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I lean against the doorjamb as he puts his arm under the spigot and turns on the water, rinsing away the blood and revealing several deep gashes. I wince when he grabs a rag and scrubs roughly at the wounds. Reaching forward, I open the cabinet that holds towels and grab the first aid kit.
“Hand me the peroxide and Neosporin,” he grunts, still scouring his arm.
As I grab the requested items, un
derstanding dawns on me. He’s doing this for Maisy. She asked him to take better care of his cuts, and that’s what he’s doing. If I was the sappy type, I’d tear up at the knowledge he cares about my daughter and her worry for him.
I watch quietly as he carefully doctors his own wounds.
“There’s something I need you to do for me.”
His black eyes lift to mine. “What?”
“JW said he’s informed you of what happened to Ellie twelve years ago.” He nods, his jaw ticking. “He found the guy who got away. I want you to go fetch him and bring him to me.”
I got a call from JW this morning, saying he had news about Billy Collins, Ellie’s missing attacker. He found him in Arkansas, living with a girlfriend. My head felt like it was going to explode, knowing we had an address and that I’d soon face that motherfucker head-on. I want to go and drag him back here myself, but I won’t leave Ellie and Maisy while there’s still danger here in Malus. I trust that my brothers would protect them just as fiercely as they would protect Remi, Elijah, and Eden, but I still refuse to leave them.
Emo, just as I knew he would, jumps at the opportunity. This will be a good distraction for him. “Give me the details. I’ll leave tonight.”
I grip his shoulder, and he tips his head to the side, looking at me through the mirror. “Bring him to me alive, Emo. I want the pleasure of killing the bastard myself.”
He jerks his head once, and I know he’ll get the job done.
Once he’s finished with his wounds, we leave the bathroom. He stops by the bedroom and picks up the stuffed rabbit. His eyes are unusually soft as he gazes down at it, rubbing his hand over the synthetic fur. He carries it to his nightstand and gently sets it down so it’s resting against the lamp. The yearning look is gone when he spins back around and stalks from the room.
When we pass by the door that leads to the basement, his steps falter and his body goes rigid. His eyes are as hard as glass and his muscles bulge as he stares at the dark wood for a moment. The basement has always been a dark place for Emo. Many demons reside there, ones I’m not sure he’ll ever overcome.
I grip his shoulder and press forward, knocking him from his past. A low growl rumbles from his chest, but he begins moving again.
In the kitchen, he pulls out a pen and small notebook, tossing them on the table. As I write down the guy’s name and address, he opens the pantry and pulls out a small black duffle bag. I call his name to get his attention as he riffles through it, checking the contents.
“In one piece, Emo. Don’t let this shit control you. This is important.”
He gives me a tight nod before he goes back to rummaging through his bag. I sigh and shake my head. He’ll do what I asked, but the guy will go through hell. I’m all for the bastard suffering, but I want him coherent by the time I get to him.
“How’s Trouble doing?” he asks, setting a pair of black leather gloves on the table.
“Better. Thank fuck he was bitten right outside his office. Saved him a lot of pain, since we were able to give him the antivenin so quickly.”
Trouble was damn lucky, in more ways than one. I have no doubt the person who put those snakes in his truck meant for him to get bitten multiples times, lessening his chances of survival, or at the very least intending major permanent damage.
We’re still no fucking closer to finding the bastard and have no fucking clue where to even begin to look.
Leaving Emo to prepare, I walk back through his empty house, get into my car, and head to JW’s house, where I left Ellie and Maisy.
I’ve got a lot of shit on my plate to think about over the next couple of days. It won’t take Emo long to locate and subdue Billy. Three days max with travel time. In the meantime, I need to figure out a way to tell Ellie about the dealings in Malus. I promised her no more secrets, and I’m still keeping a pretty damn big one.
Back when I broke things off with her, I did so because I didn’t think she would be able to handle what I had planned. I still have no fucking clue where she’ll stand. Will she threaten to leave Malus, taking Maisy with her? I don’t think she’ll turn us over to the cops, but she can definitely use that as a threat against me. As tempting as it would be, I can’t keep her against her will, and I can’t keep Maisy from her.
In the end, I need to trust that what she and I have will be enough for her to overlook the harsh realities of my life and what we’re doing to preserve the innocent.
Chapter Twenty-Three
ELLIE
“I WANT TO TELL MAISY ABOUT US,” Judge murmurs into the dark room. His fingertips lazily caress up and down my back.
I run my fingers through the hair on his lower stomach. “Okay. We’ll tell her tomorrow.”
