Thank you for all the reviews and story alerts! They all made my week. Sorry this took so long to get out, school started again and my schedule is a little more hectic than I originally thought. So please bear with me. I have the next three chapters done they just need to be edited. All mistakes are mine. I don't own anyone except Santiago.
WARNING: This chapter and most of the rest of this story will include domestic violence. I tried not to be too graphic, but it is an important part of this story.
Please review and let me know how I'm doing. Enjoy!
Arizona stayed at the club for another half hour looking for other members of Santiago's crew before walking back to her hotel. She wasn't surprised to find Bailey eagerly waiting for her.
"So? How did it go?" Bailey asked impatiently. Arizona tried to keep her face emotionless. It was a hard task, she knew Bailey was going to be very pleased.
"Well we started to dance, but then Mark Sloan interrupted us. Then the whole gang left with Santiago," Bailey's face fell and Arizona couldn't contain her smile any longer. "But... she asked to see me next Friday night so we could finish our dance."
Bailey's head snapped up. "Are you serious?" she asked unsure whether to get her hopes up. Arizona nodded and Bailey grinned widely. "We have never been able to get Callie to take the bait for more than one night! This is...this is just amazing. Well done Detective Robbins well done," Bailey looked around awkwardly. "So you want to go to sleep now or -"
"No, I want to know everything about this case."
"You didn't read the file?" Bailey asked incredulously.
"Of course I read the file, but you've been living it. You've been following these people around for years. You know them. So, let's start with Mark Sloan," Arizona said kicking off her heels and taking off her jewelry and makeup while she listened.
"Sloan is a plastic surgeon at Seattle Grace-"
"Bailey, I want to know about them as people. Don't read off the file for me, ok?"
Bailey nodded. "Ok well, you probably know from the file that he is one of Callie's best friends. What's not in the file is that for a while they were friends with benefits if you know what I mean. They tried to be secretive about it, but everybody knew. You know how he was arrested for suspicion of aiding and abiding a criminal, guess who? The charges were dropped. Parents are deceased and he's an only child. He has a daughter and as far as we know they are estranged. She came to town once looking for money and Mark paid her off pretty quickly. Probably doesn't want the responsibility of a kid. He still acts like a child most of the time. Biggest ego of anyone I have ever encountered, but he stuck by Callie when a lot of people would have run. He met Lexi through Callie. I was there that day you know," Bailey said a wistful look crossing her face. "Callie went to meet him for lunch and had brought Lexi and Meredith along because they were applying to be nurses," Bailey laughed. "It was not love at first sight that's for damn sure. Slowly, though Lexi saw the side of him he usually only showed Callie. They fell in love, broke up, got back together, broke up again, and now their getting married. Santiago hired this big wedding planner, same one he used for Meredith's wedding actually."
"Lexi doesn't want to plan her own wedding?" Arizona questioned.
"I guess not," Bailey shrugged.
"Do you think he's working with Santiago?" Arizona asked sitting down on the bed after changing into more comfortable clothing. Bailey sighed and shrugged again.
"I don't know. He's been seen at the warehouses and Santiago's base of operations, but I honestly don't know. He doesn't hang around with the other thugs and he doesn't need the money."
"Ok," Arizona nodded. "How about the fiance? What can you tell me about Lexi?"
"Lexi has the credentials and smarts to be a surgeon, but for some reason she never finished her internship. After she met Santiago she dropped out of Medical School and decided to become a nurse instead. She is Meredith's half sister and Santiago's step sister. The Grey's father was married to Santiago's mother and both are dead now. So is Lexi's mother. She's a shy girl. Soft spoken, but when she gets mad watch out," Bailey laughed. "She kicked Mark Sloan into shape that's for sure."
"I still find it very strange she doesn't want to plan her own wedding," Arizona muttered.
"Maybe she does," Bailey said softly. Arizona shot her a questioning look. "I get the feeling that Santiago gets what he wants. Even if she does want to plan her own wedding she isn't going to disobey her step brother."
Arizona nodded. "You think that's why neither Derek nor Mark live at the mansion? It's just Santiago and five women," Arizona pointed out.
