“I just want to go home. I want to see my baby. I need to hold her and tell her how much I love her and will never leave her again. We can work on us in time.”
“I’ll take you home just as soon as they give you the all clear. Romany will be there waitin’ for her mommy, I promise you. I love you, Marley, and I’m gonna make all of this up to you.”
“Just take me home.”
“I will soon, sweetheart, but there’s something we need to talk about.” I pull away from Roman and look at him. “Do you remember what the doctor spoke to you about after they checked you out?”
I narrow my eyes a little, trying to think back, but I can’t remember anything the doctor said, to be honest. I shake my head. “Not really. Did he say something is wrong? Did Marcus damage me?”
Oh, god. What if Marcus damaged me in some way?
“No, beautiful.” Roman takes my face in his hands gently. “I don’t know when it happened, but somehow, we’ve made a baby.”
I think I’ve gone deaf. Did Roman say we’ve made a baby? Another one?
“Marley, don’t space out on me. I need to know you understand what I’m saying to you.”
“We made a baby?” Roman nods with a smile on his face. “But Romany isn’t six months old yet. I’m not ready for this. Too much has happened. It’s too soon, Roman.”
I’m not angry; I’m confused. I’m not ready for another baby yet. So much has happened since I had Romany. How am I to know Roman won’t flip out on me again and take both babies from me?
I guess because next time I’d fucking kill him and take my children and run. I’m not a killer by any means, and I love this man more than anything in this world, but I won’t ever let him get to me like that again.
After everything I’ve been through in the past five years, I know I’m stronger than I’ve made myself out to be. I may be forgiving Roman for what he put me through, but that doesn’t mean I’ll forget.
I want to punish him more than just asking for space for what he did to me, but the truth is, I just want to go home. I want my life back. I’m not willing to let Marcus ruin my life any further, and if I punish my husband for his fears, then Marcus wins.
I won’t let Marcus win.
I won’t let him invade my head and ruin things for me anymore.
I don’t know where he is or what’s happened to him, but I know it won’t be anything good. There’s no way Roman would have called the police, and I know they’ve made sure the doctor here won’t either.
No, that’s not the Snakes way.
“Marley, please listen to me. I know things have been hard since you came back into my life, and I know I’ve put you through something awful, and I’m so sorry, but baby, please think about this before you make any decisions. I love you, and no matter what you decide, I will still love you. At least take a couple of days to think about it.”
I can do nothing but nod my head. I don’t want to tell Roman that we’ll keep this baby right now, because I don’t know if I can. Not after everything, I just don’t know if I’m up to it. Roman and I aren’t getting back together right now, and all I want is to be with my daughter and forget everything else for a while.
“When can I go home?”
He kisses my forehead softly. “I’ll go find out.”
* * *
Mommy has missed you so much.” I kiss my baby girl’s head over and over again. The second I walked into the house, I grabbed my baby from Leona’s arms, sat on the couch and held her against me, kissing her little fat cheek over and over again. God, I missed her!
I was released from the hospital after being forced to stay in overnight for observation, much to my annoyance. However, it did give me time to think about the baby inside of me and what I want to do.
“Have you missed Mommy, Romany?” She chuckles at me, and the sound is so heavenly it makes my heart swell.
“Are you okay, sweetheart? I’ve been so worried about you.” I smile at Leona. She’s been great since this whole thing started. She never once believed I’d done any wrongdoing.
“I will be.”
“I’m just gonna grab a bag, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
I swallow hard, Leona stares from me to Roman, but he’s gone before she can ask him what the hell he’s talking about. I suddenly don’t want him to go. I don’t want him to ever hurt me like that again, but the truth is that I’m scared after what happened. I don’t feel safe right now, and I know Roman will keep me safe.
He’s not off the hook yet, and I’ll give him hell for a while, but he’s not leaving me either. Romany and I need him here with us.
“Leona, could you take Romany for a moment? I need to speak with Roman.”
“Of course, I can.” She smiles while taking Romany from me.
