Davis, P.O. V
I placed Lisa on her passenger side seat, taking my place behind her wheel. I held my hand out for her to hand me the keys. My blood was still boiling and my heart was breaking. How dare he touch her?
She was going to stay.
I admired how adamantly she wanted to protect Lucas and Liv. She will set her own happiness aside for them. Willing to be broken and beaten to keep them safe and happy. I can never be mad at her for that, but God, do I wish she could understand that her happiness is just as important. She doesn't have to do this. We will all protect Lucas and Liv. They have many friends, a lot of them are just as powerful as her dad. I'll beat his ass if he ever comes for my girls.
My girls.
Lisa, Izzy, and Liv are my girls in different ways, but they each hold a big part of my heart.
"Davis." Lisa's small voice brought me back to this moment. "I'm sorry."
Her apology only hurt my heart further. She shouldn't be going through any of this. I grabbed the keys from her hands without a word. There was nothing I could say, but when I get her back home, I'll show her. I'll show her how she should be treated. She will see how a real man takes care of the woman he loves.
This feeling of want for her has grown and festered, pulling me off the edge until I started falling. I am falling hard for her and hoping to never reach the ground. She's bringing this heart of mine back to life and filling it with a love I didn't know I still had in me.
I'll keep you safe, Lisa. I'll make you happy.
It was absolutely silent as I drove us back to my house. I clutched the steering wheel for dear life as I thought about Chris over and over. I had seen the way he dragged her inside by her beautiful hair. I was ready to kill him, but Liv stopped me. She made me wait until she was sure I wouldn't murder him before we knocked on that door. I can only imagine the hell Liv and Carter are giving him now. Chris will never lay a hand on what's mine again.
**Song Suggestion: If You Love Her by Forest Blakk**
I pulled into the garage, stepping out once the car was parked. I opened her door, leaning down and unbuckling her from her seat. My arms wrapped around her shoulders and under her knee as I picked her up. There was one room I had in mind ... mine.
Lisa leaned her head against my chest, relaxing into my arms. I like to believe that she feels safe in my arms. I honestly hope she feels the same way about me, but who really knows? She's been through so much that I could just be a placeholder. I could be a guy she's with just because she feels safe with me. She doesn't know me enough to love me the same way I love her, but that's okay. I'll take what I can get from her and I won't say a word in complaint. If she decides I am not what she wants, then I'll be happy with the time I got with her. Right now, I plan to make the most of this time. I laid her gently on the bed, climbing in beside her and holding her tight against my chest.
"I will not let them get to you, Lisa. You're safe here with me. I will keep you safe," I swore as I rubbed her back and arm. "Don't sacrifice yourself like that again. Never put yourself in harm's way. You don't have to do that anymore. I'll be by your side for as long as you'll have me. I'll fight alongside you. We'll be strong together."
Lisa's tears soaked into my shirt as she clung to me closely. She seemed to be having a breakthrough or maybe a melt down. I wasn't sure, but I held her lovingly as she let it out. I
kissed the top of her head, continuing mindless caresses on her back. She cried for a while before she began to sniffle and calm herself.
"Davis, what if he comes after you? I can't live with myself if anything happens to any of you because of me. I have to go back. I have to fix this," she said, sitting up on the bed as if she would run at any moment.
I quickly grabbed her wrist, holding her in place as I sat up beside her. I took her sweet cheek in my hand gently, cupping her face lovingly. My eyes met hers as I looked at her with all the love I had. She grew still, leaning into my hand without looking away from me.
"I don't care if he comes for me. He wouldn't be the first man, but he'll be the last. I know how to handle myself, Lisa, but you don't know that. So, let me tell you all about myself, about my past. If after hearing it, you decide that you want to go back, I will take you myself. But trust me when I say we can handle your father."
She nodded her head against my hand, staring at me like I held all the answers of the universe. Her gaze softened on me as she grabbed my hand and held it tightly with both of hers. I was nervous to tell her my story, but I know she needs to hear it to really believe in me.
**Song Suggestion: Epic Emotional AShamaluevMusic**
"Once upon a time I used to be a prosecuting attorney. I was 29, thinking I was some hot shit. It was my first year on the job and I had yet to lose a case. I was doing this while raising Izzy with my wife, Grace. Izzy was 6 at the time finishing up kindergarten when the DA handed me a high profile case. I thought it was because of my success rate thus far, but I had just drawn the short straw, literally. I didn't know at the time that this man was known for going after the prosecuting attorneys that worked his case. It's how he had stayed out of jail so long. Important evidence would suddenly disappear during his trials, or witnesses for that matter. Naive me was excited for the chance to put away a criminal that others hadn't been able to."
I took a deep breath in, trying to calm my mind and heart as I put myself back in those shoes. The shoes of the man who thought he knew it all, but was so sorely mistaken.
"The trial began, and it had consumed almost all of my time. Grace complained that she was losing her husband and Izzy her father. To appease her, I dropped Izzy off at my mom's and took Grace on a romantic date for our anniversary. We ate at the restaurant that we had our first date, and took a walk under the moonlight like we had done many years prior. The man I was prosecuting was the head of a large gang and he'd ordered his men to intimidate me. Back then, I wasn't the large man you see now. I was fit, but I didn't fight. I didn't lift and my muscles weren't exactly the strongest. 5 men grabbed Grace and I, as we walked by, and pulled us into a dark alley. Immediately, I knew we were in trouble and I knew it was my fault."
