43. Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Raena
“ H ere, put these on, pretty girl,” Maddox says, handing me some clothes he pulled from the lockers set up in the gym. We just finished showering off and cleaning up the mess we made down here.
“Thanks, Maddie.”
My mind is completely blown right now. Between finally having King at our mercy to the mind blowing experience that taking Alek just was, I’m on cloud fucking nine. I slip the sweat pants over my ass, rolling them several times in an attempt to keep them up. The ache between my thighs has me blushing like a schoolgirl. I’ve never been so fucking full in my entire life.
“We’ll have someone come down and move him to the cells,” Royal reminds me, helping me slip the shirt over my head. It’s too big, but it smells like Maddox. It’s comforting.
“Honestly, I just want it over with. I want to finish as soon as we can and go get our daughter.” I lean up on my tip-toes, kissing his lips lightly. “I don’t want to waste a single second of our lives on him anymore.”
“If that’s what you want, Angel. If you’re satisfied, I can have him disposed of and you never have to see him again. Whatever you decide, we will support you.”
“I thought I wanted to drag this out– make him suffer the way he made me suffer. But if I hold onto this hatred– this anger, he’s still winning. I got what I needed. I took my power back and took away his. I don’t need anything else from him. I have my daughter, and I don’t want to stay another day away from her. I have three amazing men, who love me like I didn’t think I deserved,” I swipe a tear from my face. “I don’t need anything else from that monster. I want to wake up tomorrow, go get our daughter, and start our lives together. I want to help this town rebuild what he took from them. That’s what I want.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Royal says, pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead lovingly. “I’ll take care of it.”
Relief washes over me like a wave crashing into the shore. I didn’t know what I wanted before now, but it’s crystal clear now. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Angel.” Royal tips my chin up, kissing my lips gently, but with so much love and possession it makes my knees weak. When he pulls back, the smile he gives me knocks the breath out of me. “Woah. Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m okay,” steadying myself in his arms.
“When was the last time you ate, Raena,” Alek asks, slipping a shirt over his head and walking over to me.
“Ummm…last night, I think. We’ve been a little busy. I missed breakfast, going to hunt down this one, remember.” I gesture to Royal, trying to smile through the dizziness.
“Shit! Let’s get you some food and let the doctor check you out, okay?” Alek picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist and holding me to him.
“Okay, Big Daddy. Whatever you say,” I grin, kissing his cheek before laying my head on his chest. I love it when he carries me like this. Like nothing and no one can pry me from his big muscular arms.
When we emerge from the basement, Snow is waiting for us in the kitchen. “Red. Thank God. I knew you were alright, but I needed to see you with my own eyes.”
Alek lowers me to my feet, just in time for Snow to smother me with her crushing hug. “I’m good, Snow. I promise. Just starving.”
“Good thing I brought food then, huh,” she laughs, pulling back and gesturing to the table filled with disposable pans, “I figured we would need food if we’re staying here tonight.”
“Thank you,” I pull her back in for another hug, tears filling my eyes at her thoughtfulness. She squeezes me back just as tight.
“Okay. Let’s eat. My guys already dug in, and I sent them outside with more for the rest of the crew.”
Alek picks me back up when she lets me go, carrying me to the table and sitting me in his lap. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this big man feeding me. He fills the plate Snow hands him with roasted meat and vegetables, mashed potatoes, and bread.
“Eat up, Baby Girl.” He puts the fork to my mouth, watching as I open for him and wrap my lips around the metal. I moan– embarrassingly loud as the flavor bursts on my taste buds, and all three of my men growl in unison.
“God, you three really do sound like a bunch of grizzly bears,” Snow laughs as she brings over a pitcher of sweet tea, filling some glasses with ice and sitting them around the table as Maddox and Royal dig in too. Alek keeps feeding me, and doesn’t eat until I’m stuffed. “I can’t take another bite,” I groan, rubbing my stomach through my oversized shirt.
“Well, if you’re done, the doctor is waiting in the living room. I can go with you while they finish up.” Snow offers, standing from the table.
Before the guys can protest, I slip off Alek’s lap and take Snow’s hand. “We’ll be right in the living room. Finish eating and join us?”
They look like they want to object, but Snow pulls me from the room before they have a chance. “Good god, girl. They are worse than mine with their possessiveness. Do they even let you pee in private?”
“Honestly, I like it.” We both give each other a look before busting out laughing. “I know. It surprises me too. I never thought I’d want that kind of attention after everything I’ve been through, but with them, it’s different.”
“Trust me, you don’t have to explain it to me. I get it,” she says as we approach the doctor and Ella’s mom and she turns her attention to them. “Dr. Sterling… Mrs. Stone. Thank you for coming. And thank you for helping out with the supplies and food. We really appreciate it.”
