Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Scythe
“Careful, brother,” Styxx remarks, holding Josephine’s head steady.
“Fire and EMS are arriving,” Beast announces as I lay my woman on the ground a good ways away from the blazing house.
We no sooner got her out before the whole damn thing collapsed in on itself. My anger rages inside me. I don’t know if anyone else was in the house, but at the first sight of the flames, my only thought was getting to my woman and praying like hell she was alive.
“I’ve got a pulse, Scythe,” Styxx informs me, just as two paramedics drop-down next to us. We move away enough to give them room to work.
Buzzing in my ears starts to become overwhelming as I watch them work.
I hear my brothers talking to the firefighters, telling them we didn’t know if anyone else was in the house.
They explained what happened and that we’d been there to get Josephine away from the asshole who kidnapped her.
They keep it brief but give enough to satisfy any and all questions for the time being.
The EMS crew put Josephine on a backboard and transferred her to a stretcher before starting to the ambulance.
“Go with her,” Beast states gruffly. “Imma stay behind. Make sure to find out about Porter.”
I nod and start after my woman when I hear the most precious sound I think I’ve ever heard in my life . . . Josephine gasping for air.
“Josephine,” I yell and rush forward, pushing one of the paramedics to the side. “You’re safe, baby, we got you out of there.”
“Aaron,” she croaks.
“Right here, Freckles.” I might hate hearing my name at any other time, but right now, it’s a fucking blessing.
“I love you,” she murmurs and passes out.
“Sir, it looks like she’ll be okay. Just smoke inhalation, and some small burns, but we’ve got to get her to the hospital, have her checked out,” one of the paramedics informs me.
“I’m riding with you.” I nod, informing them, leaving no room for refusal.
There’s no way I’m about to let my woman out of my sight. Not now. Not ever. Fuck, I’m never letting her anywhere out of my grasp.
“Any news?” Jamie asks gruffly over the phone I’m holding to my ear while pacing the little area next to Josephine’s bed.
The staff let me back here a few minutes ago to sit with her. I called her dad and brother earlier to fill them in on what happened.
“She’s gonna be good. Some burns and smoke inhalation. They’re keeping her for observation to make sure there’s nothing else that she needs to be treated for,” I answer and reach up to pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Right,” Jamie grunts. “And do we know for sure if the bastard who did this is dead?”
“Can’t confirm that yet.”
I wish like hell I’d gotten to Josephine sooner. I could have saved her from being in a burning house and gotten my hands on the bastard who took her.
“Fuck.”
My sentiment as well.
Glancing at my woman on the bed and the fact she’s stirring, I decided to get off the phone. “I’ll keep you updated,” I inform Jamie and hang up without waiting for him to respond. Moving to Josephine’s side, I sit on the side of the bed and take her hand in mine.
At the scene, she’d told me she loved me. It’s the first time someone not related to me by blood or marriage has said that to me. Sure, I’ve heard the comment about my cock but not me. I’m pissed she said it then, but I can also see why she did.
Josephine opens her eyes slowly and looks at me, a small smile curling on her lips. “I knew you’d find me.”
Those simple words are like a sucker punch in my gut. I squeeze her hand and clear my throat. “Swear to fuck, Freckles. I’m gonna have to lock you away if this shit keeps happening.”
“Did you get him?” she asks, eyes going on alert.
“Don’t know, baby, got to that fuckin’ house, and my only thought when I saw the flames was getting you out,” I murmur and lean enough to press my forehead to hers. “Nothing . . . and I mean nothing has ever scared me as much as thinking you were gonna be dead because of that damn fire.”
“He was insane . . .” she croaks. “Said something about you taking my light and that with you coming, he was going to burn us alive.” Tears stream down her face, and her breath hitches.
“I tried to get away from him. I swear I did. He tackled me when I got away from him, and I hit him in the head with the paint can.”
That would explain the burns on her hands. The metal on the tin would have scorched her palms.
“Far as we know right now, he’s gone. But we’re waiting for it to be confirmed,” I tell her and soothe a hand over her cheek.
A knock comes at the entryway to her room. They hadn’t moved her yet, but they were going to soon, to an actual room and out of the emergency room. I twist and look to see Stella standing there. Her expression filled with concern and something else.
“Everything good?” I ask, hoping she’s not here to share bad news. I’m barely holding it together as it is.
“Yeah, um, Angel and Reaper need to talk to you, and they’re about to move Josephine.”
I nod understanding and look to Josephine. “I’ll catch up to you in a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers and closes her eyes.
I’m sure she’s still tired. Leaning over her, I press a kiss to her forehead and murmur, “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” Josephine keeps her voice quiet. I don’t want to leave her, but whatever it is has to be something important otherwise, they wouldn’t pull me away from my woman.
