speed, driving like a fucking maniac as I raced towards Axel’s house.
"She killed him," I told him quickly before he lost his head. "Call JJ and Chase."
He stared at me in shock for a moment then nodded stiffly, taking out his phone and ringing them one at a time. He explained what had happened in short, clipped sentences which I had no doubt was sending them into a fucking frenzy right about now. I heard JJ shouting down the line when Maverick cut him off and shoved his phone back into his pocket, breathing heavily.
"They're coming," he growled as I rounded onto Fellowship Street and accelerated toward Axel’s house.
If that bastard was still twitching, I had the feeling I was going to make sure he was firmly dead. I’d never killed before, never planned on it either. But he'd touched Rogue. My girl.
From the way Maverick was breathing and the strained silence between us, I had the feeling he was thinking the same thing.
I killed the headlights and circled around to the back of the asshole’s house, bumping along a dirt track and pulling the parking brake as we reached the back door.
Maverick jumped out before the truck had even stopped, running up to the back door and I was hot on his heels half a second later.
He hammered his fist on the door and it yanked open to reveal a pale faced Rogue in a bloody t-shirt. She lunged at Maverick, wrapping her arms around him and he fisted a hand in her long, brunette hair as he held her against him.
I stalked past them into the darkened house, hunting for the monster who'd dared lay a finger on her, needing to be sure he wasn’t still a problem.
Axel was lying in the lounge, a bloody poker firmly wedged in his head as blood pooled out around him. I went to a dark place inside me as I saw all of that blood, that death. But I wasn't afraid like I should have been. I was glad he was dead. Glad he'd felt pain before Rogue had ripped him from this world. Proud of my girl for showing him what happened to anyone who dared try and hurt one of our own.
I stalked back to Rogue and took her hand, drawing her away from Maverick. “Get the tarp,” I instructed him and he nodded, walking away as I guided Rogue deeper into the house.
She was shaking and I held her hand tighter as I sought out a bathroom and drew her into it, switching on the light. It was a small space with just a toilet and a sink, but it would do. I checked her over in the stark light, needing to be sure she wasn’t hurt. Her sapphire blue eyes were puffy and red, but I couldn’t see any other obvious signs of discomfort. The blood splattered over her face and shirt clearly wasn’t hers and I sighed in relief, taking a towel from beside the sink and wetting it.
She remained quiet as I worked to clean the blood from her face and hair before gently dabbing at her busted lip, a growl building in my throat. Then I took the clothes I’d brought for her from my bag and held them out to her.
“I’ll just-” I started, but she pulled off her shirt and dropped her torn panties, making my heart lurch at the sight of her naked body and I rapidly turned my back on her while she changed.
I blinked hard, trying not to think about what I’d just seen and rage blinded me as the bruises on her flesh were imprinted on my mind. I’d never felt anger like it, it was coiling through me like smoke, desperate for an outlet, but with the man responsible already dead, I didn’t know where to aim my fury.
When she was dressed, she caught my hand, turning me to face her again and I folded her in my arms, crushing her into my chest. I could lay my chin on her head now, though I hadn't always been tall enough for that. She fit against me better than she ever had and I never wanted to let her go.
"We're going to deal with this," I promised her. “I’ll always protect you.”
"I'm not sad he's dead," she whispered into my chest.
"Me neither," I growled and she pulled away from me, biting her lip with fear in her eyes and making it bleed again.
"We'll deal with it," I repeated,