CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

COLTON

SHE WOKE UP just like Gavin said she would—terrified. She was screaming that she couldn’t breathe and to take the tape off her face. I don’t even think she knew she was talking. In her mind, she was suffocating. He wanted to sedate her again, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. What says she won’t wake up the same way next time? I could calm her down and bring her back to here and now. Gavin had already removed her IV, and I wasn’t going to help hold her down while he started another one.

When he asked us to clear the room, I was ready to body-slam him. Over my dead body will I leave her. I never thought it would be to talk about the possibility of Nate raping her.

I knew he did. The way her clothes were on the floor was all I needed to see. I tried to convince myself that it didn’t happen, but deep down, I knew. He wanted revenge on my friends and me, and she was the easiest target. Or so he thought.

But the way she admitted it? In a room full of men with some she doesn’t even know. It broke my heart while making me also see red that he did that to her. That he thought he could break her. But I know my girl. And she’s a fighter.

She stares up at me, head held high, but there are tears in her pretty eyes. She’s refusing to let them fall. Trying to be strong.

Stepping into her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hear her sniff. Her body shakes against mine, and I cup the back of her head, whispering in her ear, “I’m so sorry, princess.”

“I’m—sorry,” she whimpers.

I pull back, my hands on either side of her bruised face. The doctor stitched up the cuts, but the bruises will be there as a reminder for a while. “Don’t. You have nothing to be sorry for. Do you understand me?”

Her pretty, crystal-blue eyes just stare up at me through watery lashes. Nothing that happened was her fault. It’s mine, and there’s nothing I can do to change that or make it better. Nate took something from her that can’t be given back. And I wish he was still alive so I could kill him myself.

“Colt—”

The door opening behind me cuts her off, and I let go of her to turn and see Finn enter with Mike behind him. They’re both covered in blood and dirt from digging Nate’s grave.

“It’s done.” Finn slaps his hands together, knocking off some dirt. He looks at Raylee. “A nail gun?” He arches a brow with a smirk on his face, not knowing what she just confessed to all of us.

“It was the closest thing I could reach.” She wipes the tears from her face, trying to calm herself.

He laughs. “God, I never want to piss you off.”

Mike comes to a stop when his eyes meet hers. He hasn’t said shit about what went down, and I haven’t questioned him. I wanted her awake and coherent. She’s the only one who can tell us what he’s lying about and why. His eyes drop to the floor while silence lingers in the room. Running his hand through his hair, he shuffles from foot to foot. “I better get going.” Mike turns to head to the door.

Alex steps in front of it and leans his back on it. “Not yet. There’re still some things to iron out.”

Mike raises his hands in surrender. “I promise I won’t say anything.”

I look over at Tyson, and he shrugs. It’s up to me if I let Mike walk away from this. What he’s seen. What he knows. I know he won’t run his mouth about what Raylee did to Nate. Finn had Mike help him dispose of the body for a reason. Mike would never tell on himself. No. He’s smarter than that. His fate will depend on what Raylee has to tell us.

“We’re not worried about that,” Alex tells him.

“Guys, come on.” Mike gives a nervous laugh. “I—”

“What’s a Lord?” Raylee asks, interrupting him.

I spin around to face her as the room falls silent. She looks up at me expectantly.

“What did you say?” Jenks asks her, pushing away from the wall.

“A Lord? What is it?”

I go to lie but stop myself. I’ve never told her who I work for or what I do. She just thinks she knows. So for her to ask this question means she’s been told something. So I keep my mouth shut and see what else she has to say.

Her eyes dart around the room before meeting mine again. “Mike told Nate that you guys worked for the Lords. That you guys kill for a living.” Her voice doesn’t waver in the slightest at her words. It’s like she almost expected it.

Mike starts to fight Alex, trying to get out the door, but Alex just pushes him farther back into the room. “How do you know about the Lords?” he demands to Mike.

Finn throws his hands up, facing Tyson. “I didn’t say shit,” he rushes out. Remembering the threat that Tyson gave us when he brought us on to work for him.

Tyson smirks. “Mike knows about the Lords because he was one once. Weren’t you, Mike?”

Mike slowly turns around to face the room but says nothing.

“But he couldn’t keep his nose clean,” Tyson adds. “When Barrington kicked him out, so did the Lords.”

This is interesting.“So Mitch …?”

“He’s not a Lord.” Mike spits out. “He wanted nothing to do with them.”

Finn scratches the back of his head. “Wait … when we arrived at your house, you said you had found them like that. Nate was dead. But Raylee just said that you spoke to Nate.”

His eyes widen, realizing that she just told on him. I step in front of her, blocking her from his view in case he decides to come for her. “He was dead.” Mike growls. “She killed him.”

Raylee reaches out and shoves me to the side, standing from the table. She stumbles on wobbly legs and pushes me away when I go to help her. She wraps the blanket around her shoulders, shielding her still naked body. “I heard everything,” she tells him, lifting her chin.

