Page 19 of Vengeful Pawn (Adair Legacy #6)
Hendrix
I didn’t want to leave my girls in the hospital, but this needs to be taken care of before anyone discovers the man is missing. Castle, Cross, Prince, and Joker have been meting out their own torture all evening long. Not killing him, but not allowing him a moment of peace, either.
“Roger!” I shout his name as I pour a small jerrican of gasoline over his head. While I might want to spend days or weeks making him suffer, I have a woman who needs my support when she leaves the hospital in the morning.
“What do you want now?” His pain-filled groan has the men around me chuckling.
Saint walks up behind him and shoves a blade into his shoulder, burying it to the hilt. The bastard’s screams echo through the empty warehouse.
“How’s Lake?” I ask Saint, knowing it will rile his anger because she is not doing well. We found out one of her tormentors has been stalking her, but making it appear accidental. She hasn’t left her house in weeks now.
Saint growls and bares his teeth at me like a rabid wolf. “Don’t fucking say her name.” Worse than I thought.
Glancing at Nolan, the sorrow in his eyes over what’s happening with his sister is gut-wrenching.
“Roger, you nearly killed my woman, you terrified my daughter. And you could have hurt my unborn baby. Any one of those things would mean your death. Combined, however, means suffering.” Fear streaks across his face, and the smell of urine mingles with the gas fumes.
Flicking my lighter to life, no time is wasted as Saint shoves his knife into the helpless man's gut three times before I drop the flame in his lap. Everyone winces at the tortured screams, but the smell of burning flesh makes me back away.
“ Christ , you are gruesome,” Castle mutters as he stands next to me. “Anything happens to my sister because of your issues, and I’ll be doing the same thing to you.” The warning is one I can respect.
The bikers leave once the screams have stopped, but I don’t move until the flames die. Minutes, hours, I have no idea until I step outside and see the sun begin to rise, and Saint is sitting by himself on the tailgate of my truck.
“You need to talk?” I ask, only having about an hour before Mia and the girls will be awake.
“I need their names.” Saint’s growl is a permanent part of his voice now. “I need to make the nightmares stop and show her that I’m not like them.”
Whoa. That’s new information. “Has she said you are?”
“Not directly, but I see the fear in her eyes when I’m around. Luther, Nolan, Damien, they don’t get that same expression.” His misery is palpable.
“They’re her family, man. She doesn’t have to fear them for nothing.
” I get where he’s coming from, though. “It’s not you specifically that she fears, Saint, it’s your intensity.
She’s afraid of what will happen when you lose control.
And my friend, you will lose control when she finally accepts all of you, too.
I think she’s a little afraid of her reaction when you do. ”
He stares at me, blinking rapidly while digesting my words.
I don’t expect any grand revelations. Saint has always been a man of few words and keeps most of what he’s feeling close to the chest. The only people who genuinely know what’s inside his head are Lake and his mother, Meadow.
His father, Carver, might understand his actions and feelings, but they aren’t the heart-to-heart kind of people.
“Hey, talk to Scotty.” His younger sister has always been able to talk sense into him.
“Scotty.” He says it like he’d forgotten he had a younger sister. “Yeah, thanks.”
I watch as he walks away. He drove my truck here, but he wants to be alone right now, so I’m sure he’ll find his way home.
On my way back to the hospital, I decide to stop at my apartment and shower first. The last thing I want is for there to be any evidence of what I was doing left behind. Mia will know, no matter what, but the girls don’t need to.
After cleaning up and grabbing some clothes for Mia, I’m at the hospital in no time with coffee and breakfast. I arrive just as Mia emerges from the bathroom.
“You were gone all night.”
Setting the stuff down, I help her back into bed. “I’m sorry.” I have nothing else to say.
“Is it over?” she asks, reaching for the coffee I brought.
“Yes.” No sense in lying. She nods and reaches for the bag of food. “Hungry?” I ask.
“Starving,” she whispers, not wanting to wake the girls. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days, and peanut is making their displeasure known.”
“Mom said I was like that, too.” I hand her a muffin and a breakfast wrap, then open a small container of fresh fruit.
“You are beastly.” She winks to take away the sting; however, she’s not wrong. “The nurse has already been in. She said it’d be about another hour or so for the doctor to be on shift.”
“No rush. Do you want to shower before putting these on?” I hold up the bag of clothes. “I can help if you need it.” The bruising and stitches in her body might enrage me, but I’ll do anything for this woman.
Just as Mia finishes eating, the girls begin to stir. Hopefully, they don’t realize I was gone all night and ask questions. I don’t want to lie, but I’ll have no other choice, either.
“Do we get to go home today?” Coral asks excitedly as I hand her a juice and a container with bacon, eggs, and French toast, with a cup of fresh fruit on the side.
“Yeah, Cors, we’re going home today,” I tell her.
Both girls smile before digging into their breakfasts, chatting happily about home-cooked meals and family game nights.
I had no idea this was the life I would be gifted with when I met Mia all those months ago, but I couldn’t be happier about the end results.