14 Months 04: Christmas

"So, she doesn't even know she's in some kind of danger if someone recognises her?" Asher was stunned by this revelation. "Fuck, D. Whatever it is, I've got your back. You have to know that, whether you tell me the details or not, you won't be going down alone."

They lapsed into silence. This wasn't what Asher had been expecting. He had just wanted to find out why Darius appeared so obsessed by this girl that he was willing to break with tradition and moderate his temper so profoundly when she was around. The girl was a hot, tight, sexy little package, there was no doubt about that but Darius would have been the last one to be pulled in by a pretty face he would have thought. When they had been typically horny teenagers, her type was exactly the type they had fantasised about. Even seeking out girls with similar looks in the porn they watched. He got it and could even admit that he was a little bit jealous that Darius had seen her first but to find out she required rescuing from more than the dismal life she had been leading made him feel just as protective of her as Darius appeared to be.

"Will the council find what you did when they delve into the research you did on her? If she gets into the final five, I mean," Asher asked.

"I buried it pretty deep, but there's always the possibility," Darius admitted again looking over his shoulder. "Let it go Ash. I'm not talking about this with Sophie right beside us, asleep or not."

Darius followed the lead truck as the convoy of eighteen trucks whittled down, as three at a time pulled off onto side roads. He was glad he wasn't navigating this year with so much on his mind. He would tell Asher his plans for Sophie and the reasons behind it once they had a moment alone which he had no doubt Asher would create at their next stop but he wasn't going to trust that his Angel was sleeping deeply on these rough roads and he didn't want her to know until he absolutely had to tell her because he knew she wasn't ready to hear it.

The sun was sitting like a large hot ball just clearing the horizon when the trucks left the main highway onto a dirt road for their final destination. Sophie woke with a start and knelt upon the bedroll running her fingers through her tangled hair and blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Thank you for letting me sleep, where are we?" she asked.

"Almost there," Darius said.

"Where is there?" she asked.

"The middle of nowhere," Asher laughed. "There is a boy who wrote a letter to Santa and instead of asking for the new Nintendo switch or a bike he asked for rain and enough hay to feed his dad's cows," Asher explained. "We can't do much about rain, but we have water and hay to tide the family over for a while. It's been a ten-year drought, more for some farmers and most are barely holding onto their land. So, once a year we help out a few of them. We can't help them all but when a kid is asking Santa to help keep his family together, we listen."

Sophie was speechless. This hadn't been what she had been expecting at all. She touched a hand to her chest as the warm fuzzy feelings for these men filled her.

"When we are there, don't use names. We are just Santa's helpers, and we got little Peter's letter from Santa because he couldn't fit all this into his sleigh even being all magical and stuff," Asher continued with a wink as Darius manoeuvred the big rig through the gates and over a grate to the property.

A family appeared on the front deck as Sophie watched through the windscreen and Darius manoeuvred the big rig past the house to a huge shed that was almost empty, the few bales of hay still available looking nowhere near enough for a property she knew must be big by the location so far from civilization. Sophie saw the rig behind them pull up at the farmhouse and Zander step down from the cabin to talk to the family before she lost sight of them again. Men appeared as if from nowhere to help unload the two trucks piled with hay but Asher told her there were still a few employees helping out on the farm on reduced wages until times improved.

Sophie stood to the side; there was little she could do to help with the large bales so she did her best to stay out of the way while remaining where Darius could see her as instructed. It wasn't until most of the hay was unloaded that Peter and his mother walked down to the shed wheeling a cooler like a cart behind them filled with drinks for the men that had brought them so much.

"You must be Peter," Sophie said as the mother and son approached her. "Santa told me how good you have been this year." She smiled widely at him and turned to greet the mother. "Merry Christmas," she said cheerily.

"You have no idea what this means to us," the woman choked back a sob and embraced Sophie who stood stiffly not knowing what to do.

"It's not me you need to thank," she patted the woman's back awkwardly. "It's Peter. He wrote the letter to Santa."

"Oh, yes, of course. Pete's an awesome kid," she said straightening herself and looking down at her son.

