Page 44 of Axe
Two black and gray roses came into view and my mind did its best to replace the image with something else. Only, I couldn’t. I couldn’t deny that I already knew the rest of what I was about to see. And sure enough, as I jerked the thin fabric all the way up, I was met with a sight that made my blood boil with hate and rage.
My hand shook as I took in the whole thing. Sure enough, there was no denying what I saw. But what it meant I didn’t even want to think about.
I blinked, praying that I wasn’t seeing what was really in front of me, only it did nothing but burn the image into my mind.
A skull sat in between her shoulder blades. Wrapped around the skull, almost as if it was holding it up as a prized possession, were two skeleton hands. There was what I could only presume was meant to be a bullet hole in the middle of the skull. The middle finger of one of the hands was wrapped around the front and the tip disappeared into the hole.
“Fuck!” I growled—yes, actually growled—as I jumped out of the bed like it was suddenly filled with spiders. “God motherfuckin’ dammit!” Shit.”
I pulled at my hair as I paced the space beside the bed. My head jerked to the side and I was met with the image again. For some reason, my brain was hoping that it would be different this time. But it wasn’t. Even though her shirt had slid part of the way back down, I could still tell it was the same.
There was no mistaking it, she was one of The Devil’s Kings’ girls. She, in a sense, belonged to Savage.
She started to rouse, and as soon as she realized that her shirt was moved she knifed up in the bed. Her eyes met mine and her face was a mix of shock and anger. There was no doubt that I’d seen what she had been trying to hide. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Was she a spy? Was everything she had told me a lie? Had I fallen for all that shit? Fuck, I was the dumbest jackass ever. Hell, if she was there to find my weakness, she sure as shit did her job.
My head was spinning and I felt like I was about to lose control. Had I really been that stupid? Was I blinded by her beauty so much that I’d missed the signs?
My anger took over and I jumped onto the bed. My body pinned her to the bed, my legs on either side of her hips. Without even thinking, my hand wrapped around her neck while the other pushed on her chest as I held her down. She didn’t try to fight me. In fact, she looked almost as if she had resigned. Her fate was in my hands and she didn’t even try to buck me off.
I hated it. I wanted her fight and it almost hurt my soul like a sharp knife to the chest. Only, this time it wasn’t because of some weird, twisted, fucked up sexual thing in my brain. This time it was because I wanted her to fight for herself and her son. I needed to see that strength even if I wanted to tear her to shreds at the moment. Fuck! It was all messed up.
Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me, regret and fear swirled around in those deep blue orbs.
Not wanting Neiryn to wake to this sight, I pulled myself away as I gripped her arm and yanked her off the bed and out of the room. Her feet stumbled along as I marched down the hall and descended the stairs. Part of me was worried that I was hurting her, yet, part of me didn’t care.
Once we hit the landing, I pushed her up against the closest wall. Her body hit with athudand her eyes looked on the verge of tears.
“Tell me what the fuck is going on. Now!” I roared, the anger in my tone sounding foreign to my ears.
Her eyes widened and a few tears escaped. If she thought that shit was going to work on me, she had another thing coming.
What the hell am I doing?
I released her and took a step back, my eyes never leaving hers. Panic washed over me as I thought about my father. My teeth ground together at the thought that I was just like him.
For what seemed like an eternity we stood there in silence, her body pressed against the wall as if I was still holding her there. She didn’t speak or even open her mouth in an attempt to.
“Pack his bag. Now!” I barked.
I didn’t even stick around to see if she was doing what I had demanded. I made my way up the stairs, taking them two at a time with hurried steps.
“Hey there, Lil man,” I managed to say in a softer tone as soon as I walked into the room and saw that he was awake.
He was standing up in his pen, his little hands gripped the edge tightly. I made my way over to him, all the while, trying to calm my racing heart and shaking hands. As I got closer, I could see he was holding onto his blanket with one hand. The moment he saw me a huge smile spread across his face.
“Moorin,” he mumbled like he was still half-asleep as he reached his arms in the air like he wanted me to pick him up. “Up.”
“Good mornin’, buddy,” I said as I moved to the dresser and grabbed my abandoned cut and shirt that were there. After tossing them on with lightning speed, I shoved my feet into yesterdays socks trying my hardest not to cringe, then put on my sneakers.
I picked him up and held him tightly against my body, hoping like hell he couldn’t sense the aggravation that was pouring off of me in waves. This wasn’t his fault. He was an innocent in it all.
I wouldn’t lie, part of me came up here to comfort and check on him, but the other part of me knew that she wouldn’t run from me if I had him. Whatever the hell was going on, if she was a traitor or whatnot, I could tell that she loved Neiryn.
I dug through the clothes that Ellie had ordered for him. I pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a shirt that had a motorcycle on it. I almost chuckled thinking about how Ellie had been so doe-eyed and unknowing when she’d first walked into the club and now she was completely submerged in the life.
Placing him on the bed, I made quick work of getting him dressed all the while rambling on with some story about his stuffed lion and elephant saving the princess. I honestly had no idea what I was saying, but he was sure loving the shit out of it. I had changed his diaper a few times over the past week and at this point, I felt like a damn pro.
