Page 15

Delaney

It’s been two weeks since Vince and Logan murdered my parents. We expected the dirty agents to do something, but they have been pretty quiet. They came and took our statements individually while our lawyer, Ashley Banks, sat with us. She is a ruthless attorney who doesn’t take shit from anyone. Katy tried to start in on her bullshit where she was trying to get me to say that the guys were guilty of something, but Ashley shut that shit down so fast. Even if Talon had done something, we are married. I can’t testify against him. I will go to jail for the rest of my life before I ever throw them under the bus like that. I don’t care if they are guilty or not. Not much has been said about the investigation though. They did release the bodies to the crematorium yesterday morning and were cremated last night. The funeral director thought it was sweet that I requested that my parents ashes be put together. He was speechless when I said that my mom requested to be able to torture him for eternity.

Living with five men who take turns fucking me is absolutely wild, but I love it. I find it humorous how soft they are for me, but then can turn around and be cold and heartless with everyone else. I am also glad they’re not always ruthless in the way they fuck me because they all get to me every day. Sometimes twice. Talon and Jude sometimes get to be with me three times but, Chris is usually just once. Today, no one has had the chance. We have been up at this godforsaken funeral home all day for the service. I don’t even know why I’m giving them a funeral, especially my dad. I decided to play nice and not ruin everyone’s memory of them. Maybe I should speak up, but I’m just going to let the dead rest. It isn’t going to change what happened. With the guys and all of our people here, the rumor mill is going crazy. Everyone was already thinking that I had something to do with it, and I got the guys to kill them, and having them here doesn’t help that situation.

For most of the day, everything is calm. I greet people and chat with extended family. The guys stay close but not so close that it looks like I’m being guarded. Everyone is on edge, but we don’t want there to be a scene. I get a little on edge when Andrew and Katy show up.

“Excuse me just a minute,” I say sweetly to my dad’s sister. She’s a sweet woman who hates her brother, so she’s one of my favorites.

“Take your time, dear,” she says, patting my hand.

I get up and find Talon chatting with the guys. “Andrew and Katy are here. They just walked in and they keep staring at me,” I say.

“Yeah. Ashley is on her way,” Talon says. “I’m going to tell you something, but I want you to remember that Ashley is good at her job, okay?”

“Okay,” I sigh.

“Andrew gave Ashley a heads up that they’re getting a warrant for my arrest… and yours,” he says slowly.

“What? I can’t go to jail. I didn’t do anything. Why the fuck are they doing this?” I ask but start panicking. “Fuck, I can’t breathe.”

“Woah. Hey. Calm down,” Talon says, cupping my face. “Breathe, Little Flower. I promise we will be home by morning. Okay?”

“Why are they doing it here?” I ask.

“Because Katy is a cunt,” Jude says.

“Basically,” Talon says.

“I don’t want to get arrested in front of my entire family. Can we just go outside and force them to come out also?” I ask.

“Yeah. Let’s go,” he says as he takes me by the hand. The moment we moved toward the back entrance, Andrew and Katy spring into action. We aren’t running, but they think we are going to. “No matter what is said or done, you do not speak to anyone, but Ashley. Okay?” Jude says.

“Okay,” I say tearfully.

“Talon and Delaney Maddox,” Katy says as they come around the corner with their hand on their weapons.

“Chill out. We know,” Talon says. He takes a second to kiss me before the guys do as well. The detectives are annoyed, but they don’t stop us.

“I have a bad feeling,” I whisper to Jude. “I don’t trust this.”

“I’ll look into it. Ashley is confirming,” he says softly before pulling back and kissing me. “I love you, Delaney.”

“I love you too,” I say tearfully.

“Ashley will meet y’all at the police station,” Chris says before kissing me last. “Be good, baby. You’re gonna be okay.”

“Delaney Maddox. You are under arrest for first-degree murder. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you,” Katy says as she grabs my arm and pulls me back. I’m sniffling and hiccupping as she handcuffs my wrists behind my back. Andrew does the same to Talon and we are dragged toward an SUV. We are put in the backseat, and I immediately move to the center so I can be next to Talon. I expect them to get pissy about that, but they say nothing. Once the doors are shut and they are in the front seat, they pull away. I make myself look out of the window, but instantly regret it when I see all of the guys crying.