"Peter, bring your mum over here," Zander called out distracting the pair. Sophie watched as they approached the almost empty trailer bed. The mother broke down into tears again as she saw the boxes of long-life food — cans of vegetables and fruit along with staples of rice, flour and sugar among other things. In the middle of it all, was a junior-sized quad bike with all the bells and whistles for Peter himself. The second trailer also held a stash of goods for the family and it was all unpacked relatively quickly with the help of the men who worked the station.

Declining the invitation to stay for Christmas lunch, the men of the Alliance accepted a cool drink and stood to watch Peter master his new quad with his ever-watchful father guiding him.

"Jayce," Asher called out and waved the other man over moving away from Darius as he did so. Darius walked toward her and bent to kiss her head as he stepped past her to talk to Zander. Sophie turned to watch him and the intense conversation that ensued. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she could tell Darius was pissed. Deciding to intervene in an attempt to calm him down, she walked up slowly, making her presence known but hearing the tail of the conversation.

"...didn't fucking interfere with you and Mimi. Give me a little space and time, and for fuck's trust me when I say I have it under control! If you need to know, I'll tell you," Darius said before holding out a hand and gathering Sophie to his side.

"You got any decent music on your phone?" Zander asked Sophie in the clearest voice she had ever heard him use.

"I guess that depends on what you qualify as decent music. I have stuff I like on it," Sophie said quietly slipping her phone from her pocket and unlocking it before passing it to Zander.

"Good enough," Zander grumbled and walked away to where Jayce still talked to Asher and threw the keys to the now empty water tanker at him. "You're driving back with Asher," he said and went to walk toward the truck Sophie and Darius stood beside. "Let's go," he nodded and opened the door to the cab still holding her phone.

The drive back was quiet as Zander synced her phone to the car stereo and chose a playlist that interested him. He sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest before closing his eyes. Sophie waited through several songs before leaning forward through the gap to speak close to Darius's ear.

"Darius, is everything okay?" she asked tentatively

"Why do you ask?" he murmured back glancing over to where Zander sat unmoving and breathing deeply.

"Well, I couldn't hear what you said, but you and Asher were very serious on the way here and just then when we left you were talking to Zander you looked pissed," she explained. "I don't want to cause problems with your brothers. I meant it when I said I don't want to be the Yoko Ono of your boy band."

"We are the furthest thing from a boy band, Sophie," Darius chuckled.

"You know what I mean," she sighed.

"No, you're not the cause of any problems. This is just how we are. Asher could drive the most patient man crazy at times. It will all be fine," Darius reassured her. "Besides I like Zanders non-existent conversational skills when I'm driving."

"Oh, sorry," Sophie apologised for interrupting him and sank back onto the bedroll.

"I love your questions, Sophie. You can talk to me anytime. It saves me trying to guess what's going on inside that pretty head of yours," Darius glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Is that song you were humming before we left on your phone?"

"Yes, but on a different playlist. "I can find it for you if you like," she offered. "Zander still has my phone, though.

"What about the one you sang at the Jazz club?" Zander mumbled interrupting their conversation.

"No, but it's on Spotify if we have Wi-Fi out here," she offered.

"What about the one you were originally going to sing but didn't?" he asked. "Why did you change your mind?"

"It was a bit slow and sultry unlike most of the songs that night so I thought it would be better to go for something more up-tempo and fun," she explained without actually naming the song or the fact that she was trying to channel the vivacious Rita Hayworth that night.

"Is it on your phone?" he asked, holding up the device and looking over her playlists.

"I don't know honestly," she said evading the song name again. "I'll look if you like." She held her hand out for the phone.

"It's alright I like playing DJ," he selected another playlist and scrolled through it. Approving of the list, he hit shuffle play and leaned back his arms crossed loosely over his chest again. "Carry on, pretend I'm not here," he mumbled.