“No. She’s making shit up.” He starts laughing.

“Funny.” Finn smiles. “Nate said the same thing about her.” He refers to when we were back at the house last night, and Nate was calling her a liar when she said he was forcing her to leave with him. “He was also the one who was lying,” Finn adds.

Mike shakes his head quickly. “No. No. I’m telling the truth.”

“I heard you,” she argues.

“No!” he shouts, running his hands through his hair. His eyes dart around the room quickly. What the fuck did she hear that’s got him on edge? He lowers his voice and mumbles more to himself than anything else. “You were unconscious.”

“I was pretending.” She gives a rough laugh. “You told Nate that I wasn’t worth it. That I’m Colt’s whore. And that he’s destroyed every relationship I’ve ever had.” Taking another step closer to him, I grab her shoulders, keeping her in place. The need to protect her is strong, but I don’t want to hurt her. She’s already been injured enough. “Nate was going to let you have a piece of me. And after you guys were done with me, you’d cut me up and dump my body in the woods. Let the animals eat what was left of me.”

“You what?” I growl, stepping in front of her. He was going to kill her? Dump her body in the woods? My pulse races at the thought of anyone doing her any harm, let alone taking her away from me completely. I fucking love this woman, and I swear on my life that no one is going to hurt her ever again. I was dumb enough to let her walk away from me this morning. That’ll never happen again.

“No.” He places his hands up. “I never said that. Nate said that.”

“Then you left me there with him. Said you had to meet someone in fifteen minutes. Told him not to touch me until you got back.”

I charge him.

“Colt—”

My fist clocks him in the face before he can finish whatever bullshit he was going to say. “Alex.” I growl his name and he removes his belt. He leans down, wrapping it around Mike’s neck, yanking him to his feet and holding Mike’s back to his front, choking him.

I look over to see that she’s now standing next to me. Angry tears fall from her eyes. “You told him that you didn’t want him doing anything that couldn’t be covered up. That you didn’t want cops at your house because they found a dead body in the woods with a blood trail leading back to your place. And to sit down, have a drink, and wait. That when you returned, you’d come up with a plan together.”

I fist my busted hand, getting ready to hit him again. It’s been a while since any of us killed a guy with our fists. That’s how we got this job in the first place.

“I didn’t stay gone,” he grinds out, trying to pull the belt from his neck but there’s no use. Alex has it pulled tight. “I came back … to check on you. I knew Nate wouldn’t wait. I didn’t want him to hurt you—”

“Hurt me?” She laughs roughly. “He wanted to kill me!” she screams, stepping into him. “And you knew that.”

“But he didn’t—”

“He fucking slammed my face into the coffee table. Several times. Slapped me, choked me. Raped me.” She reaches up and slaps him. “How does that feel?” She slaps him again. “Does it fucking hurt?” She drops the blanket and steps even closer, kneeing him in the balls.

Alex lets go of the belt around Mike’s neck, and he falls to the floor, holding himself while he curls up into a ball.

I grab the blanket and wrap it around her from behind and pick her up with my arms around her waist while she kicks her legs out, trying to make contact with him.

“Calm down,” I say, carrying her over to a chair and sitting her in it. I kneel before her, reaching up and pushing some hair from her face. “Take a deep breath.” I don’t want her to hurt herself. She’s already been through so much and needs rest.

“He left me there with him.” Her watery eyes meet mine. “He … left me.” Tears spill down her bruised cheeks, and my chest tightens at the crack in her voice.

“He’ll pay for that. I promise,” I assure her.

Mike laughs, sitting up, and I look over at him. “And you? Who the fuck is going to make you pay, Colt?” He looks around the room. “All of you. You guys humiliated him. You didn’t think he’d go after her?” He snorts. “I would have done the same.”

Alex kicks him in the face, knocking his head back, and he falls to the floor, out cold. “Want to take care of him now?”

“No,” I answer Alex. She deserves to have her revenge and she’s nowhere near physically ready for that. “Not yet.”

“I’ll keep him at Blackout,” Tyson states. “Just let me know when and I can deliver him wherever you want.”

I nod. “Thank you.” Looking back down at her, I cup her face, wanting to get her as far away from here as possible, away from everyone. “Let’s go home.”

RAYLEE

I WALK UPthe stairs to our house that we all share and make it to the top. I stand here for a few seconds, debating on what to do. Colt’s room is to the right. Mine to the left. I don’t want to be alone right now. Left with my thoughts.

Thankfully, like always, Colt makes the decision for me. He grabs my hand and ushers me to his room. Stepping inside, he closes the door behind him. Walking to the other side of his room, he opens the door to his bathroom, and I hear him start the bathtub.

