“I didn’t stay gone,” he grinds out, trying to pull the belt from his neck but there’s no use. Alex has it pulled tight. “I came back … to check on you. I knew Nate wouldn’t wait. I didn’t want him to hurt you—”
“Hurt me?” She laughs roughly. “He wanted to kill me!” she screams, stepping into him. “And you knew that.”
“But he didn’t—”
“He fucking slammed my face into the coffee table. Several times. Slapped me, choked me. Raped me.” She reaches up and slaps him. “How does that feel?” She slaps him again. “Does it fucking hurt?” She drops the blanket and steps even closer, kneeing him in the balls.
Alex lets go of the belt around Mike’s neck, and he falls to the floor, holding himself while he curls up into a ball.
I grab the blanket and wrap it around her from behind and pick her up with my arms around her waist while she kicks her legs out, trying to make contact with him.
“Calm down,” I say, carrying her over to a chair and sitting her in it. I kneel before her, reaching up and pushing some hair from her face. “Take a deep breath.” I don’t want her to hurt herself. She’s already been through so much and needs rest.
“He left me there with him.” Her watery eyes meet mine. “He … left me.” Tears spill down her bruised cheeks, and my chest tightens at the crack in her voice.
“He’ll pay for that. I promise,” I assure her.
Mike laughs, sitting up, and I look over at him. “And you? Who the fuck is going to make you pay, Colt?” He looks around the room. “All of you. You guys humiliated him. You didn’t think he’d go after her?” He snorts. “I would have done the same.”
Alex kicks him in the face, knocking his head back, and he falls to the floor, out cold. “Want to take care of him now?”
“No,” I answer Alex. She deserves to have her revenge and she’s nowhere near physically ready for that. “Not yet.”
“I’ll keep him at Blackout,” Tyson states. “Just let me know when and I can deliver him wherever you want.”
I nod. “Thank you.” Looking back down at her, I cup her face, wanting to get her as far away from here as possible, away from everyone. “Let’s go home.”
RAYLEE
I WALK UP the stairs to our house that we all share and make it to the top. I stand here for a few seconds, debating on what to do. Colt’s room is to the right. Mine to the left. I don’t want to be alone right now. Left with my thoughts.
Thankfully, like always, Colt makes the decision for me. He grabs my hand and ushers me to his room. Stepping inside, he closes the door behind him. Walking to the other side of his room, he opens the door to his bathroom, and I hear him start the bathtub.
I enter his bathroom and remove the blanket that I have wrapped around me. I’ve got bruises all over. Some you can tell are from the car wreck, others from Nate. The doctor gave me some medication to fight infection and STDs. He said I needed to be seen again in a couple of weeks for a follow-up.
Whatever pain meds he gave me have worn off, and I feel like shit. Or maybe it was the adrenaline spike after I woke up and saw Mike. I lied to the doctor and pretended to feel good, not wanting to be high anymore. I’d rather feel pain than be numb.
Colt turns and reaches out to me. I take his hand, and he helps me step into the corner Jacuzzi tub. Sinking down into the hot water, I look up at him. He’s grabbing me a towel out of the cabinet and lays it down next to the tub.
“Was it true?” I ask. We haven’t spoken since we left … wherever we were. It wasn’t a real hospital, but it looked like one on the inside.
He pauses and looks down at me. His eyes give nothing away, but they never do. I never could figure him out. That’s why I always felt so lost. Because he hid everything but hatred from me so well.
The silence lingers while I wait for him to answer. Technically, I just asked two questions. Did he ruin every relationship I ever had, and does he kill people for a living? I’m curious to see which one he chooses to answer. I felt that was my only chance to know who or what a Lord was while also outing Mike at the same time.
Colt looks away first. “Yes.”
I run my hands through the warm water, cupping it and pouring it on my chest while the faucet continues to fill the large tub. “Which one?”