The one word was softer than a murmur, and yet, it had the same effect on me as a bullet to the brain.
With my back to her, I let my heart and soul, fuck, the demon bleed into my voice, and murmured, “I don’t deserve to stay. I let you down.”
When she didn’t say anything, I closed my eyes, hating that she agreed. Even if I knew it already. Even if I knew I didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as she did.
Then, she whispered, “Don’t you think I deserve to be the one who decides that?”
“I told you I’d keep you safe.”
“You tried.”
I pressed my face into the door. “Not hard enough.”
A shaky sigh escaped her. “Please. Don’t leave, Nyx.” The quiver in her voice when she’d always been so strong, so fucking resilient, had me tensing even more. “Stay.”
Because her needs mattered more than my own, I pushed off the door. When I heard her sob, I knew she thought I was leaving anyway, but I twisted on my heel and swerved toward her, not stopping until I was at her side.
She looked so small on the bed, and it took me a few minutes to reconcile that this was her. Because while she was small, short, and curvy, she had so much presence that it was easy to think she was bigger.
This diminutive figure wasn’t the woman I knew.
I shoved the thought aside, because if I started thinking that, then I was fucked. Rage was always making my brain whirl, and throw in exhaustion after the long ride and no sleep, well, I wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
The mustard-colored chair was on the same side as her cast-covered wrist, so I hauled it up and moved it around to the other side of her.
I wanted, so damn badly, to hurl it at the wall, to watch the destruction rain down, but I didn’t.
Couldn’t.
She needed me.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been needed before, not really, at least, not by anyone other than the MC, and that was different.
She needed me in spite of my having failed her, and that meant something.
I wasn’t sure what. But it did.
When I took a seat in the chair that was way too small for me, I looked at her, saw her injuries up close, took in her red eyes and wet cheeks, and whispered, “I’ll kill him.”
Then she stunned me even more—she smiled. “I did that already.”
My brows rose. “You did?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Knife to the heart.” A shadow cast over her eyes, one I didn’t understand. She couldn’t possibly feel guilty for killing the fucker, could she?
“He deserved worse.”
“Well, that was all I could manage.”
Was she teasing me? Fuck. She was. That little smile about did me in.
“Shame,” I whispered. “I’d like to make him pay.”
She didn’t let her eyes drift from mine as she murmured, “I would too.”
At that moment, I recognized the demon in me had found its mate, but before I could focus on that, she whispered, “000000.”
I blinked at her. “Huh?”
“My cell phone is in the cabinet there.” She pointed to a solid unit that was for housing personal effects.
I frowned. “Why do you need me to know that?”
She just stared at me, unblinking, focused only on making me do as she wanted. “Get it.”
Not understanding, but wanting to, I reached into the unit and pulled out a cell phone that definitely wasn’t hers. She had a smaller iPhone that was about two years old, and this was one of the newer ones.
I pocketed it and said, “Want me to take it home?”
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes and whispered, “I want to sleep now. They keep coming in and waking me up.”
So she had a concussion, and the notion of her being hit hard enough to trigger that made the rage start to burn inside me once more. The demon was awake, and it wanted vengeance. Needed it.
Maybe she saw that, maybe she felt the change in me, because her eyes flared wide. “Don’t go,” she begged, slaying me with the request.
“I won’t. I promise. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up,” I vowed gruffly, melting inside when she released a sigh, nuzzled into the pillow that should have been my shoulder, and let herself fade out.
I placed my hand on hers, argued over climbing into bed beside her, and instead, shoved my hand into my pocket and fingered the phone.
It had to be her attacker’s. Had to be.
But why had she taken it?
Why had she given it to me?
I wasn’t averse to her stealing a phone that cost a couple grand. Hell, she more than deserved it, but Giulia didn’t really give a shit about stuff. She didn’t have many friends, and considering how prickly she was, I knew why. She seemed to tolerate her brothers, and aside from them, she was content with only talking to me.
It made me feel weird, deep inside, to know that. For whatever reason, I was in her circle. She’d trusted me enough to be there, and I’d failed her.
My jaw clenched, and I gently lifted my hand when she released a soft snuffle that told me she was sleeping, then carefully got to my feet after I toed out of my boots. The second my socks connected with the floor, I shuffled over to the door and opened it.
When I saw Rex was still there, leaning against it, I muttered, “Thanks for hanging around.”
“Like I was going anywhere else,” he murmured softly, his eyes fixed on mine. “How are you doing?”
“How do you think?” I snapped, then instantly regretted the harshness in my voice. It wasn’t his fault, and the last thing I wanted was to wake Giulia.
“Sin’s been punished.”
“Tell him he’ll wish he was dead when I’m through with him.”
Rex shook his head. “No. I sent him to Oklahoma.”
My brows lifted, nostrils flaring wide with anger. “What?” If I spat out the word, then so fucking be it.
“He fucked up, but he doesn’t deserve for you to kill him, just because she got to the fucker before you could.”
I hated that he knew me so well. “I’d have fucked him over, not killed him.”
