Page 100 of Second Sets Omnibus

Looking around, I pull the curtain back behind me, huffing when the rest of the idiots pile into the room and hover around a broken-looking River. Tears threaten to burn the back of my eyes as I take her in, noting the black and blue bruises lining her face. The three of us stand there with gaping mouths as she untucks herself from Kieran’s grasp and refuses to look in our direction. Keeping her eye downcast, she summons Ode to the edge of the bed.

“Leave,” River rasps, taking Ode’s shaking hand. “Get some sleep, please.” Exhaustion pulls at her tiny voice, tugging at my fucking black heartstrings. She sounds like she’s fighting a battle she won’t win—like she’s already given in to the pain, and defeat has taken over. But that’s not the River I know. The girl I know fights tooth and nail through anything and with anybody. Fuck.

Ode’s face falls, but she squeezes River’s hand. “Fine, I’ll leave y’all to it. Bitch, I love you. But don’t you ever pull that shit again.” Leaning down, she plants a soft kiss on River’s cheek, lingering long enough to whisper something, and pulls back with a stern look. “I’ll check in with your momma, too. And you four,” she says with a demanding tone, putting a hand on her hip. “You fuck with River. You fuck with me. Got it?”

We all nod in unison. Not daring to toe an inch out of line while she death glares at us with mama bear vibes emanating from her. The fierce expression doesn’t leave until we’re protectively cupping our balls and shivering from her threat, and with one last look, she waves, walking out the door with apprehension.

Once Ode clears the room, Rad wraps his arms around River, smothering her with light kisses.

“I’m fine,” she groans, trying to weakly shove him off.

“No, Pretty Girl. You’re not,” he murmurs lovingly, moving a piece of her hair out of her face. “Bradley did this, didn’t he? Did he…?”

River visibly cringes at his words, recoiling into Kieran’s chest and hiding her face from us. The world blurs around me, mixing into a multitude of colors, and my heart fucking drops out of my fucking body. Ice runs through my veins, raising the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. Grabbing my skull with force, I massage my temples until the pain subsides into a dull ache. It all makes fucking sense now. Every goddamn piece of the puzzle clicks into place, and murder vibrates through me.

“You stabbed him?” I blurt breathlessly as piles of information storm through my mind like wildfire blowing through. “He did it?” I accuse now, narrowing my eyes and taking in her reaction.

“You what?” Kieran asks in a deadly voice, looking down at her with fear twisting his expression. His eyes widen, and he tugs her impossibly closer, with emotions pulling him in every direction. By the time we make it home, he will be so rung out. “He what?” he murmurs in disbelief.

River hides her face in his chest, taking several deep breaths before she collects herself and speaks.

“Please, let it go,” she murmurs in a broken voice. “Please, just let go. I don’t want to talk about it right now.” No. It seems she doesn’t want to talk about it ever again. So, it’s time to force the words from her tongue so we can cut Bradley open and feed him to the vultures.

“River,” I bark, marching to her side. Leaning over Kieran, I gently grab her chin and force her to stare at me. So many emotions rest in her moss-green eyes. It’s hard to tell how she’s feeling. Fear. Anguish. Pain. Resentment. It’s all wrapped into one. “He’ll get what’s coming to him, Little Brat. Don’t evenworry about it,” I promise through a growl, envisioning his death by my hands.

“Don’t worry about it?” she whispers as fat tears drop onto her cheeks, sending searing pain through my chest at the sight of her pain. “I have to worry about it. I have to make sure he gets punished for his crimes! He got away with it once, and I won’t stand back and let him harm any more women.” Her body trembles in Kieran’s embrace, and the room falls silent.

I don’t miss her words. Or how she said them. All the answers reside there and understanding pushes through me. River was the girl Bradley bragged about for months on end. Only, she wasn’t a willing participant like he eluded her to be.

“Got away with it once?” Kieran asks, furrowing his brow. “What?” River’s face pales when the realization hits Kieran hard, and a gasp forces its way through his parted lips. “No,” he murmurs, running a thumb gently across her cheeks and jolts, eyes bulging. I swear he stops breathing, and his head shakes in denial. “The fucking beating we gave him over the girl you found? No!” His fingers flex, engorging the veins lining his forearms.

Grabbing his arm, River shakes her head with a pained expression. “It was a long time ago. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to move forward. I want Bradley to get what’s coming to him.”

She rolls her lips together, sadness glazing over her eyes. Something about the situation sends shame through her; it’s even more apparent when she closes her eyes. Kieran swallows hard, rubbing the back of his neck. Anguish takes over his expression when he kisses her cheek, murmuring words I can’t hear.

“More than a stabbing, Little Brat?” I quip, finally earning a soft smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Jail time. Anything to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else,” she whispers in complete and utter defeat—something I’ve never seen from her.

Sitting back, River stays snuggled in Kieran’s arms, soaking up his support. “We’ll get you a wonderful lawyer. We’ll help with whatever you need,” Kieran promises, kissing her forehead with a feather-light kiss.

“Everything we have, we’ll give you,” Callum promises, leaning over to kiss her head.

“I’ll bury him in acid and laugh as his bones disintegrate,” Rad mumbles, kissing her temple.

A million thoughts rush through me when we leave River lying in the hospital. After sitting there all day and through nine p.m., they kicked us out, stating they admitted her until they got her results back. Our visit was over, but our night had only just begun.

Tension rises in my chest when we pull into the house’s driveway, looming in front of us.

“It was nice knowing you,” Kieran mumbles, hanging his head with a heavy sigh.

“I can’t believe you got arrested,” I say, sitting back in my seat and huffing a breath.

Over her—the girl we need in our corner. Over the entire situation—is what I want to say. Every inch of Kieran vibrates with a restless rage begging to come back out. So, I zip my lips and inspect the situation one more time. Another time and place, I’d let him pummel Van into oblivion. Not now. Not on the heels of his arrest.

Getting arrested is the least of our worries at the moment. Kieran didn’t just get himself thrown into jail; he got the both of us thrown into the lion’s den, covered in blood and defenseless. Now it’s time to face the devil himself.

Raising a brow, I stare at the dark, empty office window my father always peers out of and note the darkened room and closed blinds. In fact, the entire house swims in darkness, ready to swallow us whole. Somewhere in the depths of hell, our demon waits to attack us when we least expect it.