it was hurting.
“I always told you you couldn’t make the swim from shore to Dead Man’s Isle,” I said with a taunting smirk. “Were you coming out here for some covert attack bullshit? Because I have to say, Foxy, you get a D minus for effort.”
“Fuck off,” he snarled, pushing the comforter away and getting to his feet, though he swayed a little as he did so. “I need a boat.”
I roared a laugh, stepping forward to get right in his way as I came nose to nose with him. “You’re not the king of this island, Foxy boy. In fact, you just wandered right into my domain. So I think you’re gonna tell me what brings you here or I’ll start cutting off fingers. Was it the shame of sending Chase away and breaking Rogue’s heart that made you try to drown yourself?”
He gazed at me with an emptiness in his eyes that made me frown, like he didn’t care if I carved him up and baked him into a pie, and that was no fun. “I went out on a job solo, blew up a boat and accidently took my own boat out with it.” He shrugged his good shoulder, trying to get past me again but I slammed a hand to his chest as I got close to his face, looking right into his eyes.
“You look sad, Foxy boy, what’s going on?” I growled curiously, my mind skipping to my girl.
He wet his lips. “I caught JJ fucking Rogue,” he deadpanned. “Happy?”
My brows arched as I absorbed this news that Rogue had forgotten to tell me, then another laugh fell from my lungs as I clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh how very unfortunate, brother.” I smiled from ear to ear. “How fucking heart breaking for you. I did tell them it would all end in tears, but would they listen?”
“You knew?” he gritted out and I smirked like an asshole.
“Of course I knew. I know all the dirty little Harlequin secrets. I’m a fountain of knowledge, me.”
“You piece of shit.” He shoved his palms against my chest and I laughed harder as he went feral on me, nearly knocking me to the floor, but he was clearly tired as fuck.
I whistled for my men and a bunch of them appeared as I pushed Fox back and directed them to tie his arms behind him. He put up a damn good fight considering he was battling exhaustion and a fucked up shoulder, but he was in no position to win so they soon had him trussed up nicely for me.
“Take him to one of the empty hotel rooms,” I said with a triumphant smile. “You’re officially my prisoner, Foxy boy, and as there’s no Harlequins knocking down my door to save their king, I have to believe no one knows you’re here. So I wonder what Daddy’s gonna think when you don’t come home.”
I felt numb.
I knew it was just me going back to my same old coping mechanisms, but it was what it was. Nothing touched me. The pain of what I'd lost couldn't hurt me. I was just here.
We hadn't found Chase. We'd searched every place we could think of, we'd headed out of town, we'd called around hospitals, hotels, freaking gas stations asking if anyone had seen a dude with an eyepatch but no. Nothing. Chase was a ghost lost to the wind and I was just...empty.
Fox hadn't come back either. It had been ten days and he'd been just as absent as Chase, only texting a few times to say he was fine and that he needed some time alone.
Alone.
Fuck him.
Being alone was the one thing in this world that I knew I didn't want because I knew the taste of it all too well. Chase had feared that too. He'd grown up in a house where he was a one man army trying to fight against the full force of the monster who had fathered him. He'd been alone his whole life growing up in that hell.
Me and him were the only ones who had ever really understood that. What was out there away from the safety and love of our little family. How lucky we'd been to have each other.
And now Fox had taken that from him in my name, like using me as an excuse made it somehow okay despite my feelings on the subject. What had he even thought would happen? That me and JJ would just accept his