Sophie lay back on the bedroll listening to the music and leaving Darius to drive the big rig in peace. This was such a nice thing to do for Christmas. She understood why his brothers had wanted him there if it was tradition and she was half grateful that Asher had abducted her and forced the issue. His brothers were hard to read especially the perpetually scowling Zander. He had dark colouring like Asher, but he was as big if not bigger than Darius. The two of them seemed crowded in the cab of the truck. He looked like the barbarian opposite to Darius's fair Viking looks. Both were giants of men although none of the brothers could be called small or short by any stretch of the imagination.

Sophie closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her. The naps she had taken made her feel more tired than if she hadn't slept at all but her mind was working overtime as she tried to puzzle out the ongoing tension between Darius and Asher even after he had agreed to join the annual ride. She wasn't dumb. She realised neither Stella, Mimi or Layla had gone with their partners in the game. None of the women who were at the clubhouse seemed to be leaving with their men either she realised. It seemed like more than just that though but the more she thought about it the more certain she was that she was now viewed as the Yoko of the group despite what Darius said. The thought worried her especially when she knew he would need their help and support for the challenges in this game. Another thought occurred to her and she sat up intending to voice her worry to Darius but stopped herself worried again that she could make matters worse.

"Everything okay?" Darius asked glancing back at her.

"You and Asher aren't really mad at each other, are you?" she asked softly.

"No, Angel," Darius gave a soft chuckle. "I just needed a break from his nagging. Trust me he will be straight back at it as soon as we get to the clubhouse."

"Nagging about me?" she asked, "I shouldn't be here, should I? You should have left me at home with Trent or Susan," she said, knowing it was the truth.

"There was no way that was happening," Darius said the menacing growl edging into his voice again.

"Why? Stella, Mimi and Layla are at home with their teams," she said. "Don't you trust me to stay there?"

"You, I trust," Darius said unequivocally. "Other people not so much," he qualified. "What if you needed me and I was a twelve-hour ride away?" He asked.

"I'm sure I could survive two days without getting into trouble," she sighed. "I made it this far, alone, didn't I?"

"You did but look at what could have happened if I didn't get to Michelle before someone else did?" he asked. "No one else knows your back story, Sophie, what if someone locked you in a room thinking they were keeping you safe and you had a panic attack or freaked out like you said?"

"Then maybe whoever babysits me should be given a list of rules from the contract," she snapped. The thought of being locked in anywhere gave her chills up and down her spine. She felt the need to be outside and feel the fresh air on her face.

"Watch the mouth," Darius growled making her go silent and feel the small dark space she travelled in close in around her. During the night she had been able to keep the space dimly lit with tiny fairy lights, but she hadn't bothered with them in the daylight. As if her vision was fading, the space seemed to get darker and more shadowy as it closed in around her.

"Darius, how much longer until we get to the clubhouse," she asked in a soft but tremulous voice. She was starting to have trouble breathing and her chest rose and fell as she tried to take in big silent breathes.

"What's wrong?" Darius turned to glance over his shoulder and then adjusted the rear-view mirror to see her. "Fuck, Sophie talk to me!" He began to shift down gears and wondered if just mentioning what could have happened to her when he wasn't there, was enough to cause what looked like a panic attack. "Zan, I'm pulling over you have to drive for a bit," Darius said, urgency ringing in his voice as he threw out his arm to whack Zander and ensure he was awake.

"I'm awake no need to hit me," Zander scowled and peered into the back seeing the panic-stricken look on Sophie's face. "Shit, what's wrong with her?" he asked while reaching into the back and hauling her resisting little body into the front of the cab with him. She fought his hold until he cracked the window letting fresh air in and she leaned into it drawing deep breaths.

The truck finally crawled to a stop and Sophie scrabbled at the door handle to get out then jumped from the truck and ran into the long grass on the side of the road. She had barely taken more than three steps when Zander's arm snaked around her middle and he picked up her flailing body bringing her back to the roadside and Darius who took the panicked and sobbing girl from his arms. Zander watched as Darius sat pulling her onto his lap and then placing one of his hands on the road beside him the other gently stroking her hair, leaving her free to sit without restraint as she crooned soft words to her.

