Page 30 of Love Me in the Dark

“She was given information saying that I was the one who killed Macey,” I say. “She says that she does not know who gave her the information. I’m assuming she has been on the dark web. She apparently is calling herself Birdy but attacked me three separate times for calling her that.”

“She’s…” Cade starts.

“Traumatized,” Callum says. “She is extremely traumatized. Please don’t hold that against her.”

“I’m not. She’s a tough little shit, but the moment we saw the scars, I knew that this was some sort of vigilante thing. She relaxed significantly when it was explained that I was not the one who killed my wife. I thought maybe she wouldn’t believe it, but I think she could sense that I was telling the truth. I do plan on explaining more to give her more peace of mind,” I say. “Also, I am a blunt man, and you know this.”

“On God,” Cade sighs.

“I have every intention of marrying your sister. She will not be forced, but I do want her to stay here for a while either way,” I say.

“Why?”

“To which part?” I ask.

“Both.”

“Well, I am getting the feeling that she is scared of whoever did that to her might find her. Unless you actually have a name, I have a feeling they are going to eventually try to find her. I can imagine that her injuries were life-threatening,” I say.

“Yeah. She died twice on the way to the hospital,” he says. “I’ll let her explain that though.”

I open my mouth to say something, but we all stop when we hear a shrill scream come from upstairs. “Fuck,” Cade says.

“What?” I ask.

“She’s asleep still,” Rook says.

“She has violent nightmares from the attack. She hasn’t had them in over a month,” he says.

“Yeah, because she’s been torturing and murdering rapists,” Tripp laughs. Another scream followed by audible sobbing makes us all jump to our feet.

“Let’s go check on her,” I say as I turn to the staircase. We all rush up to the bedroom, and it legitimately sounds like she’s being attacked. Rook is still glancing at the camera as we go to her, so we know that she is safe.

I don’t know who hurt my little puppet, but I’m going to find them and fucking kill them.

5

Phoenyx

Iam screaming and I cannot stop, but someone is holding me. When I finally manage to open my eyes, Knox is the first thing I see. “I’m sorry,” I say tearfully.

“It’s okay,” he says, cupping my cheek as I stay curled up in his lap. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I sniff. “It wasn’t y’all. I just… it happens. I thought they were gone.”

“It’s okay, Nyx,” he says. “Cade and Callum are here.”

“Oh no,” I sigh and close my eyes.

“I find it a bit funny that they are not surprised that their bratty little sister is a murderer of garbage men,” he says with a smile. “Sit up here and talk to them.”

I sigh and sit up before moving to the edge of the bed. I have someone’s T-shirt on, and it’s cozy. “Hey,” Cade says as he squats down and takes my hands. Callum sits on my other side and hugs me.

“Hi,” I say slowly. “I’m sorry…”

“Do you regret any of it?” he asks.

“No. They deserved it,” I say firmly.