by Jordan Marie
“I can’t stand to see her blood,” Dawn says and I nod, but my gaze moves down to the now bright red stain on the robe.
Fury
“You’re quiet, Ice.”
Ellie flips over to her side, stretching one leg over my waist, her hand on my shoulder, her head burrowed against my neck.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I just…” She gives a heavy sigh, before struggling to find the words to finish. “My sister is a mess.”
“Wolf is good at fucking with people’s minds. She’ll heal,” I tell her, although I’m not completely sure. I do think she will get better, but I’m not sure how anyone gets over seeing someone they love murdered.
“Maybe…” Ellie says, dragging her finger through the hair on my chest. “The police aren’t going to find Wolf, are they?”
“There won’t be anything left of him for them to find,” I tell her. “But, they will try. He’s wanted for the murders of Reginald Cleary and Glenna. They’ll investigate until they can’t find any leads.”
“They won’t see the fight at the back of the hotel on surveillance cameras of the hotel or the surrounding buildings?”
“Nope,” I tell her, not elaborating. There’s no point. “Why are you so worried?”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble. Any of you really. Wolf has already ruined enough of Devil’s life. I don’t want anything else to happen.”
“Trust me, Ice. It’s going to be okay.”
“Do you think Dawn is telling the truth?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Something just seems off, Liam.”
“She’s been through some heavy shit, Ellie. You can’t really judge her right now. I think she might still be in shock.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Is there something you want to tell me, Ellie?”
“I don’t know anything, not really. It’s just, I can’t get it out of my head at the way Dawn was cleaning off the murder weapon. Is that normal?”
“Fuck if I know, Ellie. Dawn lived through a nightmare. I have no idea what normal would be after that.”
“You’re right. She’s not talking to me, so maybe that’s what has me all screwed up. She even asked me to leave her alone. I just don’t know what to do.”
“I know it sucks, Ice, but you can’t do anything. You just leave her alone and let her work shit out. She’ll either reach out to you or she won’t.”
“That answer sucks, Liam.”
“I know, baby.”
“So, what comes next?” She asks and I let out a sigh.
“I’m going to need to go back to Tennessee, Ellie.”
“We knew this day was coming,” she says, and the sadness in her voice hurts.
“You said you’d come back with me,” I remind her.
“Liam, I can’t just leave right now.”
We shift on the bed so that I can look at her. I want to see her face and more importantly, I want her to be able to see mine. I need to try and reach her.
“Why, Ice? What can you do here?”
“Well, I mean, I know the police are focused on finding Wolf and my sister isn’t really in trouble, but she goes this week for an interview with the lead detective. She will need an attorney. Her mental state is not good and that’s being nice. There’s just a lot of chaos. Plus, I need to give Harvey at least two weeks’ notice, I can’t just leave him high and dry. He’s been good to me.”
“If I stay here for another two weeks and help you get packed and ready to move, will you come home with me then?” I ask, but I think I already know the answer.
“I can’t give you an answer on that right now, Liam. I need to make sure that Dawn is safe. I need to make sure she’s okay before I just leave.”
“Did you call your mom?”
“Yeah,” she says with a heavy sigh.
“And how did that go?”
“Not great. She’s coming down at the end of the week to be with Dawn for her meeting with the detectives. She refuses to talk to me about you calling.”
“We can’t change the past, Ellie,” I warn her.
“I know. I just hate that they lied to me, Liam.”
“It’s more like they just kept secrets and hid things from you.”
“Semantics and you know it. Not telling me something is just as bad as lying when it affects your life, Liam. Dawn and my mother did it knowing it would.”
“I don’t want to leave Arizona without you, Ellie,” I tell her and I don’t bother keeping the pain out of my voice.
“It’s not a permanent separation, Liam. I’ll come back to Tennessee, I will. It just may take me a bit.”
“You don’t come home soon, Ellie, and I swear to you, I’ll come back and drag your ass back home.”
“Liam,” she says with a smile, leaning up to kiss me. “I promise I will come home to you. I have to. I love you.”
“Promise me, Ellie.”
“I promise, Liam,” she says solemnly. I hate like hell that this is where we’re at. I don’t want to leave her side for a minute.
“How long?”
“What?” she says surprised.
“How long do you need, and if you say a year, so help me God, Ellie, I will wear that ass of yours out.”
“Are you asking me to give you a timeline of when I’ll be back to Tennessee?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Well, kind of. How am I supposed to know how long it will take to get my sister settled and everything done so I can move?”
“Two weeks. You can get all that done in two weeks and give your notice to Harvey,” I tell her, wondering how in the fuck I’m supposed to survive two weeks without her.
“Liam, I don’t want to be away from you, but I need longer than two weeks.”
“So give me a time,” I tell her, trying not to panic at being without her even longer.
“Two months?” she says, tentatively.
“Fuck, no. There’s no way, Ice. I’m not living without you for two fucking months.”
I watch as her eyes dilate and she swallows nervously.
“Okay, one month.”
“That’s a long time,” I mutter.
“It’s thirty days. That’s not that long, Liam. We’ve been apart almost two years. Thirty days should be a walk in the park.”
