Madness: Part 2 – Chapter 13

Another fucking visit and another fucking dead end.

“Goddammit!” I shout, storming into my house and kicking my blood-covered heels off in the foyer. I head to the kitchen and grab a bottle of wine but don’t even bother pouring a glass. I just down it from the bottle.

I’m still shaking at what I saw.

Slamming it onto the counter, I gasp and run the back of my hand over my chin as it drips onto my dress.

What the fuck are you doing?

What I’m being told to do. I’m following orders from the Lords. I knew the Spade brothers were ruthless, but I guess I never took the time to think how much.

I take another gulp of the wine and head to my bedroom. He made the guy split his own tongue because he’s a liar. What the fuck did he lie about? I’m living a lie. What will he do to me if he finds out?

No! Don’t think that way. He’s not going to find out. I’ll either die with this secret or the Lords will kill me before it gets out.

Haidyn wasn’t wrong, though. The Lords find a way to silence anyone who goes against them. He was trying to scare me today, and I won’t let it work.

I’ve got two weeks to get my shit together and return with a backbone. To prove to him that I can and will not be pushed away. I grew up in this society too. I know what goes on and how certain situations are handled. I can be just as ruthless, right? I killed a woman. I’ve got blood on my hands too.

Fuck Haidyn and whatever he was trying to prove tonight. I’ll put a smile on my face and show him that I’m not the terrified girl he thinks I am.

HAIDYN

I’m pulling up to the private airstrip and see Adam waiting by his Aston Martin with his arms crossed over his chest. I expect him to be smiling, but instead, he looks remorseful. Things have been turned upside down over the past week. Now our brothers know that we’ve kept in touch behind their backs.

Kash and Saint left town, and I took Ashtyn to dinner. Well, I was planning on it anyway. We were ambushed. I was shot, and she was kidnapped. Everything went to shit so fast I haven’t even had the chance to process most of it.

We board the plane as he speaks. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” I grunt. My hand on my chest. I wish I was still playing dead if I’m being honest. I didn’t feel like shit then. “Did you speak to Ashtyn?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He sighs, looking out the window. “Well…I tried to. She wants nothing to do with me. Not like I can blame her,” he adds softly.

I want to tell him that she’ll come around, but even I can’t promise that. And I know he doesn’t plan on returning to Carnage.

“What all do they know?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I answer.

He nods in understanding. I didn’t want to give Saint another reason to hate Adam. Plus, I’m not a rat. I made a decision four years ago, and I stand by it.

His eyes drop to my backpack at my feet. “Did she ask where you were going?”

I rub the back of my neck where my tracker once was. We all had them installed after we finished our training, but they cut Ashtyn’s and mine out when they kidnapped her and shot me.

“No.” I wouldn’t have told her anyway. She came to my room while I was packing my things. Our conversation from an hour ago is fresh on my mind.

“Are you leaving?” I don’t answer because saying yes will lead to more questions I don’t have answers for. “Please, Haidyn…don’t.” Her voice cracks.

I lean forward and gently kiss her forehead. “Be good, baby girl.” With that, I grab my backpack, sling it over my shoulder, and leave her sitting in my room.

I pass Saint standing outside my bedroom door, listening to our conversation, and when I get on the elevator, I turn to face him. The look on his face tells me what I already know. He doesn’t care if I ever return.

This isn’t about us or what I did. It’s about what’s to come. This isn’t over. We’re Lords—Spade brothers. Someone always wants what we have and thinks they can take it. And his biggest weakness sits on my bed.

I don’t know why Kashton hasn’t ever settled down, but I know why I haven’t. It’s too risky. Humans are vulnerable. Ashtyn proves that. Even thousands of miles away, she was still reachable. What if Benny didn’t have patience? What if he had acted when she first ran and killed her the moment she moved to Vegas? Or decided to kidnap and knock her up at any point over the past four years? He saw Ashtyn as an opportunity to attack us. And that greed is the only thing that saved her.

The door starts to close, and Saint rushes over to it, slamming his hand on it and forcing it to open. I square my shoulders as he steps inside the elevator. His hard eyes go to the strap of my backpack before they land on mine. “Running?”

I don’t respond. It’s better he doesn’t know what I’m doing. It’s not that he won’t try to stop me. It’s that he’ll want to go with me, and I won’t take him away from her. Not this time. I’ve seen the man he is without her, and he’s much better with her. Plus, Carnage is on lockdown now after what just happened. It’s the safest place for any of them to be. I have no doubt Saint will go on a killing spree just like Kash did when he thought I died. There won’t be any prisoners alive by the time I return.

He snorts at my silence. “I never thought you’d be like Adam.”

My teeth grind. Again, it’s not my story to defend. Saint can think what he wants.

Stepping back, he exits the elevator and says, “For her sake, I hope you stay gone.” With that, the door closes.

“He’ll forgive you,” Adam speaks.

“Doesn’t matter,” I mumble, looking out the window as we taxi down the private runway in the middle of the night.

“We should just tell him the truth.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair nervously.

I snort. “It’s too late for that.”

“I…” He’s unable to finish his sentence.

I’m not sure if he was going to say he’s sorry or if he wishes we had done things differently four years ago. The truth is, neither matter. He asked me for a favor, and I didn’t think twice to give it to him.

He closes his eyes, leaning his head back as the plane picks up speed. I pull my cell out of my pocket, unlock it, and make the call to give the heads-up that we’re coming. Then I’m going to pass the fuck out on this short flight. I’m not only tired but my chest is on fire. The fresh bullet hole feels like it’s burning. Devin gave me some pain pills, but I refused to take them. I’d rather feel pain than high.