The full weight of what I’m seeing slams into me without any time to process it. Spitfire handcuffed to a bed and unconscious as Levi—also known as the douchebag bartender Simon—slams his fist into her stomach. I don’t even think; I only react.
Years of honing myself into a weapon capable of utter destruction make my movements smooth, controlled. When the front door flew open, Simon must not have heard because he hasn’t so much as looked up from Montana’s motionless body.
My fingers curl into his hair and rip him away, flinging him around so he’s pinned beneath me on the ground. His eyes widen as my fist slams into his face once, twice, and then again. I hit him until the skin on my knuckles splits, and I’m not sure whether the blood on my fists is his or mine.
It’s at this point he looks up at me through eyes swelling shut and starts to laugh. Awareness trickles in of the weight of the machete strapped to my thigh. My fingers itch to wrap around the handle and carve him into pieces, slicing away strips of his flesh for every night of anguish and fear he caused Montana.
But when I see movement out of the corner of my eye and look up to track it, Asher and Indy have stepped into the room. Asher’s expression is as dark as a moonless night, his eyes shadowed and vengeful. Indy, on the other hand, kneels in front of me, near Simon’s head where the fucker is still laughing maniacally, and flicks his eyes up toward the bed.
‘You need to get her to the hospital,’ he tells me, voice calm and reasonable, which makes irritation surge inside me. I don’t want calm right now. I need rage and savagery. As if he knows the direction of my thoughts, he adds, ‘Think about the baby.’
I’m not even close to done here, not by a long shot, but he’s right. I growl as I release my grip on Simon’s hair and stand up, looming over him with a promise of retribution in my eyes. Oh, no. I’m only getting started with him, but he stares back at me without blinking. He’s not afraid, and if anything, it looks like there’s acceptance in his eyes which only makes this worse.
I want him afraid. I want him trembling and pissing himself over what’s coming his way after everything he did. A man like him? There’s no redemption there. He’ll never change. He’ll keep doing this again and again to innocent victims until the day he’s caught or dies. I’ve seen it over and over, and there’s zero chance of me letting him walk away from this again.
‘We’ll have a little fun with Simon here until you get back, won’t we, Ash?’ Indy asks, and Asher folds his arms across his chest and gives a single nod. Right now, Asher looks every inch the mob boss’s son. There’s no emotion on his face at all. It’s completely blank in a cold and calculating way, and I know just from that look Simon’s in for one hell of a wait.
I almost want to chuckle, wondering how long I can leave him with Indy and Ash before they accidentally kill him, but then Montana groans, and everything else falls away. A surge of guilt crashes through me because, for a second, I lost track of her. For a second, my focus was on her attacker instead of making sure she and the baby are okay, but I shove it away.
Now isn’t the time to process complex emotions. I turn, letting Indy and Asher take over with Simon before climbing onto the bed and pulling out my universal key to unlock the handcuffs holding Montana to the bed. I toss them at Indy so he can use them to keep Simon in check while they move him.
‘Hey, we’ll be in the basement whenever you’re ready. Take your time. Ash and I have some shit to work through with Simon here,’ Indy calls out as they haul him up.
I nod, not really up for talking right now, as they drag him out of the room. Simon must realize how serious this shit is for him, that we’re not cops, and he’s not going to some cushy jail cell where he’ll get three meals a day and a nice cot to lay down on.
Fuck, no.
Where he’s going is the stuff nightmares are made of, and I doubt he’ll realize the full extent of it until he’s chained to a metal chair over a drain in the concrete floor. Even still, it’s better than he deserves. I won’t be satisfied with anything less than a one-way trip to hell, courtesy of me.
‘Baby?’ I ask softly, testing whether she’ll wake up as I lean over her. Her eyelids flutter, and I grind my teeth together when I notice the light shadow of a developing bruise along her jawline. ‘Montana.’
She still doesn’t wake, so I wrap her in my shirt and scoop her up, lifting her off the bed and into my arms. She’s cradled against my chest, her head tucked under my chin as I leave this house of horrors behind. How many women have been stolen away from their lives and met their end here? How many did Simon torture and kill for his own demented pleasure?
A burst of relief cracks through the all-consuming rage I’d been feeling, but until I know Montana and the baby are okay, I’m still going to be on edge. Rushing through the house and out the front door, I consider my options. I probably should’ve called an ambulance or an Uber, but I don’t want to answer questions about what happened here. We’ll document it, clean it up, and close the case. It’ll be like Simon never existed, except for the trail of victims he left behind.
I frown as I strap a still-unconscious Montana into the passenger seat after lowering it back, carefully closing the door. While I jog around the hood of the car, I consider how I’ve felt as the family left behind. Logically, I know not everyone processes their grief the same way. Some people, like me, need vengeance, but some just want closure, and others are even forgiving. I will never be that, but don’t all those families deserve to know who the man that stole their loved one from them is and that he’s been handled?
