Chapter 2

B efore I have time to respond to Nyx's ominous statement, the elevator dings. I feel more than see the three of us turn to face it as one, our spines straightening for appraisal: hers or ours, I'm not sure.

I try to focus on my gorgeous girl as she floats from the elevator like some kind of ethereal goddess, but I can't because I'm too busy fucking reeling .

I swallow thickly, and against my will, my eyes flick to Hunter. Unlike his usual leather and skin-tight jeans, he's wearing a tux that matches the rest of ours, and it pisses me off. Mostly because he looks damn good like this, and it's fucking with my head and my dick.

I shouldn't have noticed how good he looks.

I can't notice.

His shoulder-length dirty blonde hair is down and tossed to the side, and the sight of it makes me remember how it felt wrapped around my fist.

Why did I even do that?

I have no idea what came over me. But the sight of him, his cocky smile and arrogant face, makes me feel shit that confuses me.

I want to throttle him. Absolutely choke the life from his body. Maybe it's his arrogance. Maybe it's all the hurt he's caused Ella in the last few months. Maybe it's his involvement in her childhood abuse.

But, even I can understand he was forced just as much as she was. I see how badly he wishes he could change their past. I know what it's like to be nothing more than a product of your environment. My brothers and I may have tried to change our lives, but at the end of the day, we are what Agustus made us to be—cold-hearted killers who will stop at nothing to reach our goals.

We're ruthless, brutal men, just like Gus.

I bite my cheek and look away as the questions settle deep in my mind.

How different is Hunter from his childhood? Is he the same? Does he have it in him to repeat the cycle he was forced to be a part of? Is Ella safe?

A gasp pulls me from my thoughts, and I unclench my fists just in time to meet her eyes across the room. She's choking back a laugh, her tiny hand covering her mouth as her gaze slides to Nyxon.

I smirk, a chuckle building in my chest, and toss her a secret wink, just for us.

I'm glad I was able to give her something last night, even something so stupid and childish. I hadn't meant to get shitfaced with Nyx, but we were both struggling to choke back her story, her childhood, and everything she's been through. Adding on Hunter's part in that, and we both just kind of lost it.

I understand our reaction was justified. We love Ella, and no one wants to hear about the horrors of the person they love most in the world's past, but I wish I'd stayed sober long enough to hold her until she fell asleep.

Instead, I carted Nyx's passed-out ass to his room, filled a bucket full of craft glue and glitter left over from Ella's birthday decorations, and stole my girl from her bed. Hearing her cackle while destroying his ugly, overgrown beard was the highlight of my night, fuck, maybe my week. She needed it, and honestly, so did I.

But now, Nyx is rocking a nearly bald face and shorter hair than I think I've ever seen him with. As much as I hate to admit it, the asshole looks good this way. You can finally see the black ink crawling up his neck, and judging by the way Ella clenches her thighs, she likes his new look.

My eyes rake down her body, taking her in from head to toe.

Her long chocolate brown hair cascades down her back in curls, but part of the front's pulled to the side, showing off the pretty diamond earrings from my brother. They go perfectly with the necklace I got her. It stands out against her exposed neckline the long black dress creates.

She looks stunning, like an old Hollywood star but way damn better. I can just make out the pressure point cuffs from Stone, something he had custom-made to help her with her anxiety.

We all got together to get her a gift for tonight. Not only are all of her jewels outfitted with tracking software, but she's also silently representing each of the men who love her on our first official outing as a couple…

Or thrupple.

Or fuck , with Nyx and probably Hunter, I guess we really are the harem I keep jokingly referring to.

I swallow back a growl when the man himself saunters toward her, a cocky grin on his annoyingly cute face. The growl slips free when Hunter grabs Ella's jaw and presses a kiss to her forehead, murmuring words too low for me to hear.

My brain screams at me to shove him out of the way. To deck him in his smug face, but against my will, my feet stay rooted to the spot as I watch him touch her . Watch my girl smile up at him with heat and adoration in her blue-green eyes.

My cock throbs at the sight of them together, and I snap my head to the side, cracking my neck to relieve the tension.