As soon as we pull out of the parking lot and onto the main road, I get suspicious. I know where the police department is, and it is not in this direction. I snap my head to Talon, and he nods with a sad look on his face. I think we are having the same realization at the same time. Everything feels off but the further away from the police station we drive, the more I understand what’s going on. I’m glad it is happening this way because as much as I would want to fight it, how am I supposed to fight against the cops? No one would sympathize or help me, especially in the middle of my parents’ funeral, where they already think that I killed them. It would’ve just created a huge scene and made everything worse.

“I’m sorry,” Talon whispers in my ear.

“We’ll be okay,” I whisper back and lay my head on his shoulder.

After a while, we end up on a gravel road. No one has spoken a word in that continues until we stop in front of a cabin. “I’m going to enjoy this,” Katy remarks as she gets out. Andrew chuckles and steps out also, leaving us alone.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I say. “This is bad. So bad. What are we going to do? I know what they’ll do. Fuck, I…”

“Shhh, Little Flower. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Jude and the others will find us. I promise,” he says softly. “Talk as little as you can and don’t fight if you can help it. Okay? They’re less likely to get violent if you don’t talk or fight.”

I fucking hate that he understands that. I hate that I’m going to see him get hurt. I hate that their plan is to kill him and sell me. I just want to go home. “Okay,” I whisper.

“Look at me,” he says. When I do, he leans down and kisses me hard. “I love you, Delaney. No matter what happens, I will always love you, okay?”

“Please don’t talk like that,” I say tearfully. “I love you too, Talon.”

“Shit,” he hisses. I look to the cabin and see Vince and Logan come out. They are talking to Andrew and Katy but out of nowhere, Vince and Logan pull a pistol out from their waistband and squeeze the trigger. Andrew and Katy hit the ground before they can even react. The scream that comes out of me is shrill and broken as I fall hysterical.

Logan and Vince open the door, and we are dragged out of the vehicle. I am crying so hard that I can’t see straight. When Logan tries to make me walk, I trip, and he shoves me to the ground. I scream out in pain when Logan kicks me in the side.

“Stop!” Talon screams at him. “Stop it!”

“Aww, poor little Tally has a heart after all,” Logan mocks as he drags me up from the ground. When we get into the cabin, everything moves so fast. My hands are freed, but I am immediately shoved over a table where my hands are tied with thick rope so that I am stretched across and my feet are hardly touching the ground. They take the handcuffs off Talon, but Logan puts a pistol to the side of my head while Vince bends him over the table across from me. A rope is running from under me, through my arms, and to the other side where Talon is. We are restrained in a way that puts us nose to nose. I don’t know why they did this. Maybe it’s to try and embarrass us, but all it’s going to do is allow us to seek comfort in one another. I have my head rested on his arms and he has his on mine. We are able to position ourselves so that we can turn our heads and face one another. We stay entirely focused on each other as our clothes are cut off.

I start to close my eyes when one of them grabs my hips, but Talon stops me. “Eyes on me, baby,” he says almost inaudibly. Despite how calm he seems, he flinches when one of them touches him. I can feel the way his body trembles and it breaks my heart. He is terrified and there is nothing I can do to help him.

I whimper in pain when Logan grunts as he shoves his way into my vagina and Talon tenses when Vince forces into him. It is almost as if they’re in sync when they both start to quicken their thrusts. Pain pulses through me as the friction creates a burning pain in my pelvis and tears are dripping off my face to the table below. Talon is trying his hardest not to cry but when I move my face closer so that we are touching, the floodgates open. Sobs shake through his body and hearing that brings a level of anger to the surface that I’ve never experienced before.

“Look at him. He’s crying for Daddy, just like he always does,” Vince groans. “You gonna come for Daddy, big boy? I know your fat ass is hard as fuck right now.”

Rage boils inside of me, hearing the way he is degrading my husband. It suddenly makes sense on why Talon was so touchy in the beginning about me looking at him. He was so defensive and it’s because he thought I was judging his size. He is beautiful inside and out, and I will spend the rest of my fucking life making sure he knows just how much I adore his body. I never considered that men could be self-conscious about their size or appearance, but now I know. Now I can do better and make sure he knows that I love every inch of him.

Vince leans down to reach around Talon to grab his dick and a growl comes out of me that grabs Vince’s attention. “Something to say?” Vince asks me. Talon shakes his head at me, so I keep my mouth shut. “That’s what I thought, bitch.”