Before I climb inside the car, I shoot Sebastian a text asking him to handle it. He’ll be able to send them something anonymously, and I can put it off my plate. Once that’s done, I climb behind the wheel and drive like a demon escaping hell all the way to the hospital. The closer we get, and the longer I go without Montana waking up, the more freaked out I get.
It’s fucking with my psyche, and by the time I pull into the emergency room driveway, I’m in a full-blown panic. My heart is beating so hard it feels like it’s trying to take flight, and my palms are slick against the steering wheel.
I don’t want to leave Montana, but this isn’t like the movies. There are no doctors or nurses just waiting outside to help us, and considering it’s the middle of the night, the place is mostly deserted. I shut the car off and fling the door open, rushing inside the waiting area.
There’s a nurse behind the desk, and her head snaps up when I run inside. I still have one eye on my car parked just outside the door, not willing to let Montana out of my sight for even a second.
‘We need help!’ I yell at her, and she jumps up, doing whatever she needs to do and following me outside. By the time I get back to the car, there are two nurses and a doctor with a gurney on my heels. They pull Montana out of the car with gentle but efficient movements and get her laid out on the stretcher.
I grab her hand, and they start rushing her inside, wheeling her wherever it is they’re going to check her over. ‘Sir, we’re going to need you to let go so we can work,’ the nurse says firmly, and I glower at her.
‘Fuck off. I’m not letting her go,’ I snap. She glares right back, and I’m sure I’m not the first asshole that’s tested her, but I’m going to be the most stubborn. My jaw is set, and my grip on Montana’s limp hand tightens. The nurse finally sighs, realizing this is a fight she’s not about to win.
‘Are you family?’
I jerk my head in a nod. ‘I’m her husband.’ It’s a stretch of the truth, but one I plan on rectifying soon.
‘Fine, but stay out of our way, or you’ll be compromising her health.’
I continue to glare at her until she turns and stomps off to the other side of the gurney. There’s a flurry of activity around us, nurses and doctors calling out orders to each other, an IV being placed, blood being drawn, and all of Montana’s vital signs are checked.
‘Can you tell us what happened to her?’ the second nurse asks while she moves in beside me. Her tone is gentler than the first one, and a lie slips easily off my tongue.
‘We recently found out we’re having a baby, and she insisted on working on the room even though I told her it’s too early. She wasn’t in bed, and when I went to find her, she was up on a ladder. She startled and fell.’ The nurse raises her eyebrow, and it sounds like bullshit to me, too, but it’s the best I’ve got when my mind is unfocused.
It’s not like I can say a murderous psychopath kidnapped her, strapped her to his bed, and beat the hell out of her, now can I? The questions that would raise would create all sorts of headaches and just bring up more questions, like where’s the guy now?
That’s not something I’m prepared to tell anyone. Simon—or Levi—is mine. His life is forfeit, and it now belongs to me. I’ve already judged him and found him to be unworthy of continuing to walk this earth, but until I can dole out my justice, he’ll wait. No one will get in my way of that. Not the cops and sure as fuck not this well-meaning nurse.
Sometimes pure evil can only be fought by a matching darkness, and it hits me that my purpose is almost fulfilled. Once Simon is eradicated from this life, once breath no longer fills his lungs and his heart stills in his chest, I’ll be unchained from the burdens of my past. Free to make new memories, to let go of what’s been holding me down since Makenna disappeared when I was seventeen.
A sudden need to finish this pushes me to go deal with Simon now, knowing Montana’s in good hands, but I can’t go until I see she’s truly okay. Until her gorgeous green eyes open and light up with the spark of mischief she always carries inside her.
‘She’s pregnant?’ the nurse asks, and I nod, nearly choking as emotion clogs my throat. If something happened to the baby, Simon would learn the true meaning of suffering. I’ll peel his skin off his chest, crack his ribcage open, and pull his lungs from his body so I can watch him suffocate slowly until the light leaves his eyes for good.
He’ll suffer a medieval sort of torture for what he’s done, and how bad it will truly be depends on how long it takes Montana to wake up and whether or not our baby is okay.
I grip Montana’s hand as the doctor pries her eyelids open one by one and shines a penlight inside. He studies the monitor beside her, the one that beeps slowly with the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. It’s a soothing sound, and it helps soften the rough edges of my nerves, knowing she’s alive and likely going to be okay, but every second that passes that she doesn’t wake up has me tensing all over again.
It’s a fucking rollercoaster of fucked up emotions, and if she doesn’t wake up soon, I’m going to go out of my goddamn mind. Despite the doctor’s reassurances that she’s bruised but none of her injuries are life threatening, I won’t calm down until I see her green eyes open for myself.
