“You’re right.” He groaned like a kid. “I’m just so hungry.”
“Call Kena,” I yelled over my shoulder as I walked out, almost running right into Marek.
“How are things?” He looked down at the plate, then back up at me. “Everything good?”
“Couldn’t be better.” I swore if I smiled any bigger, my face would crack.
Marek slapped my back. “Good man.”
As I walked back down the hall, many thoughts plagued me, slowing every step I took even though I wanted to rush back to her.
What was gonna happen with Tag when we went to the safe house?
Whenever I did return to the ring, would the Reapers be there, waiting to exact revenge for having taken Maddie from them?
Would I be able to fulfill my promise and keep her safe?
While I didn’t know any of these answers, I did know one thing for sure.
I’d do anything to protect the woman I loved, and while that knowledge gave me comfort, it also gave me pause because the probability of bloodshed in the very near future was high.
Epilogue
“What was that?” Maddie asked, pressing her finger to my lips. I’d been in the middle of reading her a description of the house I’d found that would be prefect for us when she interrupted me. “Shh….” I nipped her finger and made a move to tackle her on the bed, but she pressed back against me. “Seriously. I think something’s goin’ on.”
I strained to listen but could only hear a faint noise, thinking it was possibly the television out by the bar, but then the noise suddenly erupted.
Someone shouted my name, but I couldn’t tell who it was until they were closer to the room. Then came the incessant pounding. “Open up! Now!”
I hopped off the bed and threw on my jeans in record time, making sure Maddie was decent before pulling open the door. Brick’s face stared back at me. “What’s goin’ on?” I asked, my pulse quickening in anticipation of bad news.
“Fuckin’ Reaper, man. One of ’em is here, and he’s askin’ for you.”
“Fuck!”
“Yeah, you can say that again. Hawke’s got him on the ground with a gun to his head.”
“Is he alone?”
“Yep. He’s a prospect for them. Saw it on his cut before Hawke hit him.”
I turned around to look at Maddie, and her eyes went wide. “Don’t even fuckin’ think about it. Stay here.”
“But if it’s Pike….”
“I don’t care. He deserves what he gets coming here.” My eyes locked on Brick’s. “Make sure she stays put. Don’t let her out of your sight.” I snatched my gun from the dresser, checked the clip, and held it at my side.
“You got it.” Brick moved into the room as Maddie jumped off the bed. I didn’t have any time to check on her, trusting he’d keep her here as instructed and out of harm’s way.
She shouted something after me, but I was too amped up to make out what it was, completely focused on why one of them would come here. I mean, I know why they would, but I never thought they’d have the balls to show up. Whoever Hawke had on the ground was as good as dead. I only prayed I wouldn’t have to be the one to pull the trigger. I heard that shit stays with a man, but I’d do whatever was necessary to protect Maddie.
Whatever. Was. Necessary.
Because it was dark out, I only saw shadows on the other side of the lot, closer to the gate. It wasn’t until I was practically on them, under the lighting, did I see who was present.
Hawke was yelling at the guy on the ground, pointing his gun at the man’s head, like Brick said. Ace and Kaden stood next to the nomad with their weapons drawn as well.
“What the hell is goin’ on?” I asked, rushing forward.
The guy lying on the ground had been beaten badly, the side of his face covered in blood, his one eye swollen shut. There was no way Hawke could’ve caused all that damage in this short amount of time.
Kaden kicked the guy in the side, and he grunted. When he finally lifted his head enough to look up at me, I saw that it was indeed Pike, the Reaper prospect who’d shoved Maddie at me during the fight and told me to take her. She’d told me some things about the guy, and while she painted him to not be as bad as the rest of them, that he tried to help her as much as he could, he still had a hand in mistreating her. She claimed he was forced to rape her, but he raped her just the same.
A garbled barrage of words spewed from his mouth, but none of us could make out anything he said. Kaden kicked him again, which only made his speech worse when he tried a second time.
“Hey, maybe don’t kick him so we can understand what the fuck he’s tryin’ to tell us.” Kaden looked more annoyed than pissed off at the request, taking a step back.
“Why are you here?”
“War… warn you.” He spit on the ground, a string of bloody saliva dangling from his mouth. “They’re co… comin’.”
“Who?” Hawke shouted, bending over and pressing the barrel of the gun to the guy’s temple. “Your fuckin’ buddies?”
The prospect nodded.
Then just like in a movie, I saw Maddie running toward us in slow motion, Brick a few feet behind her, reaching out but not quite making the connection to snatch her back.
She skidded to a stop and fell to the ground next to his bloodied form. “Cody,” she cried, running her hands all over him. She looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Please don’t kill him.”
“You have a soft spot in your heart for the guys who raped you?” Hawke asked, sneering at her as if she disgusted him.
“He’s not like that. He tried to help me,” she hiccupped, her tears and concern for the bastard making me insanely jealous and angry. I barely
