by M. G Rayne
“What?”
“Yeah, they’re dead. Nothing about the girl though.”
“Find Reika.”
Ending the call, I look at Marcus, who is cracking his knuckles. Where are you, Pretty Bird? Everything that has happened over the last month is flying through my head. Shit, De’Marco.
Grabbing my phone, I find the fuckers number and hit dial. It rings and rings then goes to voicemail.
De’Marco. It’s Soulless. My fighter is missing. If you have taken her, you are a dead man walking. Do you get that?
“You think he’s taken her?” Marcus had struggled to come to grips with Pretty Bird being gone. I hadn’t noticed how close they had become.
“I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t put it past the little twat.”
Just as Marcus opens his mouth to answer, my phone rings. I look at the screen and see De’Marco’s name flashing on the screen.
“You little prick, how dare you threaten me.”
“Cut the shit. My fighter’s missing. You did say at the last meeting...” He cut me off from my rant.
“Yeah, I know. I haven't taken her. Kane, you need to find her. The Royale is in two months.”
I look at Marcus who has the same expression on his face. We have to find her, before shit hits the fan. Where could she be? If I find out she’s pissed off with another man, I will kill both of them.
Reika.
The past three weeks have been absolute torture. Mel has hardly slept, waking up screaming and thrashing around. I have sat with her most nights and tried to comfort her the best I can. Tom has tried to do the same but her reactions to him being so close, guts him every time. It’s been a couple of weeks since Tom had his doctor friend come to check on her, and she confirmed my worst fear.
She has been tortured and raped constantly in that time, with a high amount of sedation in her system. The doctor pleaded with us to take her to the hospital but Mel refused saying she just wanted to forget about it. We do the best we can, with support when the nightmares wake her up and trying to get her to eat, etc. The first day on the porch she seemed ok, to a point. I knew she was holding back but nothing could have prepared me for what had actually happened to her.
I stare out the window in the kitchen, while I wait for the kettle to boil. My body is currently running on zero sleep and being fueled by caffeine. My brain function is at zero. I spot my phone on the kitchen island. I really should turn it back on. Yeah, that's not likely to happen after the string of ranting messages I have received from Kane, demanding to know where I am. Marcus has sent loads of worried messages, begging me to get in touch and telling me to ignore Kane’s messages because he is an arrogant ass. A throat clears behind me and I turn to find Tom. We both must look a right state. Tom has massive bags under his eyes and his complexion is almost white. A slight beard has grown and his hair sticks out all over the place. Bless him, he’s tried his best. He has had to be more supportive of me as I try to support Mel for the both of us. This is the first night she has managed to stay asleep for more than half an hour, so I take the chance of catching up on all the jobs. I am in great need of coffee and a shower or bath.
“I’m gonna grab a shower. You mind checking on Mel in about an hour?”
“Sure, no problem. Grab a bath, Reika. You need it.”
Taking my coffee with me, I head off. The bath in the cabin isn’t spectacular but it will do the job. Luckily enough it doesn’t take hours to fill and I throw a big blob of bath bubbles in, strip out of my clothes and step into the tub. Exhaustion hits instantly and my eyes start to drift closed. My muscles are starting to loosen the longer I lay here. It's a blissful moment.
A shiver comes over me, the water has turned freezing. I must have been laying here longer than I meant to. Pulling myself up, I am just about to step out when screaming starts from down the hall. Frantically trying to get out of the tub, I catch my foot on the side of the bath, nearly face planting on the floor. I manage to get my feet under me, grabbing my T-shirt. Frantically pulling it over my head, I run toward the screams. My heart starts to race, then it drops into my stomach, the broken sound meeting my ears is filled with so much pain. Tom stumbles backward and hits the wall. From his reaction alone I know it’s bad... Cautiously stepping over his legs, I turn to the open doorway to see inside the room.