I find Roman in our room packing his bag to go, and it’s like a punch to the gut that brings tears to my eyes. If he leaves, he’ll be stuck in his old room at the clubhouse like last time he left us here without him. He could stay with his parents, but he won’t. Roman would rather be at the clubhouse. He doesn’t deserve to be alone. He deserves to be in his own home with his family.
I swallow past my emotions. “Tallon?”
He turns his head and smiles at me. “I’ll be out of your hair in a few.” Those words cut me up, and I can’t help the sob that escapes me. Roman’s eyes narrow for a second before he comes over to me, and cups my face in his hand. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I look into his beautiful green eyes, and all I see is the man I love. I can get past all of this with him by my side. He did the wrong thing, and whether or not it makes me stupid, I don’t want him to go. “Don’t go.”
“It won’t be for long. You said so yourself, right?”
I grab his hand and hold it closer to my face. The only time I feel safe is in Roman’s arms. I’m strong, and I don’t need a man to complete me, but the fact remains that I am in love with this man. I am so in love that even when he hurts me, I can’t be without him. “Please, don’t leave me here without you. I love you so much. What you did was wrong, but I understand why you did it. I want to put it behind us and move on. I can’t be here without you. You keep me safe.”
“Nothing I ever say or do will make up for what I did.” I can see tears in his pretty green eyes, and it makes mine flood all over again. “I’ll never forgive myself for believing him and reacting the way I did. You’re everything to me, and I hurt you...” He swallows hard while looking up at the ceiling.
“I’ll get past it, Roman. We both will. I know what I said at the hospital, but I don’t want you to go. Romany and me, we need you here. Please, baby, stay with us.” I wipe the tear from his cheek, and he pulls me into his arms.
This is where I’m safe.
“I’m not going anywhere, beautiful. I’ll stay for as long as you want me.”
“Always. I want you to stay with me always. However, if you ever doubt me again, I’ll cut your balls off and shove them down your throat.”
He laughs loudly, head, thrown back, arms still around me, and I can’t help but laugh myself. “God, I love you.” He kisses me hard, and I melt into him. “I’ll never hurt you again, and I will never doubt you another day in my life.”
“You better not because if this baby is a boy, I want you to show him how to treat a woman properly. I want you to show him how to be a good man.”
“We’re keeping the baby?”
I smile and stroke Roman’s cheek with my fingertips. I wonder when the last time he had a good nights sleep was. He looks as tired as I feel. “I know it’s quick after Romany’s birth, and neither of us was expecting this yet, we hadn’t even spoken about another baby,” I smile at the way Roman is looking at me. “But I couldn’t harm this child, no matter if now is the right time or not. I trust you won’t hurt me like that again. However, I won’t lie to you if you ever do anything like that to me again, I will pack up and leave, and I will take the kids with me. That baby girl out there,
and this baby inside of me, are everything to me, Roman. I cannot be without either of them. If you ever have any doubts about anything in the future, I want you to be a man and come to me. Please don’t force me out of my home and away from my child again. That is more punishment than any woman deserves.”
“Understood, beautiful.” He brushes my hair out of my eye with his finger. “I don’t deserve you, Marley. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I don’t deserve your love.”
“But you have it, Tallon. You have my love, my forgiveness, me. We’re going to be okay, baby. We’ll move on from this and be happy again.” He pulls me into his arms again and rocks me gently from side to side.
I know we can get past this. Although I am going to make him grovel for a little while, I rub his back with my hands and close my eyes.
“Is everything okay in here?”
I don’t move to look at Leona. I don’t even open my eyes. I just want Roman to hold me for a little while longer. I’m not ready to let go yet.
“Just fine, Mom.” He kisses my head. “Everything is just fine.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Roman
Well, well, well, look what we have here.’ I mocked while I stripped my cut and shirt from my body, and handed them to Ace. I then removed my boots and handed them to him too. Blood is a bitch to get out, it stains and never really comes out, no matter how much you try cleaning it off your shit.
