I remember him from the bar, and I would have ripped his head off if Mark and Hunter hadn't been in my way." He shot accusing glances at the two men. I put my hand on his arm and smiled up at him, "I know Glen, and I appreciate the thought. Although killing him would eliminate most of the problems, I don't think that's going to be the way to settle this." I heard a commotion coming from the room where Edge and Christian were detaining Michael. The door opened and they drug him into the church, threatening to let Glen have him if he didn't calm down.
When he saw me standing in the church, he stopped struggling and smiled. It was a cold smile and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Steve wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me up against his side.
"Michael..." I looked at him, at a loss for words
He stood there, and sneared at me, "Lashana. Don't you think its a bit much to be wearing white to your wedding...considering the fact that you're already married to me you stupid sl*t!"
Mark grabbed a hold of Steve when he started to move toward Michael, and the rest of the group just stood there, jaws on the floor in reaction to his statement. I looked at Steve, and once I got him to release his hold on me, I walked toward Michael. "You know, it amazes me that I ever thought I loved you. You have got to be the most pathetic specimen of male flesh that I've ever encountered, and believe me I've encountered some pathetic men, if you want to call them that. The only reason I'm even speaking to you now, is that I wanted to let you know that you no longer have a hold on me, I'm not afraid of you anymore."
He laughed, "Is that right, you stupid b*tch! Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to finish what those two idiots I hired started, I just wish they hadn't screwed it up so bad!"
I took a sharp breath in, reeling from the shock of what he had just revealed. "You lousy b*st*rd...you did that...you had those men take me! They nearly killed me you sonofab*tch!" I was angry beyond all belief, and that just increased when he laughed. The sound was hard and cold and I realized standing there that he really was crazy.
"You stupid b*tch, that's what they were supposed to do. I wanted you gone, but when you ran from me in the middle of the night, I needed to think of a way that I could still collect the insurance money, so this was the best way I could think of. The only reason I came to the church at all today was to find out if you remembered me. If you hadn't recognized me I would have left the church and never seen you again."
The knowledge of what had happened and now the knowledge of why sent me reeling. Without really thinking, I reared back and slapped Michael full across the face, the sound reverberating in the church. His head snapped backward from the force of the blow, and when he recovered, he glared at me with a hatred that I had never seen before.
I walked over and asked Glen for his cell phone and dialed the number to the Houston Police department, watching Michael as I listened to the phone ring. "Well, Michael, I hope your really close with those pieces of trash that you hired, cause you're going to be spending a lot of time in a very small cell right next to them!"
"Hello...can I speak with Detective Warez, please?" I waited, standing in the church with Steve's arms wrapped around me glaring at the man in front of me, who unfortunately carried the title of my "husband"
"Hello?"
"Detective Warez...this is Lashana...do you remember me?"
"Yes, Lashana...how have you been?"
"Fine, thanks. I was calling because I recovered my full memory today...The man who was responsible for the entire thing is being held by two friends of mine, and they are going to be bringing him in to you. I will be by in the morning to fill out a report and press charges...he hired the men that kidnapped me, and was behind the whole thing...Yeah, I have proof...actually he just stood here and admitted it in front of 9 other witnesses...well, he never was what I considered a genious...guess he didn't think I had to balls to do anything about it!"
Michael stood there, glaring at me, and cussing a blue streak a mile wide. As I walked toward Glen to return his phone, he struggled against Edge and Christian, trying to reach me. Austin watched me on the phone, grinning from ear to ear. When I got off the phone, I asked Edge and Christian if they minded dropping the trash off at the Police Department in the care of Detective Warez. They both chuckled and said it would be their pleasure. Steve chuckled and looked at Glen, Mark and Hunter.
"Guys...do you think he might cause a little trouble on the trip...I'd hate for Edge and Christian to have to worry about him trying to get away..." He walked toward me, and as he passed Michael, he swung, closed fisted and hit him in the chin, knocking him out with one shot. He walked up and pulled me into his arms, "Damn that felt good!"