“No! Ooh, God, no!” I run to the kitchen, grab a knife from the drawer and run back to Mel’s room. Climbing to where she is, I cut the dressing gown belt with a firm grip under her arms. I lift her knees and make a run for the door.
“You're ok! You're gonna be ok.”
I make it outside, with her curled in my arms, when I stop instantly. My legs give away as realization dawns on me. Fat tears start to roll down my face and I slump to the ground, the emotions are too much. I pour all my emotions, guilt, sorrow and pain into a ball inside myself. Lifting my eyes to the sky I scream.
Kane.
Marcus has managed to track Pretty Bird down. We should have known she would be with the other friend. If anything has happened between them, I will kill them both. We are driving down the road to his cabin when a broken scream comes from behind the trees. The sound is tortured, so full of pain, that emotion fills my body and brings moisture to my eyes. I turn to Marcus.
“Floor it.” He puts his foot down.
The truck breaks through the trees, we are charging across the grass to the cabin. Marcus slams the brakes on, his hands are shaking on the wheel. Following the direction he is staring in and seeing what he has seen guts me.
Reika is on the ground, screaming into the sky - with a body laid across her lap. Tears well in my eyes. The tortured expression on her face is hard to look at. Looking over at my brother I see the same expression mirrored on his face, tears stain his cheeks. Slowly making my way over to her, I can hear mumbled words but at the distance I am, I can't quite make out what they are. Her voice is so low and raspy, she is completely broken. The girl I first met in the warehouse is so different to the girl in front of me. I feel for her strength and defiance. The fire in her eyes is what made emotions cloud my brain. Fuck it, I admit it. I love this girl. She’s the spark in the darkness. She is my beacon and she will feel whole again.
“Pretty Bird?” I try to catch her attention as I kneel down at her side, but now I am able to hear what she is saying.
“I’m so sorry, Sweetie. This is all my fault.” She repeats these words over and over. As she does, her emotions grow again until sobbing is all anyone can hear.
“Pretty Bird, what happened?” I hate to ask this, but we need to know what needs to be done.
Violently shaking her head, she refuses to answer and the sobs grow in volume. I don’t know what to do. Marcus is silent, with a horrified expression across his face. He has grown close to Reika in the time we all met, so seeing her like this must be hard. But what makes the situation worse, is he knew Mel. Footsteps catch my attention. I turn in the direction of the cabin and spot a man slumped on the ground. This must be Tom. His expression tells me all I need to know - he was here when this went down. Hopefully he is able to answer the questions I have and then we can contact emergency services. Looking back to Reika, I am hit with a stab of protectiveness. This feeling is definitely new to me. With a nod to Marcus, he knows I am asking him to watch her, then I head over to Tom.
“Hey, Man. You ok to talk?” I don’t know what I am supposed to say in this kind of situation but to my surprise he answers.
“Yeah.” He slowly pulls himself from the ground and heads back into the cabin.
“Sorry to have to ask this, man, but what the hell has happened?” I never thought that I would be walking into something like this, while coming to find Pretty Bird. Honestly, I expected her to deck me again.
“Has Ry said anything to you?” Hearing him call her Ry sends jealousy racing in my body. Calm the fuck down, asshat.
“Only when she thought I had taken Mel, but that’s it.” Fox has really failed me on this, if he
had found info sooner I could have prevented this.
He sits down at the kitchen table, taking a deep inhale he dives into what he knows. Not even 10 minutes into him talking and I have to take a seat. Hearing about everything that happened makes me feel sick. Who the hell is Pretty Bird? The damage she can inflict on a person isn’t normal. Tom doesn’t go into full details on what she did to bring Mel home, but from Fox telling me that the guys were killed and Tom confirming it, I can only imagine. Her words outside make perfect sense now. She did what she had to do to bring her home and then this happened. No wonder she’s blaming herself. Just as I am about to ask Tom something, Marcus comes into the cabin with a defeated look on his face.
“She won’t let her go. Kane, what do we do, man?” I take a minute to process everything.
