Page 110 of Pray for Scars
“What did Elijah say?” I ask him.
He frowns. “He…didn’t.”
After the smoke cleared, I was already long gone. After Jeremiah and my girl. But Maverick said Brooklin just…left. She helped Jeremiah escape, something they must’ve set up long before he came to be in a cage, some sort of agreement they’d made in the event he didn’t contact her for a certain period of time. But she left, and no one stopped her.
Because who wants to kill their own daughter? Except Maddox didn’t mind so much, fucking Sid over. And now Brooklin is Sid’s sister…
I wonder if she’s with Jeremiah’s right-hand asshole, Nicolas.
Maverick was too busy trying to kill his own father to deal with that shit.
Ria is another matter entirely. She knows so much. So fucking much. And Elijah might be better. He claims he didn’t know about Sid, about Jeremiah’s connection to my father. Ezra backed his bid forDominus.I might not get along well with Ezra, but I do trust him.
But even if Elijah is better, it doesn’t change the fact that the 6 and the Unsaints have to keep their secrets. Even I agree with that. And Ria holds too many of them.
“Leave it alone.” I make to walk past Mav, but he steps in my way, shoulder brushing up against mine.
“Leave it alone?” he repeats, disdain dripping with every word. He frowns at me, the inverted cross on his face pulled down as he does. “Would you?” He nods past me, toward my bedroom, where Sid is sleeping. “Would you leave it alone?”
I raise my brows, giving him a half-smile. “Did I?” I counter.
He sighs, taking a step back in the dim hallway of the second floor of my house. The sun will rise soon, but right now, it’s pitch-black outside. “No, you didn’t leave it alone. And you almost lost her for good.” His blue eyes flick up to mine. “You’re welcome.”
This time, I do walk past him, and he doesn’t stop me.
“We’ll see,” I say over my shoulder. When I get to the top of the stairs, I see he’s still standing outside of mine and Sid’s bedroom door. Nu-uh. “Get away from her,” I growl at him.
His eyes go from my closed door to me, and back again, a smile on his face. But finally, he walks toward me. “You got it,bro.”
* * *
I don’t knowwhat Mav is going to do about Ria. I don’t really care, either. All I care about is that my girl is under my roof,safe,and that’s how she’s going to stay.
Cain and Atlas are in the basement, Ezra is passed out in a guest room, and Mav is gone, presumably to go take care of his problems.
I’m alone in the living room, my feet propped up on the end of the recliner, vodka on the rocks in my hand. The sun has come up, but none of us slept. The shit storm that hit the 6 ensured that. It was all done via phone, Elijah assuring me everything was taken care of, that Sid would be left alone, that he would honorCoagula.He also urged me to get it official. Our marriage.
Sure. Whatever. As if Sid Rain will agree to that.
But now she can never leave.
I take a drink, the ice hitting my teeth, when I hear her above me. The floors creak in this house, and I’ve always hated it, but right now, I like it. I like hearing her, wherever she is. Her footsteps are light, and I hope she doesn’t want to run again.
I hear her stand at the door, and then slowly, it creaks open.
I hear her tiptoe down the hallway, come to the top of the stairs.
And I hear her breath catch when she sees me when she’s halfway down, her hand tightening on the railing.
“Good morning, Lilith,” I say, taking another sip of vodka.
She just stares at me. Her hair is wild, bangs scattered in her beautiful eyes. She’s wearing a black t-shirt—mine—and shorts, some I had Mav pick up for her. Her feet are bare, and her eyes are wide as she contemplates her next move.
Finally, her shoulders sagging, she comes all the way down the stairs. Around the foyer, and into the living room. She sinks into the grey leather couch across from my recliner. I sit up straight, lowering the footrest, placing my drink on the stone table between us.
“Did you rest well?” I ask her softly.
She glares at me, her hands curled into fists, which I know must hurt, at least the one. I tended to her wounds while she slept, wiping away the blood, stopping the bleeding.
