Chapter 54
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
MAVERICK
I ’ve descended into madness.
My vision has tunneled. What I can see, as minimal as it is, is tinted red. The frantic, furious beating of my heart is creating so much friction within me that the blood inside my veins boils. I’m running so hot, I swear it feels like steam is rising off my skin.
I let men within the walls of Serenity Falls get their grubby, greedy hands on my Evie once before.
She suffered at their hands before they realized the gem they possessed.
I won’t let any more men hurt my girl. My Little Evie is leaving this hell hole tonight.
With me. And if I have to kill more people to make sure that happens, I’ll do it.
As I run, I feel nothing but a surge of determination and anger. There’s no guilt that plagues me, as it probably should after killing two men. The grim satisfaction that briefly flickers in my chest is devoured by the need to get Evie back.
I get to the next floor after taking the half flight of stairs two at a time. The door the weird fucking nurse told us about is in sight. My body tenses as a thick, hot surge of adrenaline rushes through me.
“Vick, wait! We need to come up with a plan!” Braum calls out from behind me.
Fuck a plan. Fuck the two of them. They’ve stolen a piece of my girl’s heart.
They don’t deserve it. They’ve messed with her head, then poisoned her heart before giving her just enough of an antidote to keep her hooked on them.
They have my Evie believing they love her.
The reality is, I don’t think the two of them really know what love is to begin with.
The kings of Serenity Falls love being loved but that’s the extent of what they know of it.
I would’ve left them behind if I knew Everly wouldn’t be upset.
Behind me, Braum shouts, “Vick!”
I make it to the door just as a faint yet painfully familiar scream erupts on the other side. My shoulder makes contact with the barrier and it shudders but doesn’t break. I bounce off it with a snarl. I stumble to the other side of the hall before coming to a stop.
Another scream follows the first.
I throw back my head and bellow with rage, drowning out her agony before I push off against the wall to run toward the door again. My shoulder hits the door again. It cracks this time but otherwise doesn’t move.
Braum appears beside me as I stumble backward. His brows knit into a deep scowl as he glares at the door. When he swings it in my direction, his expression hardens further.
“We do it together,” he insists, his tone cold and warranting no objection.
I nod. Braum joins me against the far wall. Without having to count, we push off together, running full force at the door. Beneath our combined weight, it falls to the ground. We go down with it.
“What is the meaning of this?” someone yells, the sound echoing in the doorway.
I attempt to get to my feet but am tangled up in Braum’s limbs, and both of us struggle for a moment. Rowan steps over us, breathless and with a quiet groan.
“Give us the girl, or I’ll sick Vick on you,” he declares, his voice painfully raspy.
There’s a barrage of voices that blend together, all seemingly outraged, but I’m too fucking pissed to sort through the chaos. When I get to my feet, I don’t hesitate or cautiously move through the darkness toward my girl.
“Oops, too late,” Rowan drawls from behind me.
My red-tunneled vision takes in the sight of Everly as I charge forward. She’s on her knees on blood smeared tiles. Holes are burned through her hospital gown, the same gown being held by a man dressed in a basic suit and tie.
The sight of Everly in distress makes murdering again easy.
I tackle the man who has hold of my girl.
He lets go of her as I take him to the ground.
My fist finds his throat and I can feel his trachea collapse as my punch lands.
I’m on my feet, not bothering to check if it was a killing blow or just a paralyzing one.
The man with a golden stag skull mask raises his little stick at me with a cry of alarm.
I reach for it, making sure not to touch the electrical current that buzzes to life at the end, and yank it from his hand.
I toss it behind me then lunge for him next.
The man beneath the mask cries out in fear, his hands coming up to protect himself.
I yank off his mask, which is heavier than I expect but am pleasantly pleased to find, then turn it around and use the antlers to stab his fucking eyes out.
A foot makes contact with my side.
It doesn’t even faze me. It happens again and again but I’m so focused I hardly notice.
By the time I look up to acknowledge who my next victim will be, Braum’s already there shoving the electrical prong into his father’s chest. His father stiffens, his face twisting in pain before he goes down to his knees.
Braum doesn’t relent, holding the electrical current against the other man with a muted snarl pulling up the corner of his upper lip.
The stench of burning fabric reaches my nose, but I barely pay it any mind.
