Chapter 47 Scarlett #2
“Which is fine,” Poppy put in. “We shouldn’t be going on any other day anyway, the church would be empty.”
I frowned deeply. “Fine, Havoc wanted to take me out today anyway.”
Poppy, Olivia, and Emily all exchanged looks before Poppy found my eyes again, her brows pulling together in confusion. “You’re going out?” she asked.
Havoc nodded, standing only yards away from where I was.
“I’ve been doing my own research. She wanted something to do, so I’m giving it to her.
A way to test her in the field, with a gun,” he pushed, giving me a look, “to really prepare her for Sunday. We all know she isn’t going to be fully healed, but with the doctor’s help, I think she’ll be good enough. ”
“Are we not invited?” Poppy asked, gesturing between she and Olivia.
“No,” he said evenly. “It’s our job, not yours.”
My eyes swung to him. “What? I thought you were going to find some Initiates to hunt down.”
“We’ve already shown our hand enough, doll, we can’t keep showing the cards we need to fight. You leaving four people alive in Absolution was already a lot, showing the skill you have, especially now, would only ruin what little surprise we have left.”
I pressed my lips together, turning back to the table. Going after an enemy of the Blackhearts wouldn’t help my whole family. Even so, I guess I needed to be grateful he was doing anything at all. They were private people, so what he and Alaric had given me so far was enough.
“Have you made any progress on your search of that house?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Havoc answered, causing my head to whip around. “We found her trail of blood early this morning, they should be closing in at any time.”
My heart skipped a beat. They found it.
They found it.
My hell.
And now what? His people would kill the last four men there and save everyone else. They would all be free.
They would escape.
“Scarlett.”
I shook my head, turning at Emily’s soft voice, my hands gripped tightly at my chest.
“Where do you think they should go?” she asked warmly.
My brows pulled together and I looked around the room. Go? “Home,” I answered in confusion. “Where else?”
Rae hesitated over the phone. “It’s not that simple, Scarlett,” she explained.
“Their families aren’t like ours, and neither are their minds.
In a more…rational situation, they would all be receiving therapy, intense therapy, some might even be admitted to the hospital to receive psychiatric care.
Just like most of us should have been. Is Dormouse an option? ”
Havoc glanced over and rose a brow.
Dormouse? Azrael mentioned it a few times, but only in passing. Paul ran the place—
“How many are there?” Olivia asked. “That could play a factor.”
“I killed two,” I explained, frowning deeply. “They wouldn’t stop screaming when I was searching for clues. I was thrown into the concrete room because of them.”
Sorrow filled Emily’s eyes and I couldn’t help but see hints of the same in the eyes of the other two which only caused my frown to shift into a glare.
“If they wanted to live, they shouldn’t have screamed,” I stated clearly. “I’ve never been to Dormouse, but there were about a dozen people there. It was difficult to keep track.”
“What do you mean?” Olivia asked.
“Nobody new came in, but it seemed like there was always a new face to see, different faces. I never saw them outside of the services, but even then, every service, different faces.”
The three exchanged a glance.
“Maybe they were cycling them,” Everett suggested. “Maybe there was another house, which would make the number exponentially larger. Can Dormouse accommodate?”
“Fuck,” Rae cursed.
“What?” Poppy immediately asked.
“I was remembering our visit when we dropped off those kids Azrael saved from the church. Zo was with us.”
My eyes widened and I spun on Havoc, panic and rage filling me. If Zo told Malachi—if Malachi destroyed that house—
“We’ve got it,” he said without looking over. “We’ll swing by on the way,” he told Rae. “Come on, doll, we’re going early.”
~~~
I shivered, gripping onto Havoc tightly, wishing he was Azrael.
Havoc had made it clear when we got on the bike that he didn’t care about the weather. “The bike is freedom,” he had said.
Even bundled up, it didn’t feel like freedom right now.
But, I suppose, I was glad for it. The trees and their glowing lights looked so strange whizzing by us at 80mph.
Every species of bird was radiating differently, every person in every car.
I could feel the rush all around me, building in my stomach.
I really liked the bike. It felt as if I were a bird myself. A hummingbird.
By the time we pulled up to the house, my legs were cramping. I had never been on the bike that long before, but I was too much in awe of the house to care.
