I spent the night holding Aria, her sobs gutted me. I didn’t know what to say, I wanted to soothe her and help her forget but the rage coursing through my body was close to exploding. The despair and fear on her face of when she told me about what happened, chokes me with emotion. I hope the son of a bitch that hurt her is alive, I need to know who he is and if he died or not. I can’t ask her to describe him to me; all I want is for her to forget that motherfucker.
I will interrogate every single prisoner that we still have at the warehouse. If they know anything they will answer to me. I lean down breathing in my girl’s unique fragrance, closing my eyes I bury my face in her hair. “I will make them pay,” I whisper, so as not to wake her.
When I hear the knock on the door I straighten, I asked Bjarni if his woman could come and sit with Aria until I come back. I don’t want her to wake up alone, but I can’t sit here doing nothing as I can feel myself at the brink of snapping and If I do I don’t want to be around my girl. She shouldn’t have to witness any more violence.
Opening the door, I see Gabriela and Jasmine with Bjarni and Burkhart right behind them. I nod my head in thanks; moving around the women I start to make my way outside.
“B what the fuck man, you weren’t going to tell me, that you were going to go out?” I hear Burkhart behind me, but I don’t stop. I know my brothers are worried about me, but I must do this I can’t sit around any longer, and not do something.
When I reach the courtyard, I see all my brothers waiting for me. Looking around, I see that they have all prepared for a fight.
“We are with you,” Draco states, placing his hand on my shoulder, he squeezes.
“Blood for blood, brothers until the end,” Wulf growls our motto, lifting his hand in a fist; we all lift our fists in acknowledgment repeating the words.
Making our way to the garage we mount our bikes. We ride together towards the warehouse that we keep just outside of town, Draco is in front, leading the way. When we arrive I am off the bike and entering the warehouse before any of the others can reach me.
I haven’t been to the warehouse or seen the prisoners since the day we found Aria. The fury coursing through my body is so strong that my blood feels like it’s on fire. I press the hidden button that is just inside the main door under the wallpaper.
A secret panel on the other side of the warehouse slides open; I can see the two cells as I approach. I hear my brothers enter the warehouse behind me, but I don’t pay them any attention. My focus is on the five men sitting in the cells. There are two in one and three in the other. I notice that the cell holding the two men is for humans, the other cell holds the Keres.
Looking back, I see Celmund observing me. “Open!” I snarl. Celmund fishes his phone out of his pocket and a few seconds later the door to the cell that I am standing in front-of opens. Both men look at me with trepidation in their eyes. They have no idea; if they only knew how closely I am holding on to my sanity, they would start praying for their sins before they meet their maker.
“Get out here, both of you.” They look at each other, reluctantly getting up from the floor where they are sitting. “Move!” I growl at their shuffling. When they are both standing outside the cell I push them out towards the open warehouse. I can see that they have some bruising and one of them is holding his side. I know that my brothers have interrogated them before, but now it’s my turn and if I don’t like what I hear they’re dead.
I hear the panel shut behind me closing the Keres in. Ceric moves towards me, raising an eyebrow. At my nod he takes hold of one of the men, tying him to one of the pillars in the warehouse. The other one I push into a chair. Looking around, I see all my brothers standing as they take note of what I’m doing but not interrupting. They know that I need to get this done; it’s either this or going out looking for Keres.
“Who used to feed the woman that was held in the cell?” I know my voice is nearly unrecognizable with the effort I’m making not to shout, by the look on the fucker’s face, I know he wants to be difficult but I’m out of patience, therefore he’s shit out of luck. Pulling out my gun I point it at his knee. I see his eyes widen but he doesn’t say anything. I shoot, blowing away his kneecap; he screams in pain holding his leg.
“Let’s try this again, who fed the woman in the cell?” I say pointing the gun at his other knee.
“I don’t know,” he screams, breathing raggedly.
“Well then you’re no good to me, are you?” I say, shooting his other kneecap. He screams loudly before his eyes roll back and he slumps in the chair. Turning, I see the man who Ceric tied to the pillar looking at me with fear in his eyes. I point my gun at his shoulder, seeing him shake.
