21. Austin

Chapter twenty-one

Austin

A ddy woke up screaming again. Her voice wrenched me out of the restless doze I'd slipped into. Hissing sounded from outside the bedroom door, joining her in her distress.

"Addy, it's okay, wake up!" I rasped, dodging her fist as she swung out blindly, her voice cracking as the screams morphed into sobs. I scrambled up onto my knees, stroking her hair gently and trying to calm her down. The doctor said she needed to relax, and this was definitely not relaxed.

"Please, Addy, it's me!" I insisted, flinching back as she struck out again, snarling and baring her teeth. I slipped off the bed and scrambled to the door, flicking on the bedroom light. A noise by my foot caught my attention, and Little Red slipped under the door, hissing softly. I opened it carefully, and a couple of my friends slithered into the room, ignoring me completely as they headed toward the bed. Oh boy, Cain wasn't going to like this…

Addy's chest was heaving as her eyes finally blinked open, and I hurried back to her, crawling over the bed. "He was hurting so bad!" Addy murmured, the tears continuing to spill down her cheeks. "We have to find him, Austin. He needs us!" I nodded and tugged her back until she was laying down, then I covered her up as the twins curled up next to her.

"We're looking," I murmured, kissing away the tears and stroking her hair. When we'd gotten home from the hospital, Addy had asked me to send out my friends to look for Piper, like I had with her. They had been the ones to find her, after all. Piper was a den mate, so they all knew him and his scent well. Most disappeared out through the window immediately, but to my surprise, my vipers had stayed behind. I thought it may have been some youthful stubbornness or a display of dominance, but it appeared that they just refused to leave Addy's side. I couldn't fault them for that. Nothing short of death could make me leave her side, either.

"He's dying, Austin. I can feel it. He's dying, and he's all alone!" Addy cried, and I tried to soothe her as best I could, nuzzling her face and stroking her hair. This was reminding me too much of when Piper would have his… episodes, and he'd be rambling and feel scared for hours. I finally managed to calm her down, and she fell back to sleep, the twins coiled up on her stomach and her chest. I curled up beside her, refusing to sleep in case she woke up and needed me again, so I just watched her quietly in the darkness.

Later in the morning, I heard a door open downstairs. Snarling, I slipped out of the bed and crept out of the room, heading towards the stairs. Granddaddy cobra, the oldest snake in my nest, was coiled at the top of the stairs, tracking the movement down below. I hissed a few words of thanks and left him to guard the bedrooms as I slipped downstairs to the kitchen. I relaxed immediately when I saw Cain's mess of curls pass by, heading for the kitchen. Bounding down the last few steps, I watched him quietly as he paced the kitchen floor, swearing and muttering to himself.

"Is Wyatt okay?" I rasped, catching his attention. His eyes were bloodshot, red streaking through them like hot coals burning in the wind. He nodded, his face cracking as he fought to keep his emotions in check. I didn't know why he bothered. I could feel them rippling through the air between us.

"He woke up for a minute and said he was sorry. Told me he was pushed," Cain informed me, burning hot with rage. "They had to take him for more scans, to see if… to see if he'll be able to walk after this." He raked his hand through his hair, fury rolling off his shoulders in waves. I watched anxiously, staying out of his way as his shirt began to smoke, the hem of his collar singeing as tiny licks of flame rippled across it. "Fuck!" he exclaimed, and I hissed an admonishment.

"Addy is sleeping!" I snapped. "She had another nightmare about Piper." Cain's face fell, the anguish apparent on his features. He looked so tired all of a sudden.

"I failed," he mumbled, dropping down into the kitchen chair. "I failed all of you." Footsteps creaked on the stairs, and Addy appeared, her hair a mess from sleep. I waited for Cain to set his shoulders, to bristle and huff and prepare to argue with her as they always did, but his flame had dimmed, like he'd been snuffed out. He had no fight left in him.

"You need to let us in, Cain." Addy frowned, walking toward him. "You can't keep everything bottled up inside you. I know you claim it's to protect us, but we're stronger than you think." She sat down on his lap, and he flinched away from her, his shirt still smoking from the flames licking off his skin. "A little fire never hurt me." She smirked, pressing her forehead against his.

"You should be in bed," he mumbled, and she flicked his nose lightly. "I was, but some idiot was bellowing at the top of his lungs down here." He rubbed his hand over his face. "Come on, I'll make some breakfast. You can have a shower, maybe a nap, and then we can go see Wyatt." Addy hopped off of his lap and gave me a gentle kiss as she passed, heading to the fridge.

"I can't sleep. Too much to do." Cain sighed, "But a shower sounds nice." He stood up, stretching out his arms, his shoulder popping uncomfortably. Addy pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge, busying herself with making food. All of us fell silent when we heard a knock on the door downstairs.

"Wait!" I hissed, as Cain moved to go downstairs. I waited a moment, and a small garter snake slithered up the baseboard along the stairs. I listened as it reported in, and I hissed back, frowning. "He says… it smells like Piper by the door." Addy let out a quiet whimper, forgetting about the food on the stove. Cain was down the stairs in a shot, with Addy and me close behind.