Bailey nodded in agreement. "He wants control."
"Since we're on the subject of Derek, what can you tell me about him?"
"Derek works at Seattle's elite private high school, Seattle Prep, as a biology teacher. He was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abiding a criminal like Mark, but charges were never filed. His father is dead and he's estranged from his mother and sisters. I've never even heard him talk about them."
"I don't really see how he got mixed up in all of this," Arizona said confused.
"Derek and Mark were childhood friends. Mark was the first out of all of them to be in Seattle and he and Callie hit it off shortly after she, Santiago, and the Grey sisters came into town. About a year later Derek got offered the job at Seattle Prep and looked up his old friend Mark. He started to spend time with Mark and word must have gotten back to Santiago because the next thing I know Derek's at Callie's club, at Santiago's office, and the warehouses."
"And that's how he met Meredith?"
Bailey nodded. "They're relationship had even more bumps than Lexi and Mark's. Meredith and Derek bonded over science. Meredith has what it takes to be a surgeon, she even completed her internship. When she moved to Seattle with her step brother she applied to be a nurse and not a resident. Anyway, she and Derek broke up and got back together too many times to count. They got married about 6 months ago."
"Does Meredith have any other family?" Arizona asked curiously. She was noticing a pattern, but wasn't ready to bring it up yet.
"Her mother is dead and she was all Meredith had besides her father and Lexi."
"What about Cristina?"
"Cristina Yang is something else. She and Meredith are known around the station as the twisted sisters. Cristina started working at Callie's club and she and Callie hit it off. She started spending time with Callie outside of work and met Meredith. I guess it was love at first sight," Bailey said sarcastically. "They're as inseparable as Addison and Callie. Cristina keeps us all laughing. She has a sharp tongue and no filter. She's loyal though and tough. Her father is dead and she's estranged from her mother. She's been flirting recently with an Army medic, but other than that no serious relationships. We don't know a lot about her before she came to Seattle. Cristina was arrested for assault, but the charges were dropped," She paused and looked at Arizona. "You want to stop? It's a lot of information to take in."
Arizona shook her head. "No, I'm good. I want to know everything."
"Ok. Who do you want to know about next?"
"Addison Montgomery."
"Addison knew Derek and Mark from New York, they went to undergrad together. When he heard about an opening for a Neonatal Surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital he called Addison and she must have thought it would be nice to be in the same city as her college buddies again."
"It's kind of sad," Arizona said thoughtfully. "These people came here looking for this great new life. New city, new job and then they got sucked into organized crime."
"They didn't have to get as deep as they did," Bailey pointed out.
"Maybe they didn't realize how deep they were until it was too late," Arizona suggested. "Anyway, what else?"
"She's estranged from her whole family. I guess they were never very close. Now she has Callie. Addison and Callie are inseparable and I mean inseparable. You're going to have to make friends with her if you want any kind of shot at getting close to Callie. She's a tough person to get close to. She's guarded and she protects Callie fiercely. You would not want this woman as an enemy, but as a friend you'd be damn lucky. I don't really know that much about her. She sticks close to Callie so, I can't get close enough to her to learn anything. Callie knows who I am and let's just say we have a history."
Arizona's interest piqued. "The kind of history that makes her keep you away from her best friend?"
"Callie protects Addison as fiercely as Addison protects her. I've pulled Callie in for questioning a few times and she just..." Bailey stood up in frustration. "That girl pushes my buttons. She is cocky, stubborn, a pain in the ass-"
"And a womanizer, I know," Arizona giggled. Bailey smiled slightly, but Arizona could see the sadness in her brown eyes. "Miranda?"
"What?" Bailey snapped. Whatever she had been feeling was shut back inside.
"Nothing. So besides being cocky, stubborn, a pain in the ass, and a womanizer what else do you know about Callie?"
"We don't know much about her pre-Santiago. Her parents are dead and she has an estranged sister-"
"Ok, wait a minute. I can't even count how many times you've used the word estranged. Were these people estranged from their loved ones before or after meeting Santiago?"
Bailey shook her head. "I don't know and I'm not sure it matters," she said.