“Steinar!” he screams the name at me before I can ask.
“Fuck!” I hear Ceric growl in anger. “Motherfucker, is that the Steinar that’s in the other cell?” At his words my breath catches, is it possible that it can be so easy, is the son of a bitch in the other room? At the guys nod, I start walking towards the panel, the fury that was simmering through my body now a live inferno. I want my hands on the bastard that hurt my girl; there will be no forgiveness. I am going to make him suffer the same way Aria suffered.
I am already by the panel before Celmund has a chance to open it. In my blinding anger I punch the wall next to it while I wait to get inside. When the panel finally opens, and I walk inside I look at the three Keres sitting against the wall. “Which one?” I ask.
Burkhart moves next to me while Ceric approaches the door. “The fucker on the right.” My eyes move over Steinar, I see him smirk at me. He’s about a foot shorter than me but heftier; the thought of him touching Aria blinds me.
When the door to the cell opens, instead of waiting for him to come out like I did with the other two, I rush inside. My hands are around his neck before I can even think about what I’m doing. I see the other Keres from the corner of my eye lift their hands and I know that once again Burkhart has got my back. Steiner starts to struggle in my grip, but my fury is so great that soon he’s losing consciousness in my hold.
I pull his limp body outside. By the time I have him sitting on the chair where earlier I had shot the human, he’s regaining consciousness. I see he has burn marks around his neck and on the top of his arms where I had pulled him. My rage is so great that my fire is out of control. I take a steady breath, trying to calm myself slightly. I do not want to finish this too soon; I will make this maggot suffer repeatedly for what he did to my girl.
When he opens his eyes staring at me and around the room at my brothers with hate in his eyes, I lean down in the blink of an eye and twist his foot in such a way that I hear the crack of the bone breaking. “That’s for what you did to Aria’s foot,” I snarl when I hear his grunt of pain.
“Fucker! I should have done worse!” At his words something snaps inside me, my vision tunnels but my rage calms. I pull my fist back and punch him repeatedly until he’s as bruised as Aria was when we found her.
He continues to try to push me over the edge with his snide comments, but I block his voice out, concentrating only in inflicting as much pain as I can. When he finally falls off the chair from a punch to his ribs, I breathe in deeply. I move to stand over him, his face is swollen and bleeding, his body bruised and broken. “I will do this to you repeatedly, you will suffer the fires of hell before I will let you die. You will realise that what you did to my girl was your worst mistake.”
I feel a hand on my shoulder, looking back I see Draco. When our eyes meet he raises an eyebrow in question. I know that wordlessly he’s asking me what I want to do with him. “I will come back tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that until I am satisfied that he has paid for what he did.”
Draco nods in understanding. “Don’t let this consume you brother, go to your woman, let her calm you. At the door, leave the rage here. Tomorrow is another day.” He pulls me towards him hugging me with one arm. When he lets go he looks back at Cassius.
“Take him to the other cell.”
I see Cassius and Ceric lift the piece of shit off the floor, moving him towards the cells at the back. I turn my back, making my way outside. Wulf is leaning against the wall of the warehouse, Bjarni standing next to him. Both look at me as I approach.
“How’re you feeling Brother?” Bjarni asks, a concerned look on his face.
“I want him dead, but before he dies I want him to suffer as much or more than Aria did.” My voice is choked but my brothers look at me in understanding. Suddenly Bjarni tenses, paling before my eyes, he pulls out his phone dialling someone as he rushes towards his bike.
“Jas?” I can see a confused look on his face. “Where’s my Baby Girl, why are you answering her phone?” at Jasmines name Wulf goes to stand next to Bjarni listening to the conversation.
“Fuck! Son of a bitch!” Wulf tenses at Bjarni’s swearing. I can see a punch flying soon if Bjarni doesn’t stop talking like that to Jas.
