Page 91 of Maddox
“What’s happening?”
With a last glance back at Draven still sleeping peacefully, I open the door, pausing in the threshold.
“Son…” Pops says again, but I can’t speak.
As though I’m looking through the viewfinder I had when I was a little kid, the images flash before my eyes in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Her pale scalp, once covered in beautiful wheat colored hair shines in the low light.
I used to run my fingers through that hair. It was so fucking soft.
Those dark, midnight eyes, the same hue as mine, stare back at me, the milky orbs sending a shudder down my spine.
I skate over her bare torso, strangely embarrassed at the sight before dropping to my knees and grabbing my head.
“No,” I groan, but the bruises painting her delicate skin mock me from the corner of my eyes.
“Maddox!” The tinny sound of Pops’ voice sounds in the distance as I trace my finger over the black and blue marks before gently pushing her legs closed.
When her body shifts like a broken doll, I pull her into my arms and rest my head against her shoulder.
“Mama,” I murmur, through the lump in my throat.
She’s so achingly cold that I carefully set her down before retrieving a blanket from inside and closing the door behind me.
Only when I hear the faint rumble of approaching bikes do I look up but I’m not seeing Pops or Romeo or the brothers who searched for her.
“Maddox?” Pops says and when I blink, he’s holding his hands palm up. “I need to approach, son.”
All at once, the tension leaves my body and I lean back, closing my eyes. I don’t move when Pops carefully picks her up and sets her down, but I will never forget the sound of anguish that falls from his lips as he takes in what will forever be emblazoned in my brain.
With a groan, I roll over and bury my head in the pillow. The lingering burn that always haunts me after the dream presses at my chest.
It’s been years since I had that particular nightmare and it doesn’t take a genius to know that it resurfaced after I found Delaney curled up on the ground, so frail and lifeless.
Beside me, the soft whoosh of her breaths pull me away from my thoughts and I turn to my side.
She looks better with some of the color returning to her skin. Her silky hair spreads in a halo around her head and I curl my fingers into a fist to keep from touching her.
What if I hadn’t been at the warehouse last night?
I’ll never forget the way her tiny body trembled in my arms or how fucked up she was while that fucker hovered over her like a total creeper.
Is that what the Aces scum looked like when they killed my mom?
Fuck. I can’t focus on shit like this, or I might lose my damn mind.
Instead, as I quietly get up and dress, I content myself with visions of all the ways I’m going to fuck up that asshole’s world before stepping from the room.
I need to speak to my sister, although I don’t relish the coming conversation.
Since we redid the rooms downstairs, there are no extra bunks. We’re working on a new space with extra beds but in the meantime when Draven stays at the clubhouse, one of the brothers has to give up his room.
Often, Romeo volunteers. So, I find myself standing over his bed, staring at my sister's ass with a frown before I cover my eyes, and bark, “Get up.”
Dray hardly stirs though and gritting my teeth, I snap the blinds open before grabbing the bedspread and pulling it to the floor.
She mumbles and turns over but doesn’t stir and annoyed by her ability to sleep through anything, I grab her arm and pull her from the mattress, gratified when her ass hits the floor and she shrieks, “What the fuck!”