Arizona nodded, but made a mental note to look into it on her own. "Ok, so Callie..."
"We know Callie is from Miami. Santiago was pretty big there until he left suddenly to look for his long lost mother in California. That's where he met his step sisters and then about three years ago he dragged them all here. Callie has been married to Santiago for almost 5 years now. She's been arrested for possession of cocaine, but those charges were never filed. She was arrested about a month ago when she refused to come down for questioning, but her husband made those charges go away as well. Her only occupation is the club she owns. It's pretty successful."
"Her file says she was premed and then suddenly dropped out," Arizona pointed out. Bailey nodded.
"Guess she lost interest," Bailey suggested.
"So, I guess she's also a cheater if I understand my part in this correctly."
"We would never ask you to sleep with her," Bailey said firmly. "She and Santiago both cheat and both with women. We need you to get close to her and her friends. Find out things about them that I can't."
"So, make them trust me and then send them all to prison," Arizona said running a hand through her hair tiredly.
"We want Santiago. Unfortunately, people are going to get caught in the cross fire, but I promise you I am going to do all I can to make sure the only people going to jail are the people that truly deserve to be there."
Arizona nodded, pleased with the conviction she heard in Bailey's voice. "So who's next?" Arizona asked. Bailey shook her head.
"The only people you need to worry about are the ones we've already talked about," Bailey told her.
Arizona nodded and smiled. She was surprised to admit she was starting to like Detective Bailey. This move had definitely been a good idea. She felt sorry for the people in the files she held in her hand. They had been like her not too long ago. They moved to a new city to take a new job they thought was their dream job. They had probably been happy and hopeful like she was now. And then it had all gone to hell somehow. Arizona prayed that didn't happen to her.
Long after Santiago and the girls had gone home Mark was looking out over the harbor with Derek. His mind was filled with the same thoughts he had every night. He worried about Callie and Lexi, hell all of them, every night almost to the point of getting sick. He especially worried about Callie. She didn't always know when to keep her mouth shut. He looked over at Derek.
"They'll be alright tonight right?" he asked, his voice almost childlike as he looked for reassurance.
"Yes, we'll see them in the morning," Derek said trying to sound confident. Truthfully he was as terrified as Mark. Mark nodded and felt a tear slide down his cheek. He started to walk away, but Derek stopped him with a hand on his arm. "The police will get him someday. And then we'll all be free. Meredith and I can get our own place. Maybe start a family. You and Lexi can do the same. And Callie, Addison, and Cristina will have a shot, a real shot at love. That day will come. It has too," Mark nodded not sure if he believed his friend tonight. If the cops were onto Santiago he wished they would make their move. Before it was too late.
Callie settled down next to Addison and closed her eyes. Images of the blonde from the bar filled her thoughts. She smiled and started to drift off to sleep when she heard glass shattering. She sprang up and immediately reached for Addison, who was also sitting up looking worried. When Callie knew Addison was safe she relaxed slightly. They both sat in silence and listened for a minute before they heard a cry of pain.
"Little Grey," Callie muttered. She jumped down from the bed and ran from the room with Addison close on her heels.
Callie threw open Lexi's bedroom door just as she heard Meredith's door open. Lexi was on the floor, a cut bleeding from her forehead. She was looking up fearfully at Santiago who was holding what looked to be a wedding magazine in his clenched fist. A shattered vase was on the floor by the bed.
"Oh Lexi," Meredith sighed sadly. Santiago had been very clear when he told Lexi she was to have no part in the wedding. The wedding planner would do it and make sure she did it to Santiago's liking. It had been the same with his marriage to Callie and Meredith's marriage to Derek. Callie saw Santiago bring back his foot as if to kick his little sister and she rushed forward.
"Santiago stop!" Callie pleaded. Santiago obeyed and looked up at her. His eyes flashed in anger.
"She won't do it again," Meredith pleaded inching her way into the room. Santiago nodded and Meredith rushed to her sister's side.