“Jas - face time, I want to see her.” I approach to try and figure out what’s upsetting my brother when I hear him growl at the image of Gabriela on the bed in the infirmary. “Baby Girl, what the fuck did you do to yourself? I don’t want you in that fucking kitchen anymore.” I can hear him breathing heavily next to me. Looking over his shoulder, I see Gabriela’s tear-streaked face on the screen.
“I’m okay, it’s just a small burn don’t overreact.” I can hear the tenseness in her voice when she tries to appease her man.
“Overreact is it? Jasmine please show me her burns.” I hear Gabriela groan as Jasmine moves around to show Bjarni her leg where Bion is spreading the gel.
“Fuck!” he growls. “I’m coming Baby Girl, Bion how bad is it?” Bjarni asks as he mounts his bike stretching forward to start it but then he freezes when Jasmine points the phone towards Bion. “Motherfucker, why haven’t you got any clothes on?” Bjarni roars. I had started to turn and make my way towards my own bike, when I hear his words, turning back I see Bion in his boxers. Aria is standing next to him, looking at him as he answers Bjarni.
I don’t hear what he answers. I’m already making my way towards my bike. What the fuck does he think his doing walking around in his underwear in front of Aria? When I pull away I see that Wulf is already speeding ahead of me, Bjarni rides up next to me. Bion better have one hell of a good excuse to be walking around our women like that.
We make it back to the compound in record time; bursting into the kitchen where we hear the woman talking, all three of them sitting at the table chatting. Gabriela has her leg stretched out on another chair. At our entrance the three women look around startled; relaxing when they see it’s us.
Glancing over my girl I see her eyes lower at my attention, her body tense. I hear a grunt next to me and then Bjarni is leaning down next to Gabriela grumbling at her injury. Walking around them I move behind Aria’s chair, leaning down I place my lips at her neck, kissing it gently as my hands go around her. I hear Wulf talking to Jas, but I don’t pay them any attention as my hand creeps towards my girl’s jaw, turning her head slightly I kiss her lips. Pulling back a little, I gaze into her eyes. “Why was Bion standing next to you in his underwear?” I ask quietly, not allowing the anger that I’m feeling to show on my face.
“He was looking at Gabriela’s leg,” she answers breathlessly biting her lip as her eyes stare into mine.
“That doesn’t tell me why he was standing in his boxers.”
“Oh … that,” she looks around at Jasmine then at Gabriela. “He was stripping for us, but Gabriela got so excited that she dropped the food on herself.” At her words I shoot straight up, the fucker is going to die.
“What!” Wulf roars.
“Fucker!” Bjarni snarls.
The three women start to laugh at our reaction. When we look startled at their merriment they laugh harder. “What the fuck’s so funny?” Wulf growls while looking at the women.
“He … was showering,” Jas answers still chortling, “but at our distressed call … he just had time to put on his boxers before he ran here.”
“You think that’s funny?” Bjarni grunts, but a smile is lifting his lips. “If you weren’t hurt I would spank you,” he says.
“Damn,” Gabriela grumbles.
I take a hold of Aria’s arms. Lifting her off the chair, I pull her against me. Lowering my head, I take her lips in a blistering kiss that leaves us both breathless. “Well here I was thinking you guys were burning rubber to get back because something happened, and now we find you three cocksuckers relaxing with your women,” Draco growls from the doorway, but a smile is curving his lips. Behind him are the rest of the men who had gone with us.
“What happened to your leg sugar?” Ceric asks. Moving around Draco, he heads towards the stove glancing into the pots. We are all about to eat after the girls have relayed the occurrence of the morning to the guys, when Bion walks in fully dressed.
“Is it safe?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye.
The three of us grunt at the same time making the girls laugh. At the confused look on the rest of the brothers faces, the girls excitedly tell them the truth about why we rushed back. Even though there is stiffness to my girls’ body and her laugh isn’t the happy gurgle that I have become accustomed to, her courage and strength in getting up and facing her demons fills my heart with lightness.
Leaning over towards her I kiss her forehead. “Everything is going to be alright,” I whisper. She turns looking deep into my eyes before she nods.