My Maddie (Hades Hangmen #8) - Tillie Cole Page 0,58

Phebe. He must have known the memories that question conjured up.

“Not the fuck now, Vike,” AK hissed.

“Okay, okay,” Viking conceded, holding up in hands. But he turned to Sister Ruth one more time. “Just one more question, then I’ll shut up.”

“Okay?” Sister Ruth said demurely, eyes narrowed.

“Do you like the taste of pineapple?”

Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the back of the van and prayed. I had not prayed for so long. Not with specific purpose. But right now, I prayed hard to God that He sheltered Asher and Flame in his arms and kept them safe until I got to them. Because I desperately needed to get to them, to Flame. He would be okay as long as I was by his side. He had to be. There was no other option. My fingers found my wedding ring and I held my left hand over my heart.

I am coming, Flame. I am coming to bring you home.

Chapter Seven

Flame

I wrestled my bike to a stop, tires skidding on the wet mud. My breathing was hard, but all I could focus on was the smoke rising above the trees. Black fucking smoke filled up the sky. Smiler told me I’d see it and to follow it. Ash pulled up beside me, out of breath from the ride. “That them?”

My hands were shaking as I held the handles of my bike. It was them. It was fucking them. I didn’t know what they looked like, but I saw featureless faces in my head screaming, as I plunged my knives deep into their chests. I didn’t look into people’s eyes. Fucking hated seeing their eyes. But I’d stare these fuckers down. I’d bare my teeth as I twisted my blades in their guts, and I’d watch them die… slowly.

“Flame? Is it them?” I nodded to my brother.

This was where Smiler had directed me, to the middle of fucking nowhere. I cut my engine and pulled out my knives, never taking my eyes off the smoke. I felt the flames thickening my blood, scalding my flesh, preparing for the fucking evil I was about to bring down on these cunts. I hissed and clenched my teeth at the feeling of my pulse slamming in my neck and my fuck-ton of scars aching with the fucking need to kill. I had to kill. I had to tear the fuckers apart for what they’d done to Maddie. My stomach dropped and a fucking dagger of pain cut through my chest.

I’d left her. I’d fucking left her in the hospital. But I had to kill these assholes. They’d hurt Maddie. They’d hurt the baby. I wouldn’t let anyone fucking hurt the baby… not again.

“Flame?” Ash whispered. My attention snapped to him. “What’s the plan? You need to tell me.”

“Kill them,” I ordered, as I got off my bike. “Kill them all.”

I started marching through the forest, the long grass wrapping around my legs. Ash ran to catch up. I stopped when I saw a gun in Ash’s hands. “No fucking guns,” I spat and knocked it from Ash’s grip. It hit the ground with a thud. “Knives,” I demanded. “Only fucking knives.” Ash pulled a way too fucking small knife from his jacket. “No!” I reached into my cut and pulled out one of my German blades. “This one.” I stared at the rising smoke, tasting the blood I’d soon spill. “Kill them up close. Look the fuckers in the eyes. Make them scream as you sink the blade into their skulls. Make it painful. Make it last. They hurt Maddie. They don’t fuck with what’s mine.”

“Okay,” Ash said. I thought I heard his voice crack. I didn’t know why that would happen. He was here to kill, just like me. He’d killed before. He’d liked it. I went to move forward, but my feet stopped, and my head ticked to the side when a thought started throbbing in my temple. “Don’t get hurt,” I said to Ash, when I pictured him getting stabbed in my mind. The pain in my chest was back again at the thought of Ash being hurt. I fucking hated that pain. It made it too fucking hard to breathe.

“I won’t, Flame. I can do this. I can take them out for Maddie.”

“Good.” I pushed forward toward the smoke still rising above the trees. I followed it. Smiler had told me to be quiet. That he’d seen three of them camping their RV’s in this forest. That’s all the intel