Eric and Trisha had come in an interesting way to say the least. After Mia had mostly recovered from the attack that had made the birth of our twins an even for momentous occasion, we decided to pay Roman and his group a visit, himself and his ranking members were eliminated, and those we felt that we would be either able to gain information from or possibly turning we kept in a secure location only known to a few people.
After it was over myself and Mia talked privately about what should happen to the members that had nothing in the events, or that were not willingly aligned with him. Since most of them wouldn't know who she was, we decided that it was for the best if Mia went to the location we had them all sent to and mingled in with them. We waited for her for almost four hours outside.
When she exited the house, I could see the look on her face wasn't quite matching what her eyes said. Because although she walked with her head held high and standing tall, I could see the conflict that was raging in her eyes.
After we returned home, I asked her what she had seen and heard. Hesitantly she confessed that there had been two people who had recognized her almost immediately after she walked in.
"Deacon, under any other circumstances I wouldn't have noticed that either of them had known me. All I did was turn the corner into the room that they were and as I came to where they were sitting to maybe find someone there to talk it was too apparent that when I got close to them that they knew something. His wife grabbed his arm so tight, like I was going to rip him away from here that instant, honestly Deacon, I wasn't even going to stop at all because at first, I thought that maybe she was just scared. I mean if I would was in her position I know for sure that I would be, who wouldn't be terrified? It was by accident that as I walked behind them Tyler walked up, starting a conversation with, it all happened in a fraction of a second, if I wouldn't have been standing where I was at that moment I would have never even seen her actions. The conversation that I had with Tyler didn't even have anything to do with them at all, but as I turned that's when I heard her take a shaky breath, and start crying onto her husband's shoulder.
When I took a step in the their direction I could feel and see his entire body tense like he was so sure that I was coming for him right then.
When I knelt down setting my hand on her shoulder, I felt the trembling of his body as it shook hers. I asked them both what was wrong and if they were okay. He looked at his wife and then back at me with this look Deacon, like he had just said goodbye to his only reason for living. It was almost too much for me to bare, because all I could imagine was you looking at me like that, knowing that it might be the last time you ever held me or was able to tell me that everything was going to be okay.
He leaned in and whispered so that no one else could hear, besides his wife and myself. "We know who you are. You're Mia Lombardi, Deacon's wife, you're the one that Roman wanted to kill. No one who knew what you looked like was supposed to tell anyone else, but I told my wife, I know that all it did was put her in more danger in the end, but we never hide anything from each other.
Before you even had made it through the door to enter the house someone called out that there was a red headed woman coming up the path, she knew immediately and came to me terrified."
Deacon he didn't choose to join with Roman. He had been blackmailed by him. Roman bought the bank that they used and threatened to raise his payments for his home if he didn't join him. If he wouldn't have or if Roman would have found out that he had been sharing information with his wife, Roman would have killed her and displaced him from his home.
Knowing that those were the only options he had he chose the one that kept himself and his wide both alive and sheltered. He had done everything in his power to protect his wife from them all this time. But they don't have the one thing they both want. He said that they refused to have children if this was his fate, since any male child would be expected to repay his kindness to their family, and any female child would have been taken and married off to one of his men.
Deacon, we have to find a way to get them out of there and talk to all them individually and find out what they know. I know I couldn't live with a decision that hurt anyone who the way that this couple has been manipulated and hurt for years.
I know that you're going to think that I've lost my mind but I want those two taken away from there tonight, no excuses. I'm almost positive that a few of the ranking men's wives somehow made it into that house and that they recognized me, as well as noticed our conversation from a far, possibly even putting it all together. As cruel as those men were, I can only imagine what their wives would be like or what they they could be capable of in an area that small.
Deacon, if anyone would find out what they told me in there today, they won't live through the night, there are still too many men that those who have been brainwashed will listen. We have to do something to ensure their safety. There's no possible way I can live with knowing that I could have prevented it if something was to happen to them in there. Please, just somewhere safe, away from anyone there that still has any type power or control and away from that danger. Their names are Eric and Trisha, you'll be able to tell as soon as you look at them Deacon, you'll be able to tell that they don't belong there with the rest of them, they stand out, there's something about them that just screams that they're good people who ended up in horrific situation. "
At first I had really thought that somehow they had managed to blind Mia, with a good story. Though for some reason the longer I sat there and thought about what Mia had said and how she said it, she seemed so absolutely sure about them. In return that brought the memories of Nicco, Chelsea and Rose to the front of my mind, because that was how she talked about them. There was never doubt in her in her mind when it came to anything about, from the beginning she talked about them in nothing but absolutes and to that day she had never been wrong about the.
Even though I myself thought that I was going crazy, my father and Alex told me over and over again that it wasn't worth the risk to take them out of there, but something told me that there was a reason that Mia had been so persistent and adamant about them.
Eventually, after fighting with myself over the risk that it would be to take them from there, I sent a car after for them.
Never once did I think of how they would react to my presence, I decided that I would personally escort them back here to our home. Or course, before heading out to bring them back here, I informed Mia of my choice and of the location that had been chosen to take them to.
Watching them carefully from the blacked out windows of the vehicle, I could see how slowly they made their way to the SUV. There was no doubt that they were feeling nothing short of utter terror, not knowing what was happening or where they were going.
Eric kept his arm wrapped tightly around her, using his own body as a form of a shield in case something was to happen in hopes of keeping her safe. It was the same way I would have held Mia to me if I didn't know what was happening. It was his way of telling her with no words that he wouldn't let anyone hurt her.
