Page 81 of Wilder
I heave out an agonized breath, watching as Wilder sidesteps both of them. He gets right in Megan’s face. “Let. Him. Go.” Those dark eyes of his bore into hers. “Unless you think we’re fucking around,” he seethes. “Then by all means, go ahead and find out.” A second later, she loosens her grip, though her lips maintain a petulant twist.
A sigh of relief bursts from me as Wilder takes Chase from her. My son clings to him like a monkey, gripping him with arms and legs.
Brian chooses that moment to attempt to buck me off, so I have to tear my eyes from the action behind me. Suddenly, though, he stops.
“You disgusting creep,” Echo mutters, appearing over my shoulder, weapon in hand, “stop moving.”
Brian glances at her, blatantly disrespectful before snarling, “Or what?”
“Or I’ll end you.” She huffs out a laugh, aiming the weapon right at his face. “You think I wouldn’t? You beat your wife. You hurt my sister. You threatened your brother-in-law. And heaven help you, you kidnapped my child.” She disengages the safety and slides her finger to the trigger. He stills. “In what world does it not make sense for me to put a bullet between your eyeballs?”
Now that Brian isn’t fighting me, I glance over my shoulder to make sure Beckham still has Megan under control, which he does, then swing my head around to see Wilder checking on Kara.
“You’re gonna be fine. Maybe a lump on the head. I’m gonna get you free of the rope.” Hurrying, he unties her, then juts his chin toward Megan as he throws the first couple pieces to Beckham. “Tie her up.”
Beckham doesn’t hesitate, a grim, but determined look on his face as he secures his childhood tormentor.
While Beckham’s busy with her, Wilder frees his sister, talking softly to her. Chase maintains a death grip on him, which is kinda handy, as it gives him both hands to work.
I know I can’t deal with Brian myself. The fucker is a brute, and it’s all I’ve been able to do to keep him restrained, especially with the fire roaring at my rib cage. I glance down. There’s blood on the floor under me. I heave out a breath, close my eyes for a second.
When I open them, Wilder’s already turned around to talk to Beckham as he finishes up with Megan. “We left Brent outside. I knocked him out, and we belted his arms behind his back. We should get him in here.”
With Megan trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, Beckham stands, checking in with me again. I read theHow bad is it?in his eyes without difficulty. I shake my head. It’s not awful, I don’t think, but it hurts like fuck. Burns like a son of a bitch. Sweat has begun to pop out on my forehead.
“Royal, are you okay if we go grab him, or should we tie up Brian first?” Wilder questions as he hands Chase off to Kara.
Beckham jerks his head, his face grim. “No, let’s tie up this asshole first.” He crosses over to the table and sets down the gun.
I catch the frown pull at Wilder’s mouth, but he hurries back to grab a few more pieces of rope. My skin has picked up a clammy feel to it as I lock eyes with Echo. “Keep that gun on him.”
She nods. “I’ve got it.” And I’ve never felt prouder of her in our lives.
Glaring at both of us, Brian clenches his teeth together before his gaze slices to Wilder. His voice scrapes out on an ugly rasp. “Gonna tell them what you did to your daddy.”
“Roll the fuck over, you asshole,” I bark, giving him a good shove to get him moving as I stand, but as he does, he tries to get his hands under his chest so he can rear up. His back meets my foot, and I slam him back down with as much force as I can muster. “Mother. Fucker.” He clearly doesn’t get that he’s not getting away with this. Not getting away physically, nor with all the suffering he’s caused.
Gasps from both Wilder and Echo alert me that they’ve finally spotted my injury, and I cover the wound with my hand, grimacing because it hurts like a bitch.
Wilder growls, “What the fuck, Royal.” Not a question, just a statement of fact that I kept it from him.
“Just tie him the fuck up, please,” I demand on a pain-filled exhale as I sit down at one of the seats at the table with a grimace.
“Oh god, Royal, why didn’t you say something?” Tonight’s been a lot, and Echo’s emotions are all over her face. She sets the gun down on the table, then swings her head to Kara. “Keep Chase over there.”
Echo’s sister nods, but it’s practically useless as he begins to squirm in her arms and cry out for us. “Daddy!” My little guy sucks in a wet breath. “Mama!”
“Chase, baby, I’ve gotta take care of Daddy.” She glances over at our son, giving him a bright smile, despite the complete shit show we’re in the middle of. But that’s what mothers do. They look out for their children like Echo did today. She could have lost it at any moment, but instead, she put on a brave face and took on those intending to harm us head-on.
Echo gingerly lifts my shirt to have a look, pulling it away from the torn skin. She winces. “Get pressure on that, Echo,” Wilder urges as Chase continues to fuss.
“It’s okay, bring him here,” I grunt as she puts her hand directly on my rib cage, holding it firmly. Her gaze narrows asshe studies me, and I heave out, “Trust me.” Our eyes connect as I try to relay to her that the best thing for me might be to concentrate on something else.
She gives me a worried look, her brow furrowing, but nods. “I do. Okay, come over this way, buddy.” Kara lets him down, and Chase toddles past one tied-up person after another. People who stole him from us. It makes me want to vomit. Or maybe that’s the blood loss. He comes over to my uninjured side, and I scoop him up, letting him straddle my thigh. The poor kid must be exhausted because he rests his head against me, not saying a word, little fingers gripping my shirt. I nuzzle my nose into the hair on the top of his head, inhaling. My body immediately relaxes.
I don’t miss the look that passes between Echo and Wilder. Maybe it’s worse than I thought. With his eyes locked on the puddle of lost blood on the floor, Wilder’s voice remains calm as he murmurs, “River, Kara, can you look around for towels or anything that we can press against the wound? I’ll see what I have in the way of medical supplies in the truck.” He meets my gaze. “Gonna bring Brent in here, too. Hang in there.”
I nod, summoning as much of a smile as I can. “I’m good. Go.”