“You’re too ugly to pout.”
“We both know that’s a lie,” I retorted, but my scowl held less fire than before. Until I thought about what my woman had suffered through, endured, and all because he’d… what? I needed to know, even though I was aware the truth would fuck with my head even more. “What happened?” I rasped.
“I don’t really know.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he explained, “Sin was there all night, until he left before closing. When the cops and ambulance pulled up, he was nowhere to be found.”
“Motherfucker.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “It was the guy you had a problem with that night. The rich blond bastard.”
Instant recognition hit me, and I wished, then and there, that I’d done more than break his goddamn nose. If I’d broken his fucking legs, he wouldn’t have been able to do shit to my woman.
“I remember.”
“I didn’t think you’d forgotten,” Rex grumbled, then he reached up and rubbed his eyes, and I realized he’d be just as exhausted as me. The bar closed late, and if this had happened at closing, well…
“He’s from a prominent family, Nyx. We’re going to get shit for this.”
“The police are in our pockets,” I dismissed.
“Yeah, but they have to ask questions.”
“He was attacking her.”
“Yeah. He was. Her injuries fit that profile.”
My throat closed. “Did he rape her?”
“No. But he did something. I didn’t want to ask. They gave her a rape kit, but—”
“He penetrated her with something but didn’t come in her?”
“I think so. At least, that’s from what I gathered thanks to the chatter.” He shot me a look. “I’m sorry, Nyx.”
“Don’t be. She’s alive, and she hu
rt him worse than he hurt her.” I had to take comfort in that. I had to, or I’d lose my mind.
Maybe I already was losing it, maybe the demon thought about taking charge of me, but—and it was a massive but—she needed me. Nyx. Not the demon. And that, and only that, had me clinging to my sanity.
I fingered the cell phone in my pocket, and murmured, “All 0s. She gave me this.” I passed it over. “She wanted me to take it home.”
He studied the expensive phone and murmured, “His?”
“Think so.”
“Why did she want us to have it?”
“Don’t know. Find out.” I scraped a hand over my face, then cut her a look, made sure she was still sleeping, and stated, “She said she killed him by stabbing him. That’s…”
“Unlikely? Lucky? Yeah. Someone was watching over her.” Not me.
That was for fucking sure.
I dipped my chin, not really understanding what had gone down, but knowing that I wouldn’t be going on a run for a while.
Not until she was back on her feet, not until I… Fuck.
I scraped a hand over my face. “You here because she’s Dog’s girl, or because she’s mine?”
Rex snorted. “What kind of dumb fuck question is that? Technically, you ain’t claimed her, but I knew she was yours before you even figured it out yourself. Nyx, you’re many things, but—”
“But what?” I muttered when he broke off.
“You care too much. That’s your trouble.” Rex shook his head. “Technically, I’m here because she’s Dog’s. You know we don’t protect bitches unless they’re Old Ladies.”
“That’s why I asked.”
“You gonna change that?”
“I’m no good for her.”
“Maybe not. Let her decide for herself though, yeah? She might say no.”
“After tonight? Who could fucking blame her?” I rubbed the back of my neck and muttered, “Have her brothers been in?”
“Yeah. They were drunk, so I sent them home.”
“And they went?” My estimation for them dropped at that.
“They were escorted,” Rex said dryly. “Dog didn’t come. Said he’d upset her more if he visited than if he left her alone, and because he isn’t wrong, I didn’t push it.”
“Good thinking.” I shot her another look. “She in overnight?
“Yeah. For the concussion. She hasn’t really explained what happened, so the cops are antsy to know.” Rex hesitated. “I really need you to not lose your shit when that conversation goes down, Nyx. I don’t need you in a jail cell.”
“I know.” My tone was sullen enough to make me wince.
“Broken wrist and nose, sprained ankle, and she has bad lacerations on her upper thighs.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed—I knew why too. I could feel the wrath swell inside me once more, making me burn like a fucking fire. “Don’t fuck this up, Nyx.”
I cast him a look. “What would you know about fucking up?”
“You have to ask me that?” His mouth pursed. “She knows what the tattoos mean?”
“Yeah.”
“And she wants you anyway. Don’t screw this up,” he repeated firmly. “She might be the only thing that stops us from losing you to that twisted shit inside you.”
Because I didn’t want to deal with this conversation, I just grunted and retreated into the room. When the door closed behind me without another word, I knew he was going to let me escape.
Unfortunately for me, Giulia wasn’t.
“I like your twisted shit.”
Her mumble had me sighing. “Thought you were asleep.”
“I was. Until you started shouting.” She squinted at me. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to be quiet in hospitals?”
“I didn’t get that memo.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She sniffed. “Anyway, what twisted shit? In particular, I mean?”
“You know what he’s talking about,” I said bluntly.
“Maybe. It all seems rational to me.”
“Well, that means you’re as fucked up as I am.”
She smiled, and somehow, it was all the more ungodly for how she kept her eyes closed.
“Meant to be,” she countered with a laugh. Her eyes popped open. “I made him hurt, Nyx. You’d have been proud of me.”