A nurse wheels in a machine that has what looks like a TV monitor attached to the top. ‘Sir, has your wife had any prenatal appointments yet?’
Her voice barely penetrates my inner thoughts, and it takes me longer than it should to react.
‘Sir?’
I snap out of it, shaking my head. ‘No, we only found out a couple of weeks ago.’
The nurse hums and then says, ‘We’re going to try and do an external ultrasound to check on the baby. Depending on how far along she is, we may have to do it internally, but we’ll start with the less invasive option for now. Is that alright?’
I nod, wanting them to do whatever they can to make sure Montana and the baby are okay.
The screen flickers to life, and the nurse rolls up Montana’s shirt. They haven’t even changed her into a hospital gown or anything yet, so her under clothes are still drenched in blood. When I look her over, she doesn’t seem to have any cuts or injuries that would lead to so much blood loss, so I can only believe it isn’t her blood that’s coating every inch of her apartment and her body.
The nurse doesn’t even flinch at the gore, squirting some gel onto her stomach and pressing a little wand-like device into the skin of her abdomen. My hand grips Montana’s tightly as blurry images flicker on the screen. I have no idea what I’m looking at, but time creeps slowly by while the nurse continues to work. Finally, a soft smile tilts her lips up.
‘Everything looks good here, Mr…?’
‘Desai.’
‘Mr. Desai. Would you like to hear their heartbeats?’
I nearly choke. ‘I’m sorry, their?’
‘I’ve always wanted to be able to give this good news to someone, and today’s your lucky day, Sir. You and your wife are expecting twins.’ The nurse beams at me, and I’m nearly knocked over with so many emotions that my knees go weak and I stagger, catching myself on the edge of the gurney.
Twins?
Holy fuck.
‘So… want to hear their heartbeats?’ she asks again, this time with an understanding smile on her face.
All I can do is nod, and the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard fills the space. I can’t believe Montana is missing this. ‘Wake up, baby. You’re going to be so pissed when you wake up and realize you missed hearing our babies’ heartbeats for the first time,’ I murmur, leaning down close to her ear and brushing her hair off her forehead.
The fast-paced thumping sound continues for a few more seconds, but when Montana doesn’t stir, the magic of the moment starts to dull. ‘How about I print you off a few pictures, and you can show her when she wakes up?’
‘Thanks.’
She hands me a couple of black and white images, and I stick them in my back pocket. The nurse brings me over a stool to sit down on. ‘The doctor’s going to be in soon to let you know what’s going on. As soon as you fill out these,’ she hands me a clipboard filled with paperwork, ‘we’ll get her moved into a room and cleaned up.’
When she leaves, I look down at the damn papers I need to fill out and then down at my hands. I’m going to have to try and write this shit out left-handed, considering I’m gripping Montana’s hand in my right, and the idea of letting her go after everything that happened is unthinkable.
I don’t want her to ever feel alone again.
After everything I knew about Levi, everything I’d compiled while tracking him before, he’d never done what he did with Montana. He never let off the chase, never slowed down. He took his prey as soon as he wanted them, so it was unexpected when he decided to play with Montana this time. I could never have predicted that he would change the game so completely, pretend he’d moved on, and then circle back around when our defenses were low.
I should’ve known, though.
She’s here, lying in this bed right now because of me. Because I didn’t do enough to protect her. Because I let her down.
Montana groans, and her eyes flutter open. Her gaze swings around, and an adorable crease forms between her brows that I immediately smooth out with my thumb. I stand up, leaning over her and the confusion on her face disappears. ‘Ro.’ She says my name on a sigh, and at that one syllable, it’s like the floodgates open, and every emotion that I’ve been pushing back behind a dam breaks free all at once.
For the first time in over a decade, tears prick my eyes as her hand rises up and cups my cheek, and her thumb traces back and forth over the stubble that lines my jaw.
‘Yeah, baby. I’m here. You’re safe.’
I want to wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest, breathe her in and wrap myself around her, but with the bruises lining her body, I don’t want to hurt her, so for now, this will have to be enough.
Her eyes go wide and wild. ‘The baby? Is the baby okay?’ she rasps.
‘The babies are fine.’ For the first time in what feels like centuries, the corner of my lips tilts up.
Her eyes get even wider. ‘What?’
‘Yeah, turns out we’re really fucking good at making babies. The nurse just showed me our twins. You should’ve heard their heartbeats, Spitfire. It was incredible.’
That familiar spark ignites in her eyes. ‘You heard them without me?’
I can’t help the smug smile that works its way onto my face. ‘Hey, I tried to wake you up.’
The glare she gives me promises retaliation, and I can’t wait. I shift and pull the pictures out of my pocket. ‘Here. The nurse printed these out for us.’
I watch as she scans the pictures, and with each one, the look of awe and wonder on her bruised face gets more and more intense. ‘They’re perfect,’ she finally sighs.