“What’s going on?” I demand the moment I’m surrounded by my brothers and Stella. I don’t know what she’s doing here, but I have a feeling whatever it is isn’t good.
“Stella asked us to find a spot. She’s got news to share we’re not gonna like,” Angel answers and pulls his woman in his arms.
“I got word paramedics were bringing in another burn patient. Severely burned. First name, Porter. I haven’t had a chance to look more into it,” she says quickly, sensing the tension immediately surrounding her. “He’ll be taken to the burn unit to be treated.”
“That fucker needs to be dead,” Beast mutters harshly.
“And I agree with you,” Stella remarks sternly. “But to make that happen, you have to wait. He could still end up dying before you get your hands on him.”
Fuck me.
Will this day end on a fucking good note?
“Where’s the burn unit?” I ask.
“Scythe . . .”
I lean into her and repeat, “Where’s the burn unit?”
“If you do something when he’s surrounded, you’ll be the one that gets in trouble.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I snarl.
“Well, I do,” she snaps. “I don’t want Jos to lose you because of him.”
“She won’t,” I growl. Rage seeps in my veins, and I want nothing more than to slit the fucker’s throat.
“You’re right she won’t.”
I twist just enough to look over my shoulder to see both Finnegan and Jamie standing there. “What the fuck are you doing here now?”
“Making sure you don’t do something stupid.” Finnegan shrugs, hands shoved in his front pockets.
“We’ve got a member of our team up there,” Jamie starts.
“How did you know?” Stella snips.
Finnegan grins and gives that smug look of his. “I can’t disclose that knowledge. If I did, it would give you nightmares.”
“Swear to fuckin’ God, Finnegan, if you don’t stop being an ass, I’m going to shoot you,” Styxx sneers.
“Love you too, cousin.” Finnegan chuckles, speaking to Styxx, but looks at me reaches in his pocket and tosses a small box that I recognize as one of my mom’s. “You need to give us a bit. We’ll make sure you have your chance at him. Dad told me to give this to you when I told him about Josephine.”
Go figure. Finnegan isn’t one for keeping things from his parents and I hadn’t been there to tell them. So, of course, he’d have told them for me.
“Why are you helping?” I cock my head slightly, shoving the box in my pocket for the time being and plant my hands on my waist.
“Because Josephine’s yours. She’s family, and you all have bigger fish to fry than to worry about a fucker like Porter House.”
“Meaning?” Reaper urges.
This time it’s Jamie who answers. “Meaning the Scarlet Needles are on the move again. There’s been a contract sent to us about the capture and hand over of several women.”
“What the fuck?” Angel snarls.
“I’m on that list, aren’t I?” Stella whispers.
Jamie nods. “You, Everleigh, and several others.”
“This contract was sent to us first because we’ve ensured we’re well known in certain circles,” Finnegan explains.
“Now, to make sure nothing happens to your women, you all need to be smart about this.
Let this bullshit go, and we can handle it now.
Or we can get the fucker to you so you can do the deed yourself.
Regardless, you need to get your shit together because the bigger fish is coming.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I look to Beast and see he’s clenching his jaw tight. This motherfucker Porter hasn’t just hurt my woman, but also a woman that Beast cares about. Neither of us wants to let this shit go. However, this news changes things.
The Scarlet Needles have shown themselves again. Maybe not to us, but they put a contract out for two of ours and others. They fucked with my life longer than Porter has. My focus needs to be on them and not on a dickweed like Porter. Still, I want to watch him take his last breath.
“Don’t care how it gets done, but I want to see the fucker before he dies. I want him to know Josephine is mine and that he will never get her from me,” I state, meeting each of my brothers’ gazes and locking on Finnegan. “It’s my woman he was going to kill. It was one of ours he raped.”
Finnegan nods and looks at Jamie. “We’ll make it happen.”
“Good.”
Thirty minutes pass, and I find myself standing in the burn unit looking at the man on a gurney, his entire body burned almost past recognition. How he survived this long is beyond me, but he won’t breathe for much longer.
Finnegan gave me a syringe with a medicine that will burn through Porter’s veins, and he’ll die. The drug will also not be detected within his body if an autopsy is done on him. Which I highly doubt will be. They’ll most likely rule it as death due to his burns.
I step through the plastic and grab the IV hooked to him.
Porter moans and opens his one eye to meet my gaze.
I lean in and sneer, “Josephine is mine.” Injecting the liquid in the syringe into his arm, I move away and watch him as everything sinks in.
He tries to say something but can’t. It’s not the way I wanted to watch him die, but I stand there, keeping my eyes on him as he takes his last breath.
I can at least take satisfaction in knowing that he knew I won.
That my woman was mine, and he wasn’t getting his hands on her.
Not now. Not ever.
Turning away from the bastard, I make my way out of the room, down the hall, and toward my woman. The two of us still have things to discuss and a life to start.