Page 151 of Maddox
Hold the fuck up. He got the drugs fromJosh?
Standing, I pace away and stare at the wall in the adjoining bedroom while I attempt to catch my breath. The walls, despite being painted an ugly ass beige, do nothing to calm my fraying nerves though and I swing around to say, “Tell me about Josh.”
“Delan–”
“Don’t fucking say her name,” I bark and his lip quivers.
“She, uh, Del…her, that night, Josh said it would loosen her up, you know? She’s always so tense…”
“Hold up,” I snarl. “You slipped something in her drink because she was tootense?”
He’s a dead man…a dead fucking man. I don’t care if he’s family, I’ll kill the fucker for betraying Delaney. Micah may be a total creeper, but Josh is dangerous, and it chills me to the bone to consider what he might have done if I hadn’t come along.
Resolved, I take a moment to compose myself before asking, “You sure you didn’t touch her?”
“Y-Yes.Please. I swear.”
Glancing at the blubbering, pathetic mess, I say, “You tell anyone about this, and my brothers will hunt you down and make you wish that I had finished the job. Get me?”
He nods rapidly and I turn on the water, washing away the blood and saliva painting his clothes.
I know this won’t truly erase any evidence but if this fucker does sing, it’ll hopefully be harder for them to find.
On the way back to my bike, I consider the sniveling fucker’s assertions. I don’t buy his story about having fun, but I alsoknow that the real predator here is my cousin and he’s about to learn a painful lesson about abusing women.
Thoughts of which bring me around to Delaney. Although Pops is a locked vault these days, I was able to glean from Romeo that he was married to Delaney’s mom back in the day.
Clearly it ended because I’m here. Whatever happened cuts deep though and I wonder if it’s because the woman who left him was also in a relationship with the man who orchestrated his second wife’s death.
I get it. That shit stings.
Delaney’s mom was long gone by the time it happened though and much like with Delaney, Pops needs to let that shit go.
This is what I should have realized before but instead I pushed Delaney away over fear and rage when all she wanted was someone to make her feel safe.
That wasn’t me. Hell, Romeo proved to be a safer haven, thoughts of which sour my stomach.
I failed the only woman who ever made my cold dead heart sing. How’s that for a kick to the face?
Not much I can do about it now, though. Hopefully with her living under the pig’s roof, her issues with the Aces will die.
As for me, I need to focus on the men hunting down our women and killing them. Well, that and finding Josh.
He has some explaining to do and he better hope that I like what he says…or he may never see the light of day again.
Chapter 35
Delaney
I don’t know where to go and I’m sure it doesn’t take a shrink to know why I end up at the track. It might take one to cure me of my madness though because seeking out Maddox for comfort after everything that’s gone down is definitely the definition of insanity.
It’s extra packed tonight and I walk past the same groups of people three fucking times before I finally give up.
There’s no sign of Draven or Maddox. Hell, I don’t even see Josh, not that I care to.
Either everyone is still on lockdown or they’re partying elsewhere and I’m afraid to go back to their compound because my trust level is at an all-time low as it is.
Passing a group of guys, I wave halfheartedly when one dips his chin before turning back to his friends.
