Page 145 of Maddox
Despite the shit caking her face and the pink in her hair she reminds me so much of Mom that I blink. When did my baby sister grow up?
An ache forms in my heart at that because our mom will never see her like this. She may be a pain in my ass but she’s bold and beautiful and takes shit from no one.
This only hardens my resolve though. How many other memories will those assholes steal?
“You’re so fucking stupid, Maddox,” she says, breaking me from my thoughts.
A trickle of unease slides down my spine and I search her gaze but anymore, I can’t read my sister. She’s built her own walls and they’re shutting me out.
The irony isn’t lost on me as I mutter, “What do you know?”
Her brows flicker before she sneers, “I know she’s damned as an Acesprincess.”
Just how much does my little sister know and when did I become the fucking enemy?
“Dray, if you don’t tell me what the fuck you’re not saying, I’m going to beat it out of you,” I growl.
“Delaney deserves to know the truth.”
“Which is what?”
What is she going on about now?
“What happened to our mom that night, Maddox?” she asks, and I shake my head.
There’s no point in her knowing the details. The knowledge will just writhe below her skin like it does mine. She doesn’t get it but I’m sparing her the images that will haunt her for-fucking-ever.
“See,” she says, shaking her head. “You’ll never tell me. They’ll never tell her, unless…”
“Unless…what?”
Averting her gaze, she licks her lips and says, “Unless she talks to someone who understands.”
“Who?” I rasp, grabbing the back of my neck.
It doesn’t do shit to ratchet back the rage but hey, at least I’m not shaking her like a rag doll.
“Kidd,” she says.
Who the fuck…?
“Who’s Kidd?” I bark and she backs away.
“He’s one of them.”
I’m frozen, rage mixing with another emotion I refuse to identify.
When she’s at the stairs, I say, “You betrayed us. You betrayed Pops. You betrayed our fucking mother. Get out of my sight before I do something that I can’t take back.”
With that, I bust through the door. Out in the fresh air, I can breathe, but it still feels like I’m underwater and with a groan, I head toward the creek.
Where is Delaney now? Who the fuck is Kidd? Is she in danger?
My fingers itch to feel her soft skin. My lips tingle in remembrance of touching hers. It’s completely ridiculous but I want to bury myself inside her and forget for just a fucking moment the world around me.
I’ll never see her liquid blue-gray eyes again. My little treacherous princess is gone, and I don’t know why the fuck I care.
Later, I’m sitting at the bar staring at the glass of whiskey in my hand when Romeo steps through the door.
