Page 13 of Rex
Chapter Fourteen
Dre
Rex tries to hide his unease from me, but I can feel his body growing tense beneath me as soon as I ask him to tell me about Wreck and Shadow. I don’t know why he’s acting this way; it seems so out of character to me after everything I’ve seen from him so far, but I have a feeling that whatever led to my brother and Shadow finally figuring out they’re in love isn’t a joyful and happy story. I have a feeling it’s a crazy one, probably filled with some sort of drama that leads to their happy ending. There’s no way those two would have pulled their heads out of their asses without something major happening. They’ve been oblivious for far too long for them to have just figured their shit out. If it was going to happen that way, it would have happened years ago when the way they felt about each other became as clear as day to everyone else.
“We should probably sit more comfortably for this. It isn’t a short and sweet story, unfortunately. It’s a wild ride filled with pain, betrayal, and lies. Don’t get me wrong, the outcome is beyond fantastic for your brother and Shadow, but they certainly had the time of it getting to where they are now.”
As much as I’d much rather stay where I am in Rex’s lap, I slide off him and move to take a seat at the top of the bed. Myback resting against the headboard with my legs straight out in front of me. Rex doesn’t move to join me until I start patting the empty spot next to me. He takes his seat, but instead of looking at me like I expect him to, he tips his head back and stares up at the ceiling.
I don’t say anything as he begins to talk. I just listen as he explains what he knows. I’ll admit, even though I was expecting something crazy, I could never have guessed what Rex tells me. Listening to him explain about how Shadow entered a secret relationship with this woman, Megan, while Wreck was away searching for me and how he continued to keep it quiet even after Wreck returned to Devil’s Point leaves me in a serious state of shock. I know for a fact those two have never kept anything from each other before, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why Shadow would do that in this instance. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
As Rex continues to explain, I move from shock to pure anger. I’m not a violent person. It’s not me, but as I listen to him tell me about how Megan, a woman he’s been friends with since childhood, lied and manipulated him into hurting my brother because she wanted him out of the way. All because she wanted Shadow all to herself, I have a serious urge to go and hunt her down and inflict some damage.
I can hear the pain in Rex’s voice as he explains what he did to Wreck. The guilt he feels over harming an innocent person is like a living, breathing entity. It surrounds him. I wish more than anything that I could take what he’s feeling away. This guilt he’s carrying over the part he played in Megan’s scheme isn’t his to be carrying. There’s only one guilty party in this story, and it’s fucking Megan. I hope she’s in a hole somewhere rotting for what she did to Wreck, Shadow, and Rex. None of them deserved to be part of her fucked-up games. There’s no otherway to describe what she did; no sane fucking person would ever dream of doing what she did.
Even though I hate what Megan did to them all, I suppose something good did come out of it all. Shadow and Wreck figured their shit out. That in itself is a fucking miracle with how clueless the pair of them were. I bet she never thought that would be the way her little scheme ended. I can’t help but internally chuckle at that thought. From what Rex is telling me, it seems like almost losing Wreck was a serious wake-up call for Shadow. I can’t even imagine what he must have been going through when Wreck went missing. He must have been close to losing his mind.
I hate the way they ended up figuring out they are meant to be together, but I’m glad they are finally with each other. They’re two people who are fucking made for each other, and I’ll fight anyone who tries to tell me otherwise. Not that I’d do very well in a fight, but still. It’s a hill I’m more than willing to die on. You’ve got to be blind and dumb if you can’t see the love they feel for each other. I’m even more excited to go home and see them together now.
As soon as Rex finishes telling me what happened, he stands from the bed and starts making his way out of the room. His shoulders are slumped, and he looks so beat down. I can’t fucking stand it. I don’t even think before I act. I’m off the bed and heading straight towards him in the blink of an eye.
Before he reaches the doorway to exit the room, I’m next to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a stop. I turn him to face me and release a gasp at the look of devastation on his face. I may be smaller than him, but that doesn’t stop me from pulling him towards me and wrapping my arms around him in the tightest hug possible.
He’s tense for a few moments before I feel his body start to relax against me. Even though I can feel him relaxing, I don’t let him go. I’m not taking the chance that he’ll try to leave again.