Her eyelids are heavy, and she looks like she’s about to pass out again. ‘I love you,’ I whisper, pressing my lips to her forehead and watching a smile ghost over her lips before her eyes close.
‘I love you, too,’ she breathes, already half asleep.
I settle in with the paperwork. The exhaustion I should be feeling is absent, and I’m energized knowing Montana woke up and that the babies are fine. There will be time to process the fact we’re having twins later, but for the first time in my life, the idea of a long life loving Montana and having children of my own doesn’t have even a hint of fear. I know that once Simon is gone, my demons will be well on their way to banished, and for once, I’m looking forward to what not being afraid of love looks like.
‘I still can’t believe Simon did this,’ Montana admits, shaking her head and then wincing at the pain the movement caused. That’s what a concussion will do to you, and that motherfucker gave her just that. I’ve already added it to the long list of shit I intend to make him pay for.
‘He did a good job disguising himself. Some plastic surgery and a haircut and dye job, and it even took until I saw his picture taped up next to yours before I put two and two together.’
Montana shudders, and I tighten my arm where it rests around her, pulling her closer into my side.
‘You know I don’t want to leave you, but I have to go deal with him.’
She nods. ‘Do I want to know what you’re about to do?’
‘Probably not.’
She looks at me with steel in her eyes, so much goddamn strength and fire. ‘Make it hurt.’
A dark chuckle slips past my lips. ‘By the time I’m done with him, he won’t know anything but pain.’
She studies me for a second and then nods as if she’s satisfied that I’ll deliver the justice she deserves, but that’s one thing she never has to worry about with me. When it comes to her, there is no such thing as too far.
‘Ohmygod!’ Girly squeals fill Montana’s hospital room, and I don’t even know which one of her friends they come from as they pile into the room. She’s set up in a regular hospital room now, and her bloody clothes have been cut away and disposed of.
The nurse had been suspicious as fuck when I told her it was only paint on the clothes, so the story I told earlier would check out, but nurses have seen a fuck ton of blood, so I know she wasn’t buying it. Still, Montana’s skin had been free of cuts, so she couldn’t exactly accuse me of doing anything to hurt her.
The sun had risen a few hours ago, and I’ve been itching to go deal with my unfinished business for even longer. I had to wait until a somewhat reasonable hour to call in her girlfriends because I am sure as fuck not about to leave her alone.
If I couldn’t be here, I knew I could trust them to watch out for her. They were the reason Simon hadn’t been able to take her that first night, and I had no doubt they wouldn’t let anything happen to her now.
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t totally over my fear of something happening to the woman I love, but with Simon out of the picture, with time and a fuck ton of therapy, I hope it’ll lessen.
Kennedy meets my eyes across the room while all the girls fawn over Montana, and she nods. I know she’ll stay until I’m done.
‘Okay, ladies, let me through.’ I wade through the crowd and find Montana. She smiles up at me, her lip cut and her cheek and jaw both swollen and bruised. I kiss her forehead because anywhere else looks like it might hurt her. ‘I don’t know how long this will take, but if you need anything, call, and I’ll be there. If they discharge you before I’m finished, Kennedy will take you back to her house, and I’ll pick you up as soon as it’s done.’
Montana reaches for my hands and squeezes before letting me go. I know she wants this just as bad as I do, and for a minute, I’m struck by how perfect for me she really is. If she could, she’d be right there by my side, heels on and perfectly put together as she made Simon suffer for what he put her through.
But right now, I’ll have to be enough for both of us.
As I’m waiting for the elevator, my phone goes off. ‘Tell me you didn’t kill him,’ I answer when I see it’s Indy who’s calling.
‘Unfortunately no, but we did learn something interesting just now,’ he drawls, and I can tell that whatever’s going on in the basement, he’s enjoying the fuck out of it. I hear a scream in the background, and it makes a sadistic smile form on my face.
‘What’s that?’ The doors slide open, and I step inside, hoping the cell service doesn’t cut out before Indy gets his information across.
‘Simon had help in picking Montana.’
Suddenly I stand up straighter, my senses on high alert as if the threat is here right now. ‘Who?’
‘Is the name Caroline familiar to you?’
I rake my hands through my hair, pulling on the ends until it hurts. ‘Fuck. Guess I’m detouring to pick a bitch up. Make room in the basement.’
‘I’ve already got her spot picked out and ready to go,’ Indy says, sounding way too excited. ‘Her address is in your inbox.’
The elevator dings as the doors glide open in the lobby, and I walk toward the parking lot with a new determination. As long as that bitch Caroline is still walking free, Montana’s in danger, and I sure as fuck won’t stand for that.
Caroline was so determined to have me that she went to all this trouble, but she’s about to get a side of me she never bargained for.