“We have to ring the police. She can’t stay like that.” Shutting my emotions down I stand up and head out to where my broken girl is.
Reika is still sobbing as I step down off the porch, making my way over. I try to figure out what the hell I am going to say to her. Nothing comes even with all the research I have done into her background and reading about what happened after the death of her parents. How she was mute for close to a year but during that time she started to lash out and become destructive. Then she met Mel and Tom and she started to come out of her shell, the reports say. After such a loss and now having another one, God only knows what is going to happen.
Kneeling down beside her, I place my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. I am shocked at how cold her skin is. Sitting on my ass, I move so I am sitting behind her, shimming my body forward so her ass is between my legs. I lean and engulf her in a hug trying to bring warmth to her body. We sit like this for a while as I quietly tell her it’s ok. Pretty Bird starts moving frantically trying to break from my hold, so I slide backward so she has enough space to move. She jumps to her feet and moves away from the body, suddenly she screams into the air again but this sound is different. It is raw and pissed off. This isn’t sorrow or guilt, this is hatred and emotions in its rawest form.
Hesitantly I say, “Baby?”
“Do not call me baby,” she screams in my direction, her body is full on trembling.
“Pretty Bird, we need to talk.” Violently shaking her head side to side, she wraps her arms around herself.
“Why are you talking to me? It’s my fault she is dead.”
Stretching out my hand I take cautious steps toward her. “Pretty Bird, Tom told me what happened.”
“You need to stay away from me, Kane. Everyone who gets close to me dies.” She really believes it is her fault. Well unlucky for her, I ain’t going anywhere. We belong together.
“Too late for that, Pretty Bird. You're stuck with me.” Confusion clouds her features, which surprises me.
“You hate me, Kane. I’m a means to an end for you with the fights.” Seriously, she thinks that?
“Pretty Bird, we will talk about this later. But we need to call people to get Mel, baby.”
Emotions run across her face from anger, to guilt, to heartbreak. In her current state, she is like a wild animal who is caged. Being completely honest with myself, she is kind of creeping me out. I know how hard this chick can hit. At the mention of her friend she shakes her head muttering no under her breath. Taking a step toward her, I try to make myself as approachable as I can. I need to comfort her and the feelings within are pushing me to do this. I am just about to take another step in her direction when she launches herself at me. I brace for the assault of fists that will follow but they don’t. Pretty Bird grips my neck so tight she has likely drawn blood as she sobs into my chest.
Lifting her into my arms I expect her to protest, but she doesn’t., I head toward the SUV with meaningful strides. Just as we make it to the car, noises from the cabin catch my attention. Placing an exhausted Pretty Bird into the front seat of the car, I look toward all the commotion. I find Tom and Marcus staring in our direction chatting to each other. Marcus waves me over.
Leaning back into the car, I whisper in her ear, “I’ll be one sec, Pretty Bird.” She doesn't reply. Then my ears pick up the sound of soft snores. With hurried steps I head over to my brother, I want this over with as quickly as possible.
“What are you doing, Kane?” Should have known that would be the first thing he would say.
“She’s asleep in the car. I’m taking her back to the house.” Neither of them will argue with me on this one. She is coming home with me and once she has managed to sleep, I can try to talk to her about the next steps for her friend.
“What the hell are we supposed to do?” Tom asks. How can he expect her to be here when the police, ambulance, and whoever else turns up?
“She’s so emotional. If she is here when the police arrive, which they will, she is likely to tell them how she got her friend back.” Does anybody use their fucking brain around here? Granted emotions are running high for everyone but still, I don’t want her in a jail cell.
“Call Norris. Tell them about Mel being taken, that you found her on the side of the road or something like that.” I feel like an asshole not doing right by Mel, but I need to keep my girl safe.
“Fine. I’ll make my own way back. Oh and Kane, keep Liam away from her.” I really need to talk with him about his issues with Reika and Liam being in the same room.