Logan eventually comes before backing away. Vince comes next but continues to torture Talon by jerking him off. I am distracted by Talon, so I don’t realize what Logan is doing until the belt slaps across my back. I scream in pain as Logan hits me over and over again. Talon groans deeply and it sounds more like a pained growl as he is forced to come. When Vince finally stops, so does Logan.

“Fucking pathetic,” Vince laughs at us as we cry together. Our faces are pressed together, trying to provide as much comfort as I can. I manage to flip my hands palm side up, allowing my hands to press against his abdomen. I can gently stroke his skin with my thumbs. My movements are small but he relaxes.

“When is Grim coming to get her?” Logan asks Vince.

“In the morning,” Vince replies. “We have all night to play with them. Once she’s gone, we can set everything up so that when the cops get here it just looks like a murder suicide.”

Fuck. They’re going to make it look like Talon killed the detectives and maybe even me. Grim is Fang’s dad, which means I am most definitely going to be sold. I have confidence that Jude will find us. He has to…

Vince and Logan walk out of the cabin and Talon is quiet. I am losing my goddamn mind with anger, and I can’t make myself calm down. I reach a boiling point where the thoughts are so loud that I involuntarily hit my head on the table, trying to get my brain to slow down.

“Hey. Hey. Hey. Stop, Laney,” Talon says softly.

“I’m so angry,” I growl. “I am so fucking angry, and I don’t know how to calm down.”

“I know, baby. I know,” he sighs. “Jude will find us. I promise. You just have to trust me, okay?”

“I trust you,” I whisper. “I’m scared.”

“Me too,” he says simply.

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Are you okay?”

“I’m pretty numb right now, but I know I’ll feel it later,” I remark. “I feel out of my mind. I’m not upset. I’m just mad. I’m mad that they were mean to you. I am mad that he hurt you. I just want to fucking kill them, but I can’t.”

“He was hitting you pretty hard,” he remarks.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’m bleeding, but I will probably be bruised,” I say. “I guess bruises heal.”

“No one is selling you,” he says matter-of-factly.

“They’re going to make it look like you killed us all.”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “It sounds like it. They will get to us before then, though.”

“How can you be so confident? We are in the middle of nowhere,” I snap. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, baby. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

“I can try,” I say. We are quiet for a while before he gently kisses the tip of my nose, making me smile. “I don’t know how you do that.”

“Do what?” he asks softly.

“Make me smile when all I want to do is cry or commit murder,” I say. “I think I have anger problems.”

“You definitely have anger problems, but that’s okay,” he says.

“That first night… When you got defensive over me looking at you… Was that because you thought I was judging you like they do?”

“Yeah,” he says. “They constantly called me fat and it got into my head. When I left home and met Jude, I lost some weight, but I can’t seem to lose anything else.”

“I love the way you look. All of you,” I say honestly. “And I’m not just saying that because I am tied to a table with you or because you are my husband. I really do thoroughly enjoy all of you.”

“I just wish I was more… toned,” he says.

“Mmmm. Yeah, I wish I didn’t have such a fat stomach,” I say.

“Delaney Maddox,” he growls.

“What?” I ask. “You degrade yourself; I degrade myself. Fair is fair, baby.”

“It’s not the same,” he says.

“It is,” I remark. “I love you inside and out. You are beautiful, handsome, and sexy. There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing you need to change. If you think there is something that needs to change or you are worried about your weight, we can go to the gym together. Dipshit used to make me run for hours every day. We could go running together.”

“I don’t deserve you,” he sighs.

“You’re exactly right,” I say. “You deserve better.”

The door swings open, and they are in a rush. “Just get her and leave him,” Vince says as they untie me.

“No!” I scream when they pull me away. I have use of my hands now, so I fight. Neither of them expects it so when I bring my knee up and hit Logan in the groin, I am able to slip away and go to Talon. Logan hits his knees but Vince lunges at me. The door to the cabin is slammed open and chaos breaks out as shots are fired around the room. Vince hits the ground, but it doesn’t slow me down when I start trying to untie Talon’s wrists. Once he is free, I notice the blood.

“Talon!” I scream When his body slides off the table and slumps to the ground, I run around the table and drop down to my knees. “No. No. No. Please don’t die. Please.”

“Back. Put him on his back,” Jude yells at me as he runs to my side. We flip him to his back and Jude places my hand on Talon’s side. “Press hard. As hard as you can.”

