Page 35

Shatter: Break suddenly and violently into pieces.

W ill I be able to put her back together?

The hospital noise was deafening. So many beeping monitors, screeching patients, and gossiping nurses made this place more like a zoo than a medical facility. I was nearly free of the hell hole when I heard a crash above my head.

A zoo indeed, for fuck’s sake.

Xenia appeared in front of me. Her face was fearful. She held out her hands, stopping my exit.

“Xenia, my love, what are you doing?”

Xeny shook her head and pointed behind me. “Go, Daddy. They need you.”

I sighed, shaking my head. My daughter had the best intentions at heart trying to play matchmaker, but I was nothing to either of them. With me around, they would always be one step inside the reaper’s arms.

“Daddy,” Xenia said more firmly. Her body shifted, her beautiful bright cheeks faded to an ashen grey, her sunflower dress warped into her nightdress and her neck…

Blackened bruises appeared on her neck, and it started to hang at an awful angle. I gasped and dropped to my knees, trying to help her. My fingers went right through her body and her pained face.

I can’t help Xenia. Not then…not now.

“Daddy. They need you. Please…”

Her voice was quiet…distant. She was fading away again, her image flickering instead of the usual calm, brighter fade.

I was horrified, fear and pain etching my features.

I couldn’t do anything for them. I wasn’t what they needed at all…

but Xenia was begging me. Her pale, ghostly form was warning me of something.

Dread seeped into my muscles like lead. I looked up to the ceiling, knowing Fallon and Xavier were one floor above me. Giving a final look at the exit, I took off at a dead run up the stairs and went back to Xavier’s room.

When I got to the room, I could hear strange sounds. The closer I got, the clearer they became. It was masculine grunting and laughing, a baby’s cry, and Fallon. She was singing.

My heart shattered when I threw open the door.

Fallon was lying in streaks of red, and a monster was on top of her, taking from her what she certainly did not give.

My vision bled into a haze of red. I didn’t think. I simply acted.

I barely felt my hands as I gripped the monster and threw him off Fallon and into a shelving unit. He never saw me coming. Fallon was still singing the song I sang to her all that time ago. She barely registered that I was here.

“Oh, Fallon. It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I am so sorry.”

Fallon continued to sing. I assessed her body.

She had her underwear torn off her in strips.

Blood smears were on her legs, the floor, and her thighs.

I walked over to the cabinet and grabbed some wipes, walking back to wipe the red from Fallon’s body.

I sang to her, matching her rhythm, holding her to my chest, and gently rocking her.

Xavier calmed inside his crib. His little hiccups quieted with the blended melody of the song. I looked over to the crumpled monster on the ground. He was passed out. This fucker wouldn’t live for what he did to her.

“It’s okay, Little Voyeur. I am here. I am sorry. Xenia was right. You needed me. I am so sorry. I am sorry I failed you.”

She didn’t hear me. Her eyes were heavy, and her song faded as she slowly fell asleep in my arms. I kept singing. Hoping she would hear the lyrics in her dreams. Anything to chase away the horror she just endured.

Who the fuck was this man?

Dead.

I carefully walked Fallon over to Xavier’s crib and placed her next to the sleeping infant.

Poor guy had such a shit life from the get-go.

He needed a fucking break. I thought about my options.

I could tell the hospital about what this man did to Fallon.

It wasn’t a broken system when Quinn was involved.

He would be sure that this rapist would rot in the prison.

I thought about my life.

I was fed, socialized, I had friends. The asylum and prison were too good for him. He needed to fucking die. I never killed anyone. I was accused of being a murderer for six years, but I never took a life. I ran my hand down my face. I needed my brothers.

I flipped open my cell and called.

Goliath could hear my shaky breaths, and he didn’t greet me with the typical ‘Lith bullshit.’ Instead, he paused. “What happened?”

I got straight to it—no point in pussy footing around. “Fallon was attacked and raped at the hospital…I wasn’t there, man. She got hurt, and I wasn’t there.”

I could hear my voice breaking. Goliath’s strong baritone filtered through the hysteria I felt bubbling up to the surface. “Roe. It’s okay. You’re okay, man. You are there now, and Fallon and the baby are safe?”

I swallowed my self-pity. “Yes. They are asleep. She’s…asleep.”

Goliath was silent for a moment, probably trying to choose his words carefully for his broken brother. “Okay, man, where’s the asshole that did that to her?”

I looked over to the piss head on the floor, and my hatred calmed the mania.

“On the fucking ground.”

“Is he breathing still?”

I laughed without humor. “For now.”

Goliath sighed. “Okay. Pharaoh, I know you want to do something stupid, but keep in mind who you are. Bring him to me. I can take care of him for you, my brother. Don’t stain your hands with blood.

That shit doesn’t wash away. You don’t want any reason to be taken away from Fallon and thrown back in this shit hole with us. ”

His words made sense, and I knew deep down he was right. I still couldn’t get myself to give a fuck about reasonable solutions.

“No. He touched what’s fucking mine. I failed to be the man I needed to be when it came to Ariah and Xenia.” I said. “I won’t fail this baby and Fallon like that. I will be what they need. Even if it means I go back to the place I belonged to all along.”

“No, Pharaoh!” Goliath protested. “You don’t belong here. You are a good man. You are not broken. You have had the shittiest things happen to you, and you deserve a happily ever after with that baby and the woman. You don’t throw that away for some martyr bullshit or petty retaliation.”

I was seething. My brother was not being fair. I needed to kill this man. I had to take it from him because he took it from her. He took what’s fucking mine. I wouldn’t sleep at night knowing I didn’t turn this man into ashes.

“Goliath…I can’t. I am not going to survive when I find Xenia’s killer anyway,” I said. “You and I both know that. Staining your hands with more blood that isn’t yours to spill isn’t worth it. A man can wash his hands. A dead man…can’t. Don’t waste your soul on me. You owe Ezello that.”

Goliath was cursing, his internal battle audible.

Finally, he said, “I will never stop you from freeing your soul, brother. I just want to believe you can do that without destroying it in the process.”

“Goliath. I have made up my mind. Now, I only have one question.”

My brother was silent for a long moment.

“Anything, my man,” Hesitation was thick in his tone.

“Can I bring this piece of shit home to our hell? Give him a taste of what’s to come for eternity.”

Silence stretched, and I thought he hung up, but then I heard laughter. My brother would be there for me. He may disagree with my choices, but he wouldn’t shut me out.

“You are always welcome back home, brother. Just remember that before you shut that door on us .”