30. Tyran
THIRTY
TYRAN
Icouldn’t wait to hunt down every single person who had mistreated Sienna during her kidnapping and make them wish for hell.
But I knew that alone wouldn’t fix it all.
Sienna had to talk to a professional and learn how to deal with her trauma. Until then, I would watch over her while she slept and ease her nightmares while slowly knocking off those assholes who hurt her.
I kept rubbing her back and her breathing slowly eased. Her green apple scent dominated the space and I wondered if there was a way to bottle it. I wanted to flood the world with it.
Her body eventually went completely lax in my arms and her breathing turned deep and even.
I looked down and found her asleep. Her mouth was slightly parted and long lashes threw shadows across her cheeks.
My chest squeezed at the sight.
She looked so young and innocent, reminding me of that girl I first met. If there was something I could do to bring her back, I wouldn’t hesitate.
Even if it meant killing those close to her—like Sophie—and erasing that first time I saw her. Maybe I was secretly a masochist with all these well-wishes for Sienna that somehow took her out of my own life. Or maybe I was gun-shy after witnessing my mother’s betrayal.
It didn’t matter, though, because there was no turning back time, and for better or worse, she was mine now.
My phone buzzed and I reached for it. There was a message from my brother.
Aiden: Some weird shit happening. Our dock and our club were hit.
Me: Do we know who?
Aiden: That’s just it. We do, because they left a card and a warning.
Me: Huh?
Aiden: Some card with a weird symbol and text that reads The Obsidian Society.
Me: What the fuck is The Obsidian Society?
Aiden: Fuck if I know. But it has something to do with Sienna.
I froze.
It couldn’t be. My eyes darted to Sienna’s sleeping form. Had she gotten involved with anything else? I didn’t think so, and she only did work for her stepfather’s company.
Me: Does it say what Sienna has to do with it?
Aiden: Just to stop going after their men, or they’ll go after Sienna. And this time, she wouldn’t be auctioned off, but hunted.
The threat hit me like a blow.
My entire body tensed, every muscle locking at once.
Me: Hunted?
Aiden: They sent a rather graphic video. Forwarding now.
My phone buzzed, and the video that filtered through froze me. I stared at the graphic image of a young, unknown girl running naked and barefoot through the forest while being hunted by men with guns, bows, and knives like she was an animal.
The intent was very clear, and it made my stomach churn.
I couldn’t breathe. The outcome the short video conjured was worse than anything I wanted to imagine—Sienna hunted through the dark, naked and terrified, then being caught.
Over. My. Dead. Body.
Sienna must have felt the change in me.
She whimpered softly against my chest, her fingers tightening against me while she tried to make herself smaller.
Her whole body curled inward, as though she could somehow disappear beneath my arms and become invisible.
I could feel the tremor running through her, and it only made the anger burn hotter.
My jaw clenched.
I tightened my hold around her, shielding her with my body as if the threat were already here.
Me: They won’t touch her.
Aiden: Agreed, but what is her connection to all of it?
Me: Don’t know, but I’ll find out.
I looked down at a restless, still sleeping Sienna in my arms and put my big palm against her pale cheek. It calmed her down, but I knew if she learned of this text exchange, it would set her back.
So, I resolved not to tell her anything. Instead, I’d protect her at all costs.
After all, she was mine now and under my protection. The wedding ring I would put on her finger in one day was just a symbol so the world would know it too.