Page 28 of The Devil's Redemption

An unmistakable sob sounds behind the thick wooden door before I hear a loud, “no”come from Maggie.

As Hawk’s deep timbre hits my ears again, I move away from the door and climb back into my bed. I want to see her. She’s the only one who knows what I am going through. The relief I feel now that I know she’s awake is something I didn’t expect. It’s almost as though maybe, sometime far in the future, I might actually have a chance to feelokayagain.

Chapter Eleven

Staringat the clock on the wall, I watch as the second hand ticks its way around in a circle. Hawk came to check on me and say goodnight nearly two hours ago, but I haven’t been able to fall asleep yet. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to go to Maggie. To hear her story. Find out if she’s as broken as I am. Maybe even begin to heal together.

If that’s even possible.

Initially, I thought she’d want to meet me, speak with me. Work with me to sort through the anguish we endured together. We may have been in separate cells in that basement, but I felt a connection to her.

Maybe I’m just being stupid.

What if she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me? I was part of what, I’m sure, were the worst moments of her life. For all I know, she’d rather cut ties with any and all of it including me. Whatever reminds her of the torment.

You’ll never know if you don’t try.

I take a deep breath and pull back the blankets, lowering my feet to the floor. As quietly as I can, I slide my feet across the linoleum, not stopping until I reach the door I heard Hawk speaking to her through. I place my ear against it and listen for any sound in the room beyond.

With a final, nervous swallow, I tug on the door handle. I’m half expecting it to be locked but am surprised to find it’s not. I slowly cross the threshold into a larger space that looks more like an operating room than a hospital room. There is some type of surgical table in the center of the back half of the room with a large light hanging from the ceiling over it. Waist-high cabinets line the sides of the room, and the doors and drawers are all labeled. I can’t make out what any of them say in the near dark room, but I’m sure they have to be medical supplies and tools.

I turn my head at the sound of beeping coming from Maggie’s monitor. To the left of where I’m standing is another bed just like mine as well as a chair positioned next to it. In the chair is Hawk, arms crossed over his chest, head resting against the chair back. He’s doing exactly what Blade did while waiting for me to wake up. Exactly what he’s been doing each night since, until he left a few days ago.

He cares about her.

I wonder if they knew one another before we were rescued. It’s a possibility, seeing as they’re both affiliated with an MC. If not, it would be somewhat odd for Hawk to develop feelings for someone he’s only known for a week. Especially when that someone has been asleep ever since she was brought here.

I think about my feelings for Blade and how quickly they progressed despite my failed efforts to push him from my thoughts and fantasies.

Or maybe it’s not odd? Who am I to make assumptions?

Finally, I get a better look at the mysterious girl in the cell next to mine. We didn’t talk to one another while we were down there. They were pumping H into our veins the majority of the time we were left alone. It was the best way to keep us subdued, even though we were tied up. It kept us from putting up too much of a fight.

Her blonde hair is in bad condition, like mine. Although Blade and Bon-Bon have been working on getting the knots out every day. It’s a slow process, and I’m not sure it’s possible without shaving my head.

Maggie is petite with an athletic frame. She has tattoos everywhere—including on her scalp—and her septum is pierced.

She’s absolutely beautiful.

Just then, something causes her to wince. I don’t know if it’s pain from her injuries or if it’s because she’s haunted by the same nightmares that I am, but I feel it, too. Her pain is my pain. There wasn’t one slap, thrust, or kick she received that I didn’t feel in my broken soul. I cried for both of us in that cellar. I don’t know if she’s going to want to have anything to do with me when she wakes up, but something tells me we’re only going to get through this together. The same way we’ve done up to this point.

I retreat from her bed and her room, closing the door softly behind me. I’ll check in on her again tomorrow. Hopefully, Hawk won’t be hovering over her when I do.

* * *

The next morning, I’m awoken by a terrified scream. I don’t know which way it came from as I wipe the sleep from my eyes, but a second later I hear it again.

Maggie.

I rush from my room as quickly as possible—which still isn’t very fast—and throw the door to her room open. Kid is holding her down on the bed while Hawk fumbles with her IV. Her eyes are open, and I recognize the look of pure terror that I see.

“Get off of her!” I scream, my throat feeling like it’s being split in half.

“Get out of here, Sasha,” Hawk demands as he injects something into the tube connected to her hand.

As she begins to mellow out, I lunge at Kid, pounding my fists on his back and insisting he get off of her. He whips around and grabs me in a bear hug. Lifting me from the ground, he walks me back into my room and puts me down. I chase him as he runs back into Maggie’s room, but I’m too slow. He closes and locks the door behind him, keeping me from getting to her.

I turn and make my way around my bed, grabbing the handle on the door that leads to the clubhouse. Before I make it two steps out into the kitchen, I freeze, locking eyes with Hawk who is exiting Maggie’s room from the other exit.

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