Chapter 18
AXEL
I was at Sophie and Grayson’s house when I got the call.
I went looking for Wren so I could explain what she heard, so I could tell her how wrong Luke was. I thought that she would have escaped to their house, but when I got there, she wasn’t anywhere to be found.
I had sent Noah to her house, thinking she wouldn’t have gone there because of Dylan, but clearly, she wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t know what happened to her, but I know it wasn’t good. Cole called and said that she was attacked but she wouldn’t tell them what happened.
She was back in her car when Noah pulled up to her apartment and he followed her to the clubhouse. Grayson insisted on coming with me. I know that Sophie wanted to come, too, but she needed to stay with the kids where they were safe.
I don’t wait for Grayson to get on his bike; I fly out of their driveway and towards the clubhouse. Grayson doesn’t catch up to me until I’m pulling through the gates of the clubhouse. I almost wipe out from how fast I’m going.
I barely park my bike before I’m jumping off and tossing my helmet to the ground. I rush into the clubhouse, and the guys point me towards the downstairs bedrooms. I run that way and see Cane, Lucy, and Ana step out. I barrel past them into the room and stop in my tracks when I see her.
Laying on the bed is a battered Wren. She has a black eye, split lip and what looks like the remnants of blood on her skin. My blood turns to ice. I stalk over to her and drop to my knees.
“Who did this to you?” I growl, barely holding it together.
“Dylan,” she whimpers and then she throws herself into my arms.
I hold her tightly, doing my best not to break down. She needs me right now and I need to be strong for her. I cradle her in my arms and drop to my ass as she sobs into my chest.
I grit my teeth as I hold it all in and notice Grayson and Rowan walk into the room with grim expressions on their faces.
I don’t know how long we stay like that, but Wren eventually stops crying so hard.
I adjust us so I can stand and then take her to my bedroom where we can have some privacy.
She doesn’t need everyone to know what happened.
Grayson follows me upstairs and keys in the code for my suite. “Let me know if you need me,” he murmurs before walking away.
I take Wren inside and into my bathroom. “Will you let me clean you up, baby?”
She nods her head but doesn’t say a word.
I sit her on the toilet seat and turn on the shower, making sure that it’s warm before I help her out of her clothes.
When I’m undressing her, I notice the scratch marks and bruises that are forming all over her body, and when I help her to stand and remove her pants, I have an aching feeling of what happened. Dried semen covers here pelvis.
My heart is in my throat as I look up at her, and the tears in her eyes make me terrified to know the truth. “Did he rape you?” I choke out.
“It didn’t get that far,” she whispers hollowly. “He heard something outside and ran.”
I take a deep steadying breath and swallow every ounce of anger and pain that I feel right now. I pull her into my arms and hold her tight to me, just for a moment so that she knows I’m here.
I help her into the shower and start to clean her, noticing the blood beneath her fingernails and her busted knuckles. “You fought hard, baby,” I murmur softly.
“Not hard enough,” she chokes out. “I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder.”
“Hey,” I hush her as I wipe her hair out of her eyes and tip her chin up. “You fought hard. I know that you gave as good as you got. He’s the one who is going to be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Her face crumbles and she barrels into my chest, knocking the air from my lungs. She clings to my wet clothes and cries.
“We should go to the hospital to get you checked out,” I tell her softly.
She shakes her head fervently. “No! They’ll call the police, and I don’t want the police to deal with this,” she says as she meets my eyes. “I don’t trust Benning. I want club justice.”
“Then that is what you’ll get, baby,” I promise her.
I finish cleaning her up and then we step out of the shower. I get her dried off and in bed before I walk back into the bathroom to take a quick shower. I didn’t want to trigger Wren if she saw me without clothes. I get dressed quickly and then meet her back in the bedroom.
She’s huddled in a ball in the middle of the bed with the blankets tight around her neck. It takes everything in me to not break down in that moment. I take a deep breath and then climb onto the bed, pulling her into my arms. She clings to me for dear life until she finally falls asleep.