“Noah, please,” Kaj begged. “If you do this, there’s no turning back. Please... I can’t lose you again.”
Noah’s willingness to sell his soul to protect Kaj may have been a noble cause at its core, but it wasn’t something he wanted for him. Although Kaj was aware there was also darkness inside Noah, he was naturally kind, generous, and loving. Even if Jesper had brought this on himself, Kaj didn’t want Noah to stain his hands with his blood. He didn’t want him to look at himself in the mirror and not recognize his own reflection because he’d chosen to take a life with his hands.
Maybe he didn’t see it now, but when clarity settled, remorse would eat him alive if he struck a final blow. How would he reconcile with himself if he killed someone?
“If you can’t stand seeing this, just go away.”
As if his system shut down every human emotion, Noah turned around and lunged for Jesper.
Without a second thought, Kaj threw himself at him, hooking his arms under Noah’s and pulling him backward. “Noah, stop! If you do this, they’ll take you away from me! If you do this, he’ll win anyway!”
“Get off me!” Noah thrashed against him.
“No! You think this is justice? That this will fix anything? It won’t.” Kaj dug his heels in, flexing his knees slightly to keep his balance, desperate for Noah to realize what was at stake.
“Noah!” Aksel’s voice boomed in the space.
Kaj hadn’t heard their bandmates when they’d entered the house nor when they walked down the stairs, but he was so grateful they were finally here. Kaj was afraid he wouldn’t have been able to contain him any longer.
“You called them?” Noah’s tone was accusatory as Kaj let him go, but he didn’t care. With the guys here, it’d be easier to keep him away from Jesper.
There was a blur of movement, and Noah was wrenched back as Xander shoved him hard against a wall. None of them were exactly short, but the bassist was also built like a bull, so it didn’t matter how strong Noah was, this man would easily overpower him.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Xander snarled.
“What does it look like to you?”
“You think you’re funny?” Xander pressed his forearm against Noah’s throat. “This could ruin all of us. Forever.”
“I don’t fucking care as long as that piece of shit is buried six feet under.”
Feral. Unforgiving. Unhinged. Noah was a force of unfiltered rage driven by the sole purpose of making Jesper pay for every wound he’d inflicted on Kaj. His clenched fists, the tension making his body tremble, and the teeth he was baring at the bassist weren’t just a manifestation of his anger. They were retribution and love in its most violent form.
Unsure if it was the world outside or the one inside him that had stopped, Kaj staggered back. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as his brain tried to catch up with the scene unfolding before him.
“Hey, Larsen!” Aksel called. “Dude, help me pick him up.” He gestured toward Jesper.
With his ears buzzing and his stomach churning as they stood on each side of him, Aksel and Kaj gripped the back of the chair and the front legs and lifted him.
That was when Kajreallysaw Jesper.
He didn’t just look older than he should. He looked completely obliterated. His body was covered in dirt, deep bruises, and fresh cuts that mingled with older scars. His right elbow was swollen and dislocated, and his nose was most likely broken. But what took Kaj aback was the way the words “child” and “abuser” were carved into each separate thigh, raw and precise. Deep enough to scar. Deep enough to bleed.
Jesper’s eyes locked on Kaj’s, unleashing a wave of anguish like he’d never experienced before.
The shattered fragments of his mind slammed against each other as the phantom sensation of his hands skimmed over him, clashing with last night’s memories of Noah’s lips. He wasn’t afraid to die, but he couldn’t lose Noah because of this man.
“Take him out of here,” Xander growled, pushing Noah in Kaj’s direction. “Now.”
Noah’s chest heaved, breaths coming out in ragged gasps as he turned back to the scene. He was quaking with an adrenaline-induced rush, but Kaj could see the moment reality pierced through his rage. He was completely unremorseful, but he looked fractured.
“Noah,” Kaj called as he stepped closer, reaching for him. “We have to go, babe...”
“If you say one fucking word about what happened here,” Noah glared at Jesper as he pointed a finger at him. “You’re a dead man.”
“Come on,” Kaj said firmly, leaving no room for argument as he tugged at Noah’s wrist. Gentleness didn’t seem to work with him.
As they walked up the stairs, Aksel and Xander began to untie Jesper, their voices low and clipped as they debated what to do with him.
