AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Don’t let her be dead.
I rushed forward, two fingers going for her carotid. Her pulse was weak, but it was there, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Motherfuckers,” Liam hissed at the sight of his daughter. Dirt and blood marred her skin and hair. The usual bright ginger locks were wet and clung to her fevered brow. She was chained to the wall by her wrists. The skin beneath the manacles was shredded and raw. Pride swelled in my chest despite the pain of seeing her injured. Those wounds told me she’d fought to get free.
My little psycho.
“Seamus,” Liam shouted to his son. “Search the guard for keys.”
The youngest of the twins stood rooted to his spot in the doorway, eyes round as saucers, mouth gaping in horror as he stared at his sister. He hadn’t moved, not until Kiernan approached him from behind and whispered something in his ear.
The kid looked wrecked at the scene before him. Meanwhile, Kiernan shoved it all down, his eyes empty and cold. The pair were perfect copies of one another in every way except personality. Seamus wore his emotions like a shield, carrying it all on his sleeve, while Kiernan repressed until it exploded.
A blanket lay over her chest, barely covering her. It was soaked in blood. I shucked it aside, hissing angrily at the sight of her. Pain reverberated through me deeper than the slices through her skin.
I’m so sorry, my love.
I’d prayed to find my wife, and it had been answered. I only wished it was sooner.
Every inch of her was covered in cuts. Some shallow, others so deep they would need stitches. Her face was bloodied, but I could make out the bruising beneath the caked blood. Her ribs were marred black and blue.
If I ever got my hands on the person who did this to her, they would beg for death by the time I was through with them, and I still wouldn’t let them die. I’d make them suffer as they had made her suffer. Cut them up piece by piece until there was nothing left.
Seamus rushed back into the room, fumbling with a set of keys. Liam made quick work of the manacles. Ava didn’t move as he removed them. The right first, then the left.
She was too fucking still.
“Please, Red.” I gently took her in my arms, cradling her to my chest. “Please don’t leave me.”
Fuck, she was cold. Too cold.
“Let’s get this on her.” Liam pulled a small container of Quick Clot from his bag. Opening the top, he slowly poured the powder over her wounds, his gaze traveling to her face every few seconds, making sure he wasn’t causing her any pain. Once he was done coating her in the powder, he removed his jacket, his sons following suit, and covered her naked body in them. It wasn’t much, but it would help conserve any heat she had left.
“Let’s get her the fuck out of here,” Liam growled, his eyes lit up like a raging inferno as he stared down at his daughter. “We don’t have much time before the shock becomes irreversible.”
Nodding in agreement, I hoisted her further into my arms, careful not to jostle her too much. Her body was listless against mine, and my heart fucking shattered into a million pieces as regret just as palpable as the rage coursed through me.
What if I never saw her open those beautiful emerald eyes again? I still hadn’t apologized or made my amends. All I wanted to do was tell her I loved her. That I needed her, and that the months we spent apart were agony.
This was my fault. I’d been blind and selfish. I was the one who pushed her away time after time because I was too afraid to face my fears. To face the truth.
That she was mine and I was hers.
Ava owned me.
Heart and soul.
I’d known that from the moment she cast her fearful eyes on me in Elias’s office over a year ago. I had just been too blind and stupid to see it.
And now it might be too late.
“Don’t leave me,Krasnyy,” I whispered desperately into her hair as we made our way back into the main house. The minute we stepped out of the doorway, the comm signal registered our movement.
“We’ve got a helicopter standing by on the front lawn,” Mark informed me. He must have been monitoring our signals.
“Inform Dr. Radick that he needs to have a team meet me at the Kavanaughs’ within the hour,” I instructed him as I strode through the front door of the mansion. “Tell him I’ll pay him double his usual rate.”
Mark cursed. “Will do.”