‘Clean it up, Roman.’
I nodded at Shepard. He didn’t want me to drag it out but wanted me to have my revenge. Revenge is exactly what I got.
I circled Marcus like a lion circling his prey. I had to applaud Ace; he’d gotten all my props ready. Every little thing I like to use when torturing fuckers who cross me, Ace has set out. I’m not going to say it was pretty, crucifying someone never is, all that blood and gore. However, the fucking satisfaction it aways brings me is well worth it.
‘Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be nailed to a cross?’ Fuckers eyes widened in fear, darting from side to side. I rolled my eyes in disgust as he pissed himself. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he shit himself. Bigger men had in the past.
I took my time attaching a crown of barbed wire and razor blades around his head, laughing maniacally as he screamed behind the gag and pulled at the restraints. A gash big enough on the forehead will kill you slowly without treatment. Slowly is all Marcus Nickson deserved.
My club watched as I tortured the cunt little by little. I even heard one or two who had never know this side of me, never seen Roman come out to play, gag and dry heave. Kids aren’t meant for this shit. You need a strong stomach to do the things I do.
I whistled as I took the nail gun from the table, hate pumping through my veins. Not just for the motherfucker on the cross, but every cunt that ever hurt my wife. Snot, blood, and tears covered doctor dickheads face as he watched me climb the step ladder to get to the top of the cross. I looked the prick right in the eye, a smirk on my face. ‘Do you like pain, Dr.?’ He screamed behind the gag, shaking his head no. I grabbed his wrist, he made a fist with his hand, as if that would stop me. He knew nothing. I didn’t need his hand for what I was about to do. He was strapped down with no way out. No matter where I shot those nails, he was going nowhere.
I shot the first nail into his right wrist, not caring where it landed, nor what damage it did to him. He’d die when I allowed him to, not a moment before. The screams were deafening, even with the gag. I nodded at Ace, he flipped the switch on the radio and let the music blare while I got to work.
Now, this motherfucker was no Jesus Christ, and I was no Pilate, I was much, much worse. I shot nails into the cunt one after the other, along his arm, his legs, his feet, making sure to miss his main arteries. I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook that quickly. Although, the cracking and chipping of bone sent shivers down my spine.
‘It’s time to show you what happens to people who touch my wife.’ The old man behind me thrashed in his seat. He knew the same would be coming for him real soon.
I took the wire cutters from the table, and one by one, relishing the sound of bones breaking, as I took Marcus Nickson’s fingers from both hands.
‘See, here’s the thing,’ I walked to the table and took my fishing knife. I could have made the torture last hours upon hours, and I wouldn’t have gotten bored. However, I’d left Marley alone with the baby, and I didn’t want her to wake up and find me gone. She’d freak out after I promised not to leave. ‘You should have heeded my warning, Marcus. You should never have gone near Marley.’ I removed the blood-soaked gag from his mouth. I could tell he was finding it hard to focus, the pain he was in making it unbearable for him. ‘Any last words, fucker?’
Fucking pussy was crying, slobbering, an utter fucking mess, and all I could do was laugh. ‘She was mine.’ He sobbed out.
‘Wrong, fucker,’ I pushed the fishing knife into his abdomen. ‘Marley. Is. Mine!’ From gut to throat, I tore that motherfucker in half. Guts and entrails, falling to my feet in a hot, steaming pile. I lost myself for a moment as I tore Marcus Nickson to pieces. I took his fucking eyes and shut down the doorways to his soul!
By the time I caught my breath and looked down at myself, I realized I was a mess. Blood and guts all over me, my blue jeans were stained red with the fuckers blood. I looked at what was left of the man who dared to think he could fuck me over and take Marley from me. I hurt her because of what I did, what this fucker made me believe! He was right where he was meant to be, in hell.
‘You sick bastard.’
