24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Maddox
T he inside of King’s mansion is a scene straight out of one of my murder wet dreams. It’s absolute carnage. Bodies litter the floor in piles, blood sprayed and spilled over almost every surface. But nothing is as beautiful as the masterpiece standing in the middle of the carnage. Her entire body is drenched head to toe in Kingsmen blood.
“You’re late.” Her strained voice is barely a whisper.
Jumping over bodies like a fucked up game of hopscotch, I don’t waste another second getting to her. Ronan stands next to her, directing his eyes anywhere but at her. It takes me about two-point-five seconds to realize it’s because she’s naked, standing in all her glory like a fucking warrior.
“My Bloody Queen,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms, and she latches onto me like a spider monkey. My knees buckle with relief, slamming into me like a hurricane and we crumple to the floor. “I’m so sorry. I’m fucking sorry.”
Alek and Royal appear at our sides, plastering themselves to us. Their bodies help shield her vulnerable state from everyone else in the room, even though I think everyone has kept their eyes on our surroundings. I would hate to have to cut their eyes out since they’ve helped us so much.
“Angel,” Royal whispers, his voice crackling like logs on a campfire. “You’re alive.”
“Babygirl,” Alek kissed her blood-soaked hair. “You’re okay. We’ve got you now.”
“My daughter?” The question comes out a strained whisper, her grip slipping on my hoodie.
“We’ve got her, Angel. Don’t worry. Let us take care of you now.” Royal’s confirmation must have been what she was holding out for, because the second the words pass his lips, her body slumps between us.
“I’ve got you,” I say, moving her to cradle her bridal style and standing from the floor before shouting to the guys. “Somebody find me a blanket.”
“She’s okay. Her adrenaline just crashed,” Alek says, pressing two fingers to the side of her neck and checking her pulse. Someone delivers us a blanket and Alek and Royal help me cover her before I turn to Ronan when he speaks.
“Yes, I’d say she wore herself out. This was all Red.” He waves his hand around the open space to the blood and bodies decorating the disgustingly expensive mansion.
My eyes must look like saucers as I survey the handiwork of my bloody queen. “Everyone?”
“We found her standing right where she was, slicing that one’s throat.” He points to the man at my feet with the gaping wound. “He was the last one. The house and property are clear. Red took out every single one of them in the house before we made it inside.”
Emotions batter inside my chest like a war drum. Raena is the strongest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. She’s a survivor. I don’t even want to think about what the fuck has happened to her in the days she’s been in this house. I can’t think about it right now or I’ll lose my shit. Now it’s my turn to be strong. For her.
“Is one of these fuckers King?” I ask. The men have already started moving the bodies into a large pile in the middle of the living room.
“No. He must have fled when we arrived. He was likely in one of the SUV’s that left,” Ronan replies with a heavy sigh.
“Let’s get her home.” Alek says, gently brushing her hair from its plastered position on her face. “We don’t need to stick around for reinforcements to show up.”
“Agreed. We just need to know what you want to do with the bodies. Are we leaving them or disposing of them?”
I turn to my brothers. A silent agreement passes between us instantly. This mansion holds nothing but horrific memories for us– for Em. And now Raena. I don’t want a single reminder left standing.
“Burn it all.”
Raena sleeps soundly against Royal’s chest as we take in the billowing smoke and amber flames surrounding the mansion. He stole her from me before we walked out. I get it, though. We’ve all been through hell without her.
I would never deny either one of them their moments with her– even if it felt like he was forcefully removing my soul with a blade from my chest when he took her from my arms. Alek is the patient one, standing back, waiting for his turn to hold her like a mature and well-adjusted grown man.
I, however, am bouncing on the balls of my feet, itching to get her back against my body, to feel her heart beating and know she’s alive.
She’s still wrapped in the blanket someone found for us. I haven’t inspected her body yet, but I imagine it’s going to threaten my thread bare tether on my emotions and homicidal thoughts. Though the bloodshed here today has helped tremendously to alleviate my symptoms, I’ve been on the verge of crying since I laid eyes on my Bloody Queen. I’ve also been packing a semi since then, too. So…there’s that.
“She’s sleeping right now. She passed out right after we found her.” Ronan says into his phone, walking over to us. I assume he’s updating his very worried pregnant wife. “We’re heading your way. Stay calm. We don’t know what state she’ll be in when she wakes up. I love you, Little Thorn.”
He hangs up the phone and tucks it back inside his pocket. “Snow’s worrying herself sick. She won’t stop until she lays eyes on Red herself. Let’s get the fuck out of here before any more trouble shows up. Snow will chop off my balls and feed them to me if anything else happens to her friend.”
“Dr. Sterling is on his way. He’ll meet us there to check Raena out and treat any injuries we have.” Alek says, reading a text message on his phone before slipping it into his pocket as well. He turns to the group of men who helped us get this done. “Pack it up and move out, boys.”
My brothers and I ride with Ronan and Dax back to the cottage. The rest of our combined crew follow behind us at a distance as instructed. King is still out there somewhere, so we’ve got to be diligent in our movements. We don’t want to lead him to the cottage if he’s got eyes on us.
We’re the first to make it back after we circle around a few times to make sure no one is trailing us. Snow’s waiting on the front porch when we pull in. When we get out of the SUV, she races over to us. Raena is still sleeping against Royal, but Alek steps up and takes her from his arms.
“Oh my god!” Snow's hand snaps to cover her mouth on a gasp as tears fill her eyes. The blanket covering Raena slipped down, revealing a portion of her blood-painted body.
“It’s okay. We don’t think it’s hers. At least, not all of it. Red did good.” Dax says, pulling her to him and rubbing her back soothingly. He pulls back and kisses her forehead then leads her into the house. “Bring her inside. Someone grab the doctor.”
Alek follows him inside with the rest of us trailing behind, hot on his heels. She’s not leaving my sight. Period. I can’t go through this again. I won’t. Even if I have to stick a tracker in her, so be it.