Page 93 of Made
“Yeah? I don’t care. I’m just so happy to have you back baby. I thought I’d lost you.”
She manages to shuffle upright, leaning back into my arms. She wrinkles her nose. “I stink,” she mutters. “No hospital. Home. Shower. With you.”
I laugh. “Anything you want, El. Anything you want. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay.”
She nods, and I know it’s true now. She’s in rough shape, but she’ll recover. Physically, she’ll get better quickly. Emotionally and mentally? That might be a longer road, but I’ll be there with her, every step of the way.
I’m so busy tending to my girl, lost in the relief of having her in my arms, that at first I don’t notice the movement from the other side of this foul container. I glance over, see that Fallon is up. Staggering, bloodied, and missing his front teeth—but moving. He’s a resilient fucker, I’ll give him that. It’s possibly the only quality Ellie inherited from this freak of nature.
I know King is outside, but I want to be sure nothing goes wrong. “Give me a second, baby. I just need to take out the trash.” She sees him, and even though I feel her tense, she keeps her eyes on him and does not shy away.
Fuck, I’m so proud of her. I drop one more kiss on her head and follow Frank outside.
He keeps going, dragging himself along, limping and dripping blood. He emerges out into the sunlight as I follow. Part of me wants him to run. Wants him to try and escape so I can stop him. Permanently. He makes it maybe three steps towards freedom before I grab him by the scruff of theneck. I hold him there, dangling, enjoying the sight of his feet scrabbling for purchase. I shake him and another tooth comes loose.
I have never wanted to end a life more than I do right now.
Just then, a huge white truck pulls up a little way off. We both look up as the back panel doors open, and the first thing out of it is a fast-as-lightning streak of fur and fury.Zeus. The Malinois flies towards us, eating up the ground. I drop Fallon, and as he hits the deck, the dog buries his teeth in his crotch. Zeus doesn’t clamp down. If he did, Fallon would be dickless. Instead he just keeps Frank there, growling and snarling and salivating all over him, like he’s starving and his favorite food is cock and balls. Fallon responds as most men would—with absolute terror.
Next, three fuck-ass motorcycles come zooming along. They bump out of the truck and onto the ground, engines revving, tires screeching in the hard-packed dirt and sending up flurries of dust. All three bikes settle, pointing in our direction. Astride them, three figures, all in leathers, like the fucking horsemen of the apocalypse.
As entrances go, it’s fucking spectacular, and Fallon blubbers even more. The dog has him pinned, but his weaselly eyes dart around looking for an escape route. I’m behind him. King is to one side. And three bikers with death in their eyes are right in front of him. No such luck, pal.
This is the scene that greets Ellie as she staggers out of that fucked-up prison, shielding her eyes against the sun. She takes in the bikers, the dog, and she smiles, wincing as it cracks her cut lip. I growl, filled with rage. Just for that I could kill him, never mind the years of torment he put her through as a kid. He doesn’t deserve to live. I take a step in his direction, hovering above, as feral as the fucking Malinois.
“Hi Kee, dads,” she says her voice a little stronger now.
Romeo climbs off his bike, strides towards her, and hands her a bottle of water. She takes a few gulps and then sighs out loud. It seems to renew her, giving her a fresh burst of energy. She pats him on the arm, then walks slowly and unsteadily towards me. She ignores the man lying on the ground pissing himself and stares into my eyes. Into my soul.
I know she sees everything. She sees the dark corners of my heart, knows every bad thing I’ve ever done or thought or wanted to do. She knows the way I’m made, and she still fucking loves me.
“Don’t,” she says simply, knowing how desperate I am to wipe this shitbag off the face of the earth. It would be so damn easy, too. “Please don’t, Maddox. Don’t let him steal your peace. You worked hard for it, and he doesn’t deserve even one more moment of our time. Let him go. Not just for me, for you as well. For us.”
I lose myself in her eyes. Fight with my monster. She smiles, and the monster turns into a purring pussycat. He doesn’t stand a chance against her. “Okay baby. For you.”
I take a step back, and she utters the word “leave” to Zeus. The dog looks as unhappy about it as I am, but he obeys, dropping into a crouch by her side, growling a warning that says “one wrong move and you’re mine.” I’m starting to think that Zeus is my fucking spirit animal.
Fallon lies there, covered in his own blood, whimpering and cowering as Keres, Ace, and Romeo stalk towards him. Ace is hefting thick lengths of chain over his leathered shoulder, clinking like some kind of fucking medieval knight.
“Give me a minute, okay?” Ellie says, her voice still quiet but so much stronger. The men defer to Keres, who nods.
Ellie crouches down by Fallon’s side. She looks him right in the eyes and smiles. “Goodbye, Frank. You’ll never see me again.”
He glares up at her, some of his bravado back now she’s close. I’m like a coiled spring, ready to finish him if he tries anything. “Yeah?” he snarls. “What makes you think that, sweetheart? I found you once. I’ll find you again.”
Thatfucker. Even now he’s threatening her? Before I can intervene, she leans a little closer. Meets his nasty gaze, showing not a scrap of fear. Every inch the fucking warrior now—in fact she’s warrior, Goddess, and queen all rolled into one. “Oh, no, Frank. I don’t think you quite understood me. You’ll never be seeinganybodyagain.”
With that she stands, tall and proud and so fucking stunning. Her hair is a greasy tangle, her face is covered in blood and filth, and her clothes stink.
I’ve never seen anybody so fucking beautiful in my entire life.
She slips her hand into mine and looks to Keres, who raises her eyebrows while Ace hefts those huge chains like they weigh nothing. “Time?” Keres asks.
My girl nods. “It’s time.”
Ellie turns to me and King. “We need to go now. Nobody needs to see this.”
Neither of us argues. We stride away, supporting Ellie between us as we head for the nurse and private ambulance that King has arranged. As we go, we hear those chains clattering. A man yelling for mercy. A dog barking. Three motorcycle engines, revving and then roaring, the sound coming from everywhere, maybe even the pits of hell itself. An inhuman scream that ends almost as soon as it begins.
