Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Everleigh
Backing away from my mother, I keep my gaze locked on her and the two men in the room. “You have me here, so you can let him and Carl go now.”
“In good time,” my uncle speaks up, his eyes drifting from me to Carl, “Carl needs to atone for his and his wife’s mistakes.”
“What mistakes would those be?” I demand, stopping my backward steps when I notice another couple around their age coming up from behind them.
“He and his wife committed a sin by leaving the church and leaving family,” he answers, raising a hand for my mother to rejoin him and my father.
His gaze levels back on me and he gets this devious look in his eyes.
“Now, for you, my dear niece, I would like for you to meet the man you are to belong to.”
Belong to?
I don’t belong to anyone. Well, I’m Daemon’s, but that’s totally different. I chose to be his. My heart claimed him just as he did me.
I shove the thoughts to the side as my uncle steps to the side, and another man comes out from behind the couple, and I nearly drop to my knees at the sight of him.
“No,” I whisper, tears threatening to spill. It can’t be. They killed him.
“Hello, Everleigh.” Case sneers harshly, his lip curling in disgust at the corner, making a scar that runs along the edges of it look even more sinister.
“Y-you . . . you’re alive.”
“That I am.” Case chuckles darkly.
“Now that you two are meeting again, let’s get this on the way,” my uncle says, waving his hand around like he’s some royal. “We have much to deal with.”
“Everleigh, you will be joining Case and the others who run the Scarlet Needles,” my father states.
“What kind of name is that?” I blather, unable to stop myself from interrupting him. So, I’d heard the name before. They’re behind a few things that I know about, but I never understood why they’d name them something so ridiculous.
“Scarlet for the blood that coats the cross our Lord and Savior was nailed to. Needles represent the mechanic that is used to do the work needed in the name,” my father answers, his eyes glittering in anger . . . most likely not liking the fact I spoke.
“Case, you will make sure she does what she’s told,” my mother snaps.
“Of course, I will. She’ll know my hands very well. It’s not like she wasn’t always meant to be mine in the first place.”
What?
I don’t understand what’s going on here.
Case was trying to help me escape. He wasn’t in this way of life back then. What happened to make him this way? What did they do?
I stare at the hand Case holds out for me, and I shake my head in denial as I step back again, my hands going behind my back.
I reach under my shirt and pull the gun out.
Before anyone can make a move for me, I bring my gun around in front of me and point it first at my family, then at the man who fathered the little boy I came to protect.
“I’m not going anywhere with any of you,” I declare, tightening my finger on the trigger and stepping in front of Everett.
Case narrows his eyes to little slits, and my mother makes a noise of outrage while my father and uncle stare at me.
“What are you going to do? Kill us?” Case taunts.
“If I have to,” I snap, focusing in on him. Right now, he’s my number one threat, due to him being closer to me than anyone else.
Case makes a tsks sound, almost like he’s clucking his tongue, and shakes his head. “You don’t have it in you.”
“Try me.” There’s nothing I won’t do to protect Everett, Hendrik, or the baby I’m carrying, but I don’t say this out loud. Let them think what they want.
“I think I will.,” Case snickers and makes a jump for me.
I tighten my finger, pulling the trigger, and the gun goes off, stopping Case in his advance. His body jerks back, and he reaches up to touch where I’d shot him.
Silence descends right before chaos breaks loose.
The doors to the outside are thrown open and my name is roared through the air. A wave of relief consumes me for a brief moment. That is right until I’m tackled to the ground by Case, who takes the distraction to attack me. His hand wraps around my throat, and he straddles my body.
“Should have fuckin’ killed me, bitch,” he snarls, leaning in enough for his nose to touch mine.
No sooner Case says those words, he’s ripped from over me and tossed to the side by Daemon.
“Don’t ever fuckin’ touch my wife again,” he roars.
I focus on the look on Daemon’s face, seeing the pure unadulterated fury consuming him, knowing this is the man he is to the Keepers, not the one I’m married to. Where’s he’s Hendrick to me, this is the true Daemon. The one who protects and does what’s needed to make that happen.
Scooting back on my feet, I bump into the chair Everett is tied to. A moment later, I find myself on my feet with the help of Diablo.
“Come on, Evs, let’s get you, the boy, and his dad out of here,” he says gently.
I nod, not saying anything.
What could I say even if I wanted to?