Page 5 of Wicked Vengeance

“Em?” Alek calls out.

“Mmhmp-.”

Maddox points to the bed, and I drop to the ground and flip the dust ruffle up. The sight I find makes my heart soar in my chest, and my blood boils– simultaneously.

A wide-eyed woman stares back at me, clutching Em to her body with her hand covering her mouth. Rage coats my words as they grind out of my mouth, laced with fury.

“Let. Her. Go.”

“No! Don’t hurt h-her!” She cries, her voice breaking as she tightens her hold on Em, making me pause.

She’s trying to– protect her?

Em cries harder, struggling against her, breaking my heart as her eyes plead with me. She remembers me. Letting out a relieved sigh, I soften my tone when I address the frightened woman again.

“She is struggling against you because she knows me. She’s trying to get to me,” I explain gently.

Her eyes quickly dart to Em, searching her face for a moment before slowly releasing her mouth as she asks, “Do you know who this is, Emma?”

“Ro,” she tries to say, but it sounds like ‘whoa.’ She’s shaking her head up and down and struggling to get her arms up to reach for me. Smiling at her, I reach my hand out to her, running my knuckle down her cheek, and she relaxes in the woman's hold.

“Bring her out, please. We won’t hurt you,” I say gently. It’s like trying to coax a scared kitten from a corner.

“Okay,” the woman relents, fear still evident behind her words. She keeps her arms tight around Em, holding my gaze as she slowly scoots forward.

As soon as Em reaches the edge, the woman releases her. She scrambles to her feet and launches herself to me, knocking me back onto my ass as I crush her to my chest. Her whole body shakes against me with sobs, and she clings to me like her knight in shining armor.

“Shhh. I’ve got you now. You’re safe, Little One,” I whisper, soothing her with one hand cradling her head and the other rubbing her back.

With my eyes squeezed shut, I feel my brothers surround us. Alek’s huge frame kneels next to us on one side as Maddox comes to the other, bringing all four of us together on the floor.

“We’ve got you, Em. It’s okay,” Alek says, emotion straining his deep voice as he places his hand on top of mine. When she hears him, she raises her head, and the smile that splits across her face splits my heart in two.

“Bear!” She shouts, launching out of my arms and clinging to his arm like a spider monkey. He sits back on his ass, too, bringing her around to cradle her in his big arms.

“That’s right, Little One. I’ve missed you,” he says into her messy blonde curls.

Maddox is practically shaking beside me, holding onto my shoulders while he impatiently waits for her to acknowledge him. He might be chaos incarnate, but he loves her just as much as we do. No one could make her laugh like him. Alek opens his eyes, and when he sees Maddox, he helps him out.

“Little One, look who else is here.”

She lifts her head and turns to us. When she sees Maddox smiling at her, she wastes no time scrambling to him.

“Maddie!”

She throws her arms around his neck, clinging to him the same way she did with us. “Sunshine,” Maddox whispers softly as he holds her tight.

It doesn’t escape my notice that a tear trickles its way down his cheek when he squeezes his eyes shut and soaks her presence in.

When she pulls back to look at his face, she cups her tiny hand to his cheek and presses her nose to his.

“It’s o-tay, Maddie. Don’t cry,”

And if that doesn’t just rip my heart right out of my fucking chest, I don’t know if anything else ever will.

“I’m okay, Sunshine. I’ve just missed you so much,” he tells her, giving her a crazy smile that makes her giggle.

“I hate to interrupt…” the woman says quietly from where she stands in front of the bed, bringing my attention back to her. I forgot she was even here. “But who are you?”

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