him looking up at Bella. Then his hand came out and reached for Bella’s. Every muscle in my body tensed as his little hand wrapped around her finger.
“Flame…” Maddie’s voice sailed into my ear, but I couldn’t get my fucking eyes away from Styx’s kid holding Bella’s finger. I was sweating. I could feel my head getting hot. “Baby.” Maddie moved in front of me, blocking my view. All I could see was her face, her fucking beautiful face and big green eyes. Maddie put her hands on my cheeks and guided me to face her. “Come back to me.” Her green eyes locked on mine. “You are okay. Whatever is wrong, it is okay. You are here with me, in the clubhouse.” The weight on my chest started to lift as I stared into Maddie’s gaze. I followed her breathing, trying to breathe too. “That is it. Breathe with me. Come back to me.” Maddie took hold of my hands. My forehead dropped against hers. Maddie’s hands were so small. But they held mine tightly. I could breathe better when she held me.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked. I nodded against her head, but I didn’t move away. The pain in my chest was still there. So, I stayed with my wife, holding her hands. Maddie’s hand came to my cheek. She pulled her head back and looked into my eyes. She still looked pale.
“You’re tired,” I said. I knew now when she was tired. Her eyes were duller and her shoulders were lower. “You should be in bed. You’re still sick.”
Maddie smiled. “I am feeling much better, baby. I promise. I am going to the hospital to see Lilah and the twins.” Maddie smiled so fucking wide and beautiful it punched me in the gut, taking away the last of the chest pain that had grabbed hold of me. “Our niece and nephew, are healthy and here safely, Flame.” She squeezed my hand tightly. “I cannot wait to meet them.”
Mae came toward us with Styx. His mouth was at her ear and his arm was around her neck. Zane followed behind them. “Zane will take them to the hospital. Told him he has to check in and turn back if there’s any sign of trouble,” Styx signed.
Trouble. Something was happening out there. Some fucker had started messing with us. Leaving shit at our gates. Goats’ heads. Some fucked up symbols written in blood on the road to our clubhouse. No one had attacked. Tanner couldn’t trace shit so far. But some cunts were watching us. I wanted to lock Maddie away in our cabin and never come out. If I ever found out who was trying to come at us, I’d fucking kill them, hack up their bodies so bad no fucker would ever recognize them.
“Flame?” Maddie’s voice pulled me from my head. My fucking head that was filled with death and blood and the need to kill whoever was skulking at our motherfucking door. AK told me it could just be low-level gun dealers trying to mess with us. I didn’t know. “Flame?” Maddie pressed a kiss to my cheek. The feeling of water running through my veins spread over my body. She was my fucking holy water, taking away the sin that festered in my flesh. “Everything is okay.” Maddie’s fingers ran over my forehead. “Calm your busy mind. All is well.”
It was well. Maddie said so.
I pulled her against me. My arms wrapped around her and she held me back.
“Come here, Charon,” Mae said as she passed by us and went to Bella and her son. My stomach turned and stretched again as Mae took him from her sister and kissed his cheek. Charon made a cooing noise when Mae held him, and my eyes squeezed shut. I saw the cellar my poppa kept me in for years. Felt the rough dirt at my back… Eleven… Eleven breaths… he didn’t breathe a twelfth time…
“I am going to the hospital.” My eyes opened. I was holding Maddie. Her arms were around me. I wasn’t in the cellar. She ran her hands up my arms. Her touch kept the flames away. Only she could keep them away. I needed her to keep them away now. “I will be there a while.”
“I’ll come get you after church.”
Maddie nodded. I felt her cheeks move against my chest. That told me she was smiling. I liked it best when she smiled. It was when she looked the most beautiful.