Chapter Three
TOMMY
Seeing Lily like that, her usual halo of light dimmed by her ashen skin, was enough to bring me to my knees. How did this even happen? We were meant to protect her, not allow this to happen under our so-called protection.
I lost myself for a moment, the overwhelming sense of both failure and helplessness. It would have been so easy to allow it to consume me, but what kind of person would that make me? Lily needs us, and I've come to realise that I need her, too. I don't know how it happened or when she managed to burrow her way inside my chest cavity. No one else has had the power to even prick the surface of getting close to me. But Lily is a light to behold, something that she's currently lacking, her face beaten and swollen, her skin lacklustre. If I thought she looked rough after her car accident, it’s nothing compared to now. Bile rises in my throat, the scent of blood fermenting the air, the metallic tang hitting the back of my nose and making me want to gag.
I push myself to my feet. Elliot's concerned gaze, holding mine for a beat. I give a curt nod. It's all I can offer him right now. He returns it before turning back towards the carnage that is happening over on Lily's bed .
Jax's expression is murderous as he surveys Lily's body. River's hands tremble as he tries to clean away some of the blood to access the worst of the injuries she’s sustained. Her delicate skin ripped and marred. She didn't deserve this, not in her home and sure as hell not by someone who was meant to be her family.
Why did Richard hire us and then let his mask slip by doing this? What did he have to gain? He now has four men who are now out for his blood.
I glance back to River, a darkness surrounding him that I've only ever seen glimpses of when we served in the military. He's out for retribution, and I don't have a single doubt in my mind that he'll find it. It's at odds with his playful, carefree attitude, which he allows the world to see. But we know him better than anyone. We know the darkest parts of him because we all share in his darkness. An unshakeable bond formed through mutual trauma, a club no one ever wants to be a part of.
I lick my lips and blow out a breath before reaching for the soft blanket on the chaise lounge and laying it over Lily's bare legs.
“The police are on route and an ambulance should be here in about ten minutes,” Elliot says, his voice wavering slightly as he comes to stand beside me. His fist clutches his phone so tightly that if he had the power to shatter it, he would.
A murmur from Lily has us all freezing.
“Lily,” Jax says, leaning closer.
“Jackson,” she replies, barely above a whisper, her voice hoarse, and I wonder if it's from her screams of when that mother fucker attacked her. I remember all too well what that's like. At first, I tried to contain my pain, tried in vain to be silent, but eventually, the pain became too much, and I had no choice but to scream in agony as I was beaten and tortured.
“Yes, Lily, can you hear me? ”
Her throat rolls as though she’s going to reply, but only a choked sound greets us.
“Shit, Duchess, I'm here,” he replies, his voice cracking. “We all are.”
She groans in response and then begins to panic, her body writhing on the bed.
“Sunshine, you're safe. I promise.” Unable to stay away, I approach the bed, take one of her hands in mine, and squeeze.
Her breathing is ragged as her fingers twitch in a poor attempt to squeeze back.
“W-where is he?” she croaks.
I look to Jax for guidance, not knowing how the hell to respond to that, but he's looking at Elliot. I turn my gaze to him, too. His fingers fly over his phone, deep frown lines are drawn between his eyes, his jaw locks, and he looks up, eyes connecting with Jax.
“He's on the M1.” His words send a maelstrom of chills throughout my body, causing me to shiver and resulting in a slight jolt to Lily's palm in mine.
“Mia,” she whisper-groans.
Oh fuck!
I flick my gaze to Jax, his jaw ticking. Because shit, what the fuck are we meant to do?
He's Mia's father, and if he's going to get her, which is something I think we all suspect, then he has every right to. It doesn't take a genius to work out that Lily's main concern, even above herself, has always been Mia.
“Lily, I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?” River asks, but the unmistakable sound of worry is etched into his words.
But it proves useless, Lily's hand is now limp in mine. My heartbeat ricochets against my ribcage in earnest. Fuck, we have no idea if she has a head injury. With the blood oozing from her temple, it's a fair possibility. “Sunshine, you need to open your eyes,” I coax, squeezing her palm in mine. “Sunshine?” But it's no good. If she can hear me this time, she shows no sign, and that terrifies me to my core.
“How long for that damn ambulance?” Jax demands, his usually light eyes now a dark midnight blue.
“They should be here soon,” Elliot says, looking at his watch. “The police will want to interview her as well, but I think we should push them off due to her current state.” He makes his way over to Lily, touching her foot beneath the blanket as if needing to touch her to know she’s still here or maybe to ground himself. I have no idea.
“Lot of fucking good talking to the police will do,” River scoffs, still working on wiping away blood and adding gauze on the worst of her cuts.
“What other choice do we have?” I ask. “He can't get away with this, and as much as I know we all want to gut the fucker, he's not here. But one way or another, he needs to be held accountable.”
“At the end of one of my switchblades,” River replies with a lethal edge to his voice, one full of dark intent.I'd never want to cross any of my brothers or get on their wrong side, especially River.
As if sensing his dark spiral, Elliot stands beside River and cups his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.
“We all want justice, Riv, but right now, she's our main concern. We're limited to what we can do within the confines of the law.”
As much as we've all wanted to cross that line at one time or another, we never have, but something tells me that if anything were to push us over the edge, it would be this.
“Where the fuck is the ambulance?” Jax demands again, his voice full of ferocity .
“I told you, it's on the way.” Elliot glances at Lily before raising his eyes to Jax. “I'll go wait by the front door, grant them access and bring them up when they arrive.”
Jax nods, gingerly wiping Lily's cheek.