I am sobbing, but I do what he says and put as much pressure on the wound as I can. “Fuck,” Talon groans.

“I know, baby. I know. You’re going to be okay. You hear me?”

“I love you, Delaney,” he mutters.

“Stop it,” I yell at him. “You can’t die. Okay? It would be all for nothing. You have to be okay, so you just keep talking to me.”

“Alright. Move your hands,” Jude says. I do and Jude places a towel on the wound and presses down hard. Talon yells out in pain and I scream when someone pulls me away from them.

“Stop it. Let me…”

“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Chris says. “Clothing, baby. Let me put something on you.” He quickly pulls a shirt over my head that comes down almost to my knees before letting go of me. He has on just an undershirt now, so I go back to Talon and take his face between my hands.

“You’re going to be okay, baby,” I say softly.

“Are they dead?” he asks, groaning again in pain.

“Logan is,” Chris says, nodding in the direction of the other side of the room. I look over and Vince is tied to a chair with tape over his mouth. I gently kiss Talon before standing.

“Laney,” Jude says, but I ignore him. When I get close, Adam pulls a serrated hunting knife out of its sheath on his hip and hands it to me without hesitation. I rip the tape off, but he doesn’t get a chance to speak before I act.

“This is for my mom,” I say with a callous tone before slamming the blade into his abdomen and twisting, earning beautiful pained screams. When I pull the knife out, blood gushes from his belly and I smile. He starts screaming and fighting against his restraints, despite his profuse bleeding, when I rip the front of his jeans open so I can expose his dick. “This… This is for my husband.”

With one fluid motion, I grab his flaccid dick and slice it off. His scream is shrill but doesn’t cover even a fraction of the amount of pain he deserves. I force his mouth open and shove his severed dick down his throat before Tony slaps the tape back over his mouth. “Rot in hell, Vince,” I say coolly before stabbing the knife into his thigh and walking back to my husband. He is choking on his dick while simultaneously bleeding to death, but it doesn’t faze me. Chris hands me a towel to wipe my hands before I kneel on the floor beside Talon.

“I wanna be you when I grow up,” Talon says with a weak smile, making me laugh.

“Help should be here in a second,” Chris says, rubbing my back.

“Jude,” I say.

“He’s going to be okay,” Jude says.

“Are you lying to me?” I ask him simply.

“No. The shot is far enough over that I doubt anything vital was hit. He will need some stitches and a lot of rest, but he will be okay,” Jude says.

“Who shot him?” I ask. “Did one of you miss?”

“No,” Chris says. “I think it was Logan.”

“You think or you know?” I snap at him.

“We didn’t shoot him, love,” he says softly, cupping my cheek. I nearly melt into his touch but that brings up painful emotions that I don’t want to handle right now, so I pull away.

“What about the bodies?” I ask Jude.

“Haze is handling the bodies and the cabin. Ripper should be here any second to help get him back to the house.”

“The house?!” I yell at him. “He needs a goddamn hospital, Jude.”

“Baby,” Talon says weakly pulling at my arm so I will look at him.

“You need a hospital,” I say tearfully. “I can’t lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Little Flower. I promise,” he says softly kissing the back of my hand. He lays my palm on his cheek and I sigh as I close my eyes.

“They’re gone,” I say quietly.

“They’re gone,” he confirms gently.

“Why isn’t he done yet?” I snap.

“Baby,” Jude says as he takes my face between his hands. “I love you so much, but I am going to sedate your little ass if you don’t calm down, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” I say tearfully.

“It’s okay,” he says as he grabs the backs of my thighs and picks me up before he sits on the couch. I bury my face in to his shoulder and let him comfort me. “Ripper is trained and knows what he is doing. He does what he does well, and Talon trusts him. He would trust him with you.”

“I thought I lost him when he hit the ground,” I whisper.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Jude says softly. “We got to you as soon as we could.”

“You were fast,” I say. “How did you find us?”

“If I tell you, you can’t get mad at Talon,” he says, and I sit up.

“What?”

“When you got the tattoo… We may or may not have managed to put a tracking chip in your arm,” he says slowly. I blink at him in disbelief. I can’t exactly be mad, though. Clearly, it came in handy.

“Why?” I ask.

“Partly because Talon has control issues, or he did at least. Most of it was because he was afraid Logan would try and take you back.”

