Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen, #3)(8)

AK got in my line of sight. “Tomorrow, brother. Start your guard shit up again tomorrow. You’re dead on your feet right now. You need food and you need sleep. You’ve lost a lotta weight. You’ve got huge f*cking black Glad bags under your tapped strung out eyes. You’re not f*cking thinking straight.”

I shook my head, about to tell them to get the f*ck gone, when Vike joined AK. “Flame, it’s happening. Don’t f*cking fight us on this, brother. We ain’t slept much since you’ve been gone, one of us always watching you in that damn sick house in case you woke and went f*cking apeshit at being tied down. So just give us a f*cking break, yeah? Just for one f*cking night.”

I wanted to fight. I wanted to tell them to f*ck off and leave me with Maddie. My head twitched under his gaze, but I eventually nodded.

Vike’s shoulders relaxed, and he began walking toward the trees that led to our cabins. AK followed behind. I fell into step. But just as I was about to break the cover of trees, something made me look back.

Maddie.

Maddie sat at her window, watching me leave. My feet came to a stop. She was on her knees, her hand pressed to the glass. My heart slammed against my rib cage. When she smiled at me my hands relaxed at my sides, and for a minute, the pounding in my f*cking head stopped. The twitching stopped. And the feeling that something was crawling under my skin, stopped.

“Flame?” AK called from within the trees. But I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want this feeling to leave me. I didn’t want to leave her. I just wanted to be near her.

I f*cking just needed to be close.

Maddie, hearing AK shout from the bottom of the hill, sank down to sit on the window ledge. Her green eyes dulled and the hand on the glass moved to give me a small wave.

I didn’t move.

She didn’t move.

AK came back through the trees.

My brother came to my side and my body tensed at his closeness. I heard him sigh. I saw Maddie tilt her head as she observed us. “Flame. You need to come the f*ck home. Leave the little one alone tonight.”

AK waited in silence. Then Maddie’s expression changed, and bowing her head, she withdrew from the window.

“She’s going to sleep, Flame.”

When she didn’t come back to the window, I turned and followed AK down to our cabins. When I got to our small clearing, Vike was outside his cabin firing up the grill.

“Take a seat, I got steaks grilling and beer chilling.”

I walked over to Vike and took my usual seat. AK sat opposite. Reaching into the cooler, Viking handed a beer to AK and me. I cracked the top with my teeth and took a long pull. Nothing was said as Viking flipped the steaks, AK picking at the label of his beer. Then putting the steaks on a plate, Viking handed one to me.

I shook my head. Viking pushed it in front of my face. “Take it, brother. You’ve lost a hell of a lotta weight.” I took the plate, but my eyes looked to the woods. I knew she was up there. I wondered if she was asleep? I wondered what she looked like asleep? I wanted to watch her sleep.

A cough sounded from Viking. When I looked toward him, both he and AK had their attentions fixed on me. I shifted on the seat and asked, “What?”

Viking stuffed a chunk of his bloody his steak into his mouth, but AK didn’t move. I glared back, my legs beginning to twitch, the flames inside beginning to ignite at his scrutiny.

“What?” I snapped again.

Vike looked at AK and shrugged. Steeling his expression, AK flicked his chin, and asked, “Why the little one, brother?”

My bouncing legs stopped dead. All my muscles tightened.

AK sat forward. “Why save the little one? Why guard her room? I’m trying to f*cking understand it all.” He glanced to Viking who was now downing his beer, and looking back to me, added, “You want her? Is that it?”

I didn’t say anything and my jaw clamped shut. I dropped my eyes, my head twitching at this conversation, then I found my head turning, looking toward the trees again.

“Is it because she touched you?”

As the question was asked, my head whipped to AK. My hands fisted as I remembered Maddie wrapping her arms around my waist after I’d killed that cunt, Moses, at that commune months ago. She’d walked straight up to me and touched me. But the flames never took hold.

I still didn’t know why. But something happened that day. She’d done something to me. Somehow she got into my f*cking mind. But since then, the thought of being touched had got worse. Because now I wanted her to touch me.

But I couldn’t ever let her.

“Brother. Talk to me.”

“Yeah. She touched me. After I’d f*cked up that cunt, Moses, real bad she thanked me. She looked up at me with those big green eyes and then she f*cking touched me.” I looked up at AK and Viking. “And I could touch her back. I can’t touch anyone unless I’m killing them, because of the flames.” I shook my head as my eyes clouded over and my stomach tightened so much I couldn’t breathe. I blinked, and said, “But she touched me. The flames didn’t hurt her. I made her feel good.”

My chest ached at how much I wanted to touch Maddie again. But a deep pit caved in my stomach when I told myself that I couldn’t. That it was a one-time thing. Then I saw a drop of water hit the thigh of my leathers. My hand moved over the water, my finger pushing through the wetness. Then another drop hit.