Page 25 of Mended Souls
“The night at the club. The man who called you a wh—who used that word, that’s why you attacked him?” I nodded, and I saw the color drain from her face. “Kadence, I’m sorry. I called you…”
I pressed my lips together. “I liked it when you called me yours. It’s crazy after my attack, but when you call me your pretty whore, it makes me feel giddy. But I don’t think I can handle anyone else calling me a whore.”
She caressed my cheek, wiping the tears I didn’t even realize fell from my eyes. “Kadence, why did you call me when I hurt you?”
“Because no one else answered,” I whispered. A lump got stuck in my throat as I looked at her. “When I needed someone the most, you were there. I’m still…I’m not angry, but I’m still hurting and I’m pissed off, but there is no reason to let it fester. You came to my rescue.”
“I’ll always protect you. I never should have hurt you to begin with. I’m so sorry, Kadence.”
I couldn't dive into any more tonight. “Can you call Annika? We can talk more tomorrow. I just want to sleep.”
“Of course. I’ll be there tomorrow. Get some rest, princess.”
CHAPTER 21
BLAIZE
Annika and her men came and took Kadence home, but not before Annika barged into the clubhouse and lit into me, thinking I did something to her again. Kadence told her it was someone else, but Annika was still ready to sink her claws into me. I was glad she had passionate friends who cared for her, even if Annika made my teeth ache.
Apologizing was the push we both needed, although I wasn’t expecting her to apologize to me. I stormed into the club, trying to find Hunter. She was busy when I left, but I didn’t care if I needed to drag her from Everly’s body. Someone tried to kill Kadence. They tried to take the woman I loved from me…again. No one was going to hurt Kadence ever again. I would scour the Earth to make sure she was protected from anyone.
When I marched into my office, Hunter was sitting on my desk, waiting for me. Her blonde hair was wet, and she was in grey sweats and a green tank top. Judging by the marks on her neck and chest, it looks like she and Everly had a busy night.
“Someone attacked Kadence.”
She straightened her back. “Is she okay? Do we know who did it?”
“No, he was wearing a mask. He cut her throat—not fatal, but enough to send a message. That message being:tell that bitch I am taking everything she loves.”
“She called you?”
“When no one else answered her, yes. One of those people being you.”
Her brows scrunched. “I tried calling her back when we were done, but she didn’t answer. Is she okay?”
I nodded. “Yes, but now someone is trying to kill her because of me, and I want to know who. Can you pull up the footage from the docks?”
She nodded, jumping to her feet and sitting in my chair as she worked her magic fingers on my computer, pulling up the footage from the docks. We wouldn’t have audio, but we could see what took place. Kadence arrived about an hour before whoever attacked her. I could see him watching her, waiting to strike while Kadence was blind to the impending danger. My fists clenched when I watched him grab her and I saw the fear in her eyes. He cut her breast before the knife went to her throat. The bastard was wearing a mask, and I couldn’t see anything familiar about him.
“Have we got anything else?”
“The dock is the only visible camera feed. The other feeds are not pulling up; someone must have tampered with them so I can’t see where he went.” She growled in frustration, slamming the mouse down. “Blaize. Someone must’ve taken my passwords. I’m the only one that knows this other than Cross.”
Cross had been stressed dealing with the motorcycle club and all the things that came with that position. Hawke made it seems easy when he was fucking Fallon to his death metal music, all while keeping my club on stable ground. Cross had already asked for someone else to take the lead so he could go back to his computers. I rubbed my temples, feeling a pending migraine.Dealing with this plus everything with Kadence was going to drive me insane.
“Can you try to find out if we were hacked?” I asked. “You have a solid firewall and protections, so you would know if someone hacked into our system.”
“Blaize, if my system was hacked and passwords were stolen, I would know. I’m good, Blaize. My security measures are top notch.”
“See if you can find anything and let me know. I don’t want to do anything rash without proof. I learned with Kadence. Someone is trying to ruin me in more ways than one.”
She nodded. “You taking my SUV or the Harley?”
I smirked. “We made progress, and if we’re on my bike, she can’t shrink into herself.”
The next morning,my nerves were shot. Drew said Kadence slept most of the night, but did have a nightmare. Luckily, it was unrelated to me. I was going to take her nightmares away, even if it meant more blood on my hands. I made my bed the moment I decided to kill my mother’s boyfriend, and it was written in stone when I killed Olivia’s stepfather. There are too many names under my belt and blood on my grave for me to care; a few more to protect the angel sent to me by the devil won’t destroy the world.
The ten-minute ride to Annika’s apartment building felt like hours, but I finally made it. I was holding onto all this past rage when I knew this wouldn’t be how I should honor my family's memories. I shouldn’t be hurting someone that wanted to loveme, but I didn’t know if I could love her. At least, not in the way that she needed me to. I wasn’t scared of much, but losing someone I cared about again would hurt more than death.