"It's okay, Angel. You're free, you're out of the truck now," he said softly petting her hair. "Zander will get your phone for you so you can call for help if you need to," he added slightly louder so Zander could hear him.

"This is why we don't bring chicks on this ride. It's too much for them," Connor said angrily as he got out of the truck that had pulled up behind them.

"It wasn't Darius's choice to bring her, so shut the hell up," Zander snapped uncharacteristically, silencing Connor and surprising David who stood with him. "Besides it's not a pee break or a tantrum it's a panic attack." Then he took Sophie her phone to hold. "Take your time, I'll let them know we'll meet them at the clubhouse," Zander murmured to Darius who was still trying to soothe the panicked girl. He could see the lead truck ahead of them had also pulled over so he went back to Connor and told him to go on ahead. They were less than thirty minutes from their destination so they didn't need the security of the other two trucks with them.

"Nah, we'll wait. I'll let Jayce know what's happening. They can go on ahead if they want," David said and turned back toward his truck with a final look at Darius and Sophie sitting on the ground.

"I need to walk for a bit," Sophie finally pushed out the words and struggled to stand. She was still breathing hard, but the worst of the panic was gone as she bathed in the sun's rays and gripped her phone as if it was her lifeline. Darius was right beside her as he stood with her, but he hadn't touched her, which she was thankful for. "Thank you," she said quietly, "For stopping the way you did. I just need another minute or two."

"Take all the time you need just stay where I can see you, on the side of the road not in the long grass or bush, there could be snakes," he explained his reasons for asking her to stay on the road as if afraid to put any boundaries on her while she was still breathing so raggedly.

"You can't fix her, you know," Zander said softly coming to stand beside him as Sophie walked slowly along the road's edge.

"I'm not trying to," Darius shrugged. "I'm just trying to keep her safe. There's a lot more to her story than even she knows," he sighed on a deep breath. "I'll explain just not yet, okay?"

"This is what Asher has a bee in his bonnet about?" Zander asked.

"He knows she special, different from the other girls we usually get in the game. He just can't work out why. Yet," Darius admitted. "The night I took her someone else tried dragging her out of the club by her hair. Stupid fucker never got far with all the security Michelle had in place but she needs my protection, Zan. I need to keep her in the game as long as possible which means I am going to need help, from all of you and I am going to need you to trust me that you don't want to know the details until it's necessary."

"Maybe it would be better to cut and run brother, she's obviously damaged beyond repair if just talking about a trigger can do that to her," Zander knew it was always best to be blunt with Darius and let him know what was going on in your mind.

"I fucked up. It's my fault Sophie's on someone else's radar now. I just need time to give her a new identity and the skills to look after herself better than she had been," Darius admitted more than he wanted to Zander. His silent brother though never spoke about other people's business which was probably why he had finally confided this much to someone.

"Just tell me this, will this secret your keeping about her harm the Alliance in any way?" Zander asked the direct question.

"If she is found with us before the transition to a new life, maybe," Darius admitted. "I've covered our tracks pretty well though. Erased her entirely from her last place of work, had the club raided and shut down and all the employees arrested on the same night that I took her. As far as I know, the club was the only link they had to her. I'm not even sure they knew her name or just her stage name there."

"So, if you don't tell Asher and the guys any details and the shit hits the fan, none of it will stick to them," Zander nodded understanding why Darius was so cagey about this girl at last. "Alright, I'll trust you but the moment it starts to go tits up you tell us exactly what's going on and we make a group decision about whether to be heroes or not. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Darius nodded reluctantly feeling strangely better after talking this through with Zander. Who would have thought the man who he butted heads with the most would be the most supportive of his plans to protect Sophie for the long term?

"Sorry," Sophie said apologetically as she returned to the truck. That little back area just closed in on me suddenly. I was doing fine back there, I knew I could get out it just..." she spread her arms as if lost for the reason why. "Thank you for stopping and letting me get my shit together again. Is it far to go now?"

"Not far the way I drive," Zander grinned and threw the keys up, catching them lightly and jogging back to the truck.