“Will do. No one is getting near my girl.” Laughter bursts from him as Tom looks horrified at my statement.
“We will talk about that statement another time, Kane.” Wow, he is a nosey little shit. Honestly, he just wants to grill me on my feelings.
Shaking my head as I walk back to the car, I have to chuckle to myself. His reaction was better than I thought it would be but Liam is going to be pissed. He can go suck on a dick. I’m not running from this, the last three weeks without her was torture. Now I just need to convince Pretty Bird this is a good idea.
Chapter Fifteen
Kane
She looks so beautiful laid out in my bed. I have been watching her as she sleeps for the last however many hours. But seeing her in my bed with her black hair spilled all over my pillow, lips slightly parted as she sleeps, I want to see this for the rest of my life. Finally finding the motivation to move, I kiss Pretty Bird's head and get up. I check my phone and notice a few messages from Marcus. Looking back over my shoulder, my eyes linger on her gorgeous body.
As quietly as possible, I close the bedroom door and make my way to the kitchen. Rounding the corner, I see Marcus with a coffee cup outstretched in his hand. Liam is sitting on a stool with a face on - could be because I told him to fuck off last night when I got back with Pretty Bird.
“So are we gonna discuss your feelings, bro?” He’s grinning like the Cheshire Cat, making me really want to throat punch him.
“Piss off, Marcus. I’ve not had my coffee yet.” I really can’t be bothered dealing with his shit stirring. Before he can utter another word I ask, “What happened with the police and other emergency services last night?”
Liam mumbles something under his breath and slams to his feet which sends the stool flying across the kitchen. His mood has been off the charts recently. I can’t figure out what his problem is.
“Liam. What is your goddamn problem?” I need answers to this. I can’t deal with him on top of everything else.
“My fucking problem? Yeah, I got a problem,” he roars as he steps into my personal space. Marcus steps back, he knows this is going to go one way or another.
“Well, what is it? I am not having you walking around in a mood when Reika has just lost a friend,” I seethe advancing on him. We are now standing nose to nose. His chest rises and falls rapidly.
“Reika. When did you start giving a shit about a piece of pussy?” Hatred is written across his face, either for me or Pretty Bird. If it’s her, me and him are definitely going to have a problem.
“Yeah, Reika. Get fucking used to it. She isn’t going anywhere.” The look he gives me gets under my sk
in. It’s like he doesn’t know who is standing in front of him.
“You’re shitting me, right? Has the whore got some magic pussy or something?” His words bounce around in my head.
“Maybe I should have a go with her once you’ve finished, brother.”
‘Whack!’ The fog lifts from my eyes, realising I have just punched my brother. I’m shocked that I don't feel any guilt. How fucking dare he.
“Motherfucker,” he roars as blood pours from his nose between his fingers. Shock is there on his face with other emotions I can’t figure out.
“Stay the fuck out of my way, Liam. I don’t want to see you until you sort your shit out.”
He storms from the room, while he rants under his breath. I walk back into the room, then over to where the stool is on the floor. I pick it up and put it back in its spot at the island. Sitting my ass down, I slump forward. Nothing is making sense at the moment. On one hand, Pretty Bird is a puzzle piece that I need to figure out. On the other, Liam’s unpredictability worries me. We have enough going on with De’Marco playing games and unknowns trying to move in on our territory. We need to show a united front from all sides. With a huff, I sip a mouthful of my coffee. Ugh, I hate cold coffee.
“He will come around, Kane.” I shake my head slightly in answer to his comment as I have never seen Liam like this.
“We have never seen you get attached to someone before. It’s strange for the both of us.” It is for me too, but I am sick of fighting these feelings. God, it gives me a headache.
“Yeah, I get it. I’m only just making sense of this myself.”
“My brother’s in love.” He chuckles with a massive smile on his face. I know he’s enjoying this.
“Very funny, Marcus.” We need to get the ball rolling for everything and hopefully I can have a talk with Pretty Bird.
