Page 174 of Scavenger's Oath

It’s not enough. I want more.

Phoenix managed to stay strategic enough to keep one alive while we were slaughtering blindly. The guy he grabbed quickly squealed about the old stables, promising that Ivy was inside with “Father Bennett” and “Brother Derek”.

There’s nothing holy about what they’re doing here.

I want whoever’s in that barn.

Storming toward it, we fall into step. Zane charges through the doors like a battering ram. They explode inward, flooding the dark space in dim light. Shouts and chaos erupt immediately.

The air in the barn is thick enough to chew, stinking of wet hay and sweat.

Flies rise from the straw like black confetti, but the firstthing I see is Ivy.

Hanging from the support beam, her arms are stretched high above her head, wrists shredded by the hemp binding. Her skin’s a battlefield of cuts and bruises.

For a second my knees nearly buckle. Only two days ago, her hair shone like spider’s silk and her skin glowed with a fulfillment I never thought I could give anyone.

Something punches my shoulder as I stand there, paralysed. A hot sting erupting like the bite of a bullet—probably is.

At that moment, a hillbilly-looking weasel looks up over her shoulder with wide eyes. He releases Ivy’s hips, leaving her body swinging as he stumbles back.

That’s when I see his cock is out, glistening but deflating quickly as it flops uselessly. His face is streaked with claw marks and his dirty singlet showcases a deep bite on his shoulder.

My vision tunnels as my blood starts to boil. The sagging jeans around his ankles trip him, landing flat on his ass. Crossing the distance, I slash at the scum’s legs with my machete. I don’t want him to die just yet. When he keeps trying to crawl away as if he has a right to live, I kick him onto his stomach and slice through his Achilles tendons.

“You touched her?” I roar. “You fucking touched her!”

I want to tear the vermin to shreds but I need to focus on my girl. He won’t get far now.

Phoenix’s gun fires rapidly somewhere to my left, every shot a punctuation mark. Zane bellows, his chainsaw roaring through the mayhem as body parts hit the straw.

They’re turning this barn into a slaughterhouse but all I can see is her.

Her eyes are open.

Her mouth moves but no sound comes out, just tremblinglips that make my heart shatter. Her body sways, legs powerless to steady her, wrists taking the entire weight of her body.

I’m at her side in an instant. “Ivy—I’ve got you.” My voice cracks, hands shaking. “I’ve got you. I’m here, baby, I’m here. Just hang on…”

Swinging my machete, I cut through the thick cord, catching her as she drops like deadweight. The self-inflicted wound on my chest burns with the movement but I relish the pain, knowing it’s Ivy’s name marking me forever.

She’s feverish, the cold sweat and gore are slick against my palms as I lower us to the floor. Then carefully, I peel the rest of the cord from her wrists.

Stripping off my shirt, I drape it over her body, shielding her nakedness. But the red smear between her thighs crushes me.

I try to tell myself there’d be more blood if the baby was harmed. But it does nothing to calm me.

Holding the limp body of the woman I love, I pull her into my lap, so her precious skin doesn’t touch the ground.

Images of her perfect hands in the soil flash through my mind, wrists unmarred. I can’t reconcile the two images.

I want to rip the world apart for letting this happen.

But her shallow breaths fan across my face, anchoring me in the turmoil threatening to rip me open.

Crouching beside me with a hand pressed to his ribs, Phoenix stifles a groan. His expression is torn between torment and fury, but he doesn’t speak as the carnage dies down.

“I’m here, baby,” I sob into her hair, rocking her back and forth. “You’re safe now. We’re here. We’ve got you.”