Chapter 15 Hayden
HAYDEN
The sun dips below the rooftops, leaving the street bathed in shadows. Kane’s truck growls to a stop outside the house I prayed I’d never have to see her walk back into. The porch light flickers above the battered front door like a warning sign.
I try the handle. Locked.
I curse and step back, peering through the window. The net curtain’s half drawn, but it’s enough to spot the glint of broken glass on the floor and—fuck—Faith’s hoodie crumpled by the sofa.
My gut turns to concrete.
With no time to call the club, I shout, “Kane!”
He jogs over, clicking the fob in his hand and locking the truck, frowning as he strides up behind me. “What is it?”
I slam my palm against the glass. “She’s here.”
I shoulder the door once. It rattles. Twice. The frame splinters and the lock gives on the third hit, the door slamming open against the wall.
“Faith!” I bellow into the hallway, storming inside, heart in my throat.
The place stinks—vodka, stale smoke, filth. My boots crunch over the broken glass as I take in the mess, the overturned tumbler, the abandoned hoodie.
I hear it before I see it—a creak on the stairs.
Nigel comes down buttoning his jeans, belt clinking as he fastens it like it’s a casual fucking Tuesday.
“You need to get the fuck out of my house,” he says, lips curling in a sneer.
“I will put you in the ground,” I snarl, my fists balling. “Where is she?”
“Who?”
“I swear I will end you.” I step forward, every part of me ready to kill. “If you touched her—”
“She’s not here,” Nigel says, smirking from the foot of the stairs like he owns the fucking world. His belt's half buckled, his shirt clinging with sweat. My stomach churns.
A faint whimper sounds from upstairs, like the sound of a wounded animal.
“You lying piece of—” I land a blow to his face, knocking him back onto the stairs.
Nigel smirks, like this is a joke. “She’s not a kid anymore.” He snarls. “You saw to that.”
I pull a knife from my boot, but before I can lunge, Kane’s hand shoots out, grabbing my shoulder.
“Hayden. Find her. I’ll handle this piece of shit.”
Breathing heavily through my nostrils, jaw clenched, I weigh up my options. As much as I want to slit his throat. Faith is my priority. I shove past Nigel with a roar, taking the stairs two at a time, heart hammering in my ears.
“Faith!” I shout again, yanking open her bedroom door.
My blood runs cold.
“Faith.”
Her name barely escapes my lips.
She’s slumped on the bed, her bra twisted, leggings halfway down her hips. Her arms lie limp, wrists bound with rope. Her eyes are half lidded, lips parted, skin pale. Her knickers—fuck—her knickers are still on, but tears blur my vision, wondering what that sick bastard’s done to my baby girl.
A strangled sound tears from my throat as I rush to her. “Faith? Sunshine, talk to me.”
She groans faintly, pupils barely reacting.
“KANE!” I bellow.
He’s already at the top of the stairs, dragging Nigel with him.
I lay Faith back down gently and charge for the landing. Nigel sneers at me like this is a fucking game.
“You sick bastard!” I slam my fist into his face, snapping his head back against the wall with a sickening crunch. “What the fuck did you give her?” I growl, grabbing his shirt and slamming him again. “What did you give her?!”
“Nothing,” he gurgles, blood on his teeth. “She was like that when I found her. Girl’s her mother’s daughter—likes a drink.”
Another punch. His nose cracks. Blood pours. I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
“She’s not some fucking drunk.” I roar. “You touched her. I hope it was worth dying for.”
I pin him against the bannister, my forearm at his throat, teeth gritted. Blood pounding in my skull, the white-hot rage tunnelling my vision.
I flick the switchblade in my hand, ready to slice his throat.
A piercing scream cuts through my rage.
“What are you doing?” Faith’s mother shouts, dropping a bag of shopping at the bottom of the stairs, bottles clinking as its contents roll out.
I dig the knife under his chin. “I’m about to kill your daughter’s rapist. You’re just in time for the show.”
“Hayden, stop!” Kane shouts, grabbing my arm.
“She’s half-naked, drugged, and tied to a fucking bed, Kane—”
Her mother, Jean, runs into the bedroom with a gasp, covering her mouth as if she’s about to vomit.
“Fuck.” Kane’s fists clench, rage burning in his eyes. He knows all too well what I’m feeling. “I know you need to do this,” he says. “But don’t. Don’t give him that. She needs you now more than ever. Don’t throw your life away. Don’t make her lose you, too.”