Nyx spots my rapidly rising confusion and mistakes it for anger. He steps forward, shoving Hunter away from Ella a bit too hard. The kid goes stumbling into the elevator. Right before he hits the wall, Stone reaches out and catches him. Something passes between them, Stone's brows pinching together before he quickly looks away.

As the seconds tick by, my need to be with Ella wins out, and I finally step forward, just in time to see Nyx palm the back of her neck and in a move way smoother than I'd think the big fucker capable of, he forces Ella's neck back and brushes his lips over her jaw.

" Te ves muy guapa, Princesa, " he murmurs. "I know I have a lot to make up for. Make no mistake. I'm aware I need to earn you, Isabella. In every way. But, I hope you allow me to begin with my mouth buried deep in your sweet pussy because I can already tell," he pauses and does something to make her whine in need, and I bristle like the jealous fuck I am. "That you'll be the best thing I've ever eaten."

My mouth gapes open the same time her's does, and the prick simply smirks and saunters away. I shake my head and chuckle, rubbing my jaw.

Smooth fucker.

Before she catches her breath, I dive in, my fingers aching to have her to myself. I snag her by the hips and tug her into my body. My heart gets stuck in my throat when she looks up at me, those wide, mossy-ocean eyes full of so much love, it makes me dizzy.

Fuck. She's perfect.

So. Damn. Perfect.

"You look fucking hot," I grunt, licking my lower lip. I bite down on the hoop, tugging it into my mouth as I slide my palm across her body and under her dress.

I may want to punch Nyx half the time, but this dress earned him a spot in my good graces for at least a week, maybe two. The slit is borderline indecent. It's everything I've ever needed in a piece of fabric.

And then, I feel the leather holster wrapped around her thigh. It's another gift from Gage, and I immediately decide he wins the top spot for best brother ever.

Leaning forward, I coast my lips over Ella's cheek, breathing her in as I sneak a finger beneath the leather strap. My cock pulses in my slacks, and it's taking everything inside me not to shove her against the wall and fill her with my cum.

"Madd," she breathes. Her tiny fingers dig indents into my biceps as I release the strap, letting it collide with her skin.

She moans .

"Fucking hell," I groan, shaking my head as I guide her backward into the elevator. Her back hits the wall, and I blindly smack the button for the garage, never breaking her eye contact.

My dick is trying to punch a hole through my zipper to get to her.

"Let's get this shit over with so I can come home and fuck her," I say to no one in particular.

Hunter shifts next to me, his eyes riveted to where my fingers are still buried under her dress. I swallow thickly, wondering what he'd do if I made Ella cum right now while I forced him to watch.

"Couldn't agree more, man," Gage grunts, his gaze nearly feral.

The elevator ride is short but tense, each of us feeling a mixture of emotions and desire that quickly becomes stifling in the little box. I'm thankful we decided to buy a much larger SUV now that our makeshift family is growing. I need the room right now. Not because I want space but because I feel like I can't breathe .

We all quickly pile in. Ella, Hunter, and Stone climb into the back row. I dive into the middle, regretting every second of my life that led to me being so damn tall compared to them. Otherwise, I'd be able to pile into the cuddle puddle, preferably with her ass planted firmly on my erection.

I may or may not pout at Ella when she wraps her hand around Stone's knee. The fucker locks eyes with me and slowly picks her hand up before sucking her thumb into his mouth in a slow, ridiculous taunt that makes me murderous.

But it's not until Ella giggles and bundles Hunter's hand into hers on her lap that I really consider going for my guns.

Before I can do anything, the SUV jolts forward, and I realize Nyx and Gage are in the front seat, murmuring about logistics for the night.

With a sigh, I turn to face the window, my mind a total mess.

Anything could happen tonight.

Gage's debut fight could tank when he inevitably panics.

Then, I'd be distracted and worried, making me lose my own fight. I intentionally scoff. Right. Like I'd ever let that shit happen.

Someone could touch Ella.

Be mean to Ella.

Harass Ella.

Hurt Ella.

My fingers dig little indents into my palms as every concern morphs until all I see is her bleeding and screaming. Her missing. Her dying.