“Please, we are happy to help. Thank you for coming to help our girl.” Mrs. Stone pulls her in for a hug, smiling at me over her shoulder. “Come here, baby. It’s so good to see you again. I’ve been so worried about you.”
She moves to me, pulling me in and wrapping me up in a tight hug, both of our eyes misty. “I’m okay, Helen. Thank you for coming.” I pull back, smiling at her. “I know you’ll be happy to have Ella back, too.”
“Oh, I’ve missed her something fierce,” she smiles, patting my arm. “Now, let my Henly take a look at you, baby.”
She sits next to Snow on the couch as the doctor checks my back, putting some more ointment on them but agreeing that the bandages can stay off now. The guys join us eventually, and when the doctor finishes, we sit in the living room, relaxing in each other’s presence. Alek holds me in his lap, Royal and Maddox on either side of us, each of them touching some part of me. I’ve never felt safer.
“So can we go to White Harbor tomorrow?” I finally ask, my anxiousness to see my daughter is almost overwhelming.
“Um… Actually…” Snow says, sitting up. “They’ve already left to come back here. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
A breath of relief leaves me and my whole body relaxes against Alek. “Thank you,” I tell her, emotion clogging my throat as I hold back the tears.
“I knew you wouldn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want you to have to travel so soon.”
“I appreciate that, Snow. That’s perfect,” I turn to Royal. “And you’ll take care of everything before they get here?”
“I’ll take care of it right now, Angel,” he says, kissing my cheek and standing from the couch. He looks to Maddox, Ronan, and Dax, each of them understanding and getting up with him. “We’ll be right back. Alek, stay with her.”
Nervous energy settles over me, knowing that it’s almost over, but still scared that the rug is going to be pulled out from under me again. We sit in silence after they leave the room. I feel like everyone is holding their breath– at least I am.
It’s almost over.
I’ll be able to breathe properly when I know that King won’t ever breathe again. When he’s out of our lives for good.
It feels like hours, but it’s just a few minutes later, Dax storms into the living room, panic and rage on his face. “He’s gone.”
Fear blankets me like a bucket of ice water as I feel all the blood drain from my face. I can tell by the way he looks, he doesn’t mean dead. He means– gone.
“How?” Icy rage coats my tone as I slowly stand from Alek’s lap, his hands gripping onto my waist in support.
“He attacked the guard we sent to move him. He’s alive but unconscious. The rest of the guys went after him so he won’t get far. The forest is hard to navigate in the daytime, much less in the dark. Plus, he’s heavily injured. We’ll find him.”
“I’m going,” I pull out of Alek’s hold, heading for the front door before Ronan stops me by the arm.
“Wait. I’ll take you out, but you need shoes first, Red,” he says, looking down at my bare feet and the pants that are dragging the floor. “And some clothes that actually fit.”
“Fine. I’ll be two minutes. If you leave without me, I’ll cut your cock off and shove it up your ass.”
“There’s the smartass that I know and love. Hurry the fuck up,” he says, turning me towards the stairs where Alek is already heading.
We race up the stairs, throwing on clothes and shoes in record time. I’m pretty sure I beat the two minutes I promised. Ronan and Dax are waiting by the door when we come back down, and two of the Kohle Brothers are sitting with Snow on the couch.
“Let’s fucking go,” I say, stalking out the door ahead of them. I don’t know if I’m more pissed off or scared. What if he hurts Royal or Maddox? What if he gets away and this fear never leaves? What if it’s never going to be safe here for us? For my daughter?
“We’ll find him,” Alek assures me, keeping pace as we head to the river where he’ll likely follow so he doesn’t get lost. He shouldn’t get far, he lost a lot of blood before I cut his cock off. “I should have just slit his fucking throat and been done with it.”
I mentally beat myself up as we walk along the river with a group of Shadows until the radio one of them is carrying goes off. “We got eyes on him. Follow the river upstream to the cliffs.”
We take off in a sprint, narrowly avoiding dead logs and broken limbs littering the river bank. We spot the flashlight beams first.
“Thank God,” I whisper under my breath when Royal and Maddox come into sight. Standing close to the cliff’s edge, leaning over. “Where is he?” I ask, confused as King is nowhere to be seen.
“He- uh…he slipped.” Dax says when we reach them. “He was on the edge, and just– went over.”
Alek and I pass him, going to Royal and Maddox and looking down. The water rushes over the stones.
“We saw him go over right here, but the river took him before we could get here,” Royal says, pulling me to his side. “It’s over, Angel. There’s no way he survived that fall.”
“Is it really over? He’s dead?”
“He’s dead,” he says, kissing my temple. “Let’s go home.”