In my mind, I had pictured something like my old house, maybe a bit bigger. But this? Maybe it wasn’t as big as my home, but it was far larger than my old house.
There were three stories, at least, the house set on a big piece of land in the city, up on a hill overlooking the world.
There was a giant garden right between the paved circle driveway and the front of the house, thorny vines that contained roses in the summer were crawling up the white stone wall, grand stairs on either side of the garden leading up to a set of beautiful glass double doors.
The glass was cut and molded in various ways, making it impossible to see who was on the other side, but I saw the tell-tale sign that it was Azrael’s place just to the right of the door.
I went to touch the scanner when Havoc’s fingers gently brushed my elbow before immediately falling. “They don’t know you yet,” he said and hit the doorbell.
I frowned and stepped back, folding my hands behind my back as I waited. It’s my husband’s scanner, and therefore mine, but I did understand courtesy, even if I didn’t like it.
We left our gear on the bike, but Havoc did grab a gun, stuffing it in the back of his pants. He said my gun would remain with the bike until we got to where we were going, which I was fine with. I preferred the knife anyway, but I understood why he wanted me to use the gun.
It would be better for now.
A few moments later, a man finally opened the door. He was dressed in a nice suit, although not as nice as Azrael’s, and he had this air of professionalism about him that caused my own spine to straighten.
“Good morning,” Havoc greeted.
The man looked over him and then over me before nodding and stepping to one side. “He’s in the playroom.”
Havoc thanked him and stepped in with me right behind him, although I eyed the man carefully.
“He didn’t even ask who we were,” I pointed out when the man walked by us, leading us down the hall. Not very secure.
“He doesn’t have to,” Havoc smirked. “I told you, doll, everyone knows us. Your family stays in the shadows, mine doesn’t give a fuck.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. I liked that. Would the others like it too? After all, what was there to hide when we were the most terrifying people in the world?
I lifted my chin, a little bit of pride filling me.
The house was beautiful. Large and spacious.
It had priceless artwork hanging on the walls along with drawings made from children of all ages.
There were toys scattered all about and the deeper we walked into the place, the more joy I could hear.
Laughter, shouts of glee, and running footsteps.
I found myself looking into every room we passed just to see if I could catch a glimpse of the people behind the laughter, but I had yet to see a soul.
“We looked at his blueprints,” he explained, catching me look. “He designed the house so that the sound carries. There is only so much you can do in a house filled with kids of all ages, the least he could do was make it easier to hear when something was going wrong.”
“Does it?” I asked out of pure curiosity. “Go wrong?”
“It’s a house filled with people who were treated just like you.
Trauma affects people in all sorts of ways, it’s unpredictable.
Some hide within themselves, some take out their anger on those they trust because they fear anything kind.
Paul does his best to take care of everyone’s needs, but even he struggles, that’s why he has so much help. ”
I looked around the hall again before finding the man’s back that we were following. He walked with grace, his head up, his spine straight. “Is this love?”
Havoc watched me for a long time, his expression unreadable. Finally, he turned away. “Love is different things to different people. Some good, others toxic. To me, if I’m not willing to suffocate, I’m not willing to love.”
I had so many questions, but the man in front of us was coming to a stop in front of a pair of open double doors. “Mr. Bestin. You have guests.”
We stepped into the doorway just as a male started laughing. He was on his hands and knees, a little girl riding on his back wearing a cowgirl hat, giggling uncontrollably. “Yeehaw!” she said, kicking her feet.
My eyes furrowed in confusion. What was she doing?
The man looked up, his laughter dying to a smile as he found my eyes and then Havoc’s and finally back to me. He nodded and looked back. “Okay, Betsy, time to get off.”
“Awe,” she whined. “Please, just five more minutes.”
“I promise later, okay? I’ve got some guests here who need me.”
She stuck her bottom lip out for a few more seconds before sliding off and running to the other side of the room to play with some bigger kids.
I watched after her, noting the scars on the back of her neck. She couldn’t have been more than 5 years old.
5.
My hands gripped into fists at my sides, my jaw working. It only made my hatred burn within me.
Mr. Bestin stood, adjusted his clothes, and ran a hand through his hair as he made his way over, glancing towards the girl before finding my eyes again.
He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.