Edge and Christian drug the unconscious man out of the church, tossed him in the back of their car and headed to the police department. Steve and I led the way out of the church and headed toward the limosiene that was supposed to have taken us to the airport for our honeymoon. I looked at my friends, following me from the church and smiled. "I'm sure that you all want to hear the rest of this story, and since I have no intention of telling it more than once, why don't you come back to the house and I'll tell you all at once."
They all agreed that we would meet at Steve's house in two hours, giving everyone time to get home and change out of their formal attire and get back to Steve's. He and I climbed into the limo and he told the driver to take us home. He pulled me into his arms and pushed the button to close the privacy window between us and the driver.
I looked at him, still not sure that he would want to be with me once he'd heard the whole story. "What are you thinking, Lashana?"
I looked at him and smiled, "Just enjoying being here in your arms and hoping that once you've heard the whole story you'll still want to be with me."
He squeezed me tight against him, "Lashana, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that you could ever tell me that would make me stop wanting you to be with me. I love you...nothing with ever change that!"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "I love you too Steve, more so now than I ever thought possible. I'm sorry about today...I wanted to marry you more than anything in the world."
"I know baby, me too...but don't worry, once we get your divorce taken care of, we'll get married. I'm not going anywhere...and I'm certainly not going to let you go anywhere, so we have all the time in the world!" He leaned down to kiss me, and I sighed against his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed a line across my jawline to my ear and nibbled on the lobe, "Did I ever get the chance to tell you just how unbelievably sexy you look in that dress?" I shivered at the sensations he sent down my spine, "Mmm, I don't know, but I certainly don't mind hearing it again if you did." He chuckled and continued kissing and carressing me until we pulled up in front of the house. "Baby, we're home...."
He groaned against my throat, and I giggled at the sound. "Steve, we need to get inside and get changed before everybody gets here." He let me go and I crawled off his lap. He opened the door and helped me out of the back of the limo. We walked into the house hand in hand, and although I was happy to be with him, there was still a lot that we had to deal with before life could get back to normal.
I Had Steve unzip my dress and I had slipped it off and was reaching for my jeans when he wrapped his arms around me from behind. He kissed the back of my neck and I leaned back against him. "Baby we don't have time for this right now, everyone will be here in about five minutes. Besides...until we've gotten this all out in the open I just wouldn't feel right being with you."
He rested his chin on top of my head and sighed, "I know baby...I just want to be able to hold you. Things will be normal soon, once we get this mess taken care of you and I will have the rest of our lives to spend together." I turned around in his arms and kissed him, hoping to convey all my love for him that I couldn't put into words. He kissed me back and we stood there, holding each other for several moments. The doorbell rang and Steve pulled away.
"Get dressed, I'm going to go let them in. We'll be in the living room when you're ready." I smiled and blew him a kiss, "Thanks Steve...I'll be down in a minute or two."
He walked out the door and I slipped on my jeans and t-shirt, went into the bathroom to wash the makeup off my face and brush my hair out. When I finally got downstairs, Steve had already gotten everyone drinks and they had all settled in the living room. I could hear their conversation as I was coming down the stairs.
"Yeah, she's ok. Its been a traumatic day, but I think she'll be ok." I smiled, understanding the concern they all felt for me and my emotional state. They had all become family to me in the time that I had known them, and I loved them all as much as they loved me. I walked into the living room and smiled at my family.
"Hi guys..."
They all looked up and Glen asked the question that was on all their minds, "Lashana, are you ok?"
"I smiled. Yeah, a little stressed, it was a rough morning, but for the most part I'm ok. I do have a question for you all before I get started on my story. How exactly did you end up detaining Michael?" I looked at Glen, "From where you were in the church, there was no way you could have seen him to know what the problem was."
Hunter answered me, "Well actually Lashana, it was Edge and Christian. Apparently they were sitting behind him and when you froze, they saw him and, even though they didn't know what was going on, it was obvious that you were terrified of him. When he tried to leave the church behind you and Steve, they grabbed him."
