52. Caden
Caden
I kicked the door down, Sebastian at my back as we swept inside.
Aeris was forced flat on her back, struggling against not one but four men. Blood trickled down her jaw, her eyes widening when they met mine before flashing with desperate relief.
Something burned deep in my chest, my anger so fervent my sight blurred.
The soon-to-be-dead cunt between her legs tensed, looking over his shoulder for barely a second before I was on him, yanking him back with my hand to the back of his neck. I threw him against the wall, his trousers around his lower legs revealing his pathetic excuse for a cock.
I saw red.
Aeris used the movement to pull the man holding her arms off balance, just as Sebastian reached one of the men at her legs.
I didn’t think, only reacted. My punch reverberated through Renley’s skull, his teeth exploding from his mouth from the force. They bit into my knuckles, but I couldn’t feel it as I hit him again, and again.
A flash of light, and I managed to turn before a knife stabbed me in the back. I dropped Renley at my feet, ducking before catching the second man’s outstretched arm. Using my weight, I added pressure to his elbow, not stopping until I felt it bend at the wrong angle and then break entirely.
The man screamed, only shutting off when I tugged the knife from his limp grip and shoved it inside his mouth. He gurgled and gagged around the handle, coughing up blood as the blade sliced through his oesophagus. Knowing he was no longer a threat, I dropped him like a deadweight.
That left only one, Sebastian still playing with his guy whose screaming had become more of a high-pitched screech. The last man scrambled back, grabbing Aeris by the hair and holding her against him.
“Back off,” he snarled, pulling out a knife and holding it to her neck.
Aeris swallowed, calm as he backed them both towards the kitchen. Someone had sliced across her breast, blood dripping down her stomach to pool at her underwear which had been torn. Ripped off one hip to leave only a scrap of fabric to protect her.
My blood burned hotter.
I prowled after them slowly, not wanting to spook the prick when his blade was so close to her throat.
“I said, back off!” he snarled, taking a swipe at me. I didn’t move, not caring that it had bitten into my chest, splitting my shirt and skin.
I just need the prick close enough to …
Aeris threw her head back, catching him off guard. While he howled in pain she grabbed for his arm, and he swung it around towards her instead. I tensed, the blade catching her before I had it, snapping his wrist and letting the knife clatter to the kitchen tile.
Because I was going to make this last.
I was going to make this fucking hurt, because what I’d done to Renley had been too quick.
Gripping him by the throat, I lifted him clean off the ground, ignoring his pathetic, weakening swipes at my arm as I slowly stole his oxygen. His face turned a satisfying shade of purple, eyes bulging with raw terror.
But I didn’t let him pass out.
Right before his eyes rolled back, I slammed him down onto the kitchen island with brutal force. His skull cracked audibly against the marble with a wet, sickening thud that echoed through the room.
His jeans were already undone, the belt hanging loose. Ripping it free from the loops in one sharp tug, I wrapped the thick leather around his throat like a noose and used it as a leash. Hauling him back to his feet, I dragged him against me so he faced Aeris.
“You really thought you could touch her?” I snarled, my voice a quiet threat.
The man choked and sputtered beneath my grip, his feet kicking uselessly in the air and fingers clawing desperately at my forearm.
But I didn’t even spare him a glance, not when my gaze stayed fixed on her, fascinated with every flicker of emotion cross her face.
Fear. Shock. Satisfaction. She was fucking captivated by my violence as I squeezed the last breath of oxygen from his lungs.
Most people would’ve been horrified, but Aeris didn’t look away.
It was what had caught my attention in the first place, her darkness that seemed to call to mine.
She’d been terrified, but even now she refused to submit.
She fought with determination, not giving up even when she didn’t know I would always come for her.
“Caden,” she whispered, and her voice, scratchy like she’d screamed, broke me out of this violent haze.
I loosened my grip, letting the man collapse at my feet, then closed our distance, cupping her jaw and tilting her face towards the light.
She had fresh bruises blooming across her cheek and jaw, her body shaking as her adrenaline finally waned.
Ignoring the way the material pulled at the cut on my chest, I tugged off my shirt and pulled it over her, buttoning it up. It was big enough to swallow her frame, even with the fabric torn from where the knife had caught me.
Her face was pale, bottom lip trembling as she tried to smile. It caused the cut on her lip to split, and I caught the trickle of blood with my thumb.
