35. Silas
Silas
Swerving into the driveway, I barely put the car in park before I was out of it. There was no time for anything besides getting to Ember. They had come home, together, and too much time had already passed.
Every second was another deep stab into my chest, and I knew the pain wouldn't subside until I saw her and made sure she was okay. With one kick, I slammed my foot into the front door, forcing it to crack off its hinges. The sound instantly rippled through the house like thunder, and I hoped that he heard it. That sound wasn’t just a warning—it was his death call.
I ran straight down the hallway and into her room, where the door was already open. As I entered, a savage growl ripped from my chest at the scene in front of me. He was on top of her naked body, lining himself up to her opening. She was clearly limp underneath, completely unresponsive.
This would be the last fucking time he touched her.
Everything in my line of sight went haywire as I launched forward, tackling Bodhi off her.
We crashed to the floor, and I pinned him down, each of my movements turning absolutely lethal.
There was no choice in the matter. He didn’t get to walk away from this.
He was going to die by my hands. That single thought was on repeat as my fist made contact with his face, the crack not nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be.
In a defensive move, he brought his elbow up, trying and create room to protect himself.
I fought through it, getting two more solid hits in before he landed one on me.
I was knocked off, giving him time to grab his pants.
It didn’t matter what he was wearing. By the time I was done with him, he wouldn’t be able to use anything, ever again.
We continued to wrestle, crashing into the furniture and ultimately knocking over her vanity. “You think you will have the ability to change anything. She's already ruined.” Bodhi sneered up at me, spitting blood in my face.
Absolutely the fuck not, was he allowed to talk about her like that.
The air in my lungs froze as the thought of murder invaded my whole body. It was no longer just a thought in my mind. It was now a challenge I needed to complete as fast as possible.
“I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Bodhi focused in as my words cut through the room like a blade.
A new type of rage flared in his eyes as they narrowed.
Lunging at me, his hands went straight for my throat.
I dodged, but he guessed at the direction, digging his fingers into my flesh.
For a moment, his grip tightened and stars threatened my vision.
Moving quickly, I slipped my knee up and knocked him off balance.
With as much brutal force as I could muster, I slammed myself down on him. My fists moved like clockwork, pounding again and again against his face.
One.
Two.
Three.
I lost count once blood started to splatter on me. The warmth hit my face as Bodhi tried to do what he could to stop me. There was no chance of that happening, not now that he was in my grasp. The sound of his pained grunts mixed with the thud of flesh on flesh, and soon, there was only silence.
At some point, I realized Bodhi was no longer fighting back, but I kept going. I hit him for every photo there was, and then for every video Ember would have to watch. Drowning myself in her rage, I couldn’t stop.
By the time I pulled away, his face had been completely pulverized and there was not one recognizable thing about him. The blood covering me was proof that I’d accomplished my goal, that Ember was now completely safe from him.
An unfamiliar scream pulled me away from my thoughts. I turned, moving off of Bodhi’s corpse.
Kinsley stood in the doorway, her face etched in a mask of horror.
As her eyes tracked over what was left of Bodhi, mine moved to Ember, who was still on the bed.
Kinsley didn’t even acknowledge her naked body.
Her whole focus was on the man on the floor behind me.
When I moved out of the way, she jolted forward and dropped to her knees beside him.
Her voice was a mixture of utter shock and suppressed wails.
“Oh my god! What did you do to him?!” she screamed, over and over. “You killed him! You fucking killed him!”
I moved closer to Ember as I started to feel the places on my own body that took a beating.
My eye was definitely blackened, and blood dripped from my nose.
Ignoring both that and Kinsley, I moved to the bed and focused on my girl.
Grabbing her clothes off the ground, I put them back on her, wincing as my shoulder protested.
I didn’t stop until her body was completely covered.
Kinsley’s volume had now maxed out, and the fact she hadn’t even noticed Ember pushed me over the edge.
I screamed at her, thickening my voice with venom.
“As much as I don't want to, I understand that you are probably a victim in this as well. But the truth is, you are as much at fault for what’s happened to her.”
Kinsley’s face crumpled as realization crashed in. A fresh sob making its way out as she forced words into a question. “Wh-Why were her clothes off?”
I shook my head at her. “You don’t get to ask fucking questions,” I snapped.
“Not until you understand the damage of what you and that pathetic piece of shit have done. This is something that she will now have to carry for the rest of her life because you thought you knew him. If you choose to call the police over this, just remember that you’ll have to explain to them what kind of a man he was.
You’ll have to admit you loved a rapist. If you're smart, you’ll do both of us a favor and use whatever money you can access to clean this up.
After that, plan to stay out of her life forever. ”
Kinsley looked from Ember to Bodhi and then threw her body over his, clearly making her choice.
Picking Ember up and ignoring everything else around me, I carried her through the carnage and straight to my car.
I had to fight myself to physically let her go, even though I knew it was just to lay her in the seat next to me.
That feeling stayed with me as we drove away.
I kept looking over at her every few seconds, as if she’d disappear.
Activating the speakers through my phone, I called my brother.
“Hey.”
“Greyson,” I said, trying to keep my voice low.
“I need you to go to Ember’s place for me and grab everything from one room.
It's the one with a stripped bed. Don’t ask questions to anyone there.
Just go in, find the tan room, and grab everything you see of hers.
Clothes, bags, photos, all of it. Bring it to my house when I ask for it.
There’s a body there and a woman with it.
Ask if she needs help disposing of it. If she’s not there, feel free to light the place on fire. ”
There was no hesitation from him. “Give me 45 minutes.”
Ending the call with a click, I sat in the stillness. Looking down, I eyed my hands that not only had blood but pieces of tissue on them.
Will she let me hold her with them? Or will she run for good?
Glancing over at Ember, my eyes lingered on her frame and then her face.
I hated how fragile she looked. She was nothing close to that word.
She was the farthest thing from it. With every rise and fall of her chest, my haze lifted.
A few more in, and I finally let myself breathe.
As oxygen flooded me, so did a unique sense of clarity.
There was not a goddamn thing in this world that would ever touch her again. I would make sure of it.
When I pulled up to the house, I let the car run for a few minutes as I sat there looking down at the blood that covered me.
Almost transfixed, my eyes followed the drips that fell down onto my seat and floor.
Watching as it puddled, I'm reassured that there wasn't anything I wouldn’t do for that woman next to me.
My eyes stayed glued to the crimson color as I dialed another number, the only person I knew that had any kind of medical experience.
The ringing pulled my thoughts back to reality and I looked over at her, just as Kyrin answered.
“What's up? I'm in the middle of my break and I—”
“She was drugged Kyrin. I need to know what to do to help her. She's asleep.” The panic was definitely there—even I can hear the way it's laced into my voice, despite my best efforts to keep it hidden.
“Fuck man, hold on.” There's some shuffling as he moves to a quieter area. “Okay, depending on what she was given and the dosage, it can be anywhere from two to three hours before she wakes up. Watch her closely. If it goes much past that, you'll have to administer an IV of reversal agents.”
When I answered him, I'm pissed off at my own words. “I don't have the things needed to do that.”
“It's a simple IV starter kit. I can bring one now if you want it, but her body will need time to process through whatever drug is in her system. What the fuck happened man?”
I don't have any desire to answer that question, especially when it's not my story to tell. “I'll call if she doesn't improve. Keep your phone on, yeah?”
“Yeah,” is all he says before the line disconnects.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door and made my way around the car to get Ember. Once it's opened, she's cradled against my chest. The blood instantly smeared over her skin, but I didn't even think about that. His blood didn't matter, just like his death didn’t matter—only she did.