“Well… Okay,” I say.

“Do you want it out?” he asks.

“No sense in it now,” I say. “It came in handy.”

“If you ever do, just tell me. Okay?”

“Alright,” I say. “How accurate is it?”

“Depends on where you are,” he says. “The further away you are, the less accurate it is.”

“So stay close and you’ll know where I am,” I remark.

“Only Talon has access,” he says.

“Well… Okay,” I say. “I’d like all five of you to be able to see it.”

“Why?” he asks.

“Because if something happens to him and I need help, I want you to be able to find me,” I say. “You all have spent far too much of your time helping me heal for me to be lost to whatever sick game people are wanting to play with my life.”

“Hey,” Ripper says. I jump up and spin around to find him smiling. “Before you throw a hundred questions at me, yes, he is okay. Nothing vital was hit. He got a total of six stitches and glue. He needs to rest as much as he can, but I have no doubt that you will be taking very good care of him. His body has been through a lot, but he will heal.”

“So…”

“The gunshot was his only injury,” he says gently, and I nod. I am glad he talked to him about the rape. I don’t know what all he wants said, so I change the subject.

“Is he awake?” I ask.

“He is, and he has given me very firm instructions to make you come up and let me look at you,” he says. I go to object, but Jude doesn’t let me.

“She will come up now.”

“I’m okay,” I say.

“Respectfully, you’re a liar,” Ripper says. “He told me everything, and I highly doubt you walked away without injury.”

“What happened?” Jude asks me.

“Did you not see her back?” Chris asks.

“No, I was distracted. I figured she was moving around so she was okay,” Jude frowns. “Come on.”

“Really, I’m—“ I start to say. I squeal when Jude scoops me up and carried me to the stairs. “Jude!”

“You’re such a stubborn little brat, Dee,” he says. “You can play nurse after we make sure you are okay.”

“Fine,” I sigh.

When we get to the room, Talon laughs when Jude sets me on my feet. I frown deeply at him before going over to sit next to Talon. He has a bandage on his abdomen, and he looks high as a kite. “Are you on drugs?” I ask.

“I sure am,” he says with a smile. “Pain meds since he had to go digging for the bullet.”

“What?” I snap at Ripper.

“Would you rather me have left it to cause damage?” he asks.

“No,” I frown.

“Right,” he smiles. “Enough about Talon. He is okay. Get undressed and lay on your belly so I can look at your back.”

“You are a bossy, bossy man,” I frown.

“My husband tells me that all of the time,” he laughs. “Go on.”

“Fine,” I sigh and stand up. I go to lift my arms but drop my hands back to my sides when I feel a twinge of pain. I have been running on nothing but adrenaline for hours, so I haven’t felt the pain.

“Let me,” Jude says. I nod and he carefully takes my shirt off before easing my knit shorts down. He is watching the pain flash across my face as tears run down my cheeks.

“Oh, Laney,” Talon says sorrowfully.

“Is it bad?” I ask as Jude helps me lie down on the bed. I am resting on my arms in Talon’s lap and he gently strokes my hair.

“It’s… how are you not in pain?” Jude asks.

“I’m starting to feel it now that I am sitting still,” I say, flinching when Ripper touches my back. “How bad?”

“What did he hit you with?” Ripper asks.

“A belt,” I say.

“He got you with the buckle in a few spots. I don’t know how no one noticed the cuts, but they aren’t bad. You are just very swollen, and the bruises are getting pretty dark,” he says. “I’m going to give you something for the pain. Okay?”

“Okay,” I say simply.

“You need to get some rest too,” Jude says.

“I’m going to give her a sedative,” Ripper says.

“What? No, I need to… Ow, asshole,” I snap when he stabs a needle into my ass cheek.

“Sorry, dear,” he says. “Bosses orders.”

“The boss is high. He doesn’t count,” I murmur.

“Shhh, Little Flower,” Talon says, still stroking my hair.

“You are hurt. I should be… Wow that’s strong,” I mumble.

“You can’t care for me if you aren’t caring for yourself,” Talon says.

“Please don’t leave me,” I mutter as my eyes flutter closed.

“We are all right here and no one is going anywhere,” Chris says. “You’re safe, Laney.”

“Safe,” I sigh as I slip away.

Not even the wicked oath I have made to this dynamic can save me from the doom I feel headed toward me.