Chapter Two
RIVER
Fuck, this can’t be fucking happening. Lily looks deathly pale, and that one thought alone is enough to make my heart stutter in my chest. Jax’s usual composure broke when we found her curled up in a ball. At first, it took my eyes and brain a few moments to adjust and catch up with what I was seeing.
I want to jump in one of those fast cars in the garage and go after that cum stain and murder him with my bare hands, but not before I’ve sliced him from throat to navel. I never used to have these kinds of dark thoughts, fuck I know it’s not considered normal, but damn if they don’t make my adrenaline spike with intent. Not even my armour of humour can hide the monster lurking within me right now.
I always got an off feeling about that prick, and when we saw her scars, I should have fucking put two and two together. That little weasel loves a fucking cigar. But no, I was so caught up in the euphoria of Lily’s feminine prowess that my instincts for imminent danger were long gone.
Who does something like this and uses a belt to do it? He’s the worst kind of scum there is, a glorified coward hiding behind his golf buggy and expensive watches.
But why did she never tell us that it was him, that he’d hurt her? Fuck!
“How long do you think that motherfucker has been watching her?” I ask quietly. The letters all make more sense now. He knew of our whereabouts, and I know for a fact Jax was keeping him informed, much to his own chagrin.
“I honestly have no idea. It’s probably been the entire time we’ve been here,” Jax replies, his guilt palpable.
“I don’t think we gave the arsehole enough credit. Hiring us to watch her like a doting step-father. And yet, it’s been pretty damn obvious from the get-go the only thing that cunt is concerned with is keeping up appearances.” I don’t need to say it out loud, but we’ve all failed her in every way that matters. I’m beginning to sincerely question how much of a liability we are when it comes to her safety. Were we all way too intoxicated by the enigma that is Lilith Montgomery to notice the threat?
I cringe as I notice a deep laceration in Lily’s flesh.
“Fuck,” I curse, pressing a small gauze over the open wound that’s going to need stitches.
My mind wanders back to that bloody belt discarded on the bathroom floor.
We don’t deserve her, and we sure as hell don’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. Lily deserves so much more than our weak arses. I don’t think any of us have ever felt so damn useless as we do right now.
The only other time it came close to this was when Tommy was captured, and Elliot was lying in a hospital bed, his leg blown off. The truth is, if I didn’t have Elliot to focus on, I have no idea what would have become of me after we left the military. I honestly don’t think I’m fit to protect anyone if the trajectory of my thoughts is anything to go by.
This should never have happened. She was our priority, fuck, how did it even come to this?
I have to work hard on my breathing and concentrate on each inhale and exhale. Otherwise, I’ll likely get dragged under, just like Tommy. Not that I can blame him. It’s too much, seeing her like this, void of her usual glow, her alluring presence. I’ll never forgive myself for being so close and unable to protect her, yet this isn’t about me—it’s about her. The selfish part of me wants to get up and go hunting for the cunt, but what kind of person would that make me?Leaving her when she needs us the most.
I raise my eyes to meet Jax’s.“Make no mistake, when I find him, and I will, he’s a dead man,” I state, needing to say the words out loud.He left Lily for dead. Beat her and left her like she was nothing. The mother fucker just signed his own downfall.
“How did we miss this?” Jax asks, his usual composure lacking as he runs a hand through his hair. “How the fuck did we let this happen?”
Jax’s frustration gets the better of him as he shoves to his feet, his fist slamming into the nearby wall. “We should have seen the signs,” he grits out, opening and closing his fist as he paces like a caged animal.
“Yeah, well, hindsight is a bitch,” I snap, my own shame making me lash out. “What matters now is getting her help.”
He freezes, his shoulders hunching in defeat, and returns to Lily’s other side. My gaze returns to her pale face. I can vaguely hear Elliot speaking in hushed tones to Tommy. Seconds stretch into agonising minutes as we wait for the ambulance.
It feels like an eternity.