21
Ilay in the dark, staring up at the ceiling. A gentle breeze teases the curtains at the window and Lex’s soft breathing is a comfort at my side and yet I cannot sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see him, the deranged look in his eyes, the malice and evil rooted so deep the only way to cure it is to put him down.
No one knows where he is. His men have scattered, his usual hide outs left deserted like no one was ever there. How does a man disappear like that?
Part of me wonders if he’s already been taken out and whilst that should bring me a little comfort, it just twists my gut. I still hear the screams of the girls he had down in that prison, the cries and whimpers, the grunts and groans, I fear they’ll haunt me forever. I know the girls are now safe but forever changed.
My mind wanders back to Rory, locked away in a room in this very house.
She may be free of Valentine and the sick fucks he has employed but she’s not the same girl.
But then neither was I.
Slowly, I push back the covers and slip soundlessly from the bed, careful not to disturb Alexander. He stirs momentarily and I hold my breath, waiting to see if he’ll wake but when he doesn’t, I grab one of his shirts and slip it on before creeping to the door and opening it, wincing when it creaks in the otherwise silent house. Looking over my shoulder, Lex still hasn’t woken so I slip into the darkened hallway and wait.
I’m not stupid enough to believe we were alone in this house but there was no one immediately in the area so I continue until I’m outside of Rory’s bedroom.
The lock on the door is open which causes me to pause, but instead of questioning it, I push on the handle and go inside.
There’s a light on, its dim ambience casting a dull orange glow throughout the room. The large bed is centered on the far wall, close to a window and when I look over, it isn’t just one shape I see in the bed, but two.
Rory’s pale blonde air is fanned out on the pillow behind her, and she is curled on her side, pressing into a much larger body which holds her protectively. I recognize Gruff immediately, his shaggy hair a mess on his head, his thick arms banded around her, so big they make her look more pixie like than anything else and they look…peaceful.
What the actual fuck?
“Sneaking away in the middle of the night,” Alexander whispers behind me, making me jump. One hand comes down onto my arm to steady me whilst the other covers my mouth to stop the scream as he gently coaxes me back out the door. “Anyone might think you want to run away from me still, little bird.”
He takes his hand away, “No, I just,” I frown, looking back at the door which Lex is pulling closed, “What the hell is that?”
Lex pinches the bridge of his nose, “Ryker is helping her.”
“By fucking her!?” I hiss under my breath, “fuck, Lex, do you know what she went through!?”
Anger courses through my veins, I wanted to go back in there and rip Gruff out of that bed if only to protect my best friend.
“They’re not fucking,” Lex growls, “Now, back to bed.”
I huff but let him push me back towards the bedroom, confused as all hell. “I don’t understand.”
“Nightmares.”
“Huh?”
“She’s suffering with night terrors, Ryker appears to keep them away.”
I puff my cheeks, filling them with air and then blow it out harshly, still not grasping this whole thing. Ryker. Lex’s second hand, a man almost as ruthless as Lex, giving comfort to a broken girl…
“Don’t think too much about it.”
Lex shuts the door and pushes me towards the bed, “Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asks.
“I couldn’t”
The back of my knees hit the bed and I sit, staring up at him as he advances, body shrouded in shadow and only a slight glow lighting up the harsh edges of his face. He looks both terrifying and delicious all the same.
“Have I ever told you how much I like you in my shirts?” He muses, leaning forward to pluck the top button open, “but not as much as I like it off.”
I don’t stop him as he flicks all the buttons on the shirt open and I still don’t as he pushes the material to the side and gently pushes me back so I’m led flat on the bed with my legs dangling over the sides.