“You’re okay, Tempest,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. “You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”
There was a puppy sleeping on my sofa, surrounded in fucking stuffing it had torn from one of the cushions.
“What did the doctor say?” Langdon signed before stroking the fluffy golden puppy with an honest-to-God bow on his head.
“He said her wounds are superficial.”
She’d been lucky.
I had eight fresh stitches running down my side from where one of those bastards had caught me, not to mention the holes in my knuckles from teeth.
But Aeris … she’d refused a full examination, calmly telling the doctor they hadn’t gotten that far despite the dark bruises blooming across her thighs, the fresh cuts, and the clear signs of rough handling.
Still, she refused.
And for once, I didn’t push her.
“Well, how is she?” Dad asked, frowning down at the puppy like it had personally offended him.
Seriously, why the fuck was there a puppy in my flat?
He stood beside Sebastian in tense silence, the closest the two of them had come to anything resembling amicable in years.
“Probably drowning herself.” I’d given her and the doctor privacy, but the doc had left fifteen minutes ago. When everyone looked at me confused, I clarified. “She finds it relaxing.”
“Did you want Arabella to go check on her?” Sebastian asked, the lingering anger still evident in the rigid set of his shoulders.
“No,” I said firmly, not wanting to expose Aeris to anyone else she wasn’t familiar with.
“Taking Vivienne had been impulsive,” Sebastian muttered, and I ground my teeth to stop myself from snapping. Because he was right, I was the most level-headed of us, and yet my actions had hurt Aeris.
“It’s done now,” Dad said, wrinkling his nose when the dog made a little yip sound in its sleep and woke himself up.
“I’ll deal with Vivienne tomorrow,” I replied, my voice cold. “Right now, I need to make sure Aeris is okay.”
Turning, I headed towards my bedroom, the sound of running water growing louder with every step. The puppy trotted after me, its tiny nails clicking on the floor.
Aeris wasn’t in bed where I’d left her, so walking towards the en-suite I found her exactly where I expected. Submerged in the large bath, eyes closed beneath the water.
She looked peaceful.
Fragile.
Mine.
The puppy immediately tried to jump into the tub, paws scrabbling against the side. Aeris opened her eyes at the noise, coming up with a splash to smile at the bundle of fluff.
“You want to tell me why there’s a fucking puppy?” I asked, somehow jealous of a dog because she gave him a pat on the head before looking at me.
“Surprise.” She tried to smile but winced when it pulled at the split in her lip. “You said you wanted a puppy.”
“Yeah, when I was a kid.”
The puppy yipped again, bouncing excitedly and trying to steal her attention. I glared at the little golden terror, but Aeris let out a soft, tired laugh.
“He likes you.”
I reached down and scooped the squirming puppy up with one hand, holding him against my chest. He immediately started licking my jaw with pure, chaotic joy, his tail wagging so hard his whole body shook.
“Yeah, well,” I muttered, scratching behind his ears, “he’s got shit taste.”
Putting the puppy back in the bedroom and then closing the door softly, I turned and sat beside the bath.
Aeris drew her knees up to her chest, the water sloshing around her. “How did you find me?” she asked quietly, my gaze dropping down to the marks on her knees.
“I had Lang install motion detection cameras on all your doors and windows.”
Her eyes widened, as if she thought I was joking.
“I was already heading to your house, but I put my foot down when I received the notification.”
“Wow, one point to the stalker,” she said dryly.
I smiled faintly as I reached out to brush wet strands of hair from her cheek with careful fingers, studying the fresh cut and the bruises already darkening along her jaw. Aeris flinched, like she wasn’t expecting the soft touch, and then frowned as if she was disappointed with herself.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I put you in danger.”
“No, I knew the risks. Of playing both sides and going against her. Selene would have made an example out of me sooner or later.” Aeris shook her head slowly.
“She’d been keeping Renley at bay for so long, using him as a silent threat.
I actually didn’t believe she’d ever use him …
I was sure denying him was her favourite way of keeping him in line. ”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find him,” I all but growled.
Aeris looked up and met my gaze. Her eyes were full of such pain, such sorrow and anger.
“Did he get away?”
I clenched my jaw, and then slowly nodded. Aeris had been the priority, so I hadn’t checked that when I put Renley down, he’d stayed down.
But it almost didn’t matter, because I had never been so sure of anything in my life when I said, “He’s never going to touch you again.”