Page 141 of Ryker
“But you are.” Tears slip down her face. “The fear of you going to jail is way worse than the fear of him coming after me again.”
Emotions catch in my throat as a stampede storms up the stairwell and Dmitri busts through the door. Vault and Knox are right behind him.
D’s gaze sails down her body, landing on her bloody thighs. “Tara, are you…” The horror in his eyes lances my heart. “Did he…” Fuck, D can’t even finish that sentence.
I shake my head, answering for her.
Hearing my girl scream on the other end of the line while I was miles away from her will give me nightmares for the rest of my life. I think the only reason I’m calm right now is because the severity of the situation still hasn’t completely sunk in yet.
Dmitri pulls Tara in for a hug. “We’ve got you, baby girl.” He looks over at me and the kindness he shows Tara transforms to cruelty when he asks me, “What do you want to do with him?”
“Carry him out through the back alley and back to the club.”
Tara doesn’t want me to kill him, but I’ll make damn sure this motherfucker wishes he was dead by the time we’re through with him.
???
Seven hours later, I think I’ve made my point. Garret’s in and out of consciousness, so I can’t really ask him to repeat all the lessons in manners we’ve taught him.
Our session in the basement took longer than I realized. Once I started swinging, I couldn’t stop. Dmitri and the others had to pry me off the sorry piece of shit several times because they knew I’d turn him to pulp. Fuck, I wanted to kill him so badly, the dimly lit basement hazed red. I couldn’t think straight.
“Go to your girl,” D ordered, and I obeyed. Splitting my energy between comforting Tara upstairs and protecting her down here might have driven me insane.
I need to see her. Touch her. Kiss every wound and cocoon her in my safe arms.
But halfway up to the Butterfly suite, I stall out. Shit, I should shower and change before I see Tara. She’ll know I’m a monster if she sees me covered in this much blood.
A quick pivot and I’m on a detour. My plan to spare her the gory mess fails when I find her in my office with Sophie guarding the door.
My furious gaze says it all. She was supposed to stay with Tara in the Butterfly suite. She should have followed my motherfucking orders.
“I wasn’t about to stop her,” Sophie says, putting her hands up like this wasn’t her idea.
She steps out of my way, and I open the door.
Tara sits in my chair, her beautiful face glowing from the monitors. Her eyes are puffy, and the tip of her nose is red. I don’t have to look to know she’s watched what we’ve done to her stepbrother on the surveillance footage.
Fuck.
“I told you I was a monster.” And now she knows the lengths I’ll go to for her.
Tara doesn’t cringe. She doesn’t run. Hell, she doesn’t even blink as she calmly closes the space between us and cups my cheeks with a steady hand. “You’re my monster.”
When it comes to those I love, there’s no line I won’t cross for them.
“Take me to him, Ry.”
Hell no. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Ryker.”
Shit. Why deny her request when she’s watched the carnage already? Maybe it’s better if she sees. Maybe it’ll paint a clearer picture of who she belongs to.
Please don’t run away when you see what I’ve done for you.
Silently leading her through the club and down past Dmitri’s dungeon, we dump into an old utility room. The scent of blood, sweat, and piss is pungent.
The instant Tara sees her stepbrother tied to a chair, blood pouring out of his swollen face, his arms bent in the wrong direction, and legs cut up, she freezes.