Page 123 of Hawk
I meant every word. Araneta deserved to die, and if she hurt Stella in any way, I was going to join the madman and the lunatic as they made every second of the end of her life as painful as possible.
Matthew and Anna needed Stella, and I was going to keep my promise to them. I was bringing her home, and I would spend every second of my life helping her heal from whatever she’d experienced.
After all, that’s what you do for the one you love.
Chapter 39
Stella
Ametallic taste inmy mouth made me nauseated as I tried to remember what happened to me. My face ached, the back of my head was throbbing, I didn’t have any shoes on, and I felt like someone hit me with a truck. Groaning, I rolled onto my back and felt something pushing into my shoulder blade. I scooted to the side, getting relief as I fought to determine where I was.
Fear lanced through me when I didn’t recognize my surroundings, and immediately, I worried I was trapped back at Adrik’s. Breathing in through my nose, I calmed myself when I remembered the slick, warm feeling of Adrik’s blood as I killed him all those years ago. As long as I wasn’t back with him, I could handle anything.
The sound of arguing outside the room drew my attention, but it was hard to make out what they were saying. As the fog pushed out of my brain, I began to remember what had happened to me, and the rage that filled me was more intense than anything I’d ever experienced.
Araneta, Colton’s ex-wife and Matthew and Anna’s mother, had shown up at the door, rambling on about her kids, her husband, and her stolen life. I recalled telling Zeus to protect the children, and tears flooded my eyes as I thought about how scared they must’ve been.
With all the strength I could muster, I pushed myself off the floor and held onto the back of my head as I rested my forehead on my bent knees. Vomit was threatening to spill from my mouth as the room spun from the throbbing in my head. I felt something warm and sticky on my hand, and when I pulled it down to see, there was blood coating the palm of my hand.
“Fucking bitch,” I muttered as the spinning slowed and I was better able to open my eyes.
“How fucking stupid can you be?” a man’s voice yelled, and I could hear a woman crying just beyond the closed door. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“You fucked up, that’s what,” I answered softly to myself.
I assumed one of the people on the other side of the door was Araneta, but I’d learned a long time ago to never make assumptions. Go off facts, and the only fact I knew for certain was I was going to kill whoever thought they could take me from my family. I was no longer the scared, intimidated girl who buckled under pressure and allowed myself to be a victim.
My name was Stella Bonavair, but I was born a Lenkov, and I was going to show them why you never messed with me and my family.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?” the man yelled, and whimpering sounded through the door.
I could hear every word the other person said, but the words that stuck out were ‘whorehouse’, ‘sell’, and ‘overseas’. They could get fucked if they thought I was going to go anywhere willingly. Glancing around, trying to keep my head straight, I looked for a weapon but found nothing usable.
What I did see what disgusting. There was an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, more empty liquor bottles than I wanted to count, trash everywhere, a used condom hanging over the edge of a trashcan, and filthy bed sheets. Wherever I was needed to be cleansed with fire.
“How long will she be out?” another man asked, sounding closer to the door. “I want to test the merchandise before you make the call.”
