Page 59 of Always A Villain

My gaze flicks to the angry red scrapes and cuts on her legs, stark against her porcelain skin. A deep, gnawing guilt threatens to suffocate me.

“We need to get you cleaned up,” I say, pulling out my phone and firing off a text to Griffen with our location for animmediate extraction.

“Axe,” she chokes out, voice small, terrified. “My father said the Sovereign will punish me for breaking my vow.”

Something feral snaps inside me.

“I’ll kill any bastard who tries to lay a fucking hand on you.”

Just the thought of Conrad makes my blood boil. The pain and abuse Rory has suffered because of him are unforgivable. Conrad will pay for every scar he’s left on her.

“No one will touch you, baby. I’ll handle everything.” I press a kiss to the top of her head, holding her against me.

Then—

The door swings open.

My hand flies to my gun as Griffen steps in.

“Jesus, Axe.” His sharp gaze darts to Rory, then back to me. “I saw your bike. The cops are swarming the area.”

“We need to leave. Rory needs medical attention.”

We slip into the shadows, moving fast toward the car. I open the back door, motioning for her to get in.

“Don’t take me to the Iron,” she pleads.

I exhale harshly. “We have to.” I don’t trust any other place. I shut the door with finality. She’s safest there.

Griff throws the car into drive. I glance at Rory in the rear-view mirror—her face pale, her arms wrapped around herself. The list of people who will face my wrath keeps growing, and I’ll make sure each fucking one of them pays for what they've done to her.

Griffen and I linger in the sterile corridor while the nurse guides Rory into an exam room.

“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” Griffen asks, his voice low.

“It was the Dolore,” I say, sinking into a chair. The adrenaline crash is hitting hard, exhaustion tugging at my bones.

“Fuck,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. His eyes drift to my blood-soaked pants.

“Crashed my bike. Rory’s a mess.” I exhale sharply, leaning back, the chair creaking under my weight.

“You look like shit. How’s the leg?”

“Hurts,” I admit, the pain sinking deep in my shin, but that doesn’t fucking matter. Rory comes first. I rub a hand over my face, trying to shake the fatigue. But my mind won’tstop. The rage is still there, its primary focus—Alicia.

That fucking cunt’s reckoning is overdue.

“Axe.” Griffen’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

“What?”

“I’ve been digging into Rory’s mother’s case.” He lowers his voice, his eyes scanning the empty waiting area. “You were right. The police didn’t investigate.”

I sit up, every nerve on alert. “What do you mean?”

“Conrad shut it all down. No search of the property. No officers entered the house after the ambulance left. No DNA, no prints, no crime scene photos. Nothing.”

“You sure?”