The coppery metallic smell of Everly’s blood, however, gets me back on my feet and keeps my adrenaline pumping.
The last fucker is headed for the door we just crashed through.
Without thinking, I bolt after him. I close the distance between us faster than he can escape.
I grab the flowy material billowing out behind him and yank him back.
In an almost cartoonish manner, he’s pulled off his feet with them flying upward while his back slams into the ground.
The heel of my foot meets his face once before he manages to roll out of the way.
When he gets to his knees, I come up behind him and bend down to wrap my arm around his neck.
“N-no! Wait!” a male voice says from behind the mask. “I’ll give you anything you want! Just don’t?—”
His body goes limp as I snap it.
I’m back on my feet in an instant, whirling around to find the next threat to Everly. My eyes land on Braum first since he’s the only one standing. He’s posturing over his father’s body, his chest heaving and sweat beading on his brow. Jeremiah Milligan isn’t moving.
My eyes slide away from Braum to Rowan.
He’s crouched down on one knee in front of Everly, holding her face gently between his hands.
His head is bowed, his forehead pressed against hers.
His shoulders are trembling slightly, and I swear to fucking god, I think I see a tear drop to the tile floor.
Everly is holding onto the front of his shirt, gripping it like it’s her lifeline.
As I stomp back toward Everly, I can hear her whisper, “Scars are physical proof of one’s bravery.
They’re beautiful because they tell your story.
You told me that, remember? They don’t take anything away from how breathtaking you are, Rowan.
But if you want, I can… I can redo the stitching. I used to stitch my own wounds?—”
Rowan’s head snaps up.
“You can do that?” The hope in his softly spoken question rings loud and clear.
“It’ll hurt like hell and you’ll still have scars, but yeah, I can.” Everly nods. “They’ll probably heal better if I do, anyway, and if we lotion them up a lot, they could fade or at least soften over time.”
“I… I don’t deserve you,” he admits. “God… I-I fucking love you, Everly.”
The proclamation sends me into overdrive. My enemy professing his love to the woman that belongs to me is enough to keep my murderous rage alive. I approach them like a raging bull and shove Rowan away, causing him to topple to the side.
“You love her?” I repeat with a cold sneer. “You love fucking her, sure. But really, Rowan? Love ? You’re not capable of it.”
I step closer to Rowan, my hands reaching out ready to strangle him.
“Mavie—”
Rowan turns his head to look up at me, not bothering to stand. His face—swollen, bloody, and patched together—is grotesque. I can’t even tell if he’s scowling at me right now given how messed up it is.
“You don’t know me, Vick,” Rowan says hoarsely. His eyes are nearly swollen shut but he doesn’t take them off my face as I approach. “You don’t know how much she means to me.”
I laugh. The sound is cold and full of bitterness. “I don’t know you? Rowan, I’ve had to deal with your fucking bullshit since I was set free from Rookwell Tower. You’re a sociopath. A narcissistic asshole. You’re a goddamn lunatic!”
“And you’re not?” Braum counters, suddenly stepping over Rowan as if to protect him.
“You wanted to stay and die back in that room, remember?” I continue, ignoring Braum as I stare down at Rowan. “You told us to go ahead. Leave you. Everly wasn’t enough of a motivation to get you to your fucking feet and?—”
Everly looks between us anxiously. “You guys!”
“I didn’t want her to see me like this!” Rowan objects. He looks from me to Everly but when he opens his mouth again I interrupt, side stepping so I cut off his view of her.
“You wanted to die, Rowan. Well here I am, Death ready to rip your fucking soul out.”
Rowan shakes his head. “Everly is the only reason I left that room. I belong with her.”
“We all do,” Braum adds. “You saw how good it could be, Vick. You know The Universe wants us together. Don’t do this. Snap out of it!”
I take another step forward, realizing I could take both of them out right here, right now and not have to worry about ditching or killing them later. The thought is so satisfying my vision goes from a faint red to bright crimson.
“You don’t get to have what’s mine. She came here for me , not you!” I bellow.
Braum tenses, his knees bending and fists curling. He thinks he can fight me and win? I start to lunge but a hand catches my ankle, causing me to stumble.
“Stop it, Mavie!” Everly cries out. “Please. Don’t do this! You said you weren’t the monster the doctors tried to create. Prove it! Prove it, Maverick.”