Page 93 of Rooster

He didn’t speak.

He simply nodded and kept staring straight ahead.

It was impossible to miss the glazed look in his eyes or his blood-soaked shirt. He was looking straight ahead, glaring at what was left of the man they’d brought in last night. When I caught sight of his mangled body, my gut tightened, thinking of what had taken place in that room.

The man’s wrists were bound in thick chains, and he was hanging from a rafter in the ceiling. He still had on his shirt, but his pants were down around his ankles. There were multiple lacerations all over his body, which partly explained the blood that was dripping down around his feet. I could only imagine where the rest had come from. If I had to guess, I’d say it was hidden beneath the hem of his shirt.

Both of his shoulders were dislocated, and his head hung low with his chin resting on his chest. He didn’t look like he was still conscious or even breathing, but even if he was, I wouldn’t be able to tell from all the swelling on his face. Both of his eyes were completely swollen shut, and his face was covered in blood and bruises.

There wasn’t much left that he could do to the guy, so I eased over to Beckett and said, “Why don’t you go take a shower and get cleaned up?”

“He wasn’t the only one.”

“I know, but he’s all you got.” I placed my hand on his shoulder as I told him, “You gotta keep walking, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

He got up, and his eyes never left the ground as he walked out of the room. I was about to follow after him when my phone started to ring. I grabbed it out of my pocket, and when I saw that it was Nathan calling, I got an uneasy feeling. “Nathan? Everything okay?”

“No, it’s not.” His voice trembled. “Mom fell.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what really happened. She and Dad were arguing over something, and she fell.” He sounded like he was on the verge of tears as he told me, “She says she’s okay, but she’s bleeding.”

“I’m on my way.”

I charged out of the room and headed straight for my truck. Concerned, Savage rushed after me and asked, “Yo, Roost. Everything okay?”

“Not sure.” I got in my truck and cranked the engine. I was about to whip through the gate when I had a thought. I rolled down my window and called out, “Hey, Savage?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favor. Don’t move our friend in the playroom. I might need him.”

“You got it.”

I pressed my foot to the accelerator and sped out of the gate. My heart was racing as I drove over to Maggie’s house. The mere thought of her being hurt in any way had me spiraling. I wanted to get to her and make sure she was really okay. I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer—which only added to my panic. When I got to her house, I didn’t bother knocking.

I just charged into the house and called out, “Maggie!”

“She’s in the bathroom with Samantha,” Nathan answered.

I didn’t bother asking him what had happened. I needed to hear it from Maggie, so I stormed down the hall and into Maggie’s bedroom. “Maggie?”

“I’m in here.” Before I could get to her, she stepped out of the bathroom and appeared to be perfectly fine. “You didn’t have to come. I’m fine.”

“What the hell happened?”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the fairies.” Samantha stepped out of the bathroom with a pout. “But they were Mom’s, and I wanted her to have them back.”

“It’s not your fault, sweetie. It was just a misunderstanding.” Maggie slipped her arm around her, giving her a gentle hug. “Everything’s fine now. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m really sorry, Momma.”

“Oh, honey. Please stop. You have nothing to be sorry about.” She gave her a kiss on the forehead, then said, “Why don’t you go find your brother, and you guys play a game or something?”

“Okay.”

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