Page 43 of Wicked Vengeance

Hanging up the phone, the only connection I've had with my daughter in two years is quite possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Alek holds me in his arms while I break, whispering soothing words into my heart.

Snow and Dax excuse themselves to go call Jasper. I know she’s missing a piece of her family right now, too. Maddox and Royal surround me and Alek, and somehow their support right now is all I need. Eventually, the tears dry up, and I feel more at peace with the situation than I had before.

King will get what’s coming to him.

We will bring Emera home.

We will survive this.

Sitting up, I wipe away the evidence of my sorrow from my face and look at the men I love– the men who’ve shattered all of my carefully constructed, bulletproof walls in just a few weeks. With them, I feel safe, loved, cared for– in a way I’ve never felt before in my life. Sure, Grams loved me, but this feeling…this kind of love, it’s different. It’s not obligational or conditional. It’s a pure, all-consuming kind of love that should scare the shit out of me. But it doesn’t. It feels like…home.

My smile is genuine when I look into their eyes. “So what now?”

The smile Maddox returns lets his psychotic energy shine bright. “Now, my Bloody Queen, you get to come see your surprise.”

Chapter 30

Royal

Jackson’s naked and partially mutilated body swings from the beams, looking worse for wear. Maddox did a number on it already, but there’s still too much untouched on his body for my liking. I can’t wait to see Raena in action again. I know I’m fucked in the head…but she needs this, and I need him to suffer for hurting my Angel.

Seeing the aftermath of her body in just a few short days, I have no idea how she survived for three years with King and his men the first time. She really is the strongest, most resilient human. But she shouldn’t have to be. The caveman in me is screaming that I need to protect her, to shelter her from the horrors that torturing her tormentors will have on her. But I know the hard truth– there's not a single spot on her soul not tainted by the stain of her trauma.

This is her kill.

She deserves some retribution– some vengeance– for what she’s endured. With the darkness we’ve survived, sometimes you’ve got to join the dark side to find even a fraction of the peace that was stolen from you. I can give her this peace. It doesn’t mean I won’t help her, but she’s running this show.

Maddox leads Raena by the hand past us to Jackson’s unconscious form, and judging by the look in both of their eyes, this is going to get real fucking fun here soon.

“Surprise!” Maddox exclaims, bouncing in his typical giddy manner. “Do you like it?”

“This is just what I need,” Raena says, smiling from ear to ear. Her voice is already slipping into that monotone Hunter voice she uses when she locks down her vulnerabilities so they can’t hurt her. I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure she never has to go to that place again, but for now, I appreciate her built-in protection. Whatever she needs to survive this, I’ll take.

Walking around behind the dangling body, I scan her body head-to-toe. Watching her face for any doubt or hesitation, I find none. She’s ready.

“This is your show, Angel. Tell us what you need.”

“I need answers. Jackson is his right hand. If anyone knows where he’d hole up and hide, it’s him,” she tells me, and of course, she’s right. That was our thinking, too.

“Let's wake him up and have a little chat then,” Maddox says as Alek walks back to the door, pulling it closed to give us some privacy.

We left Snow and her guys at the house, preparing more food to feed the army we’ve built, and we’ve instructed said army to ignore anything they hear from this shed for a while. He’s not leaving this building alive, but just to be safe, we don’t want him having any intel on our little hideout or how many people we have.

“Did you…skin his balls?” Raena can’t hide the excitement in her glittering green eyes as she looks over his handiwork.

“Nice touch, right?” Maddox beams under her approval. “Don’t worry, my Queen, I left plenty for you.”

The little psycho has met his match, that's for sure. No one but our girl could bond with him over mutilated genitals. I don’t think my fucked up heart has ever been more full than it is right now.

The smile she gives him is nothing short of breathtaking. She saunters up to him, swaying her ass with every step. She runs a single finger up and down his chest over the shirt he threw on earlier. The dominance in her voice is something I’ve never heard, and it almost drops me to my knees when she looks up at him from beneath her full lashes. “Take off your clothes, Maddie Baby.”

Holy fucking shit.

My dick couldn’t be harder than it is right now watching her sexy little ass going all ‘Domme’ on my little brother.

Alek steps up beside me, and a quick look at him and the monster imprint he’s sporting in those sweats tells me he’s not unaffected either. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he leans down to whisper in my ear, his deep gravel voice sending a shiver down my spine unexpectedly. He’s never affected me like this, either. I can’t say that I mind at all. “Looks like our girl is full of her own surprises.”

“That she is,” I respond, not being able to tear my eyes away from Maddox, who is stripping his clothes off with a feral grin on his face, and our girl standing there with confidence oozing from her.

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