I didn’t answer, knowing if I so much as opened my mouth with how pissed I was at this bitch already, I would say something that would put Delaney in even more danger.
My silence only made June angrier, though, and she started spewing her hate-filled bullshit. The way she called Delaney names, making fun of her, making it seem like she was stupid and worthless, made my blood boil. But I still remained quiet. My body locked as I told Delaney with my eyes to stay strong, not to be scared. I would figure out some way to get rid of this monster from her past and keep her safe.
Bash and Max had been gone a while. One of them would come upstairs when they returned. Or Reid would when he arrived…
Just as the thought of them filtered through my head, movement behind June caught my attention.
Kelli.
She hadn’t known about what went down the night before. After the wedding reception, Colt had said he was taking her home, and from the look in my brother’s eyes, I didn’t want to know what kind of kink they were going to get into. Bash had known about their plans too and hadn’t bothered them when he got the call about trouble. But I’d called my sister-in-law that morning to let her know what had happened, not wanting her to hear it from a third party.
I’d invited her over to help clean up the apartment, knowing she would appreciate the opportunity to spend time with her newfound family member. Noting the knives she must have picked up in the kitchen, I was eternally grateful for the forethought of calling her.
Delaney
Across the room, Raven stood motionless, her gaze locked with mine. I swallowed my fear, taking courage in the way she was looking at me, as if willing me not to freak out. I had no idea who held me, but I could feel from how they were pressed to my back that the person wasn’t large. I inhaled slowly, both trying to calm my racing heartbeat and to take in my captor’s scent.
When it hit my senses, I felt tears sting my eyes.
I would know that perfume anywhere. It was Aunt June’s expensive and overwhelming fragrance. The few times I’d been in the same room with her over the years, I was left with a headache because of how overpowering that aroma was to me.
From the vibrations against my back, I could tell she was screaming, but still, Raven didn’t react. She stood there, not even blinking at my aunt, her focus only on me and trying to reassure me that it was all going to be okay with just her eyes.
The inability to hear had never been more frustrating than in that moment. I had no idea what my aunt was saying. With my back to her and the gun to my head, I was powerless to know what was happening behind me and was completely unaware of what might happen next. But I forced myself to keep my eyes on Raven, to take my cues from her just in case.
A flicker of her lashes. It was barely a movement at all and one I was still questioning, but that was the only warning I had before I was suddenly propelled forward.
Breathing hard, I turned to find Kelli standing over Aunt June, who was facedown on the floor with a butcher knife sticking out of her back. Another knife was still in Kelli’s hands as she glared down at the woman who was supposed to take care of me for the past eight years.
Raven was already picking up the gun my aunt had dropped. Rushing forward, she kicked Aunt June in the ribs, but the woman didn’t move. Bending, Raven checked for a pulse then shook her head as she stood.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t the least bit sad that my dad’s sister was dead. If anything, the knot of anxiety that had lingered since the night before unraveled, and I was finally able to take a deep breath.
Kelli stepped over Aunt June’s body like she was nothing more than unpleasant trash. Cupping my face, she spoke slowly. “Are you okay, honey?”
I gave a ready nod. “Th-thank you,” I spoke aloud.
Her tense face softened. “No thanks needed, sweetheart. The bitch had it coming.” Her arms wrapped around me in a tight hug just as the door filled up with Bash and Reid. But they were both pushed aside when I spotted Max’s head over Kelli’s shoulder.
His chest rose and fell in rapid, hard breaths. That wild, feral look was back in his eyes, but it didn’t scare me. If anything, it calmed the fear that was still through me like a runaway train. Smartly, Kelli stepped back before he reached me only seconds later, and he lifted me into his arms. His entire body seemed to tremble as he molded my body to his own, his hands running over me in an attempt to reassure himself that I was unharmed.
Pulling back, he cupped each side of my face. “Are you okay?” he demanded, so upset he couldn’t sign, but I read his lips easily.
I nodded, the rest of my fear fading away completely now that I was in his arms.
His thumbs tucked under my chin, making sure I was looking right at him, but there was no need. All I saw was him. “I love you,” he spoke each word slowly, making sure I understood each one of them, while his wild eyes stared into mine. “I love you, treasure. So fucking much.”
“I-I love you too,” I whispered—or at least I thought I did. But no matter how loud I spoke, I knew by the flare of his nostrils and the way his eyes darkened that he heard me.
Max pulled my head to his chest, kissing my hair, the side of my face, and down to my neck over and over again. I could feel how hard his heart was pounding against his ribs, and I pressed my palm into it, wanting to soothe the poor organ and wipe away his fear.
He hadn’t even been like this the night before. He’d killed three men like it was nothing. But I’d learned afterward that he’d had the whole thing under control even though he hadn’t been there at first. There had been men and guns on Lexa’s house the entire time, and I’d realized I wasn’t in nearly as much danger as I’d first thought.
But this time, Aunt June had come out of nowhere. There was no warning, no plan of action. If Kelli hadn’t come over when she did, I didn’t even know what might have happened.
Max and I stood like that for the longest time before his attention was pulled to everyone else in the room. Keeping one arm around me, he shifted us so we
were facing the others. No one was signing, so I knew they didn’t want me to know what was going on, but I could read their lips for the most part and got the gist of what they were talking about.