Page 113 of Merciless

Her eyes track every single one of my movements as I get closer. It’s as if I’m a lion and she’s my prey.

Placing the plate on the couch cushion beside her, I pass her the glass before lowering my ass on the coffee table.

She takes a sip and swallows tentatively. I’ve no idea what she’s checking for, but it makes my stomach knot regardless.

Happy with how it tastes, she tips the glass and swallows it all down as if she hasn’t had anything to drink all day.

“More?” I ask, the second she pulls it from her lips.

Her dark, haunted eyes meet mine and my heart sinks.

The happy little girl I remember from years gone by is long gone.

“It’s okay. You can have as much as you like. No restrictions,” I explain, hating that I have to say such words.

She nods, and I rush to get her another glass. Anything that might help push some of those shadows aside.

When I get back, she’s staring down at the plate of cookies as if they’re going to bite her.

“Go on,” I encourage. “There are more in the kitchen if you want them.”

Turning to look at me, her lips twitch with the slightest hint of a smile.

“I can eat them? All of them?”

“As many as you want?” I promise.

Her hand trembles as she reaches for one, but the second she gets a taste, all her hesitation flies out the window.

I sit and watch her demolish the entire plate of cookies with more fervor and excitement than I’ve seen grown-ass men eat pussy.

“Good?” I ask with a smirk, loving how much she’s enjoying something so simple.

“Sogood,” she mumbles with a mouthful.

Finally, my shoulders relax for the first time since I got the message earlier that she’d disappeared.

I have no fucking clue what I’m going to do with her. I’ve made her promises in the past thirty minutes that I know I can’t deliver. But whatever happens from here on out, I will keep her safe and I will never let any of those motherfuckers who’ve hurt her in the past anywhere near her again.

I don’t care what I have to sacrifice in the process. She deserves to have someone in her corner, fighting for her, giving her the life she should have been enjoying for sixteen years.

I will bring back the light in her eyes, I will see her smile and laugh. I will give her her life back, even if I have to give mine in exchange.

“Would you like me to run you a bath? I don’t have any clothes that will fit you, but they will be clean. We can go out and burn those if you like?” I ask, assuming that she’ll want everything that reminds her of anything prior to this moment gone.

She nods.

“While you’re in the bath, I’ll order you some things and make some plans.”

“Maverick,” she whispers, the sound making my heart clench in a way I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do, Alana.”

* * *

“Hey, man. How are you doing?” Brody says as he slides into the booth I’m sitting in at the back of The Nest, a dive bar in the middle of town.

It’s a fucking wreck, but other than the clubhouse, it’s the best place to drink and hook up.

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