Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Adelaide
I was seeing fucking red, and I was ready to slit someone’s fucking throat.
That someone being River’s sergeant at arms, Gregory.
After finally getting Reina calm enough to talk to me, she spilled everything as she cried while I hugged her, not letting her go. She told me about how Gregory had caught her as she was taking the trash out for the night and that he hadn’t taken no for an answer when he had come on to her.
He’d violently beat and raped her behind the dumpster, using her shirt as a gag to keep her quiet as she screamed for help.
After leaving Reina in her room to try to catch some sleep, I stormed down the hall to mine and River’s room, grabbing one of his guns and slipping it into my leggings. I stormed out into the bar room, finding Gregory sitting at the bar, sipping a cup of coffee as if he hadn’t just violently taken an innocent woman against her will last night.
I walked calmly around the bar, and when I was finally standing in front of him, I grabbed his steaming hot cup of coffee and threw it in his face.
“Fuck!” he roared, quickly jumping off of his bar stool and making it clatter to the floor. He wiped at his face, hissing out a breath of pain. “What the absolute fuck , Adelaide?!” he shouted at me, his eyes murderous as he glared at me.
I pulled River’s gun out, pointing it at his forehead. Absolute hatred and disgust ran through my veins as I stared him down unflinchingly. I was on a fucking murder spree.
He eyed the gun in my hand warily. “You better choose your last words fucking carefully,” I snarled at him.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he shouted at me, but he didn’t rip his gaze from the gun in my hands, which gave away his true fear.
He knew that I knew what he did to Reina last night.
River rushed toward the bar, coming to stop me, but when I opened my mouth again, he stayed where he was, a murderous, deadly expression crossing his features.
“You fucking raped Reina!” I shouted at Gregory. He opened his mouth, but I spoke first. “Don’t you dare fucking deny it!” I barked at him. “It took me almost two fucking hours, but I finally got it out of her. Want to tell everyone what you fucking did? How you wanted a piece of her, but she told you no, so you took it anyway, choosing to beat the fuck out of her before you raped her over and over?” I quietly seethed, lowering my voice so everyone else wouldn’t hear what had happened to her—no one but me, Gregory, and River.
Before I could pull the trigger on Gregory like I so badly wanted to, River slammed his fist against Gregory’s face, sending Gregory sprawling across one of the tables next to him. He crashed to the floor with the table, groaning in pain. River looked at Sam. “Take him out back. No women outside,” he ordered.
“He deserves a bullet through his skull,” I snarled at River, angry that he was stopping me from delivering justice to the sick son of a bitch. If he did it to one woman, he would do it again, and I would not allow another woman to fall victim to his shit.
River shook his head at me. “A bullet is a fucking blessing for him,” River informed me. “What I’m about to do to him will be ten times worse, and it sends a message to the other men in my club that this shit will not be tolerated.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, still seething. “And what are you planning to do?” I demanded to know.
River’s eyes met mine, fury making his eyes darken, but I knew that anger wasn’t directed at me. He had even said so himself that he would never make me face his anger, especially when that anger was meant for someone else.
“I’m cutting his dick off, and I’m shoving it down his fucking throat,” River calmly told me. He pointed his finger at me. “Stay in this fucking clubhouse, darlin’,” he ordered. “This isn’t something you need to be watching.”
I nodded once, knowing River would do exactly as he said. I watched as he stormed outside where Sam had just dragged Gregory. I heard Axel cry from his pack ‘n’ play, and I rushed over, lifting him into my arms. Blowing out a soft breath, I walked to mine and River’s room and set Axel on his changing table so that I could change him. I was still fucking furious, but I knew River would take care of this shit.
I heard Gregory scream in pain as I was putting a clean diaper on Axel, and I felt like throwing up at the scream that ripped from the man’s throat. That was the scream of a man being tortured .
River was a deadly man when he needed to be.
After changing Axel and trying my damnest to ignore Gregory’s blood-curdling screams of pain, I walked back out of our room to go check on Reina. She was passed out on her bed, thankfully not suffering any nightmares. I only hoped that this shit didn’t fuck her up inside as it had done me. I didn’t wish my shit on anyone.
I quietly stepped back out of her room, jumping a bit in shock when I felt the fluttering in my belly again. I smiled softly to myself and looked down at Axel. His bright blue eyes were open wide, taking in everything around him.
I looked up as the clubhouse doors opened, revealing River and Sam. River strode over to me instantly, his expression softening the slightest as he did so. “Has he been giving you any problems?”
I shook my head. “He’s just being curious.” I shifted Axel to one arm and reached up to rub his stubble-covered jaw. “Everything was taken care of?” I asked him, feeling calmer now that he was standing there in front of me, soothing me.
He nodded. “Kale is taking care of the clean-up.” He glanced down the hall, where Reina’s room was. “How’s Reina holding up?” he asked.
I shrugged. “She’s sleeping right now, so it’s hard to tell.” I yawned softly, shocking myself at how tired I was. I had been up way earlier than I usually was, which probably explained it. It also probably didn’t help that I had spent part of the night awake with River. And holding Reina as she recounted what’d happened to her… it’d taken a lot out of me.
“I think it’s time for you to get a nap, don’t you think?” River softly asked as he reached up to cup the side of my neck, brushing his thumb over my jawline. I nodded, yawning again.
Without another word, he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me down the hall to our room. He took Axel from me, and I crawled onto the bed, snuggling into the pillows, almost immediately falling asleep as the scent of his cologne and body wash surrounded me.