Chapter 31
Hayden
“Til I Collapse- Eminem & Nate Dogg”
I wake up with Firefly wrapped around me.
Soft little snores against my chest.
Blonde curls tangled across my pillow.
One thick thigh hooked over my waist, like even asleep, she’s scared I’ll disappear if she lets go.
And fuck.
This. This right here is all I’ve ever wanted.
Not the Dungeon. Not revenge. Not money. Just her.
Morning light spills softly through the apartment windows, painting gold across her skin, while I lay here staring at her like some lovesick idiot.
She looks peaceful for once. No fear. No pretending. No masks.
Just my girl asleep in my arms after one of the worst nights of her life.
My chest aches so badly. I hate that she went through that because of me. Because of words from some stupid cunt who was jealous of everything Ophelia is.
But what’s worse… is that she couldn’t control it, and that scares the shit out of me.
Three years in prison taught me how to control my anger and rage. Harness it into something else. Something more powerful now. Knowledge.
The more information you have on your opponent or enemy, the more predictable they will be, and then it's an easy strike.
My girl knows nothing about that life. She’s still living in a world where every day is a struggle. A fight for survival, and I’m done with it.
Luckily, she trusts me. Even after what she did last night. Even after blood stained her hands and panic wrecked her completely.
She still crawled into my bed looking for comfort. She could’ve called Bianca, Stone, Asher, or even Spade but she didn’t. She called me.
Yes, the others would’ve helped her, of course they would’ve, but it’s different with her and I. I can’t put it into words but she feels it. I feel it and that’s the way it will always be.
Something heavy settles in my chest.
Something that needs to happen now or she’s going to end up hurt.
This is not just about stupid girls running their mouths. This is so much deeper than that.
Brayden and her father need to die. There’s no other ending anymore. Not if we want forever. Not if I ever want mornings like this permanently instead of stolen ones between disasters.
Judge Fitzgerald and Brayden Augustine are chains wrapped around Firefly’s throat, and chains get broken.
My pulse picks up just thinking about it. The planning. The violence. The relief afterward when nobody can touch her ever again.
Apparently, my heartbeat wakes her, because Ophelia stirs softly against me before blinking sleepy blue eyes up at me.
God. I’m completely gone for this girl.
“Morning,” she whispers hoarsely.
I brush curls gently away from her face.
“Morning, baby,” I rasp, and that lazy smile spreads across her mouth. Real. Mine.
She presses her body against mine as close as she can get underneath the blankets.
“You’re staring.”
“Can you blame me?” I chuckle, and she laughs quietly before kissing my chest right over my heart, causing my entire body to relax around her.
This girl could calm wars inside me without even trying.
“You sleep okay?” I ask, and her expression softens slightly.
“Better with you here.”
Christ. Every sweet thing she says makes my heart skip a beat.
I kiss her forehead gently before sitting up slightly.
“I’m making breakfast,” I say, and she gasps dramatically.
“You cook?” she asks, and I look at her with a raised brow.
“Well, that was rude,” I say, tickling her sides, which makes her giggle. God, I love that sound.
“You survive off gas station food and nicotine,” she says, and I laugh, kissing the tip of her nose.
“Character development,” I whisper, and she shakes her head.
I climb out of bed, pulling on sweatpants, and when I’m halfway to the bedroom door, her voice stops me.
“Hayden?” she calls out, but something in her tone makes me turn immediately. She sits up, clutching the blankets against her chest, looking suddenly nervous.
“Where were you?” she asks quietly. “Those three days?”
Fuck! I knew this conversation was coming eventually.
I lean against the doorway, rubbing tiredly at my jaw before finally answering. “My mother called.”
Firefly’s expression softens immediately. “What happened?”
I laugh once.
Bitter and broken.
“She knew.”
Her brows furrow. “Knew what?”
“That I was alive.” The words taste poisonous in my mouth. “The entire fucking time.”
Shock floors her face instantly. “Hayden…”
“Your father paid her off.” Rage curls low beneath every word now. “Paid her to keep quiet after they buried me alive in prison.”
Ophelia swallows thickly as her eyes fill with tears.
“My mom’s alcoholism turned into addiction a while ago,” I continue quietly. “Pills, coke. Whatever she can get hands on.”
Shame burns through me saying it out loud.
“Couple nights ago, she bought drugs from the wrong people and couldn’t pay them back,” I say, staring down at my hands. “So, I had to go rescue her.”
Firefly climbs out of bed, wrapping herself in the sheet while crossing the room toward me slowly.
“She begged me for more drugs while I was getting her out,” I whisper roughly. “Could barely look me in the eye.”
