Cataclysm (Four Horsemen #4)(93)

Scarlett faltered in her steps, shifting the can in her hands.

“You want to see the cell?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to go in there, West.”

“You don’t have to. Just take me to it and you can wait outside.”

She almost shook her head, her eyes full of sadness and pain.

“Okay, but we need to go deal with the barn first. It’s furthest away from the house.”

I touched her arm with my free hand, but I don’t think it reassured her. It made me feel like a dick for forcing this on her. She’d already dealt with so much this evening, being back in the place holding most of her worst memories. We’d made new ones for her. Killing all the people who’d wronged her. Not to mention the fuckery in the bathroom. That was unexpected, especially for Drake, who was so fucking anal about everything. Our girl had changed him. Brought out the old Drake. I’d known she could. Only Scarlett had the power to set us all free from the trauma and pain of losing her. She was the key to everything.

She was quiet as we reached the barn. I set the hammer down and took the can from her, going into the place and coating the area with petrol. I came out and drew a line from the barn to the first outbuilding. Scarlett brought my sledgehammer over and we swapped, so she didn’t have to carry it.

We dealt with the first outbuilding together. It was a storage unit filled with all sorts of crap, like old furnishings. The second contained gardening supplies. And the last building made her hesitate in her steps.

“This is it, isn’t it?” I asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze and pulling her to a stop.

“It is.”

“You don’t have to go any further.”

She looked up at me.

“Why do you want to see it so badly?”

I set the hammer down and took the can from her, placing it on the floor too. Then I put both my hands on her shoulders and came down to her level, meeting her eyes.

“You went through some of the worst experiences in your life in that place. I need to see and feel it for myself. Your pain is my pain. I need to live it and breathe it with you. Only then can I help take away the hurt and suffering lingering inside you.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“West…”

“You’re mine and I’m yours. We’re half alive when we’re apart. We don’t exist without each other. Let me carry your pain.”

Her hand came up and settled on my jaw.

“You want to share my burdens?”

“Yes. That’s what soulmates do, little Scar. You don’t need me to stand on your own two feet, but it doesn’t stop us from belonging by each other’s sides, breathing the same air and our hearts beating in tandem. It doesn’t stop us from needing each other to feel alive.”

Those threatening tears burst through, spilling down her cheeks. I gathered her up against my chest, stroking her back and pressing my face to the top of her head. Little sobs erupted from her mouth, showing me how much she struggled with her memories and the past. Scarlett had come so far with us, but there were still miles to go, so many things she had to heal from. I would help her in whatever way I could.

When she settled down, her sobbing abating, she pulled away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“Let’s go see the cell,” she told me in a small voice as if she was unsure of herself and the decision to take me to it.

“You can stay outside, I promise.”

She nodded and picked up the can. I placed the hammer back on my shoulder and guided her into the building. Scarlett turned the light on when we entered. There were shelves and shelves of canned goods and other food supplies. We walked by them until we reached the end. There stood a metal door. She didn’t need to tell me this was the place.

“Will it be unlocked?”

She nodded, placing the can down next to us as she stared at the door. I moved closer to it. Reaching out, I grasped the handle and pulled it open. It swung back without any resistance. Then I stepped inside. The ghost of her pain hit me like a ton of bricks. My eyes darted around the bare concrete walls, floor, and ceiling. There were no windows. Not even a fucking lightbulb hung on the ceiling.

“You were in the dark here.”

“Yes,” she replied from behind me.

I walked around the concrete cell. The only light was coming from the open doorway. On the floor, there were several old bloodstains. Seeing them made me want to destroy this place. Made me want to smash it into tiny pieces. That was her blood. My girl had been made to stay in here whilst she was bleeding from wounds inflicted on her by that cunt we’d killed and his fucking security guards.

I took the sledgehammer off my shoulder and gripped it between both of my palms. Whilst I wouldn’t be able to obliterate it, I could do some fucking damage. There was a primal need inside me, begging to get out, begging me to fucking well erase her hurt from these walls.

I let out a roar before swinging the hammer into the wall, causing the concrete to smash. That first hit brought more. I kept swinging and swinging, smashing the room each time the end of the sledgehammer hit the concrete.

“Fuck!”

The more I destroyed the room, the more I wanted to end this shit for good. I needed to see this fucking place burn, razed to the damn ground. To know their fucking bodies would be completely unrecognisable. Everything needed to be gone. I wanted only ashes and dust to remain.