Glenn piped in at that point, "Yeah, and that's when I caught a glimpse of him...I recognized him immediately and when I told Mark who it was and tried to get to him, Mark grabbed me and told Edge and Christian to lock him in the anteroom at the back of the church."
I nodded and smiled at them both, "I'll have to remember to thank Edge and Christian. I owe you all a great debt for helping me through this. I'm just sorry it had to happen the way it did."
They all shrugged their help off as nothing important and I smiled at them. Kanike looked at me, "Ok, Lashana so who is Michael and what exactly happened to you?"
I looked back at Steve and he winked at me, pulling me up against his side. "This is really a very long story. But I'll just start from the beginning.."
~I met Michael when I was 22, and I thought he was the most wonderful man in the world. He was sweet and romantic and we had so much in common. We dated for two years, spending just about every day together, until he proposed at Christmas. We moved in together after he proposed, and that was when things started changing, although it was so subtle a change that I didn't even realize it until it was too late.
Michael didn't like most of my family and friends, so they didn't come over when he was around. Unfortunately that was pretty much all the time. If I wasn't at work, I was home with him...he worked for the Sheriff's department in Louisville on the day shift, and I worked at the University during the day, and when we were both home from work we were together...at least at first.
His job started changing about three months after our wedding...he was assigned as part of a special group to work with the federal government on a special narcotics unit. It meant us leaving Louisville and moving to Atlant, and although I didn't like the idea of moving or of him working undercover, it was a promotion, so I supported him in his decision to take it. His hours started getting longer, and after work, he would stop at the bar on the way home to have a couple of drinks with the guys.
One evening, before he came home, I went to meet a friend for dinner, and got home a little later than I had planned. Michael was already there when I walked in the door, and he was more than a little drunk and very pissed off. He accused me of having an affair, and running the streets while he was out "risking his life" to support me. I tried to explain to him that I was only having dinner with a friend, but he wasn't listening to me, and when I tried to walk past him to go to bed, he grabbed me by the arm and threw me back on the couch. That was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me, and I guess because he was so drunk, he continued beating me until I was nearly unconsious.~
I felt Steve's arms tighten around me at that point, and I took a deep breath trying to calm myself. I knew that this story was only going to get worse, and looking around the room I could tell by the looks on the faces of my friends that they were shocked at the history I was giving them.
~I ended up in the hospital from that beating, and I swore that once I was out of the hospital that I would leave him. I was not going to stay with a man who would beat me, no matter how much I thought I loved him. Well, the hospital released me and sent me home, in Michaels care...I hadn't pressed charges, because Michael worked for the police dept and had told me that it wouldn't do any good. He was all apologies and brought flowers to the hospital every day, but I wouldn't forgive him and I couldn't forget what he had done. He took me home when the hospital released me and tried for a few more days to get me to forgive him. He was controlling my pain medication, and I figured out what a really vindictive man he could be at that point, when he started refusing to give me a pill as long as I refused him access to my body.
At some point, he realized that if he doubled up my pain medication I was easier for him to control, so he basically kept me drugged to the point that I could barely think straight, much less work. I lost my job, my family and friends quit calling when he made me tell them that I didn't want anything more to do with them. I spent most of my days passed out cold on the bed in the house, feeling like I was going to die any minute. My body had healed, but my mind and spirit were taking such a beating from the constant emotional abuse that I was praying someone would kill me and get it over with.
Michael would still come home drunk, smelling of whiskey. If he had a good day, he would usually just use my body and then fall asleep, but if he had a bad day at work, he would beat me, then rape me and fall asleep, well pass out really. I had reached a point where I couldn't take anymore, and when he would give me the pills, I would hold them in my mouth until he turned his back and then spit them out...trying to get my mind clear enough that I could leave. I had been on them for so long that my body had to detox, and I got much worse before I got better, but eventually I did start getting better. That was when I decided to leave.