I choke on my next breath when it gets stuck in my lungs and spear my fingers through my hair, fucking it up again.

Christ, so many things could go wrong.

It would devastate me if any of my brothers got hurt, but the idea of Ella even remotely bothered makes me want to blow shit up. Add that in with the pre-fight jitters I always get, the lethality that eventually settles in, the anger I let consume me, replacing my humanity just before I step into the octagon, and I'm a ticking time bomb.

I steal another peek at her over my shoulder. She's murmuring softly with Stone, a bright smile on her rosy cheeks, as he brushes her curls from her eyes. And just like that, everything in me quiets.

But it's the man on her other side that makes me stiffen.

Hunter is staring at his hand wrapped around her knee. The way her fingers blanket his, keeping him in place with her tiny, soft grip. It's not what he's looking at that gives me pause, though. It's how he's looking at it.

Like he's about to lose everything he's ever loved.

There's a bleakness in his gaze. A deep sadness in his blue-grey eyes that guts me. My mouth drops open. To say what? I have no idea. But before I can ultimately make a fool of myself, Gage interrupts me.

"So, we all know the plan?" he asks, his stern gaze flicking toward us as though he truly is the pseudo-father he's had to be so many times over the years.

I turn toward the front and bob my head. We've been over this shit a million times.

"Yes, Daddy." Ignoring his responding snarl, I tap my fingers on my thigh and recite his rules in a mocking voice. " Stay together. If something feels off, it is off, so get somewhere safe. Keep your eye on the exits and your drinks. Don't go anywhere alone. Use your weapons. Keep your phones on you. Remember your trackers. " I smirk and glance at my girl. "And definitely fuck Ella in the bathroom the second I'm done with my fight."

Her eyes go wide, her blush deepening. "But–" she starts, swallowing thickly. "But…you…you'll…" Her hands flail. "You'll be bloody!" She finally blurts.

I chuckle and shove my arm over the seat, running my finger across her burning face and down, down , down her body. "Do you remember what I said about this pretty blush the first time I met you?" I murmur, tracing her clavicle, her chest, the curve of her breast.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Hunter trail the path of my finger. I can't help myself from diving beneath her dress and circling her taut nipple. I groan at the heat in his eyes and the way she shivers.

That'll make him forget to be sad.

Fuck, I'm seriously playing with fire tonight.

Ella swallows roughly, her eyes darting between mine as she leans forward. "You wondered how red the rest of my body gets when I blush," she says, her voice husky.

I nod, barely resisting the urge to climb over the seat and see where else she's red. I could peel that decadent dress from her sinful body. Lick every inch of her until she's nothing but a begging, whimpering mess. And then—

" Maddox!" Gage barks, making me jump.

With a disgruntled sound, I flip him off over my shoulder and wink at Ella, mouthing later .

Her blush deepens impossibly, but before I can say anything, we're pulling up to The Den. I sigh and rake my hand through my hair.

I'm not ready for this shit. As much as I love fighting, and I do, I'd be stupid to ignore the warning signs.

Everything that's happened in the last few months has been one insane tragedy after enough, and in the passing weeks, it's all come to a head.

Ella getting attacked and raped by her psycho ex right after we met her. Us pushing to have her stay in our home until she healed—then keeping her in our house. Our relationships all evolving. Dolores, her daughter, and what Gus did to them. The deaths of Ella's roommate, Alyssa, Raptor, and the techs. Ella being kidnapped by her ex again. Ella killing her ex. Her house getting blown up. Hunter being attacked and blackout, ninja-killing the dudes.

And then…

And then they both opened up and shared the depth of their devastation, their trauma.

And I…

I don't think I can take anything else happening. I don't think any of us can. It's all been so much, too much. We're riding the edge of sanity here, barely holding on by a thread. Ella is too precious to us to possibly fathom losing her.

I know I wouldn't survive it.

I glance up, seeing the way both Gage and Nyxon stare at her as she giggles between Hunter and Stone, her head tipped back, her face brighter and healthier than I've ever seen. I see the love in all four of their faces. And I know, I just know, she's it for us. She's our only chance at happiness.

I'll be damned if I let anyone take her from us.

Never fucking again.