“You saved me, Lucian,” Elaine whispered again, and I tugged the shirt from her ribs enough to realize she was right.
She was hurt and bleeding, but she wasn’t in danger of bleeding out, not entirely. Still, it was enough to have me reeling, sick and desperate, and I knew then that I’d never be able to stand seeing my beautiful baby girl take any pain from any piece of shit in this world. Especially not because of me.
The knowledge that I’d brought her to this was a hammer blow to my chest, heavy and hard.
The body on the floor next to us was just another example of not giving a fuck for anyone’s life other than ours as I got to my feet and lifted her to hers.
I carried her through to the bathroom and found my medical supplies, wrapping her up tight in a bandage.
She whimpered but let me touch her, giving me control over her body, even through her pain and tears.
There was no doubt about it when I saw that wound of hers in cold hard light—he would have killed her.
There was no doubt about the coming truth, either. They would be coming right back in for round two, and it would be soon. Really damn soon. We needed to get out of there as quickly as we possibly could.
“You packed?” I asked and she managed a nod.
“Yes, I packed.”
“Let’s do it, then,” I said. “We’re on the fucking run.”
7
Elaine
Even now, in pain with my blood still flowing under the bandage, I didn’t care about anything but holding the man I loved.
He was home.
Safe.
Alive.
But that wasn’t going to be the case all that much longer. Not with the pointer fingers coming up from all directions.
My eyes must have been terrified when they met his.
“Have you heard the news?” I asked. “Have you seen Terence Kingsley on the news?! They’re looking for him, Lucian! They want information on Terence! That’s what’s bringing them here, isn’t it? They’ve put the pieces together!”
I expected him to freak out and curse, or at least do something in shock, but he didn’t. Even though he shook his head, and said no, he hadn’t seen Terence Kingsley on the news, he didn’t look shocked.
“Sure, them hunting down the jackass journalist is a nail in the coffin, Elaine,” he told me as he grabbed hold of our things around us. “But believe me, baby, there are a whole load worse nails coming for our coffin than that. You’ve just met one of them.”
“There are more people coming, aren’t there?” I pushed.
I’ll remember his answer for the rest of my life.
My beautiful monster was so proud and terrified both at once when he told me, his expression will be etched into my soul for all time.
“Plenty of people will be coming for us,” he told me. “But I’ll be protecting you and dishing out revenge with every breath in me, I swear it on my life.”
And then he paused.
Lucian Morelli actually paused before he told me what he’d done.
“Talking of revenge, Elaine. I just killed your fucking uncle,” he said.
8
Lucian
Her face was magic. A perfect picture of shock as her hands clasped over her face.
“You… you killed Lionel?”
“Yes, my beautiful princess. I killed the vile fuck who delivered you for abuse. Shot him bang in his fucking face.”
“He’s really dead?”
I could tell she was still trying to process it. Still trying to believe my words.
“He’s dead. I bid him a fair fucking farewell.” I paused. “And I delivered Colonel Hardwick a fair fucking farewell alongside him. Both of them can rot in hell.”
She was still hurting from her wound, but in that moment it didn’t matter, she was too caught up in what I was telling her.
“I don’t even know what to say…” she said.
I took hold of her shoulders and kissed her forehead.
“You don’t have to say anything. It was the greatest achievement of my life. I’m just fucking grateful I made it back here in time.” I sucked in a breath. “I won’t be leaving you again, I guarantee you that.”
She sucked in a breath to match mine, and then my angel shone bright and perfect. A tear dropped from her eye and ran down her cheek, but there was a smile on her face. The most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
It was the little girl Elaine who was smiling at me. Grateful. Humble. Surprised.
The little girl Elaine I was more petrified of losing than anything else I’d ever felt.
“Thank you,” she managed to whisper, and then she broke, sobbing hard and deep.
I wrapped her in my arms and soothed the stunning girl as she cried. It only made my black soul thrum even harder. Pride. I was proud of what I’d done for her. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat and enjoy every second more than life itself. Only now wasn’t the time. Now was the time we needed to get the holy fuck out of there.
“I’m going to get the rest of those vile cunts,” I said. “As long as there is life in my body, princess, I’ll be hunting the rest of them down.”
I didn’t tell her that one of the main reasons I was choosing the UK as our runaway destination was that the other main members of the fellowship were based there, in their stuck-up British empires. It had been one of my motives—to reach Baron Rawlings and Lord Eddington. A far bigger attraction to me than Buckingham Palace, that was for damn sure.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered through her tears. “You did that for me… you made them pay for what they did to me…”
“They deserved a whole lot fucking worse, Elaine. They’re lucky I didn’t have more time.”
I held her close, savoring the touch of her body against mine. She was tiny, pressing hard to my chest, and I loved feeling her like that, so trusting of me. I don’t know how long we were standing there, but the sky was turning pink to dusk outside when she pulled away from me. Her eyes were puffy but every bit as stunning, and her smile was delicate in the most gorgeous of ways.
I told her how I’d tracked them down at the golf course and accosted them at hole four. I told her how they knew exactly what I was taking revenge for, but all the while I was finishing up gathering our things ready to go.
“I’d have killed Lionel myself if I could,” she told me, and the flash of hate and hurt in her eyes showed me just how true that was. “Honestly, Lucian. I’d have killed him myself.”
I was very glad to have delivered her wish by my hands.
Her mind seemed to click back onto our own situation as I gathered the rest of our suitcases.
“Terence Kingsley,” she said again. “They’re looking for Terence Kingsley. His face is all over the news. There’s a hotline wanting information about him.”
I knew we were fucked. She didn’t need to tell me. The Terence Kingsley nail in the coffin was just one of many. We just had to pray that we could make it through the hours to get to the airport tomorrow. It’s not as though we could even check into a hotel for the night with one of my other fake IDs. We were too recognizable with Terence Kingsley’s face all over the news alongside Elaine Constantine’s.