Page 95 of Wretched Heart
We didn’t have to wait long for Ray to pull up in his truck. Carl was tasked with greeting the new passengers, and I’d remained out of sight in the galley with my brothers. Until I heard Maddie yell.
Ray spots me first and his eyes grow as wide as saucers. Maddie has her back to me, her hands tied behind her back. She’s wearing one of my t-shirts, and that’s all she’s wearing.The bastard didn’t give her a chance to change or put on shoes.
“Give me one good reason why I don’t blow your fucking brains out right now,” I growl.
Maddie spins and I almost stumble as we lock eyes. Her eyes are swollen and etched in red. I did that to her, not Ray. But damn it, I love the way her face lights up when our eyes meet.
Ray is less keen as I step between him and my wife so I can press the barrel of my gun against his forehead.
He raises his hands in surrender as I tighten my finger around the trigger.
“I– I’m unarmed,” he splutters.
“He has a knife,” Maddie says quickly. I don’t like the rasp in her voice. While I was in the air putting distance between us, she’s been screaming for me. “It’s in his right jacket pocket.”
“A– a pen knife. Not a weapon.”
Ash leans past and swipes the knife from Ray’s pocket. My gun remains pressed to Ray’s head. If I wasn’t afraid of splattering blood and gore over Maddie, he’d be dead now.
“Please, Hunter,” Ray begs. “I didn’t harm her. I wouldn’t.”
“But you fucking touched her,” I hiss. My finger shakes with the effort not to pull the trigger. “You touched my wife.”
“If you’d been carrying, Ray, you’d be dead my now,” Ash says in a low rumbling voice. “I almost wish you were.”
“I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I truly am.”
I don’t care for his apology, but I can’t give this lowlife any more of my time. I flick the safety on and tuck my gun into my waistband beneath my suit jacket. Before Ray can register his relief, I grab the back of his head, pulling himforward as I bring my knee up with enough force to dislodge a couple of his teeth and break his nose.
Ray drops to his knees, and I kick him in the balls. He lets out a satisfying squeal as he crumples onto the floor and curls up into the fetal position. I want to hear him cry out in pain some more, but I leave Ray to Ash as I turn to my wife.
Three guns remain trained on Ray as I cup Maddie’s face. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head and her eyes glisten. “Could you untie me?”
I grab my knife from my ankle strap and cut the ties around her wrists. Just as I go to rub the marks where her bindings cut into her skin, Maddie steps back. I don’t see her hand coming until her palm slaps hard against my cheek.
“You left me, Hunter!” she screeches. “And you were too much of a fucking coward to even bother saying goodbye!”
There’s a snort of laughter behind me. I can’t tell which brother it is. It could even be Ray, who’s been dragged to his feet by Ash.
“Jesus, Maddie,” I say rubbing my cheek. “I came back for you!”
“No, Hunter. You came back because Barrett made a move on me. You’re doing what you do best! Acting out of hate, not–”
Her mouth snaps shut, and I don’t give her time to hit me, or push me away. I step into her space and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me. I breathe in the scent of wild mint and lemon that I thought I’d lost forever. “Then let me correct that,” I say. Maybe a little too harshly. “I love you, Maddie.”
“Don’t!” she warns, trying to wriggle free. “That bastardcame into my bedroom. And when he climbed onto my bed, I thought it was you!”
The thought of Ray in her bed has me close to combusting with fury, and I’d be reaching back for my gun if it wasn’t for the last part of what she says. Her words crush the air from my lungs. She thought it was me coming back to her. “I’m sorry, Maddie. I’m so goddamn sorry.”
Her head tilts up, and I must have said something right for once because her expression softens. Her hands sneak beneath my jacket and her arms encircle me. She bites her lip. “You love me?”
“It was what I was trying, and failing, to tell you before you left. I feel all the feelings for you, little bird. But most of all, I feel love. I’m in love with you,” I whisper.
I hate that I’m saying it in front of an audience, but I only have to think back to that moment on the plane when I heard Maddie scream from hundreds of miles away. I swore if I got the chance to hold her again, I’d tell her.
“I shouldn’t have left like that,” I continue. “When I heard you getting dragged out of the house, and I wasn’t there to protect you…” I shake my head. Maddie can’t be any more angry than I am with myself. “I won’t leave this time. Not until–”