"If I find you with one of these again there will be hell to pay!" He shouted at her. Lexi nodded tearfully and allowed Meredith and Cristina to lead her out of the room. Callie turned to leave, but her husband's strong grip on her arm stopped her. "Someone has to pay," he said.
Addison's heart dropped. "Santiago-"
"It's ok Addison go back to the room," Callie pleaded. Santiago wouldn't think twice about hurting Addison and Callie would do anything to protect her. Addison looked like she was going to say no, but did as Callie asked her. She knew if she pissed Santiago off any more than Lexi already had it would just make things worse for Callie. Addison ran to Callie's room and buried her head in her pillow. She tried to block out the noise of fist hitting flesh but it permeated the entire house.
Once Addison left Santiago wasted no time and punched Callie in the gut making her fall to her knees. She grunted in pain, but otherwise kept silent. He grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked her head back painfully.
"You want to be the hero Calliope? That's fine with me, but I meant what I said. If I find her going behind my back again not even you will be able to save her," He brought his arm back and slapped her in the face causing her to fall to the floor. He kicked her in the side and she let out a yelp of pain.
"Don't you have a whore to get back to?" Callie choked out. Santiago growled angrily and pulled her up. He punched her in the jaw and his tight grip on her arm stopped her from falling to the floor. He punched her in the stomach again and again until she finally gave him the satisfaction he wanted by letting out a pain filled yell. He smirked and let her drop to the floor. He kicked her in the side a few more times before finally stopping. Callie closed her eyes tightly and listened to him leave the room. She sucked in deep breath before rising to her feet and walking slowly back to her bedroom.
Meredith cleaned the cut on her sister's forehead gently, while Cristina flipped through channels. Lexi was looking at the ground, a devastated look on her pretty face. They heard Callie scream again and Cristina looked at the door. Meredith recognized the look on her best friend's face.
"Cristina don't. You know it will only make things worse," Meredith said. Cristina sighed and looked back at the TV. She saw the guilt on Lexi's face and turned up the volume.
"I deserve to hear it. It's my fault," Lexi said softly.
"You don't make Santiago the way he is. You should be able to look at a freaking wedding magazine," Cristina muttered.
"I understand why you had it Lexi, but you have to be more careful. I don't want anything happening to you, ok?" Meredith pleaded with her little sister. Lexi nodded.
"He'll stop right? She'll be ok?" Lexi asked. Meredith nodded.
"I saw him with some woman earlier. He'll want to get back to her soon."
"How fucked up is that? Oh yea he'll stop beating his wife soon because he has a whore in his bed he wants to get back to. We should all just take off," Cristina said, mumbling her last statement.
"Callie tried that and he killed her parents. We tried that and he killed our father," Meredith argued.
"We don't have anyone else left to lose besides each other," Cristina pointed out.
"You want to live your life on the run?" Meredith shot back.
"Sh!" Lexi said. "He stopped, should we go see if she's ok?"
Meredith shook her head. "Addison will take care of her. Let's go to bed," Meredith suggested. Lexi nodded and crawled into the King sized bed. Meredith crawled in next and Cristina followed after that. Cristina shut off the light by the bed and the TV.
"Mer?"
"Yea?"
"I would never do anything that might put you in harms way. Or anybody else here for that matter."
"I know, Cristina. I love you, you know."
"Don't get too mushy on me, Grey."
Meredith chuckled. "Sorry."
"Meredith?"
"Mhm?"
"I love you too."
Meredith smiled in the dark and closed her eyes. Life here might be hell, but at least they had each other.
Addison jumped up when she heard the door open and ran to envelop her best friend in a comforting hug. She scanned Callie for injuries and saw a bruise forming below her eye. Callie also had finger shaped bruises on her upper left arm and a split lip.
"Where else?" Addison asked worriedly. Callie lifted her shirt and Addison saw another bruise forming on the front part of Callie's abdomen and another on her side. Addison pulled her into another hug and then led her to the bed. There was nothing she could do for Callie tonight except be there for her. They laid on the bed and Callie snuggled deep into the comforting arms of her best friend and she once again thanked God for giving her Addison Montgomery. As she finally drifted off to sleep images of a blue eyed blonde beauty filled her mind.