Chapter 11:

Brenna woke feeling unusually refreshed. She'd slept like a brick. It didn't take long for her mind to process what the day was—they were heading back on the road. She liked the break, but she was anxious to get moving again. Sitting still and becoming complacent could be dangerous with her situation. Dillon hadn't tried to contact her since Dean had yelled at him, but she wasn't naïve enough to believe that he was done with her. Of course, they'd changed her number, but Brenna knew that if Dillon wanted to get to her, he had resources. Dillon could use the contacts he'd made as a law enforcement officer to find just about anything on her.

At noon, she'd made her way to Roman and Jessica's house with her luggage ready to go. She was greeted by a very sad Leila in the living room. The 5 year old looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. No doubt she was sad her daddy was leaving.

Brenna kneeled in front of the little girl. "You must be Leila. Your daddy told me how pretty you were, but I just couldn't believe it til I saw it for myself," Leila smiled a little. "You know, your daddy misses you so bad when he's on the road. I bet you miss him too."

"Yes, ma'am." She had manners for sure. "I miss him whole bunches."

"That's a lot. But you know what, he loves spending time with you when he's home. I bet it would make leaving so much easier, if you drew him a picture of yourself to take with him and left him with a smile and a big hug."

Leila looked excited when she jumped up and grabber her paper and crayons from the coffee table, "I gots my crayons here! Imma draw it now so he can take it with him."

Brenna smiled as Jessica came to stand beside her. "Thanks for that. She gets so sad when he leaves." Jessica turned to look at Brenna thoughtfully, "You've become one of my best friends. If you ever need anything, you let me know. The last few days have been great. I can't wait for y'all to come back."

Brenna and Jessica embraced in a tight hug. "Thank you. It's so nice to have a friend here. I honestly have no one else in my life besides y'all. I've left everything else behind."

Jess wanted to ask about her family and Dillon, but she knew Brenna would come to her when she was ready.

An hour later, Brenna and the guys were loaded into the car heading to the airport to fly out to Texas. The ride was eerily quiet as Dean and Brenna sat in the back seat of the SUV. Each man had been trying to get a read on her. It was like she had clammed up—tangled in her own mind.

Brenna could sense the worry around her. She'd spent the last hour thinking only of her next move—what that was, she wasn't sure yet. She was all too aware of what Dillon was capable of, and she knew she wouldn't live through another round with him. She considered telling the guys everything. Maybe if they knew, they would push her away—make the decision for her to run easier. That's what she wanted to do. Or maybe if she told them, they would be aware of the situation at least. She didn't think it was fair or them to be in danger and unaware. Her mind was plagued with those thoughts.

It seemed like no time at all that Dean's voiced pulled her from her turmoil, "You gonna stay in the car or get on the plane?"

Brenna looked around realizing the others had already exited the vehicle. She carefully pulled from her bubble and followed them into the airport.

After a long flight, they finally arrived at the hotel in Texas. Brenna decided to get her own room once again. It was just next door to the guys, but she needed the space in case the conversation went the way she thought it would. She took her time settling into the room before going next door and knocking on the guy's door.

Seth let her in and watched her with concern. It was obvious that something was wrong, and every one of them had an idea what—or rather who—it was.

Brenna sat heavily on Dean's bed beside him and across from Seth and Roman. She was unsure how to start telling them everything.

Roman sensing her trepidation decided to help her, "Bren, is Dillon why you're here?"

Brenna's eyes went wide before she looked at Dean. "You told them?" She looked away with angry tears in her eyes. "You don't know 90% of the fucking story, but you shared it anyway?"

Dean looked calm, "I didn't know what to do, so I went to them."

