Page 64 of Soulless Angel

“Good call,” Daire agreed. “We’ll send the footage to the Sinners. They can make sure anyone who participated in this fucker’s business sees it and knows what’s coming for them if they cross us.”

They shackled JD facing the wall instead. He bucked and jerked against the restraints. His shouts and threats quickly turned to begging and pleading. Raina and I both watched, eager to see him get what he deserved.

Cash held the camera, making sure to get a good shot as the other guys took turns beating JD until he sagged against the shackles. Raina and I stood huddled together, holding onto one another. I was happy not to participate, preferring to watch the Angels and the Gods handle this.

When JD was barely conscious, Gage jerked his pants down. Realization settled in. I covered my mouth with a hand, my eyes widening. Next to me, Raina looked on with eager expectation.

“Time to become the star of your own show, motherfucker.” Cash snickered, adjusting the camera settings to make sure he had perfect focus.

JD had stopped begging. Knowing it was useless, he decided to try to go out with some sense of pride. That didn’t last long. Once Daire jammed the barrel of JD’s own gun between his ass cheeks, thrusting upwards, JD began to scream.

The sound was like nothing I’d heard before. There was no describing the level of terror in his voice. I wasn’t sure that I could watch this part.

At the last second, I closed my eyes and turned away. The gun went off, and JD’s screams stopped.

“Holy shit,” Raina murmured. “Your man is a crazy fucker. That was amazing.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Unable to bring myself to look at what was left of JD, I hurried from the room.

Blaze brought my clothes, and I changed quickly in the next room while the guys made plans to torch the house. Raina and I waited outside in the car while they started a fire on every floor of the house in multiple rooms. Smoke billowed from a few upper windows when they rushed out of the house.

We were squeezed so tightly into the Jeep, I didn’t think we’d all fit. Cash pulled me onto his lap, his strong arms going around me. I kept waiting for a sense of relief to hit, but my body refused to relax. Tension held me stiff. This one was going to stay with me for a while.

Once we arrived back at the Gods’ house, Daire announced that we would be leaving. “As much as we appreciate the hospitality, I think it’s best that we stay in a hotel for a while. We need some time alone with our girl, and I’m sure you could use some time alone with yours.”

Havoc nodded. “No worries. I get it. You’re right. We need some quality time with our goddess.”

Raina started to protest, but I silenced her with a hand on her arm. “It’s cool. I think it’s a good idea. We’ll touch base tomorrow.”

“Fine,” she relented. “Get some sleep if you can. Call me as soon as you wake up.” Turning to the Angels, she pointed a finger at each of them. “Take care of her or you’ll answer to me.”

Daire gave her a facetious salute. “Aye, aye, Captain. No argument here.”

We gathered our things and headed to a hotel downtown. My head ached as the adrenaline crash settled in. Fatigue took me over from head to toe.

I didn’t realized I’d started to drift off until I felt Cash lift me, holding me against his broad chest. I snuggled in against him, fingers curling in his shirt. Maybe I would be able to sleep after all.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CLOVER

Once we entered the hotel, I was wide awake again. Blaze did the talking as he dealt with the person at the check-in desk. A few minutes later, we were in the elevator on our way up to our room.

Leaving the Gods’ house was probably for the best. We all needed time to decompress. We had brought our problems right to Raina and her guys. That wasn’t what I’d wanted, although I appreciated the way they’d stepped up and helped us handle business.

We entered a room on the fourth floor with a large king size bed and a couch near the window. It was nothing special, but it was clean, so it would do. Cash went around the room double checking everything. He examined the glasses on the table under the mounted TV before pulling back the blankets to scrutinize the sheets.

“Does it meet your requirements?” Blaze smirked, flopping down on the bed.

“Hey, bed bugs are no joke.” Picking up a pillow, Cash smacked him over the head with it.

I stood there staring at the room, trying to decide if I should collapse straight into the bed or force myself through a shower first. When Daire took my hand and steered me tothe bed, I let him. My gaze strayed out the window to the city beyond. It was nothing short of a miracle that I was alive.

Daire went to the minibar to peruse the contents. He pulled out a bottle of vodka, holding it up for me to see. “Do you want a drink, Angel? If there’s ever a time to imbibe, it would be now.”

He opened the bottle and tipped it to his lips, drinking it straight. When he passed it to me, I seriously considered downing enough of the bottle to drown out this entire night. As I reached for the vodka, I hesitated.

“No.” I shook my head. “I think I need to feel what I’m feeling right now. It’s healthier for me to process this naturally. It’s not going to be easy. I’m sure over the next few days, it’s really going to hit hard. But it’s better this way. I don’t want to numb out.”

---