Hard Brake (Wilkins Brothers Book 2)

Chapter 6

CAMILA

I figured that it was only a matter of time that I would need to come to terms with what happened. I just wanted to protect my children, I never meant for this whole thing to blow up the way that it did. Now I’m sitting in a room with a man who is even more intimidating than Miguel, wanting to know all of my secrets.

“I think you probably know enough,” I say in the hopes to deflect further questions. I know they’ve all been talking about me. I’m not stupid between my visible bruises and Nico’s it is clear what we’re on the run from.

“I know a bit. I know that you were driving here from New Mexico and if you arrived here this morning, it means you drove all through the night.” I look down at my hands, picking at my non-existent fingernails. Even with my eyes to the ground, I can feel him moving closer to me. “I know that your boy out there, Nico, has a bruise across his cheek that I’m guessing came from a backhand.”

Gruff crouches down in front of me and gently touches my chin, just enough to tilt it up, “And I know those bruises are on your neck are the mark of fingers. Did I get it all?”

“I’m just trying to keep them safe,” I choke out, trying to keep my tears at bay.

“I know you are. Let me help you.”

“Why would you help me? You don’t know me from Adam and I heard what you said to Bellamy. I don’t belong here, she needs to be focused more on her baby than my messed up life.”

“I was around Nico’s age the first time my dad hit me.”

My head snaps up to face him, “What?”

“You heard me. He was a real son of a bitch. Used my mom as a punching bag my entire life. I was in third grade the very first time. Everybody was in bed and I could hear them fighting.” He laughs sarcastically. “Okay, he was fighting with her because my mom never fought back. I thought I was going to be the badass that saved my mom, ya know? So I stomped my ass into their bedroom and I shoved him off my her. He barely moved a foot and just as quickly backhanded me across the room.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. None of this shit is your fault. I’m just trying to get you to understand that you’re safe with this family because although we might be full of assholes, we don’t put up with what you’ve been through. We just don’t.”

“I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me, Gruff, I don’t want to come off as unthankful, but I really just wish you’d fix our car and let us go on our way.”

“Go where?”

“I don’t know, just...I don’t know.”

Gruff sighs and stands back up before taking a seat next to me on the bed. His added weight shifts the bed and just another reminder of the giant that he really is. “I have to tell you something else, but I want you to promise that you’re not going to freak out.”

“I probably can’t promise that.”

“I know. Tate, one of my brothers, was going checking out your car, making sure that there was nothing else wrong with it and he came across a GPS tracker. The tracker was turned on.”

I jump to my freak, my heart beating out of my chest, “A tracker? No...no...no.” As irrational as it probably seems, I pull my bag off the floor and start shoving things back into it. If there was a tracker on the SUV it means that it is only a matter of time before Miguel or his men find me. They’ll know I stopped here, they’ll know I’m somewhere in this small town. I can only imagine how many people saw us on the drive to Bellamy and Maverick’s place. I’m putting them all in danger.