Page 48 of The Madman's Nightmare
“They’re both gone,” I answered, not going into detail.
No one wanted to hear how my husband tortured two people for over an hour or how I killed the bitch who kept trying to take my husband. I’d leave the details sharing up to James and Devlin.
Rhys gave me a knowing nod and offered, “Why don’t we get you to the car so you’re ready when they get finished inside?”
“Thanks,” I replied and pushed off the crate.
Walking was painful and before we got halfway across the warehouse, Rhys touched my shoulder. I turned to look at him, and he gave me a knowing look.
“Can I help, please?” he asked, and I gave him a nod.
Carefully, he leaned over and scooped me delicately into his arms before he began to carry me across the warehouse.
”If he sees this, he may strap me down to the table,” Rhys joked as we got closer to the outside door.
Amaya was following behind us as I whispered, “It’ll be our secret.”
I pointed to where we had tucked the car and he made his way over, looking back at Amaya when we got to the passenger’s side of the SUV. She opened the door, and he carefully placed me on the seat before he took a step back.
Rhys looked at us both and offered a smile. “Ladies, it’s been my honor,” he remarked and made a sweeping bow gesture before he turned and went back into the building.
Amaya stepped into the open doorway and pulled a joint and a lighter from her pocket. “I think we both need this,” she reasoned and lit the tip.
Handing it to me, she kept glancing back at the warehouse as she and I worked on the joint. The pain was subsiding the further into it we got, and when she offered it to me again, I held up my hand, declining. She took another hit then dropped the remains to the ground and stubbed it out with her shoe.
I felt tears pressing into my eyes, and she squatted down in the open doorway and took my hand, asking, “What’s wrong, Elise?”
“That woman,” I paused and wiped under my eyes, “they said she and Devlin have a daughter.”
She gasped and lowered her voice as she spoke. “Do you think she was telling the truth?”
Shrugging, I responded, “I don’t know. Half of what they told them James said they already knew, and she was crazy, so I don’t know what to believe.”
“Don’t believe a word of what they said,” I heard from outside the vehicle. “They would’ve said anything to save their lives.”
Turning, I saw Devlin standing near the rear of the car, and he approached as Amaya stood from her spot. “James said to meet him at my SUV and he’ll drive you home after grabbing Elizabeth from your father’s.”
Amaya looked from me to Devlin and back, and I offered her a half-smile. She leaned over and hugged herself to me, whispering, “Trust Devlin and forget whatever they said to try and fuck with your head.”
She walked past my husband and patted him on the shoulder before leaving us alone. Devlin walked to the open doorway and brushed his hand across my cheek before closing the door and walking around to get behind the wheel. He cranked the vehicleand pulled away from the warehouse, not even looking back as he drove away.
“You know they were lying, right?” he asked when we were entering the edge of the Flats.
“I know, I guess. I mean, he said she lost the ability to have kids years ago, so I don’t know what to believe,” I answered.
Michael, or whatever his name was, had explained she wasn’t able to have kids, so I assumed she never had any. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she may have been hiding a secret from Devlin, or she could be as crazy as we knew her to be and it was all a lie.
Honestly, if there was a child, we would take her in and love her with everything we had. But I suspected he was right. They would have said anything to save their lives, and I couldn’t put much faith in what they said.
I didn’t remember falling asleep in the vehicle, nor did I know when we arrived at the apartment. When I woke up, I was asleep in our bed and Devlin was lying behind me with his arm wrapped around my waist. He was sleeping peacefully, so I closed my eyes and let sleep pull me back under.
I was in the safest place I could possibly be—wrapped up in Devlin’s arms.
Chapter 24
Devlin
A month later