My heart raced with the reminder of that moment, the grappling fear of it all. It was as if it were playing out before me again. The horrors of that night haunt me daily, causing nightmares most nights. I swallowed those feelings down and continued my story. Lisa was listening so attentively, letting me tell my story uninterrupted.
**Trigger Warning: description of rape. Skip the next paragraph if you can't handle reading these things.**
"The men didn't waste time as they began to beat me. Three of them were on me while two of them held Grace down. She yelled and screamed, and fought as hard as she could as they tore at her clothes. I tried to fight, but these men were big and unrelenting as they punched and kicked me until I was on the floor, unable to move. I was bleeding and doomed to watch as these men raped Grace in front of me over and over again. She had stopped fighting after the third time. Her eyes locked on mine as she stretched her hand out towards me. I tried to crawl towards her, to grab that hand, but so many bones were broken. I couldn't see out of one of my eyes either, and I could hardly breathe from the lung that collapsed in me. The last man was too rough with Grace, killing her in front of me as he choked her while he raped her. I witnessed the life leave her body as she took her last choked breath."
I felt the same brokenness I felt that night. My heart and my mind will never let me forget that my arrogance got my wife killed. I will never forgive the weak man I was. I fought back the tears that threatened to build as I tried to continue.
"They left me for dead in that alleyway. I stared at Grace's lifeless body as I slowly crawled to her. I passed out the moment I grabbed her hand. She felt so cold despite the warm
spring air. She was no longer my wife, just a shell of the woman I loved for a decade. I woke up in the hospital a week later under protective services. I met many cops in my line of work, so they treated me like their own. Izzy had been watched like a hawk by all the boys in blue while I was in my coma. My friend at the time, Derek, took over the investigation into my wife's murder, and my assault. It didn't take long to find the low lives that killed her. The problem was I felt no satisfaction from putting those men behind bars." I remembered the day of their sentencing and the absolute rage I felt. It ate me up inside, fueling me with a need for revenge.
"Only one of them got a life sentence and the others a decade. It wasn't enough, none of it was. I felt cheated by the system, so I took matters into my own hands. I quit my job and began to train for a year. Izzy was raised by my mother at the time, since I'd all but lost my mind with grief and thoughts of revenge. I didn't think Izzy was safe with me. I used everything I learned from my job and found the man that turned my life into hell. I didn't kill him. I beat his guards and kidnapped him. He was scared even if he didn't show it, I could tell. I could see the fear in his eyes as he took in the abandoned warehouse basement and the many tools I had brought out. I tortured that man for hours in ways I won't describe, but at the end of it, I didn't feel that much better. There was nothing I could do to bring my wife back, to bring me back." The tears I had been holding back betrayed me as they slid down my cheeks. Lisa's face reflected my own as she cried for me. Her hands squeezed mine tightly, comforting me as best she could.
"I was lost, and that's when I met Carter. He was 20 at the time and trying to avoid the gang lifestyle. He had seen me drink myself stupid and brought me to an AA meeting at his church. I wasn't an alcoholic, but I certainly had a drinking problem at the time. We talked about a world where there was no gang violence or drugs. That's when we decided to train people to fight so that they could defend themselves from these kinds of people. We opened a gym together, and that later led to sparing and eventually our underground fighting ring. The money we make from there, we donate and use to pay for classes to teach women how to fight. Izzy has a hard time forgiving me for what happened to her mother. She has an even harder time forgiving me for not raising her. She has every right to hate me, so I don't pester her." My head hung in shame for not raising my own girl. I know I let her and Grace down. It tears my heart with guilt when I think about it.
"The point of me telling you this dark, horrid story is so you can see that I have been through hell already. I know how to work the system, and I still have friends in high places. Currently, Derek is helping me find what we need to bring your dad down legally, but if that doesn't work, I will take matters into my own hands. I promise you that. I have nothing left to lose but you. So please, stay. Stay here with me and let me save you. Let me make you strong, and fight alongside you against your dad. Don't do this alone. Don't go back to that asshole because you think you need to."
I squeezed her hands tightly, begging her to stay here. I don't want to lose her. She needs to believe that she has a choice. She needs to know that marrying Chris isn't the only way to keep Lucas and Liv safe. I watched her face closely for any signs of what she may say, of how she may be feeling. She was hard to read, aside from the tears she let slip from her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Davis." It felt like my heart exploded at her words. It seemed it didn't matter what I told her, she's made up her mind. She doesn't want me. I am sure my story scared her away more than helped.
"Please, don't go, Lisa," I pleaded with her, taking each of her hands into my own. She shook her head at me, further tearing into my heart.
"I am sorry that happened to you, Davis. I am sorry you had to go through any of that. I can't imagine the pain you went through. You're an amazing man, Davis. It's why I'm so surprised you want me. I'm weak and stubborn and I can be so crass sometimes. How can you want me?"
I wasn't expecting these words to leave her mouth. I was certain she was rejecting me, but now I'm not so sure.
"Lisa, are you kidding me? You're an amazing woman. Look at what you're willing to go through just to keep your brother safe. That mouth of yours is something I love. You have a great spirit, and you don't know it yet, but there's a warrior in you and I plan on bringing her out. I want you, Lisa. All of you. Will you stay with me?" I asked her, begging and hoping for the universe to give me a miracle.
Please, for once, let things go my way. For once, let me be happy.