Page 63 of Tortured Souls

“I want to take care of them,” I whisper, my throat starting to hurt, no doubt from the intubation I had to have during surgery.

“Your wish is my command.” When he finally leans in and locks his lips with mine, everything fades away. My pain, my anger, and my insufferable need to finish this kill list are no longer at the forefront of my mind. Soft, gentle, and inviting lips bring me to a place I’ve longed for my entire life. A place that’s safe, alluring, passionate, comforting, and full of so much love, my heart may actually explode.

“I love you so fucking much, Sky.”

“I love you too, Saxon, with all my heart.”

ONE MONTH LATER

SAXON

“I’m fine, I promise. I can get my coffee all by myself. I’m a big girl,” Sky groans as she gets up from the table and makes her way back to the coffeepot, successfully waving me off. I sit back down in my seat, rolling my eyes. She’s been home for about four weeks now, and physically, she looks like she’s made a full recovery. I’m not stupid though. I know how strong my girl isand am aware of the face she’s able to put on due to her insane stubbornness. She hates to be treated like she’s fragile or on the verge of a breakdown at any moment. Not to say she hasn’t had moments where she has, in fact, broken down. But all those times have been in the privacy of my hold, my room, my arms. She would never show her vulnerabilities to anyone else.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t do it. I’m just being an attentive boyfriend.”

“That sounds so weird coming from your mouth, Saxon. I’ve never heard you refer to yourself as a boyfriend,” my sister chuckles as she gets up and gets another cup of coffee as well.

“Looks like our boss is fast becoming whipped.” Saint has to add his two cents, and I level him with a glare.

“No more whipped than you, asshole.” Saint chuckles, leaning back in his chair as he stuffs another piece of bacon into his mouth.

“Oh, I admit it. One hundred percent I’m whipped. I’m not ashamed.” Winking at my sister, she rolls her eyes at him, and I can’t help but chuckle into my coffee cup. I watch as my sister and my girl chat together about her recent paint job she has going on at the shop. I watch as Sky’s face lights up when she looks down at the image on Sage’s phone. Her smile makes me weak all over. She’s been smiling more and more with each passing day, the life inside her coming back.

“She’s looking a lot better.” Saint elbows me as he scoots his chair closer to mine so we can chat quietly. I nod once, still watching the woman who has my heart and soul. She does look better. Almost all her bruising has faded, her broken ribs have healed, along with her fingers that were broken. Her shoulder still gives her a fit every now and then, but she rarely tells me if she’s in pain. Hell, she barely took any of the pain medication she was prescribed when she was discharged. Saying she didn’t like how they made her feel “out of it.”

The hysterectomy has been the longest bit of her recovery. Her pain is evident in her expression. I recognize when she’s hurting by the way she presses her lips tightly together, her eyes narrow just the slightest bit, and she becomes rigid all over her body. Guarding herself from any sudden movements that may increase her pain. She would never tell me she’s in pain, so I’ve had to get really good at reading her body language.

“Has she said anything about what she wants to do with them yet?” I turn my head towards him, lowering my voice so my sister can’t hear us. Although I know my sister is now well aware of the shit we do, I still hate to think my baby sister knows what we are all truly capable of. I guess that’s the big brother in me.

“This weekend. She wants to take care of them herself.” Taking a big sip of his coffee, he nods once.

“Finn’s going to be pissed if he can’t be there, you know.” I glance back at my girl and smile.“Then it’s a good thing she wants all of us there then, huh?”

“She does?”

“Yup, she said she wants me, you, Finn, Brooks, and Owen there. Said she wants to show them who her real family is. Who her true brothers are.” I can’t peel my eyes away from the beautiful, angelic woman who stands in my kitchen, bonding with my little sister over normal everyday things. Work, school, friends, boys—a.k.a. me and Saint. I watch her lean against the counter, her mug held tightly to her chest as she laughs and giggles with Sage as if she didn’t just experience the worst type of torture imaginable. Worst part about it all, it was done by the hands of her own family. No, not her family. We are her family now. I am her family. She is one of us, for now and always.

“I love her, Saint.” I finally look at my best friend, the words sliding off my tongue so easily, so naturally. “I love her more than I thought possible. I can’t explain this hold she has on me. The tightness and pressure that’s inside me whenever she’saround. And when she’s not around, everything seems so—” I can’t find the right word.

“Empty,” Saint says for me.Yes.Her absence is an emptiness that is so hollow I feel as though my lungs can’t fully inflate with air. “Almost like the longer you spend away from her, the more it allows the darkness to fill you up once again. The black shadow we fight so hard to suppress rapidly finds its way back until our girls are back at our sides, where they belong. It’s like they’re the only ones who can calm the storm that brews within men like us. Men who were never meant to know stillness.” I stare at the profile of my best friend. His words sink deep inside me, and I know he understands wholeheartedly what I feel for Sky.

“Is that how it is with Sage?” He nods a few times as he stares at my sister.

“She makes me feel still, like I’ve been running a race my whole life, and I’ve finally reached the finish line. I can relax. I can be still and allow the calm to take over. It’s powerful, right?” Looking back at me, he waits for my response. I rest my hand on his shoulder. The smile pulls at my lips as I nod at my best friend.

“Yeah, it’s really fucking powerful.”

I was reluctant to bring Sky down to the basement so soon after surgery. Even after a month, she’s been through a lot, and the body needs time to heal. Don’t get me started on the time the mind needs to heal properly. Although she may never fully heal from what she went through, all we can do is take it day by day.

“Please stop worrying. I can handle this. I promise I will tell you if it gets to be too much.” Rising on her tip toes, she kisses my cheek before I lift the trapdoor that leads into the pits of theearth where her family waits. As close to hell as they’ll ever be while alive. Until they’re graced with the fiery caves of hell that are currently awaiting their arrival.

“All you have to say is the word, and I will take care of them. If you don’t want to take care of Seven, I can do it for you. I know how close you were as kids.” Grabbing her hand, I pull her fingers to my lips and kiss each one slowly.

“Even though he lost all memories of who we used to be, that doesn’t change the fact that he, too, chose to torture me that day. He decided on his own that he wanted to torture, beat, and help mutilate a woman he wastoldwas his sister. I don’t care that my parents tried to warp his mind and change him into a totally different person. With his own free will, he made his decisions that day, and I can never forgive him for that.” She takes a deep breath. “No one should ever have to experience what I went through that day.” Her voice is merely a whisper now, the heartache of her brother’s actions hitting her hard.

I let her take a few more breaths before she straightens her back and settles herself. I lead her down the stairwell, and the sound of Finn’s music becomes audible.

“Is that Beethoven he’s listening to?” she asks me, pulling my hand back before I can open the second door.