Page 59 of Redemption

Axel

I’m on the edge ofmy seat the whole way back with my heart in my throat. Nothing inside of me will settle down until we reach the house. Asher is just as tense next to me and I can feel every emotion radiating off of him in waves. I keep replaying everything over in head wondering how I could have missed the signs. The truth is I let my emotions do the talking instead of paying better attention. If something happens to Charlee or Wildflower because of my oversight I’ll never forgive myself.

When we pull through the security gate and by-pass the cluster of guys with guns into Finn’s driveway I see Charlee’s car and a piece of my heart settles. It still won’t be complete until I have Kelsey in my arms.

Asher doesn’t wait until Rory kills the engine before he’s out and rushing inside the house. The rest of us follow right after him to find the living room packed full with Donnellys.

Finn’s sitting on a cream sofa with a cigar in one hand and his other arm is wrapped around Kennedy. Keegan is sitting on the loveseat across from her, toying with his fedora.

The muscles in my body begin to relax as I watch Asher wrap his girls in his arms. They’re here. They’re safe. I glance around searching for that familiar fleck of red hair, but when I come up empty an uneasy feeling creeps over me. “Where’s Kelsey?”

“They never made it here.” Tears pool in Charlee’s green eyes as she shakes her head. “They were supposed to be right behind us. We should never have split up.” She bursts into sobs and buries her face in Asher’s chest. He kisses the top of her head, but there’s no mistaking the clench of his jaw as a lead weight settles in my gut. This can’t be happening.

“Where’s Teegan?” Rory glances around the room just now realizing that we are one twin short.

Connor is standing next to him wearing the same grim expression we all are.

“He was bringing Kelsey in our truck. We separated to divert their attention and keep them from harming the baby, but Charlee’s right. We should never have separated.” Keegan swallows down the rest of his words as he runs a hand through his dark hair.

“Nonsense, Keeg. It’s not your fault.” Kennedy sniffles and Finn squeezes her tighter against his side. I sense Zane tense next to me at the sight, but I have my own shit to deal with at the moment.

“Ye did exactly what I taught ye to do.” Finn holds Keegan’s stare. Their conversation sounds like it’s happening in a tunnel as my heart pounds against my chest so hard I feel like it’s going to crack in two.

“Son of a bitch!” I kick over a nearby table causing the glass top and all of it’s contents to shatter against the marble floor. Lily jumps in Charlee’s arms as her little fists wave around the air. Her soft cries have me feeling like the biggest dick on the planet. “Sorry, Wildflower.”

Charlee pats her tiny back and shushes her as Asher escorts them both into the other room, but not before he shoots me a look that clearly warns he’ll have my balls if I ever do something like that again.

Nobody says a word for what seems like hours, until Finn breaks it. He glances at me and Rory and shakes his head. “Ye two are a feckin’ mess. Did I teach ye nothin’? Shower and meet me in my office in ten.” I open my mouth to argue, but he gets there first. “Ken, will show ye where ye can clean up.” With that, he pushes up to a standing position and exits the room leaving me with my heart in my throat.

Kennedy pushes her glasses further up her pert nose and motions for me to follow her. “This way.”

I trail behind her, up the stairs and into one of the bedroom’s that leads to a massive suite of a bathroom. In a fog, I step through the threshold and into the huge space.

“For what it’s worth, my dad will find them both.” She stops in the doorway and peers up at me through her glasses, revealing deep blue eyes. Up until now it’s escaped my attention how similar her features are to Kelsey and that only twists the knife in my gut deeper.

My mind is spinning a million different directions and the only response I can manage is a small nod.

Her hands clasp in front of her as she pastes a smile on her face and watches me for a second. “The towels are in that cupboard right there and fresh clothes are in the cupboard next to that one.” When I don’t say anything she rocks back on the heels of her feet and clears her throat a couple of times. I should probably say something so I don’t come off as such a dick to Kelsey’s cousin, but words aren’t coming to me. “I’ll leave you to it then.” She spins and leaves me alone, but not before I catch a glimpse of Zane’s back as he follows after her like a stalker. I’m not even touching that. I have enough issues of my own to deal with at the moment without adding his on top of it.

I step further into the marble bathroom and up to the sink, wondering how everything got so fucked up so fast. My nostrils flare as I stare back at my bloody reflection and try to rein in my breathing, but it’s pointless. Everything hits me all at once. All the shit they’ve done. All the shit I’ve handed to them on a silver fucking platter. It’s like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. I can’t stand to look at myself right now. My hand curls into a fist and slams down against the mirror, shattering the glass. Blood coats my knuckles, but I don’t feel a thing. Nothing registers except two things. They took her from me and it’s all my fault.

“We’ll find you.” It’s a promise—one I won’t break. I’ll burn the whole damn world down to keep it if I have to. Or else I’m going to burn the world down to keep it.

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