“If the park is in hell, maybe,” I grumble, making her laugh.
“I’ll call you every night and we can Facetime. It will go quickly, Liam. You’ll see.”
“Will you facetime, naked?”
“Uh…”
“You want to stay away from me for a whole month, Ellie. You better fucking give me this at least.”
“You have to be alone in your bedroom if I do,” she demands.
“Fuck woman, it’s not like I’m going to let anyone see you naked but me.”
“Fine, then I’ll Facetime you naked.”
“The month starts tomorrow. If I have to leave, then the countdown starts tomorrow, too.”
“Do you have any more demands, Liam?” she jokes.
“Fuck yes, I do.”
“You do?”
“Damn straight. You’re going to keep your body away from me for a whole damn month, woman. You better get on your knees and worship your man’s cock.”
“You’re so romantic, Liam,” she giggles, moving over top of me, her blonde hair falling down around her face and against my chest. Our gazes lock, and I see the heat slowly building in her.
“You want romance, Ice?” I ask her, my voice suddenly going hoarse as I look into her beautiful eyes.
God I love this woman.
“Yes, but where you’re concerned, Liam, I want it all,” she murmurs against my skin as she starts kissing down my chest and sliding between my legs.
“If you want romance, Ellie, I’ll give it to you.”
“You will?” she asks, her voice teasing as her hand wraps around my cock and she strokes me, my head rubbing against her stomach.
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I watch as she moves further down, holding my cock now, while she leans in to lick the head, running her tongue and gathering the pre-cum that’s glossed over the head.
“I definitely will, Ellie,” I tell her, my eyes closing as she sucks the head into her mouth.
“What kind of romance?” she asks, her tongue licking up the underside of my shaft.
“I’ll wipe your mouth after you swallow down my cum,” I tell her, but that last part might come out as a muffled cry, because she’s taking my cock into her mouth and it feels like fucking heaven.
She hums against my shaft and takes me all the way to the back of her throat, sucking so hard that my body shudders from the pleasure.
“That’s it, baby, suck that cock and make your man come,” I croon, watching her.
The entire time, all I can think is that there’s no way I’ll be able to be without her for a solid fucking month.
Ellie
I stare at the calendar with a sick feeling in my stomach. It’s been three weeks and I’m nowhere close to ready to move to Tennessee. That’s not going to make Liam happy. Honestly, it doesn’t make me happy. There’s just so much going on and I can’t see any way around it all.
If I want to be brutally honest, there’s a part of me putting off going back because I’m afraid. I can’t explain that to Liam. He wouldn’t understand and I can’t explain it to him. If I did that…He might hate me.
I look at my bedside clock. It’s almost midnight. Liam was supposed to call at eleven. He said he was doing some things for Devil tonight though, and might be late. Our last conversation was kind of stilted. Mostly because I haven’t given him a concrete answer on what day I’ll be heading that way. I hate that I’m putting him through this.
I hate that I’m putting myself through it.
As the minutes tick by, I get this sick feeling in my stomach. There’s every chance in the world that he won’t call tonight. I can’t even blame him. I know I’m going to have to go back soon. I can’t truly give Liam up and staying here out of fear isn’t helping either of us. I don’t want to lose him because I’m being a coward. I roll over on the bed and punch my pillow in frustration. I had forgotten how lonesome my bed was without Liam in it. There’s a lot I’d forgotten… like how I feel half alive without him.
I bolt upright when the phone rings, reaching over to grab it immediately.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I murmur immediately, feeling a wave of relief push through me.”
“Hey, Ice.” His voice is gruff and I know immediately that tonight’s conversation is going to go a lot like last night’s.
“I was afraid you weren’t going to call.”
“Would you have missed me if I didn’t?” he asks. I let out a breath, as a wave of sadness hits me.
“Of course I would have, Liam. I miss you every day. I hate being away from you.” I pray that he can hear the sincerity in my voice. I’m not so sure he’s looking for it, though.
“If you say so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you say you don’t like being away from me, but here we are apart and that’s on you, Ellie.”
“Why does it have to all be on me?” I ask, immediately defensive.
“Don’t start that shit, Ellie. We had this settled before I left there.”
“You mean that you had it settled.”
“You can’t twist this around, Ellie. You said you’d be here in a month. That month is fast approaching and you’re nowhere near ready to come home.”
“Liam, you have to understand—”
“I’ve been trying to understand, Ice. I really have. I’m tired of being alone.”
“Don’t you think I am, too?” I ask him, and I close my eyes because suddenly I just feel…defeated.
“I don’t know what you are, Ellie. You’re the one choosing to stay there. It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re just…Fuck, I don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Liam, I want to be with you, I do. It’s just. The police want to question Dawn again. Not to mention, the manager Harvey hired screwed shit up. I’m trying to fix up all of his alcohol orders, while interviewing new applicants. It’s just not a good time to move right now.”
“You said your sister won’t even talk to you.”
“Well, she’s not. But, I don’t want her to go there by herself. She needs someone to have her back.”
“And why does that have to be your job again, Ellie?”