“Why are you trying to leave?” I ask.
“I figured it was for the best; now you know what I did. I hurt your brother. There’s no way you’d want to spend more time with me after learning that. You probably hate me now.”
“Silly man. I don’t hate you. I don’t even blame you for what you did. You were betrayed and used, Rex. You didn’t know she was lying to you. There’s only one person I blame for what happened, and that’s Megan.”
“What?” He asks, shocked. He pulls back from our embrace so he can look at me.
“Rex I understand you feel guilty for what happened. It’s understandable. It really is, but it’s also misplaced. You didn’t set out to hurt an innocent. You trusted someone you considered a friend. You need to let go of the guilt before it eats you alive. Don’t let her actions destroy you. You’re a good man who made a mistake by trusting the wrong person. Please don’t let that define you. The world needs men like you, and if you let this keep festering, the world is going to lose one of its protectors. That would be devastating.”
Rex stares at me, eyes wide and mouth agape. It’s clear to me that my words have shocked the hell out of him. I chuckle at the look on his face. I can’t help it. He looks so different from the take-charge man that I met earlier. Keeping one arm still loosely around him, I bring the other up to close his mouth and cradle his face in my palm.
“I understand it’s not going to be easy for you to let the guilt go and forgive yourself, but if you’ll let me, I’ll spend every day reminding you that you’re not to blame. You’re one of the best men I’ve ever met, Rex Knightlye.”
His eyes drift closed at my words, and a single tear flows down his face.
“I don’t know what I did to meet someone as amazing as you, but I’m thankful for it. Thank you for saying all that. Maybe one day I’ll believe it.”
“You will. Time heals all wounds, Rex.”
Chapter Fifteen
Rex
Dre’s words last night were not what I was expecting in the slightest. I’ve heard similar things from so many people since the entire shitshow happened, but coming from him hit me differently. I don’t know why, but it did. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel guilt about what I did, but it’s not eating me alive quite as much. Maybe he’s right and time will heal me. Or maybe it will be Dre himself that helps me heal from it all. I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out in the future.
I can’t be thinking about all that right now though. I need to focus. We aren’t sure when Patrick will be arriving, and we need to be prepared. We’ve already moved Beau and Annmarie down into the basement. What better place to keep them than the place they used as their son’s prison? Phantom is up on the roof with his sniper rifle, watching and waiting. The man’s patience knows no bounds; he’s going to have no issues with staying up there as long as he needs to. He’s also in the perfect position to take out whatever security Patrick brings with him. We all know he’s not going to be coming here alone; he’s not that fucking stupid. He hasn’t stayed out of the hands of the law and The Khaos Group by not having backup and plans in place. Dre is up in the nursery with Immy. He’s spending time bonding with hisdaughter properly now that he has no worries that she’s going to be taken away from him. They should be safe up there, but we aren’t taking any chances. Anarchy is lurking upstairs, prepared to protect the two if need be. I know without a shadow of a doubt if there’s any threat towards Dre or Immy, he’ll take them out without a second thought. No harm will come to either of them with Anarchy watching their backs.
Which just leaves me. I’m the one who’s going to be dealing with Patrick. There’s no other way I would have it. The man poses a threat to Dre’s daughter, and I’m going to be the one ending that threat. I can’t have it any other way. I care about them both so much already, even if it has only been a day. I need to be the one who takes out any threats towards either of them. They don’t know it yet, but they both have a guardian who’s going to be watching over them from here on out. Making sure nothing else horrific and dangerous touches either of them again.
I can’t fucking wait to stick my knife in Patrick and watch the life drain out of his eyes. I’m not going to be fucking about when it comes to ending his worthless life. As soon as he’s within range of me and my knife, it’s game over for him. His time on this earth is up. I’m going to take great fucking pleasure in being the one who kills the disgusting piece of shit.
My earpiece comes to life, and I immediately go on alert. We’re all wearing them, but we haven’t connected them to The Khaos Group system; we’ve kept them on a closed local circuit to be on the safe side. We aren’t taking any risks when we’re so close to getting our hands on someone who has eluded us for so long.
