Chapter 28 - Delaney

28

Delaney

We lie in the darkness, my head on Ares’ chest. I rise and fall with his steady breathing. My palm rests on his abs, his skin soft under my fingertips.

“How are you so calm? You didn’t even…”

“You think coming is the only thing that relaxes me?” he asks, his words rumbling through my cheek. “I’m lying here with you.”

“I relax you?” I ask, rolling my head a little to meet his eyes. “I thought I infuriated you? Drove you absolutely fucking crazy with rage?”

“When you try and get yourself killed, yeah,” he agrees, grinning. “But right now?” His hand cups my face. Tucks a tendril of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I’m relaxed.”

My body is limp and boneless. I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer. Of course, that’s when reality starts to seep in, like waste water from a broken pipe.

“He needs to die, Ares. You know he’s never going to stop any other way. And once he finds out about Aaron, he’ll use it somehow — pin it on you, leave it hanging over my head. I’ll never be able to keep Lilly safe.”

“You’re right.”

I sit up and stare at him in surprise. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with Ares?”

Something buzzes against my hip. Ares closes his eyes and puffs out his cheeks, like he was anticipating this. Dreading it, even. He takes his phone from his pocket and his face glows in the light of it as he checks the screen. I’m not in the right position to read the text. He clicks the screen off and sits up.

“Come on. I have to show you something.”

***

I step up onto Ares’ front porch on shaky legs. The last time I was this close to Ares’ house, I was running away, scampering in the dark and crawling through bushes to make it back to my bed before Dad could catch me.

There are lights on inside, a warm yellow glow emanating from the curtained windows. A shadow moves past the window and I jolt in fear, digging my nails into Ares’ forearm.

“There’s someone in there,” I hiss. But Ares doesn’t look surprise. He touches my lower back.

“Come on,” he says, urging my forward.

The front door is unlocked. Inside, the house feels the same, like it was only yesterday I was in here asking this big, bad biker to be my personal assassin. There’s movement in the living room, to my left, and even though I’m expecting someone , nothing prepares me for what I see.

There’s a man tied to a chair, his mouth duct taped over, dripping with sweat and a trail of blood from a gash over one eye. When he sees me, his eyes go wide and he grunts against the tape, tugging desperately at his binds. Reaper, the tall, long-haired biker that showed up to the clearing, whacks the butt of his gun against my Dad’s skull. Dad groans, his eyes shuddering closed for a second.

My mouth is sandpaper dry. I try to talk, to scream, but all that comes out is a ragged gasp. Ares walks past me and nods to Reaper who steps aside. Ares bounces down on his heels. He and Dad are face-to-face, but it’s clear that Ares holds all the power here. Some of it flows back to me, emboldening me to step forward, shoulders tight.

“Ares, what is this?” I ask.

“This is retribution,” he replies, holding Dad’s gaze. Dad looks at him like a caged wolf — bloodthirsty, desperate, but ultimately toothless.

“This…” He seems to look up and over Dad’s head. It signals Reaper, who steps around and hands Ares the gun. “This is me finally doing what I should have done a long time ago.”

I slam back into my body, adrenaline pumping. Lurching forward, I pull Ares to his feet and force him back alongside me.

“No, no, you can’t do this. This is… Fuck, we’re in your house , Ares. Your Gran’s house. There is a zero percent chance you’ll get away with this. I need to be the one to do it. That way, you’ll be protected.”

My hand slides along his arm, but he knows what I’m doing and jerks away before I can grab the gun. All the while, Dad seems to have sprung to life, making high screaming noises against his gag.

Ares laughs bitterly. “Delaney, you came to me seven years ago, asking me — begging me — to protect you. I wasn’t ready to understand then, and I’m so fucking sorry, but I promise…” He thumbs away the tears I didn’t feel cascading down my face. “I promise I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

I take a shaky breath. “How can you do that from prison?”

Ares kisses me. Sweet, gentle. When he stops, he rests his forehead against mine. His eyes are everything. I’m captured in icy gray, the rest of the world dropping away. I feel my guilt slipping away with it, finally accepting that this is the gift Ares is giving me. My God of War, coming to my rescue.

“Time to say goodbye to your father, Delaney.”

I nod and Ares steps back, the space yawning coldly between us. Ares spins and tears the duct tape off Dad’s mouth. Dad yowls in pain, spittle flying with every ragged breath.

“You son of a bitch,” he croaks. “The Wastelanders are finished. There is nowhere on this earth you won’t be hunted, do you hear me? Do you fucking hear me, Warner?”

But Ares isn’t looking at him. He’s staring right at me, a softness across his features that is so stunningly rare that he almost looks like a different person. I tear my eyes away from him and look at Dad, who finally seems to realize that Ares isn’t the one in control here.

I am.

Everything about him changes, like a chameleon finding the right color to hide in. His eyes go soft, his head tilted in a pathetic, pleading gesture. He takes a breath. Licks his papery lips.

“Del, honey… Daddy’s sorry, okay. You know that I love you — you know that.”

“Do I?”

Dad beams, like he’s finally broken through to me. He tries to shuffle the chair closer; it scrapes just a little on the floor.

“Yes. Yes, you do. And I love you too. That’s how I know you’re not gonna let your own Daddy die. So, just… Just untie me and you and I can walk outta here together, okay?”

I stare at him for so long that I wonder if time itself has stopped. Nobody moves, nobody breathes. This man, once so big and terrifying, is coughing up snot and, let’s face it, has probably already pissed his pants. He doesn’t scare me anymore. Dad’s hopeful smile falters. Fades.

“You gonna say anything to your old man?”

My eyes move easily away from him, as if they’ve already forgotten he’s there, and instead I look at Ares.

“Thank you.”

He nods. From the corner of my eye, I see Reaper lunge for Dad’s back, whipping a thin wire around his neck. I don’t care enough to watch. I just leave the room to the sound of a pathetic, quiet struggle and I finally feel free.