My throat closed, and it was hard for me to say, “Even if you hadn’t, I’d be proud of you. You survived, baby girl. That was all I needed you to do. I can fix what’s broken, but I can’t repair what’s—”
She stared at me like I wasn’t the monster I was, and then, after blinking a few times, whispered, “Is that what hurts the most? That you can’t repair Carly?”
My jaw worked. “She was too broken. He’d done it for so long that she wasn’t right.” Stomach churning, I murmured, “The writing was on the wall for a long time, and I knew that, and I still didn’t say anything.”
“You made him pay.”
“Too late.”
“Never too late.”
Now wasn’t the time to argue, so I just grunted. She held out her good hand, and told me, “When the cops come, you don’t have to stay with me.”
“Of course, I do,” I grated out. “What the hell do you think I am? A pussy?”
“No. I don’t want you to get arrested is all. I need you with me, Nyx. The last thing I want is you in a cell.”
Because Rex had just said that too, I rolled my eyes. “I have more control than either you or Rex think.”
“I know that,” she grumbled back. “But I also know that something about me makes you want to protect me... you can’t protect me from the cops.”
“Just fucking watch me.” And she did.
The next afternoon, when the pigs came to question her, she kept her eyes on me all the while they asked her to recount every fucking detail, until I wasn’t sure if I was going to lose my shit and break my promise to her.
The demon that burned inside me wanted to let it rip, wanted to maim anyone and everyone in sight, but the fucker who needed to pay was already dead.
She’d done that.
She’d made him pay, and I couldn’t resent her for that, because she needed the closure more than me, but damn, I wished I’d done it. Wished I’d been the one to skin the fucker alive, and...
“He just attacked?”
Detective Cole was looking to get a fist in his face if he wasn’t careful.
“Yes, Detective,” she grated out. “He just attacked. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t wave my ass in his face and beg him to cut my clothes off and hit me over the head with a bottle. I assure you, he did that all on his own.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Cole turn bright red, but she didn’t. She didn’t see because she was looking at me.
“If we had camera footage to back this up, things would be easier,” the other detective, Bradley, muttered disapprovingly.
I wasn’t sure if the disapproval was over our lack of CCTV footage, or the fact that Cole had asked such an insensitive question.
Either way, I’d had enough.
“Are you disappointed that my woman managed to survive and her rapist didn’t, Detectives?”
“Of course not!”
“I don’t appreciate your tone—”
The sound of a voice clearing behind us had me breaking the connection I had with Giulia. She looked at the doorway too, and when she spied Rex and a woman I knew she didn’t know, she frowned.
I headed over to Rachel Laker with my hand held out. “Thanks for coming, Rachel.”
“My pleasure.” She shot the detectives a look. “Is this really the line of questioning you want to take? To a woman who’s been beaten and sexually assaulted by Luke Lancaster?” She reached up and tapped her chin with a manicured nail. “I think I can see the headlines now. Cops Take Rapist’s Side in Shock—”
“Enough,” Cole growled. “We have all we need.”
“For the moment,” Bradley tacked on.
&n
bsp; “Be sure to contact my office to schedule an appointment first. Remember, gentlemen, my client is the victim. The Lancasters might be trying to portray this a whole different way, but my client’s injuries attest to the truth. We have no compunction in going public too.”
The detectives glared at her first, then shared their charm with Rex and me before storming out without even an apology to Giulia.
Before I could get too mad, Giulia murmured, “Since when do I have a lawyer?”
“Since the Lancasters decided to spin what happened last night.”
Giulia frowned at Rex. “How have they done that?”
When she glared at me, I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been in here with you.”
Rex tossed a paper at me. I eyed the headline, and my mouth twisted at what I read.
“Lancaster Heir Dies in Suspected MC Attack.”
When I held it up to Giulia, knowing she wouldn’t let me get away with shielding this from her, she blanched. “My God. They can’t get away with that.”
“Oh, we’re suing,” Rex told her, sounding borderline cheerful.
“Don’t worry about that. We’re a legitimate business.”
Rachel snorted and reached for the paper. As she perused the headline, she muttered, “Yeah. Like that’s true.”
Rex just grinned at her, then shot Giulia a concerned look. “Don’t worry, Giulia. We have things in hand.”
I scrubbed at the stubble on my jaw. “Those detectives weren’t ones I recognized.”
My Prez pursed his lips. “Was hoping you’d know them.”
I shook my head. “Could Lancaster have brought in his own team of cops? Is that even possible?”
“You’re the one who knows more about law enforcement than anyone,” Rex pointed out.
“It’s breaking jurisdiction in more ways than one, but—”
“If the family can put a slant like this on the story,” Rachel interjected, shaking the paper in her fist, “then who knows what they can do.”
“They’re new to the area,” Rex inserted. “I’ve never heard of them until recently. They cut up a stink about the permits on our mini-mall, but we had enough friends in local places to get our licenses.”
Forgotten & Found: A Dark & Dirty Sinners' MC Boxset Page 25