You could watch as Trisha shook in fear the entire way to the car, while Eric just simply tried to calm her, by whispering things into her ear, while he held her. When they initially slid into the back seat neither of them had taken noticed me. Though as soon as Trisha looked over and saw me there, sitting across from them you could feel the entire atmosphere in the vehicle change instantly. Saying that her reaction both made me laugh and hurt a bit as well was an understatement. Even with the knowledge that so many people had the wrong impression of my family and by proxy myself, I had still never seen such a of sheer terror as when she made eye contact with me. Trisha didn't gasp or start crying, she instantly recoiled from Eric, her eyes staying locked on me with fear riddled eyes as she pressed herself into the corner of the bench seat where the door and seat met. Eric instinctively moved closer to her, not caring to check what had upset her so quickly, but she didn't move from that spot.
The ride back to our house was deathly silent. Not one word was uttered between any of us. I'm almost positive Trisha and Eric thought I was going to do something horrible to them, since it hadn't been that long since Mia had left there. Even though I knew that she had promised them that she would find a way to help, them no matter it took, you could tell that there was not a single part of them that thought that they were going to live to see another day together. Despite the silence that filled the vehicle on the return trip, just sitting being in their presence, it was abundantly clear to me that yet again Mia had been right about someone. With the knowledge that had been gathered about Roman and his thugs, anyone who had any amount intelligence would have been able to not only see, but feel that both Eric and Trisha were victims of circumstance and not people who deserved to be punished for choosing life over death or despair.
When we arrived, I silently exited the car first, leaving the SUV door open for them to follow when they were ready. The security that I had, had posted to entry were informed quietly to be polite and kind to them as they escorted into the into the house to where Mia was standing awaiting our arrival.
Mia was the first person that I found as I entered the house, needless to say she was beaming at me like she had been given a puppy on Christmas morning. I had promised her before I left that I would get them out of there, but I didn't know of a safer place than here to bring them. No one that had been in that house would know where they had been taken, they would be able to sleep peacefully knowing that they were safe and didn't have to sleep with one eye open. She jumped into my arms thanking me over and over again for trusting her. If only she knew the reason I trusted her in this matter, but that was something I had no words to properly explain it her.
As Eric and Trisha entered, both immediately seeing Mia and I together was more than obviously both confusing and shocking to them at the same time. If I would have to guess, it was the genuine look of happiness and joy on Mia that started to slightly quell the fears that they had been feeling.
Trisha looked between Mia and I suspiciously, as if at first, she thought it was all for show and that they were walking into some sickening game. Then her attention was pulled towards Cassie, who was eagerly greeting Alex with a warm smile and a deep hug, as he was coming in holding up bags of Chinese take-out that he had picked up while he had run an errand for me.
I saw her attention turn to Rose who was expecting Axel to come in any second. She has the same eager bounce to this day, that she had back then when it comes to Axel coming through that door. She either finds herself switching between her feet or bouncing up and down on both of them, excited to welcome him home, with a strongest hug that she can muster.
To this day, I still have no doubt that it was Rose's innocence that ended up finally winning Trisha's trust that night. Because when she saw shy little Rose and how she ran into his embrace, somehow that simple and innocent action somehow explained to Trisha everything that had just happened and what was going on. I will probably never understand how that one small action proved to her that there was nothing nefarious going on.
Mia and I both watched in happiness and relief when she looked at Eric smiling so brightly that you could literally see the happiness reflecting back out of his own. When she turned back to look at Mia they only shared a split-second gaze before Trisha rushed to her grabbed her tightly, thanking her over and over again for keeping her word to them.
Mia took them to where they would be staying, made sure that they had towels, clothes and anything else that they needed to freshen-up and make themselves a little more comfortable. She even made sure that she went to get them before we had our dinner so that they could have a hot meal, since she knew that, that had been something that they weren't getting where they had been. More than anything I think that Mia just simply wanted to make them feel secure and put the last of their doubts to rest.
After dinner, we made our way to a more private area where we would be able to talk to them without being constantly interrupted. That is where we all ended up spending the rest of the evening and late into the night both talking and listening to them as though it was something that we on a daily basis, though it was clear that Trisha was still slightly on edge, you could tell that she did know they weren't in any danger from anyone here.
After spending a large amount of time listening to their story and even longer explaining to both of them how we were different from the people that they had just left. We also explained to them what, how and why we do the things that we do, giving them a chance to see that not everybody who involved themselves in this lifestyle handled their business in such vile ways. Once our words fully registered with both of them, the realization that they wouldn't be underground criminals anymore running from the police at every turn, but also knowing that most of what we did was to help when the situation called for more man power, training sessions with the local police, the fact that the local police/government knew about us and were happy to have us in their community and how much we gave back when possible. That thought alone for Trisha made her sob, knowing that she would be able to have a life again, friends and possibly that they would finally be able to have the family that they had always wanted.
After taking in all the information we unloaded onto them, shockingly it didn't take long for both of them to agree that they wanted to stay here with us not temporarily either, but permanently.
Eric felt as though this opportunity may help him feel as if he righted some of the many horrible things he had taken part in since being forced to follow Roman's horrible orders.
It didn't take Mia long either to take notice to Eric's talent at long range shooting. Granted no one would ever surpass Mia in that talent, but he was a close second. Eric had been very helpful in our research into who had been willing and happy to follow Roman's orders, and who had been forced into a similar situation as they had been put into.