Brenna looked up at Seth and Roman. "I want to be angry at Dean, but the truth is you should know because it could affect you. I don't want any of this to touch you guys. I want to be clear from the beginning—this is my battle…alone." Roman looked like he was going to speak, so Brenna cut him off, "Dillon and I met just as I started my residency after Medical School. He was just out of Police Academy—a rookie on the squad doing grunt work. He went on a ride-along with a more experienced officer and got stabbed mildly by a perp. I stitched him up in the ER, and that was that. We were together for a year and a half before I moved into his apartment. Things were great for a couple of years. We got engaged. We were happy." Brenna sighed deeply, knowing the hard part was next. "About a year ago, he just changed. I suspected drugs and alcohol. He'd taken to kissing ass at work and had worked himself into a respectable role at the department, so no one suspected a thing. He started picking fights over stupid shit and getting defensive. The first night it got physical, I'd been called into work. He came home and couldn't find me…"

Brenna walked through the door exhausted. She looked worse for the wear and ready to pass out at any moment. She set her bag down on the foyer table and made her way into the living room. The moment she laid eyes on Dillon, she knew something was wrong. His bloodshot eyes and clenched jaw were her warning—he's looking for a fight.

Brenna sighed as she sat on the couch beside him. She placed her hand on his knee in a loving manner, hoping he would let it go. It was only a moment before the back of his hand connected with her jaw suddenly. He pinned her to the couch, hovering over her in a menacing manner. "Who is he, Bren?"

Brenna couldn't speak. She couldn't fight. She was left quivering and sobbing in pain.

"Who are you fucking, Bren?"

"Just you," she managed to cry out.

He hit her again. She could feel the heat where the blood pooled beneath the skin. She could already feel her eye swelling—no doubt it would be swollen shut by morning.

"Don't fucking lie to me! You fucking slut," another blow before another.

She didn't remember the rest. She'd been knocked unconscious. She only remembered waking up naked on the kitchen floor, blood smeared along the floor from where he had dragged her.

"It was quiet for a while. A few months later, it started again and escalated. That last time…" Brenna was fighting back tears, "That last time, I thought he killed me, until I woke up in the hospital. He'd tied me up and beat me with a metal baseball bat. A neighbor heard me screaming and called the cops."

Seth looked pissed and worried at once, "Why'd you stay? After the very first time, why didn't you leave?"

Brenna nodded, she was sure this question would come up. "Fear mostly. And my family adored him. They still do. They wanted me to settle down with a 'nice young man'," she air-quoted while rolling her eyes. "After the first time, I did leave. I went to my parent's house. You know what my mamma asked me? What had I done to make him hurt me? And my dad said nothing." Brenna continued after a moment, "According to her, it must have been my fault that he hit me. I was then told that I didn't have a home with them—that I should go home to Dillon and apologize and pray that he took me back. Leaving isn't easy when the very people who should protect you, feed you to the wolf." Brenna looked fierce after that portion. She was pissed with her family. She had every right to be.

"How did you get away?" Roman wanted answers as well.

"For the last 2 months that I was there, I had spent countless hours in the doctor's lounge searching for jobs far away from South Carolina. I stumbled across the listing for the WWE. It seemed perfect—constantly moving. Somehow I landed the job. I packed my shit up in the middle of the night when Dillon was at the station and took off without another word. My phone rang a few hundred times before I reached Nashville." She looked at each of their faces, "you know the rest."

Dean placed a hand on her knee. "We're not going to let anything happen to you."

Brenna brushed his hand aside. "That's not why I'm telling you this. I've already told you, I don't want you involved—any of you. But in the event, he gets close and I have to leave, I'd like for you to know why. I think we're kind of…friends. I feel like you should know just in case. You guys can decide if you would rather I leave."

Dean looked pissed as he stood and paced the room.

"Bren, we're not gonna ask you to leave." Roman looked concernedly at her, "and we're not gonna let him get you. I don't care how much you want to keep us out of this." He smiled at her as she settled a little calmer, "And according to Jess and Leila, you're family so you ain't going anywhere."

"Thanks, Rome."

Seth pulled her into a hug as they stood and whispered to her, "We got you, firecracker."

Brenna turned to face Dean, who'd finally stopped pacing. He wouldn't look at her. Brenna took that as her cue and walked from the room. As she began to close her door, Dean's stuck his foot in the door jamb. Brenna didn't fight him. She walked further into the room, before facing him.

Dean strode to her quickly and pulled her tightly into his body. "I don't give a shit if you want me to or not, I'm gonna protect you."

Brenna held onto him while shaking her head, "In my experience, I can't depend on anyone. I just hope I'm wrong."

Dean ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly. He knew she was wrong. He didn't understand why he felt the need to protect her, but he would.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update. My work schedule has been insane.