Page 3 of Ours to Keep

“How long do you think that motherfucker has been watching her?” I ask quietly. The letters all make more sense now. He knew of our whereabouts, and I know for a fact Jax was keeping him informed, much to his own chagrin.

“I honestly have no idea. It’s probably been the entire time we’ve been here,” Jax replies, his guilt palpable.

“I don’t think we gave the arsehole enough credit. Hiring us to watch her like a doting step-father. And yet, it’s been pretty damn obvious from the get-go the only thing that cunt is concerned with is keeping up appearances.” I don’t need to say it out loud, but we’ve all failed her in every way that matters. I’m beginning to sincerely question how much of a liability we are when it comes to her safety. Were we all way too intoxicated by the enigma that is Lilith Montgomery to notice the threat?

I cringe as I notice a deep laceration in Lily’s flesh.

“Fuck,” I curse, pressing a small gauze over the open wound that’s going to need stitches.

My mind wanders back to that bloody belt discarded on the bathroom floor.

We don’t deserve her, and we sure as hell don’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. Lily deserves so much more than our weak arses. I don’t think any of us have ever felt so damn useless as we do right now.

The only other time it came close to this was when Tommy was captured, and Elliot was lying in a hospital bed, his leg blown off. The truth is, if I didn’t have Elliot to focus on, I have no idea what would have become of me after we left the military. I honestly don’t think I’m fit to protect anyone if the trajectory of my thoughts is anything to go by.

This should never have happened. She was our priority, fuck, how did it even come to this?

I have to work hard on my breathing and concentrate on eachinhale and exhale. Otherwise, I’ll likely get dragged under, just like Tommy. Not that I can blame him. It’s too much, seeing her like this, void of her usual glow, her alluring presence. I’ll never forgive myself for being so close and unable to protect her, yet this isn’t about me—it’s about her. The selfish part of me wants to get up and go hunting for the cunt, but what kind of person would that make me?Leaving her when she needs us the most.

I raise my eyes to meet Jax’s.“Make no mistake, when I find him, and I will, he’s a dead man,” I state, needing to say the words out loud.He left Lily for dead. Beat her and left her like she was nothing. The mother fucker just signed his own downfall.

“How did we miss this?” Jax asks, his usual composure lacking as he runs a hand through his hair. “How the fuck did we let this happen?”

Jax’s frustration gets the better of him as he shoves to his feet, his fist slamming into the nearby wall. “We should have seen the signs,” he grits out, opening and closing his fist as he paces like a caged animal.

“Yeah, well, hindsight is a bitch,” I snap, my own shame making me lash out. “What matters now is getting her help.”

He freezes, his shoulders hunching in defeat, and returns to Lily’s other side. My gaze returns to her pale face. I can vaguely hear Elliot speaking in hushed tones to Tommy. Seconds stretch into agonising minutes as we wait for the ambulance.

It feels like an eternity.

Chapter Three

TOMMY

Seeing Lily like that, her usual halo of light dimmed by her ashen skin, was enough to bring me to my knees. How did this even happen? We were meant to protect her, not allow this to happen under our so-called protection.

I lost myself for a moment, the overwhelming sense of both failure and helplessness. It would have been so easy to allow it to consume me, but what kind of person would that make me? Lily needs us, and I've come to realise that I need her, too. I don't know how it happened or when she managed to burrow her way inside my chest cavity. No one else has had the power to even prick the surface of getting close to me. But Lily is a light to behold, something that she's currently lacking, her face beaten and swollen, her skin lacklustre. If I thought she looked rough after her car accident, it’s nothing compared to now. Bile rises in my throat, the scent of blood fermenting the air, the metallic tang hitting the back of my nose and making me want to gag.

I push myself to my feet. Elliot's concerned gaze, holding mine for a beat. I give a curt nod. It's all I can offer him right now. He returns it before turning back towards the carnage that is happening over on Lily's bed.

Jax's expression is murderous as he surveys Lily's body. River's hands tremble as he tries to clean away some of the blood to access the worst of the injuries she’s sustained. Her delicate skin ripped and marred. She didn't deserve this, not in her home and sure as hell not by someone who was meant to be her family.

Why did Richard hire us and then let his mask slip by doing this? What did he have to gain? He now has four men who are now out for his blood.

I glance back to River, a darkness surrounding him that I've only ever seen glimpses of when we served in the military. He's out for retribution, and I don't have a single doubt in my mind that he'll find it. It's at odds with his playful, carefree attitude, which he allows the world to see. But we know him better than anyone. We know the darkest parts of him because we all share in his darkness. An unshakeable bond formed through mutual trauma, a club no one ever wants to be a part of.

I lick my lips and blow out a breath before reaching for the soft blanket on the chaise lounge and laying it over Lily's bare legs.

“The police are on route and an ambulance should be here in about ten minutes,” Elliot says, his voice wavering slightly as he comes to stand beside me. His fist clutches his phone so tightly that if he had the power to shatter it, he would.

A murmur from Lily has us all freezing.

“Lily,” Jax says, leaning closer.

“Jackson,” she replies, barely above a whisper, her voice hoarse, and I wonder if it's from her screams of when that mother fucker attacked her. I remember all too well what that's like. At first, I tried to contain my pain, tried in vain to be silent, but eventually, the pain became too much, and I had no choice but to scream in agony as I was beaten and tortured.

“Yes, Lily, can you hear me?”

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