I’m breathing like a caged animal, every part of me still screaming to finish him. I’m called Wrath for a reason. Act first, think later. It’s my rash decisions that got her brother locked up. This time I need to think.
Kane’s right.
Faith needs me. She has no one.
I shove Nigel to the floor, panting, chest heaving. Kane kicks him hard in the ribs for good measure.
Jean takes one look at Faith, Nigel on the floor, me covered in sweat and rage, and screams. “I’m calling the police!”
“Do it,” I snarl. “Call ‘em. But make sure you tell ‘em what he did to your daughter.”
She hesitates. Her eyes dart to Faith’s door. Her face falls. For a second, I think she actually gets it. Then she fumbles for her phone.
Kane grips my shoulder, giving me a knowing look and an understanding that we both have. “Shane's on his way and Lilly’s with him.”
I nod, stepping away, breathing hard, hands shaking as I turn back to the girl who owns my heart—who trusted me—and nearly paid the price for my actions.
I was wrong before. This isn’t the club’s doing.
Just like my sister’s death wasn’t the club’s doing.
The club takes care of their own. It’s the safest place for her.
“You’re safe now, Sunshine,” I whisper under my breath. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again.” I lift her leggings and cover her body with my cut.
She opens her eyes, skin pale. A whimper escapes her lips when she sees me. Eyes full of relief, fear, shame. All of it. Then she lifts her head and throws up at the side of the bed.
I hold her hair and rub her back. “Get it all up, Sunshine.” I use the knife to cut the rope around her wrist.
A sob breaks free from her chest as if she’s been holding it in this whole time.
I pull her body flush with mine and hold her close. “I’ve got you.”
She collapses against me the second she’s free, sobbing into my chest, her whole body shaking.
“I’m here,” I whisper, cradling her like she’s made of glass, but more precious than anything I’ve ever held. “You’re safe now.”
But she’s not safe.
Not until Nigel’s in the ground or behind bars. And even then—I’m not sure either of us will ever be the same again.
Sirens sound in the distance. Kane holds Nigel hostage under his boot. Faith’s mother enters the bedroom with a wet flannel, wiping Faith’s face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Forgive me.”
I’m not sure what she’s sorry for. Maybe it’s bringing a piece of shit like Nigel into Faith’s home. Maybe it’s for all the years she’s spent hugging a bottle when she should have been comforting her daughter. She has so much to atone for.
Several cars pull up and the next thing I know, Lilly’s entering the bedroom in her nurse’s outfit like she’s just finished work. “Do we know what she’s taken?” She sits next to Faith and lifts her eyelids, checking her pupils.
“Just noted the vodka on the table downstairs. Could have slipped her a roofie.”
Lilly’s face pales as she looks between me and Faith. “Do you remember anything?”
Tears pool in her eyes, and she shakes her head. “I don’t think he…” Her glassy eyes lock onto mine. “I tried to fight, but he was too strong.”
I cup her face in my palms. “It’s all right. We’ll get you to the hospital and get you checked out.”
“He couldn’t have… I’d remember that, wouldn’t I?”
Shane’s at the top of the stairs in full uniform, snarling at Nigel beneath Kane’s boot.
“You’re under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence. ”
“Fuck you. I never touched her.” Nigel spits on Shane’s steel toe caps.
Kane kicks him in the ribs. “Then why is she half naked, you sick fuck?”
“I was helping her change for bed. I never touched her.” Nigel clutches his ribs, pain etched on his face as he points to me. “He’s the one who took advantage. She told me how you slept with her, then cast her out.”
I pray he’s telling the truth, but ignore him and I focus on my girl as Lilly helps her dress, ready to take her to the hospital.
Lilly buttons Faith’s top and drapes a blanket over her shoulders, her hands gentle but firm. “Let’s get you to the hospital, sweetheart. We’ll run tests, make sure you’re safe and clean. I promise you—you’re not alone.”
Her mum holds her hand. “I’ll come with you.”
Faith leans into me as I scoop her into my arms.
She’s shaking, silent tears sliding down her cheeks, and I kiss the top of her head, breathing her in like I’ve just found my way out of hell.
As I carry her down the stairs, past the filth and the empty bottles and the bloodied monster Kane still has pinned to the ground, I meet Nigel’s eyes one last time.
“You’ll never get near her again,” I promise, voice low and shaking with fury. “Even if the law fails—I won’t.”
He sneers, blood on his teeth, but I don’t flinch. I turn away and walk out with my girl in my arms, her head on my chest like she belongs there.
Because she does.
She’s safe now. But the war’s only just begun.