Page 77 of Storm's Deliverance

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

HENDRIX

I’d never understoodthe saying ‘silence is deafening’until now. Now the silence is swallowing me whole. Every step of mine echoes through the apartment as the creak of old floorboards beneath my boots sound unnaturally loud. The place is nothing but a shell now. Cupboards are ripped open, furniture is overturned, drawers are emptied across the floor. We’d torn the place apart looking for clues, looking for her, but nothing. Not a single fucking thing. My gun stays level as my eyes sweep the kitchen, the hallway... then they stop. The bedroom door. Something prickles at the back of my neck.

“Drix?” Ghost murmurs behind me. I raise a fist, signalling him to hold as the smell hits me. Copper. So much copper. Blood. Fuck! My heart slams painfully against my ribs. No... Please, not like this.

I edge forwards, every instinct screaming at me to slow down, while every other part of me wants to barrel in there. Ghost falls in beside me. Neither of us speaks. I round the corner, the room comes into view, and my entire fucking world stops. Blood. Jesus Christ... There’s blood everywhere. Splattered across the floor, across the wall, across the radiator. Storm... My BB... Her head hangs limply to one side, her skinghostly pale, her dark hair matted with sweat and blood, and the chain still hanging from her wrist.

“No...” Ghost breathes beside me. It isn’t a word. It’s a broken man.

“No... no... no...” I’m moving before my brain catches up. I hit my knees so hard pain shoots through them. I don’t feel it. “BB...” Nothing. I cup her face with shaking hands. “Storm.” My voice cracks. “Baby...” Please. Please don’t do this. Not after I finally got to love you. My fingers fumble desperately for her pulse

Come on... Come on… Nothing. My stomach drops. Then there’s just the faintest flutter beneath my fingertips. A pulse, not strong, but it’s there. Air tears back into my lungs so violently I almost choke on it.

“She’s alive!” I roar.

Ghost’s knees hit the floor beside me. “My baby...” His voice is barely a whisper. He reaches out like he’s afraid touching her will make her disappear. “My little girl...”

Storm’s eyelashes flutter and a tiny groan escapes her. Then those beautiful eyes open, clouded with pain, but alive. They find mine and a weak smile tugs at her split lips. “You…” she rasps, “… took your fucking time.”

A laugh bursts out of me; half relief, half hysteria. “You know me, BB.” My voice shakes. “I like to take my time.”

She coughs out the tiniest laugh. Ghost glares at me. “If you flirt with my daughter right now, I’ll shoot you myself.”

Despite everything, Storm smiles. “There he is.” I lean my forehead against hers for one precious second before shrugging out of my kutte. My hands won’t stop shaking. Focus. She’s bleeding. I rip off my T-shirt and press it hard against the gunshot wound on her shoulder. She hisses through clenched teeth.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

She shakes her head. “Worth it.”

Ghost cups her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. “My baby girl.”

“I’m okay...” she whispers.

“No, you’re fucking not.”

“You swear too much.”

A watery laugh escapes Ghost. “Just like your fucking mother.”

Heavy boots thunder down the hallway; Enzo. He drops beside her so fast he nearly knocks me over. “Move,” he demands, desperate to be by his sister’s side. I shift aside, watching as he cradles Storm’s face between both hands, resting his forehead against hers. “You don’t get to leave me with our fucked up parents.”

Storm smiles weakly. “Don’t let Mom hear you say that.”

His laugh catches halfway into a sob. “Shut the fuck up.” He kisses the top of her head.

The rest of the brothers pile into the room. Nobody speaks. Nobody needs to. Then it starts.

CRUNCH. The sickening sound echoes around the room. Everyone turns. Rage stands over Zeke’s body, and his boot comes down again. CRACK. Blood sprays across the floor.

“Fuck you!” Rage roars. Another stomp. “You hear me?” CRUNCH. “You don’t touch our family!” Another. “You don’t touch one of ours!”

Ghost sighs heavily. “Rage.”

Another stomp.

“RAGE!” Ghost barks.