“Liam, she’s my sister.”
“I get family loyalty, babe. I have that in spades, but if you don’t get that loyalty back, then you sure as fuck don’t kill yourself to give it.”
“She’s just going through a lot. She just lost someone she loves in a very violent way,” I murmur, but even as I say it, I’m not convinced that’s what is going on. I don’t think the police think that’s all that’s going on either, but despite looking extremely hard, they can’t find proof to the contrary.
“Bullshit, Ellie,” he all but snarls.
“What?” I ask, completely shocked. I know he’s upset, but this…
“Your sister has always been like this. She acts like the world revolves around her and everyone is supposed to stop whatever they’re doing to run to her aid.”
“That’s hardly fair considering what she’s just been through, Liam.”
“She got herself into a situation she never should have been in. If you expect me to feel pity for her, you better think again, Ice.”
“I don’t want to fight with you, Liam.”
“I shouldn’t have called. It’s been a shit day and I knew better. I’m going to go, Ellie.”
“Liam…”
“What?”
“Will you call me tomorrow?”
“Are you going to tell Harvey you’re leaving next week?”
“Liam, please try to understand. I’m needed here.”
“That’s just it, Ellie. I do understand, you’re trying to please everyone there, but you forgot one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you, too, and if you love me, I should be a priority.”
“It’s all so black and white for you, isn’t it Liam? You can’t see my side at all. You expect me to just pack up and leave everything I have here. Yet, you aren’t willing to do the same. It has to be all your way. You won’t even think about compromising.”
“Ellie—”
“I’ll talk to you later,” I respond, cutting him off. Then, I hang up.
My clock shows one in the morning before I realize that I’m crying…
Devil
“Killing me isn’t going to bring your eye back.”
Wolf’s words are labored, slurred, and broken as he pants for air. I have to wonder if one of his broken ribs might have messed with his lung. Probably not, since he’s still breathing. Sometimes, I think I keep waiting for him to die from my beatings to take the decision out of my hands of when I should end him.
I glance up at the clock and it’s one in the morning. Another night where I’m late getting in bed with Torrent. That will probably lead to another fight. She knows what I’m doing. I haven’t kept that from her. She told me she understands and I think she does. I can see the concern on her face, however, and each day that this drags on, that concern increases.
She’s worried about me.
Hell, I’m worried about myself.
When I first got my hands on Wolf, I thought the darkness inside me had lifted. Now, it’s becoming clearer that every day I spend breathing the same air as Wolf, feeds the darkness. Lately, I’m beginning to worry I’m losing sight of myself again.
“End this,” Wolf says. He’s not really begging, but he says it every night just the same. I never talk to him. He doesn’t deserve my words. Instead, I do what I always do. I take the bat and slam it into the side of his face.
He’s definitely not so pretty to look at now.
Wolf spits blood out of
his mouth.
“End this,” he demands again when he can recover enough to talk. I ignore him, just like always. Then, I take my knife and cut another couple of inches of skin off his leg.
It’s a ritual I do every night before I leave and go jump in the shower. His leg looks disgusting now and is definitely infected, but that’s just a small part of his worries. I throw the skin on the concrete floor for the rats to eat, knowing Wolf will be watching it. I want him to see that, to know that soon the rats will be feasting on his entire body.
“End this!” he yells again.
“Maybe tomorrow,” I reply, giving him hope. Hell, maybe I’m giving it to myself. I know that the sooner this is over, the sooner I can get on with my life and enjoy Torrent’s love and that of our son. Logically, I know it, but yet I can’t make myself stop torturing him. I keep thinking I’ll get to a point where I feel that the score is even.
It never is.
What’s that old adage? An eye for an eye? Maybe tomorrow I’ll try cutting out both of Wolf’s eyes with a dull knife. Maybe that will make me feel like the score has been settled. It could happen…
But I doubt it.
Ellie
“I think it’s finally over.”
“It sounded like it,” I agree, watching my sister carefully.
“Thank God. Now, I can get on with my life.”
“We should start planning Glenna’s memorial service,” I agree. “It’s kind of sad that she had no family, nothing in this world.”
“I’m not giving her a memorial service,” Dawn announces.
“You’re not?”
I should probably be surprised, but I’m not. My sister and I have always been different, but in the last few weeks I’ve started wondering if I knew her at all. We just got done with another interview with the lead detectives in the case. Although, it wasn’t really an interview as much as it was an interrogation. They think my sister helped Wolf. They think she’s hiding him. Now, I obviously know she’s not doing that, but I agree with the detective. Dawn knows more than she’s telling us. I don’t suppose it matters anymore, however. They’re moving Glenna’s case from priority. They’re focusing on their hunt for Wolf, and I doubt they’ll ever completely stop that—especially after I supplied them with his real name by lying and telling them that he approached me in the bar first with his real name and that I had no idea he was talking to my sister or Glenna under a different name. They’ll never find Wolf, however, and of that I’m certain. That means, for my sister, it’s over. It should be a time of joy, but with Glenna dead, Liam so far away and not really talking to me, there’s not much joy to be found.
