Madness: Part 2 – Chapter 45

I was lucky Haidyn had somewhere to be. I pretended to be asleep when I heard him come back into his bedroom. Once he told me goodbye and left, I immediately turned the cell back on. I’ve stared at it, hoping the video comes back so I can watch it again and try to decipher what I’m supposed to understand about it.

Was I supposed to focus on Ashtyn, Saint, or Haidyn? What did it all mean, and why did they cut it where they did? What happened after she passed out? They were branding her but why? She looked terrified. I mean, if I was in a straitjacket, strapped to a gurney, gagged and naked from the waist down, I’d be terrified too. But Saint loves her and supposedly so does Haidyn. Maybe it was an initiation for her? Who the hell knows? She was wearing a wedding ring when I saw her at Carnage, and I know once you become a Lady, your Lord will sometimes brand you. So maybe it was because of that?

The phone vibrates in my hands, and the email icon appears, making me drop it on my face. “Fuck,” I groan, rubbing my nose and then holding it up. My eyes dart to the bedroom door to make sure Haidyn isn’t standing right outside or coming in to check on me.

When I think the coast is clear, I open the email. It’s another video. I push play, and it’s in the same concrete room as before, but this time, Ashtyn and Saint are gone and so is the gurney. Haidyn enters, pocketing his cell, and looks around as if he expects someone to be there with him.

The door opens once more, and I lower the volume since I don’t have my earbuds in. I sink further down into the bed, holding the phone right in front of my face once more.

Haidyn leans back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What the fuck do you think you were doing?” the man barks, stepping farther into the room.

Haidyn just stares at him. The look on his face and his relaxed stance say he’s unbothered.

The man snaps his fingers, and the door opens again, and three men enter the room.

My heart picks up, knowing this won’t end well, but Haidyn still looks unbothered.

“We gave you specific instructions,” the man shouts.

“You didn’t give me shit,” Haidyn speaks.

The guy snaps his finger once more, and one of the guys dressed in a cloak and mask walks over to Haidyn. The moment he gets close enough, Haidyn swings. His fist hits the Lords mask, knocking him back.

All hell breaks loose in the concrete room. Haidyn holds his own until one of them places a stun gun to his neck, forcing him to his knees.

He hunches over, breathing heavily and worn out as the three men start to remove his shirt. They drag him to the center of the room, cuff his wrists in front of him and then string him up to the ceiling by a chain until the toes of his combat boots barely touch the floor. His eyes look around aimlessly, trying to get his bearings straight as they shove a rubber ball gag into his mouth, and then a hood over his head, securing it around his neck.

The man without a mask comes to stand in front of him and crosses his arms over his chest. “You will learn, Son, that the Lords always come first. Over any woman. No matter who she is, you will do as you’re told. Even if I have to beat it into you.” With that, the guy turns and slams the door shut, and the video stops.

I realize I’m biting my nails and drop the cell to my lap. What the fuck was that? He called him Son? Was that his dad? Was Haidyn being punished for knocking Ashtyn out to brand her?

I have so many questions, but it makes sense as to why I keep being told that Haidyn killed their fathers. But was it to save Ashtyn from them, or was it to save himself?

HAIDYN

I step out of Ashtyn’s room and softly close the door behind me. Saint is pacing the hallway but stops and looks up at me.

His eyes go to their bedroom door and then back to mine. “How is she?”

“Upset.”

He runs a hand through his hair and gives me his back. “Fuucckkk,” he whisper-shouts.

“She doesn’t want to know,” I tell him.

Whirling around, he narrows his eyes on mine. “Devin and Gavin⁠—”

“You asked me to talk to her.” I interrupt him. “I did. That’s what she told me.”

He nods his head a few times as if convincing himself.

“Will it make a difference to you if one isn’t yours?” I ask.

“Fuck no,” he growls. Stepping closer to me, he lowers his voice. “Just like it wouldn’t have mattered to me that her first child wasn’t mine.” His green eyes search mine, and I can feel the heat radiating off him. He wants to hit me, possibly shoot me. I understand he’s going through a lot right now. And I can’t argue that I don’t deserve it. Taking in a deep breath, he adds, “But I didn’t get that choice then, did I?”

He expects me to apologize for this shit show I’ve put us in, but I’m not going to. I did what I thought was best at the time. Things didn’t go as planned, then when he woke up, we were already in “training.” By the time we finished that, six months had passed, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Or maybe I just wanted to think she was better off.

“Go be with your wife, Saint.” I step around him and head toward the elevator.

He grabs my upper arm, stopping me. “You’re leaving again?” His words make it seem like he cares, but his tone says otherwise.

I turn to face him. “I have somewhere to be,” I say vaguely.

I can’t bring Charlotte here. Not with me. They’ll ask too many questions, and I’m having too much fun with my newest toy not to play with her. It wouldn’t be like it was—her showing up for one of our sessions and ending with her running out of the room after I gave her a visual of how I was going to fuck her. Pulling my arm free, I step into the elevator before the door shuts.

“She misses you, ya know,” he speaks softly.

“Anything from Benny?” I ask, ignoring what he said. I don’t have the energy for that conversation right now. I haven’t spoken to Kash, so I haven’t been updated on anything, and I’ve had shit luck trying to figure out who the guy in the picture is with him.

He shakes his head. “The guy is begging for me to cut his goddamn head off.”

I snort. “If you need help, let me know.” That’s what I need. Torture and kill some sorry bastard. Who better than Benny?

The door starts to shut when he speaks, “This is your home, Haidyn. You’re always welcome here.”