I had packed a small bag that day while he was at work and then waited until he got home. It had been a bad day for him at work that day, so when he walked in the door and started screaming at me, I knew it was going to be a rough night. He beat me pretty bad that night, and raped me two or three times before he passed out cold. I crawled out of the bed, and although I was in serious pain from the beating, I dressed, grabbed my bag and walked out. I had no car, Michael had taken mine and sold it shortly after we were married...I think it was a way for him to control me and keep tabs on me, so I walked. I figured that by the time he realized I was gone I would be far enough away to keep him from finding me. I thought wrong.~
I stretched my neck and yawned, sitting on the couch with Steve. He pulled me against his chest and started rubbing my shoulders. I smiled at him and leaned back against him, taking a mental break from the story and trying to organize my thoughts.
~I had been walking for most of the night and into the next afternoon. I had stopped at a little truck stop for something to eat. While I was eating, some of Michael's friends came in and although I tried to conceal myself from them, they saw me. The didn't try to talk to me, and they left without saying a word, but apparently they called Michael from their car and told him where I was. I left the truck stop as fast as I could and headed down the road. I didn't get very far before this car pulled up and asked if I needed a ride. I looked back over my shoulder, thinking that if I could just get out of town I would be ok, so stupidly I took the offered ride. That was probably one of the worst mistakes I ever made.
I climbed into the back seat of the car and they started driving. About half an hour out of town, I started feeling a little nervous, the driver kept looking at me in the rear view mirror, and the look he was giving me was more than a little friendly. I asked them to let me off at the gas station that was coming up, but they refuse, saying there was a hotel just a little further down the road. I tried arguing with them, but the smaller one in the passenger seat reached back and smacked me in the mouth, telling me to "shut the fu*ck up". He hit me so hard that I hit my head on the window and passed out. I didn't wake up until we had pulled up in front of a little bar just outside of Texas. The blow apparently caused a concussion, because when I did wake up, I didn't know where I was or what was going on. I tried to go into the bar to use the bathroom and get a drink of water, but they caught me before I had gotten very far, and threw me back into the back of the car. They took off down the road to a seedy hotel, dragged me inside and proceeded to rape and abuse me most of the night.
It was probably one of the most hellacious nights I had ever spent, and I must have passed out, because I still don't remember being moved from the hotel room back to the car. I woke up a couple of times after that, but didn't let on to them that I was awake. I prayed a lot, asking for someone to help me. They pulled over on the side of the road shortly after I woke up the last time, and drug me down the side of the embankment. I didn't know what they were going to do, but I assume at this point that they were going to kill me, per Michael's orders. Fortunately for me, they decided that they wanted to rape me one more time before they killed me.
It gave me the opportunity to fight them and after kicking them in the balls, I ran up the hill. The bigger one tackled me from behind and we rolled back down the embankment. He and his friend decided that the trucks that were coming down the road were too close for them to do their job and get away, so they kicked me a couple more times and left me there on the side of the road. I heard the trucks coming, so I forced myself to crawl up the embankment, hoping that someone would see me and stop.~
The women in the room were all getting teary eyed at the emotional tole of my story, and Steve had wrapped his arms around me so tightly that I didn't think he would ever let me go.
He cleared his throat and spoke for the first time in over an hour, "That was when Glen, Mark and I found you. Jesus, I had no idea all that had happened to you. We had been driving for several hours, and I saw this car peel off in one hell of a hurry. I noticed something laying on the side of the road and told Mark to pull over, when I realized it was a person."
I twisted around in his arms and smiled, "And you saved me, and took care of me." I looked around the room and smiled, "You all know the rest of the story already." He leaned down and kissed me, holding me against him. I pulled back from him and smiled "You know what I think?"
He gave me a half smile, and pressed his forehead to mine, "No, baby...what do you think?"
"I think that you were sent as an answer to my prayers...I think, my love, that YOU are my Guardian Angel"
THE END