‘Shut the fuck up, Gunner!’ Ace yelled. Seventy percent of the men in that room have seen me do this kind of thing a handful of times in the past, the rest of them, this was all new to them. Gunner has seen this once before, but it wasn’t this bad. I didn’t tear the man to pieces the way I did Marcus Grace.
‘That has to be one of the evilest things I’ve ever seen you do.’ I raised my eyebrow at Jett and smirked. However, I didn’t have time to answer; I had another fucker to end.
I turned to look at Denison. The asshole had not only pissed himself, but he’d also vomited behind his gag. I cut the gag away from his mouth with my scissors, chunks of sick fell down his chin. ‘You sick...’ Is all he got out of his fat mouth before I smacked him in it with my fist.
‘You know why you’re here, don’t you?’
‘Whatever she told you, she’s lying!’
The cunt actually expected me to believe him. I would never believe him or anyone else over Marley. Never again. ‘So you didn’t sell your daughter to Bulldog because she looked fifteen? You didn’t sell her to pay off your debts to him? You didn’t stand there and watch while he raped her?’
‘Jesus Christ!’ I heard Shepard hiss. He of all people knew how bad his vile pedophile half-brother could be. Wrench had first-hand dealings with him, as did Stryker. Stryker because Bulldog raped Coral at the age of twelve, producing Elie. Bulldog was scum and got what he finally deserved.
‘I didn’t have a choice; he was going to kill me! He saw Marley and commented on how she looked like a child of fourteen or fifteen. I told him she was twenty-one, but he didn’t care! He wanted her, and nothing I said talked him out of it. He told me to give Marley to him, or he’d kill me. What the fuck was I supposed to do?’
‘Die!’ I yelled. ‘You should have let Bulldog fucking kill you! No father should ever give his daughter away like that! Not for any reason. You should have made sure Marley was safe, and then you should have been a damn man and taken whatever Bulldog had to give you! Do you have any idea of the things he did to her?’
Denison said nothing for a moment, he just looked at me, and I could see that he didn’t give a damn what had happened to Marley. ‘She should have behaved, and he wouldn’t have hurt her the way he did. I told Bulldog before I walked away that day how to keep Marley in line. I told him that when she starts acting out, all he had to do was tie her down in a coffin, close the lid, and bury her i
n the damn dirt for half an hour. She’d never misbehave again.’
Fire burned behind my eyes, and I couldn’t see or hear anything for a few seconds. The cunt told me, in not so many words, that he used to bury his daughter alive to make her behave!
My heart hammered hard in my chest as I looked at Denison with wide eyes. The sick fucker smirked. He knew what that information had done to me. I wanted to cry for Marley and all she’d suffered. No one person should have to go through so much. I added to her pain, and I couldn’t deal with it at that moment.
I don’t know when I started hacking away at Denison’s face with those scissors. All I remember is being dragged away from his corpse with force. I remember fighting against whoever had hold of me, two of them. Hawk and Stryker.
Ace grabbed my blood covered face in his hands. ‘It’s okay, Roman,’ He told me. ‘He’s gone, brother. He’s gone.’
‘He buried her alive!’ I mumbled over and over again.
‘I know.’ Ace wrapped his arms around my neck, and pulled me to him, hugging me so tight, I couldn’t get away from him. I’m not ashamed to say I clung to him, and I tried to fight back the tears, tears of fucking pain, and sadness for my wife. God knows all I wanted was to hold her at that moment. I wanted to make it all better for her.
‘What did I do to her?’ I wasn’t really asking my cousins, the only people left in the room, I just couldn’t stop the words falling from my tongue.
Ace, Hawk, Wrench and Stryker crowded me, and I’m not ashamed to say that I cried right there with my cousins surrounding me. I cried for all Marley had suffered, and I vowed right then that she would never feel one more ounce of pain. Not if I can help it.
Marcus Nickson and Tom Denison had been eradicated. Bulldog and his cronies are gone, and there is no one left to hurt Marley. No one but me, and I would blow my brains out before I caused her any more pain.
Crucify Thy Demons: Snakes Henchmen MC Page 25