Pain slices through Ophelia’s expression.
“And because apparently the universe hates me…” I bark out another humorless laugh. “I picked up from Tracy’s cousin. Dumpster Craig.”
Her eyes widen.
“That’s why Tracy knew my apartment,” I say as guilt crashes visibly across her face.
“Hayden… I—”
“I never touched that girl.” My voice sharpens fiercely. “Not a fucking chance in hell,” I say as her eyes fill with tears.
“I know that now,” she says, and I grab her waist, pulling her flush against me.
“No one touches me after you, Firefly. You ruined me for everybody else,” I breathe, gliding my lips against hers. “And don’t ever tell me to never touch you again or that I’m everything everyone has ever told you. So now, you owe me an apology.” I smirk, but she kisses me.
Hard. Emotional and apologetic. Full of all the things neither of us knows how to say properly.
When we finally break apart, I rest my forehead against hers, breathing her in slowly.
“I’m going to the store,” I murmur. “I need food if I’m cooking.”
“Please come back fast,” she whispers, and I nod.
“When I get back. I want you on your knees, gagging on my cock,” I growl, then kiss her one more time before leaving.
The grocery store trip takes maybe forty minutes total.
Eggs. Bacon. Pancake mix because Firefly likes breakfast sweet. Domestic Shit. Normal shit.
I catch myself smiling like an idiot halfway through checking out, imagining her barefoot in my kitchen, stealing food off my plate while wearing my clothes. Hope. Again. Always fucking hope with her.
But the second I pull into my apartment lot… something feels wrong.
My stomach drops instantly.
The front building door hangs slightly open.
No! No, no no no.
I abandon the groceries right there.
Every instinct inside me starts screaming while I sprint upstairs, taking two steps at a time. The apartment door is cracked. Splintered near the lock.
Panic detonates instantly.
“OPHELIA!”
Silence.
I shove inside so hard the door slams against the wall. The apartment looks wrecked.
Lamps overturned. Broken glass everywhere. Couch cushions ripped on the floor.
Signs of a struggle. A violent struggle.
My pulse turns feral immediately.
“FIREFLY?!” I roar, but nothing.
NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING!
Bedroom. Empty. Bathroom. Empty. No Ophelia, just destruction.
My breathing turns ragged while panic claws violently through my chest hard enough I can barely fucking stand upright.
No! No! Not again. You don’t get to take her from me and then, suddenly, my phone buzzes.
Unknown number.
I swipe the text open to see a video.
Pressing play makes my blood run cold.
Firefly’s brand new bike sits abandoned somewhere dark. Gasoline dripping beneath it. Then flames erupt. The entire bike catches fire before exploding seconds later in a massive burst of orange and black.
“No…”
Then Ophelia’s name flashes across my screen. I answer so fast I almost drop it.
“FIREFLY?!”
Screaming.
She screams in pure terror and my entire body locks up hearing it.
“Hayden!” she sobs hysterically. “Please—“
A loud crash cuts her off, followed by crying and what sounds horrifyingly like someone hitting her.
Something inside my chest tears open.
“STOP TOUCHING HER!” I roar violently into the phone.
More crying. “That’s it. Scream for me. Let him hear you,” the voice says, then her broken voice again.
“Don’t come,” she sobs desperately. “Please, Hayden, just run—”
Another sharp cry, then a man laughs softly.
Brayden.
Pure murderous rage floods every vein in my body.
“Well,” Brayden drawls calmly into the phone. “This got dramatic fast.”
I grip the phone so hard it cracks slightly beneath my hand. “If you touch her again, I’ll peel your fucking skin off,” I growl, then he chuckles darkly.
“Meet me if you want her alive.” Then another sound. Ophelia’s crying in pain somewhere nearby.
My vision blacks out around the edges completely.
“WHERE?”
Brayden gives me the location. An abandoned Augustine property outside Brimstone.
Of course.
Then, right before the line disconnects, I hear Ophelia whisper brokenly through tears, “I love you.”
The line goes dead as silence crashes through the apartment for exactly three seconds, then I move.
Fast. Violent. Focused.
I yank open the hidden lock box beneath my bed, grabbing every gun inside without even thinking.
Extra mags, knives, and a few pistols.
Pure rage pumps through my bloodstream so hard I physically shake.
Nobody touches my Firefly. Nobody fucking hurts her.
By the time I storm back toward the door fully armed, I’m not even thinking like a person anymore.
Just vengeance. Just blood.
“I’m going to kill you Brayden,” I whisper murderously while cocking the gun. “I’m going to make you beg for death before I save my girl.”