He shoulders the door with little effort and what greets us behind the closed door is an absolute nightmare.
Leon lies dead on the floor, Shelby crying on top of him, holding his lifeless hand while Lily lies there in the fetal position, blinking wildly.
Axel turns his head and wretches as Mickey falls to his knees, looking down at Leon. He doesn’t say anything, just stares at his lifeless body. A part of my soul fractures at the sight in front of me. So many people loved Leon, yet he didn’t think he had any other choice besides what he did? I’m not sure what Mickey and Axel think of his cut, they were his two closest brothers in the club.
His death weighs so heavily on my shoulders, I feel like it’s going to crush me fuckin’ whole.
He came to me and I could have helped him sooner, but I didn’t because of this vendetta. I feel like his blood is on my hands; I feel like everything is on my hands, and there’s no way to wash them clean.
Cash blinks down at Lily, but it’s not with the usual softness he usually reserves for her. It’s rage. He walks over to the Wraith, who is gasping for breath in the other part of the room, and swiftly shoots him in the head.
“I’m going to make sure that the house is clear,” Cash announces, unable to look at Lily again.
I want to reason with him, calm him down, and get Lily in his arms. He’s so good with her when she’s upset. But he’s on a mission and until he completes it, he’ll only have tunnel vision.
Axel stands in the corner, clutching his stomach, his eyes watering as he mourns one of his longest friends and watches the crumpled woman in front of us.
She doesn’t even seem alert, almost like she’s in a daze.
I swallow the bile down and get on my knees next to her.
“Lily, darlin’. I gotta get you out of here,” I whisper softly to her.
She doesn’t respond. A pained whimper leaves her, and it garners the attention of everyone in the room. I push her hair out of her face and hold back a gasp over the cut I see there. Dry blood is caked on her face, and I make a mental note to clean it up while doing whatever I can to prevent scarring.
Shelby lifts her head from Leon’s chest to look at me. She’s been beat to high fucking hell, and I can’t tell if the blood on her face is her own or Leon’s. “They gave her something,” she croaks.
“Lily, what’s wrong? What do you need?”
She doesn’t answer, just coils in on herself.
“You need to get her out of here. And all the girls,” Shelby urges, while tears trail down her face. Mickey rubs a hand through Leon’s hair, and Shelby tracks the motion, both of us noting the tender touch before she’s looking back at me. “We need to hurry,” she warns, and I nod, thinking about the best course of action.
I look over at Axel, who still looks sick and guilty. I know I need to keep my shit together. Between Cash’s murderous rampage and Axel’s festering guilt, someone has to protect Lily.
“I need medical attention, so do some of the other girls. But I’m sure they don’t trust Alphas,” Shelby says, her fingers tracing the patch on Leon’s cut. “He wasn’t a fuckin’ rat,” she declareswith a sob, and I nod my head. My arm involuntarily reaches out to touch her arm.
“I’m going to make them pay, I promise. I need you to help get these girls out of here safely, and then I’m going to take Lily somewhere safe,” I tell her, and she nods, touching Leon one more time.
Mickey stays silent, staring down at Leon’s body before following her.
Axel wipes his face and looks down at Lily. “I’ve got to get my shit together.” He sniffs back a sob as he braces his hands on his knees. “I’ll text you the address to the lake house. Take Lily there. No one knows about it. I’ll help get the other Omegas out of here and calm Cash down. As soon as we can, we’ll meet you there. It’s not gonna be long before the fuckin’ cops get here.”
“But she’s goin’ into heat,” I counter.
“And?”
“We should take her to a hospital,” I argue.
“You’re not takin’ my fuckin’ wife to a hospital.”
“Your what?” I snap, shocked.
“You fuckin’ heard me. Now I need a fuckin’ minute so I can be what she needs. You know, a lot of this falls on your shoulders, fair or not. She needs you to be the strong one right now. Go to the fuckin’ lake house, and we’ll handle clean up here.”
He bends over, holding back a gag as he digs through Leon’s pockets. He takes out a massive ring that must belong to the house and the keys to his bike.
“Take his bike. You know she’ll want to keep it,” he suggests. He looks down at Lily and kisses the side of her face. “They’re all dead, and we’re going to get these girls safe. I’ll be with you soon,” he chokes on the wordsoonbut kisses her again as he takes the keys upstairs. He tugs at his hair and wipes his facebefore he jogs through the house to help the guys get this mess cleaned up.
