Chapter 36
Maddox
The room is packed to capacity when I arrive, and I glance around at my brothers while Wolf paces at the front.
Pops called church an hour ago, but I haven’t seen him to find out why.
I spent the evening with Josh and showed him the error of his ways. His screams still echo in my ears and even though I showered before I came down, my skin still burns from his blood. I’ve killed before but usually in the name of self-defense.
This time, I enjoyed every fucking second of it. If I could have, I would have spread that blood across my face as a true warrior. As it stands, I buried him so deep, nothing but time will keep him company.
My bones ache as a result and I’m fucking thirsty but the panic pushing at my vision is gone. That asshole will never hurt Delaney again.
His confessions still rebound around my brain though and I bite back another surge of rage as I scan the room. Delaney’s ex, the asshole, fell right into Josh’s trap and what none of us could have guessed was that Josh didn’t plan to rape Delaney. Nope, he was working for the Aces.
If I hadn’t come along that night and shit this evening, she would have ended up in Ice’s clutches, thoughts of which press at my chest like a lead weight.
Why does that fucker want her so badly?
With the crisis averted, I can rest a little easier, but I know I can’t let this go. Her pig stepfather isn’t capable of facing off with Ice, but I am and I’m not about to just stand by while Delaney is in danger.
Not only that, but we've found Darcy’s body and while I mourn the bright-eyed girl who was always down to have some fun, my heart slams in my chest for another girl who could have been next.
Knowing how close she was to death sends a shiver through me and it’s this that hardens my resolve.
Delaney deserves more than some asshole contemplating using her to get to the Aces. I failed her and the best gift I can give in the aftermath, once this is done, is to stay far the fuck away.
When Pops blows through the door, I turn my focus as the room drops to silence. He stops beside Wolf and traces his gaze across the crowd.
I’ve seen him at his lowest after we found Mom, and he couldn’t pull himself from the bottle. I watched him savagely beat the man who slit her throat with nothing but satisfaction behind his eyes.
I’ve never seen this particular look though and a chill marches down my spine when his eyes land on mine.
Something dark passes behind his expression before he says, “My daughter is missing.”
That’s when the floor drops out from under me and the blood previously pumping through my heart races to my head.
Delaney
After circling the drain of my thoughts, I concluded that there’s nothing more I can do for Darcy. The police will handle it.
However, I’m still unsure about how to process Mom’s confession and it doesn’t completely explain away Ice’s obsession, leading me to wonder if the truth lies somewhere between “I don’t know who your father is” and Ice.
Shudder.
How else could I possibly be a target in this weird ass game?
All of this might be illuminating, if a little nauseating but it doesn’t solve the problem. How do I get Ice off my back?
The only person I can think of asking is Kidd, which by the way, is another disturbing addition to the story. Is Kidd my brother? Does he suspect what I do?
He’s the only one who might possibly understand but he’s never been exactly friendly. Would he answer if I called?
I know Draven has his number. I’d rather not have anything to do with her right now but maybe I can convince her to hand it over without explaining why. However, when I text her, she doesn’t answer.
Disheartened but undeterred, I send her another text before focusing on the road and I’m halfway home when my phone chimes.
I eye the unknown number flashing across the screen before pressing call. I’m hoping it might be Kidd or maybe Draven using his phone when I say, “Hello?”
“It’s time we had a little talk.”
Huh?
Turning on my blinker, I pull into the turn lane and ask, “Who’s this?”
“Why, I’m hurt. I really am. You don’t recognize your own uncle?”
Shit. Fuck. Damn. This isn’t good. I don’t want anything to do with this asshole.
“Ice? What do you want?” I ask, making the turn before pulling to the side of the road.
Someone honks their displeasure behind me but it’s nothing but background noise as he says, “Well, I want a family reunion is all. We have shit to discuss.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go fuck himself but this has gone on long enough. I can’t just ignore him.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to see you,” I mutter, glaring out the windshield.
“Oh, I’m not worried about her,” he chuckles, and I bow my head.
“Why? Why can’t you leave us alone?” I ask but apparently question time is over because he says, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way and before you go askin’ stupid questions, involving them fuckers is the hard way.”
I’m assuming he’s talking about the Saints, and I whisper, “Why would I involve them?”
“She’s hurtin’ bad, niece.”
“Who?” I gasp.
“It’s time to see if blood really is thicker than water,” he says, and I slam my hand against the steering wheel.
“What did you do?”
Why can’t this psycho leave us the hell alone? This is madness.
“Nothin’ but what I had to, little bitch,” Ice says. “You want to save the little Saints princess. You’ll get your ass here.”
Draven? He has Draven?
Shit.
It would be foolish to take his word for it and I pull onto the road as he barks, “You got one hour. You tell anyone, and I cut off her head. Feel me?”
Horror suffuses my veins and my foot slips off the glass as I glance behind me. One hour isn’t very much time, especially when I don’t know where I’m going.
“Okay,” I rasp.
Chuckling, he says, “Maybe I should call that fuckin’ asshole and we can do this right? Fuckin’ pussy. You have one hour.”
He hangs up before I can ask where but thankfully a text comes through with an address.
Ice warned me against the Saints, but he didn’t say anything about my stepdad. Chewing my lip, I consider my options before dialing his number but after two attempts, he still doesn’t answer.
I’m running out of time and with my heart in my throat, I turn around and head back across town.