I didn't like the look on Cain's face when he walked back inside, holding a small box wrapped in brown paper. I pulled Addy back as he walked toward us, and she protested in my arms. Something wasn't right here… I didn't like the smell, it was Piper… but it was wrong.

"Addy, go upstairs, okay?" Cain muttered, gripping the box. His face twisted.

"Fat fucking chance of that," she snapped back, but I hauled her back away from Cain, putting my body between us.

He turned it over, letting me see the creepy-looking happy face drawn on the top. Without a second thought, he tore off the paper, revealing the plain-looking box underneath. I held Addy tightly, every muscle in my body screaming ‘ Wrong! It's wrong! ' as loudly as it could. "Don't open it," I begged Cain, but he ignored me, lifting the lid as carefully as possible to peek inside.

The color leached out of his face, his lips pressing into a thin line. "What is it?!" Addy demanded, fighting me so hard I was scared I would hurt her if I didn't let go. She jerked out of my arms and stumbled toward Cain, who pulled the box away from her, shaking his head.

"No, Addy please, don't look at this alright? You don't need to see this," Cain begged, backing away from her. A flurry of scales unfurled from Addy's neck, where they had been hiding in her long hair, and launched itself at Cain. Cain swore and dropped the box as his hands flew up to block the viper from hitting him in the face.

I watched the box fall, landing sideways on the ground. The lip popped off on impact, and a small object clattered out of the box, rolling across the floor by our feet. A glint of silver and the coppery tang of blood filled the air, and I snarled as Cain snatched Addy away from it. Her mouth dropped open in a silent wail as my viper slithered around it, cordoning it off with his body.

Den mate blood - he told me, and I stepped closer, reaching down to pick it up. A finger, hacked off at the knuckle, with a silver ring still attached. There was a dainty spider etched into the ring, with a blood red gem in the center of its body. It smelled like Piper, and I dropped it back in the box, hissing viciously.

"What the fuck?! What the fuck!" Addy yelled, pulling away from Cain. "Who did this?! What the fuck is going on?!" I moved to comfort her, and she raised her finger to my chest, keeping me back. "I want answers and I want them now. Why the fuck was Piper's finger in a fucking box on our porch?!" She was breathing hard, her eyes lit with fury. Cain shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

"I don't have answers for you Addy, I'm sorry. I just… I think… I think this might be Jake." He sighed. My muscles tensed as all the air seemed to get sucked out of the room.

"Jake is dead," I rasped. "You said Wyatt killed him." Addy was glaring so hard at Cain I thought he might drop dead right on the spot.

"He did- I mean, he should have. The wounds he got, the fire, nobody could survive that!" Cain insisted. "But… when I went back to find the body… he was gone."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Addy hissed. "This whole time, you were lying to me? To us? We thought we were safe! We thought… oh my god…" She stumbled back, dropping to sit on the stairs. "I let my guard down."

"But I didn't, Addy, not for one second!" Cain replied hoarsely. "I've been watching, waiting, for anything that could mean he'd found us. I never saw this coming, and I'm so sorry." He backed up against the wall and slid down to the floor, covering his face with his hands.

This wasn't right. Cain didn't panic. No matter what happened, he was always calm. He always had a plan.

"We have to do something," Addy whispered. "We have to find Piper. He's hurt… he needs our help." She closed her eyes, brushing away the tears that were forming.

Carefully, I picked up the box with the finger inside, replacing the lid so I wouldn't have to look at it. I turned it over in my hands, examining it slowly. There were no other markings on it, nothing that stood out. I hissed in frustration.

The three of us jumped when a loud banging erupted at the front entrance. "Police, open up!"

"Oh my fucking god," Addy groaned as Cain leapt to his feet.

"Austin, hide the finger and the snakes. Now!" he snarled, and Addy stood up, storming to the front door.

I shoved the box with the finger in the closest cabinet, leaving the door open so my viper could climb inside. I watched anxiously from around the corner as Addy jerked the door open and three officers stepped inside, forcing her to step back.

"Are you Mrs. Collins?" one of them demanded, and she frowned, nodding slowly. "Where is your husband?"

"What?" Addy blinked, looking as confused as I felt. The officer looked irritated, and Cain quickly stepped forward, his hands hanging loose at his sides. All three of them shot forward, and Addy yelped as they shoved her aside, surrounding Cain.

"What is going on?" Addy exclaimed, and Cain didn't react as they shoved him against the wall, one of them reading him his rights while another handcuffed him.

"Mrs. Collins, your husband is under arrest for fraud and embezzling funds. We are taking him in for processing, and I suggest you have his lawyer meet him at the station."

"His lawyer? Embezzling?! Cain, what the fuck?" Addy cried. Cain was staring at the ground, and I gripped the cabinet as I fought the urge to fight them off.

"Addy, listen to me. This is Jake, it's all Jake. Stay together, and don't trust anyone." Cain insisted, his eyes swirling red. "I'll fix this, okay? Please believe me. I'll fix this, I promise!" The officer who cuffed him jerked him back by his shirt collar and walked him out the door, his colleagues following behind. Addy was frozen in the doorway, and I joined her, watching as they shoved Cain into the back of the squad car and drove off.

What were we supposed to do now?