I enter his bathroom and remove the blanket that I have wrapped around me. I’ve got bruises all over. Some you can tell are from the car wreck, others from Nate. The doctor gave me some medication to fight infection and STDs. He said I needed to be seen again in a couple of weeks for a follow-up.

Whatever pain meds he gave me have worn off, and I feel like shit. Or maybe it was the adrenaline spike after I woke up and saw Mike. I lied to the doctor and pretended to feel good, not wanting to be high anymore. I’d rather feel pain than be numb.

Colt turns and reaches out to me. I take his hand, and he helps me step into the corner Jacuzzi tub. Sinking down into the hot water, I look up at him. He’s grabbing me a towel out of the cabinet and lays it down next to the tub.

“Was it true?” I ask. We haven’t spoken since we left … wherever we were. It wasn’t a real hospital, but it looked like one on the inside.

He pauses and looks down at me. His eyes give nothing away, but they never do. I never could figure him out. That’s why I always felt so lost. Because he hid everything but hatred from me so well.

The silence lingers while I wait for him to answer. Technically, I just asked two questions. Did he ruin every relationship I ever had, and does he kill people for a living? I’m curious to see which one he chooses to answer. I felt that was my only chance to know who or what a Lord was while also outing Mike at the same time.

Colt looks away first. “Yes.”

I run my hands through the warm water, cupping it and pouring it on my chest while the faucet continues to fill the large tub. “Which one?”

“Both.”

“Why?” I whisper, my eyes dropping to the water to see it’s dirty from the blood that’s washed off.

He sits on the side of the tub, letting out a sigh. “Because I love you.”

My chest squeezes at his answer, and my eyes snap to his. I always thought he had something to do with my lack of love life. But I thought it was because he just wanted to make my life miserable. I might have hated him as much as I thought he hated me, but I never ruined any of his relationships. But then again, he never had any. In the six years I’ve known Colton Knox, he’s never had a girlfriend. “Colt—”

“I always have,” he interrupts me. “Since the moment I saw you in my father’s kitchen.”

I’m not sure at what point I allowed myself to feel anything for him, but even when we were at each other’s throats, I could never see my life without him. I hate that we’ve come so far, only for Nate to ruin it. “And now?” Tears spring to my eyes, my pulse racing, knowing he’s going to reject me.

He frowns, tilting his head to the side.

“How do you feel about me now?” My throat closes up on me. “After Nate …” I can’t get the words out this time.

When he stands, my heart starts pounding in my chest that he’s going to walk away. But instead of leaving, he rips his shirt up and over his head and undoes his jeans. Toeing off his shoes and removing his socks, he shoves his jeans and black boxer briefs down his legs and kicks them away before stepping into the water. I lean up from the tub and he sits down behind me.

Wrapping his arms around my shaking shoulders, he pulls my back into his chest. “Nothing ...” he whispers in my ear. “Nothing could ever make me not love you, princess.”

The first tear runs down my face and I nod, sniffling. I lean my head on his chest, taking in a shaky breath.

“Don’t think that what Nate did to you makes me see you any differently.” He pulls all of my hair off my chest and back, placing it over my left shoulder. “You were my princess then. And you’re my princess now.” Sighing, he adds, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry that he came after you.”

I pull away from him and turn off the water before it gets too high. Turning in the tub, I look over at him. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was.” He sits up. “Me and the guys—”

“I let you do those things to me, Colt. I …” I drop my eyes to the dirty water. “I wanted it.” I may not remember everything that happened at Mike’s house. But I remember what he said to me in the bedroom and how turned on I got. I willingly followed him back into the party, knowing that he was going to do something to me, and I was going to beg for it. I’ve never told him no or to stop. I willingly let him have his way with me because I want him to. Nate saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. Of me. He used Colt and the guys as an excuse to be a raping murderer.

“Hey.” He cups my chin gently, forcing my eyes back up to his. “Don’t feel guilty.”

Biting my bottom lip, I look away from him and stare at the black tiled wall as if it holds all the answers to the questions that I want to ask.

He scoots closer to me, and I feel my throat close up on me. I hate feeling this way. I told myself that what Nate did wasn’t going to affect me. That I wouldn’t allow him to win. Colt just confessed he loves me and all I can do is think that I’ve ruined what we could have had.

“Look at me, princess.”

The sorrow in his voice pulls my eyes back to his. I blink, and fresh tears run down my face.

“We’ll take it one day at a time, okay?” he offers, and I nod slowly. “I’m going to be right here with you.” Lifting my hand, he kisses my busted knuckles that I got from the car wreck. “And I promise, no one will hurt you again.”

“Thank you,” I manage to whisper, and he sighs.

I believe him. That’s one thing about Colt, he keeps his promises. Over the past six years, if he said he was going to do something, then he did it. I want him to love me for me. The me before today. The one before Nate came along and tried to ruin me for anyone else. I refuse to let that sorry bastard win. I will have my happy ending with the man I love. No matter how far I have to push myself to get it.