SWNOVELS Sinful: Chapter 2
I was supposed to keep my distance.
No touching allowed, but I disregarded it, knowing it could get my ass killed, and clutched her cold hand in mine.
I stared at her bruised and swollen face as she lay in her hospital bed. My throat was tight. My chest hurt. I felt so fucking sick to my stomach.
Raped.
She’d been raped.
A soft cry left my lips at the thought of her being harmed. Again.
Fuck. Again.
She didn’t deserve this.
I stared down at her hand and noted her nails were broken and jagged. She’d put up a hell of a fight.
It broke my heart further. This shouldn’t have happened to her. I couldn’t get it out of my head that it was somehow my fault. I’d created this entire fucking nightmare, and now everyone was paying the price for my terrible deeds.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Siren,” I whispered, bringing her hand to my lips and pressing a shaky kiss to the top of it. “This is all my fault. I’ve failed you so much. Please. Just come back. We need you. I need you.”
She didn’t move. Her lashes didn’t flutter. She simply continued to lie like a broken doll beneath her covers, her breathing shallow.
God, she was broken.
She won’t be able to come back from this.
It was a thought I couldn’t get out of my head. She retreated into the dark recesses of her mind. She’d be gone. Out of reach from even Asylum.
Nausea twisted in my guts like an angry serpent.
“You have to come back,” I whispered. “I haven’t gotten to tell you everything, Siren.” A tear trickled down my cheek, and I hastily wiped at it. I wasn’t a crier. Or hadn’t been before all of this. A rustling outside her door had me removing my hand from hers, the cold from her touch making me ill. Hastily, I wiped at my eyes again.
Stitches entered the room, his attention focused solely on her.
“Angel,” he murmured, his voice rough as he came to her. He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face and studied her for a long time before he looked to me. “Anything?” There was so much hope in his voice it broke my heart.
I shook my head, hating my answer. “Nothing.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded his head. “OK. Yeah. I-I guess I expected that.”
He sat in the chair opposite me and took her hand in his. Neither of us said anything for a long time until he broke the silence.
“We found Bryce in the woods.” He launched into telling me everything he knew about Sirena and the rabbit, ending it with Bryce being brought in.
“They think he’s going to make it?” I asked, my mind filled with all sorts of shit regarding the rabbit.
Fucking hell. Things needed to come out about that shit.
“He’ll be fine. He’s busted up, but they’re working on him. He lost a lot of blood, but you know how Church can get.” He visibly swallowed. “How we can all get.”
I looked away from him and stared out the small window. It was dark. Snow was falling again. I hated the snow. There was just so fucking much of it in Northern Michigan.
“Where’s Asylum?” I asked finally.
“I don’t know. He helped bring Bryce in and left. Said he’d be back. Didn’t ask where he was going. Guess I didn’t really care.”
Sounded about right.
I glanced at Sirena. “What’s the plan? She can’t stay here. If Sully comes back—”
“She’ll stay the night here.” Church came into the room, Ashes behind him. Both crowded Sirena. I was forced to move away to make room for them. I backed against the wall, watching while they all doted on her.
“And tomorrow?” I asked after a long moment.
“She’ll come home. Ashes is going to take Stitches and make preparations for her at home. I’ll remain here with her.” Church kissed her forehead while Ashes held her hand. All the guys were covered in blood. Based on what I knew, Bryce hadn’t fared well out in those damn woods.
Stupid asshole.
“You can leave.” Church straightened and looked at me, his voice hard. Despite knowing his level of anger, I remained against the wall.
“I don’t want to,” I said softly. “I’d like to stay—”
“Go, Sinclair,” Church growled. “You’re done here.”
“Dante, man, come on,” I pleaded, stepping forward. I hated being this pathetic sack of shit, but I’d learned some rather hard lessons as of late.
“Sin, just go home, OK?” Ashes said before Church could snap at me. “Get some rest. You’ve been with her for hours. Let Church take over. Go make sure Asylum isn’t doing something stupid. You can come back later. Promise.”
I swallowed hard before glancing to Church. A muscle popped along his jaw as he glared back at me, but he didn’t say I couldn’t. It was the best I was going to get, so I nodded and stepped forward. I paused at the side of her bed and stared at her for a moment, all the pain in the world constricting my chest.
I wanted to find who hurt her too and choke the life out of him.
And I would. Whatever it took.
“Where were you?” I asked, sitting up in bed. I’d tossed and turned all damn night, my dreams too fucked up and vivid to really get any meaningful rest. In them, I just kept seeing Sirena fighting off her attacker.
A fucking rabbit.
Asylum and I had a lot to talk about.
“Out,” he muttered, flopping down in bed, his hand bandaged.
“Where?” I demanded. “You fucking know Mirage—”
“I know,” he snapped, looking at me with tired blue eyes. “Bryce was a fuck-up. Shit is compromised now.”
“Listen. I want to go home, and I can’t do that if I’m keeping secrets—”
“For her, you will keep every fucking secret told. Don’t run off and tell things so bold. If you want to go home, it’s important to keep silent. If you open your mouth too quickly, things could get rather violent.” He raised a dark brow at me. “Again.”
I gave him a look of disgust. “So when?”
“In time. Until then, just play the game.”
I shook my head and laid back down. Staring up at my ceiling, I let out a sigh. I was sick of games. It felt like I’d been playing them my entire life. More often than not, I also seemed to be the biggest fucking loser.
“Will Bryce be OK?”
“He will. Eventually. She is who I worry for.” His bed creaked as he lay back in it.
“What do you know?”
“Not as much as I’d like,” he answered, his voice soft. “I’m. . . in shock. I suppose that’s the best way to say it. I’m hurting.”
I swallowed thickly. “Me too.”
“I was there, Sinclair. I was the one to push inside her body the first time. I felt her pain. Her terror. Her fear. The knowledge that we couldn’t stop it. That if we tried, it would only get worse. And it was me.” He let out a soft snarl. “It was me doing that to her. I don’t fucking rape women. I did my best that night with her to keep the monsters from seeing her. I tried so fucking hard to keep her dignity. Imagine it being someone else doing this to her. Then, for him to mutilate her? Beat her? Fuck.” His voice cracked. “This will not go unpunished. We will find who did this, and he will pay for his sins in blood.”
“He will suffer a long and slow death,” I whispered.
“He is just the beginning,” Asylum murmured. “No one fucking tries to tear the wings off of my firefly. Fucking no one.”
He didn’t need to elaborate. I was there. I’d seen his reaction to it. I could hear it in his voice.
But he wouldn’t be the only one bringing retribution.
I wouldn’t stop until I found who did this to her.
Then. . .
Well, I’d probably end up committed for the rest of my life, but she was worth it. She was worth everything. I’d do whatever I had to if it meant saving her.
Now that I could see that, there would be no stopping me.