Shadow’s Heart (Devil’s Inferno MC #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Wreck

W hat in the world is going on right now? Regaining consciousness to the sounds of screaming, crying, and sounds of flesh hitting something over and over isn’t what I was expecting at all. Despite the pain my body is currently in, I focus on the sounds to try and figure out what the hell is going on right now.

“Shadow, you need to stop; your hands are a fucking mess.” I hear Wrath say. I can clearly hear the worry in his voice as he speaks.

“I don’t care; I need to fucking vent this anger somehow.” I’ve never in all the time I’ve known Shadow heard him sound so angry. What the hell is going on? Why is my normally happy-go-lucky friend losing his mind? And who the fuck is wailing like that? They need to shut up; they’re making my head hurt more.

Slowly opening my eyes, I take in the scene currently happening in my hospital room. It’s fucking insane. Shadow is standing, punching the holy hell out of a wall, with Wrath and Flame trying to talk him down. From the way he’s going at the wall, I don’t blame either of them for not trying to physically stop him; he’d cause some serious fucking damage if they tried. If that wall was a person, they’d be beaten to a bloody pulp. Megan is sitting across the room; she’s the one wailing away, causing the pain in my skull to increase. She seriously needs to shut the fuck up. There’s two men I’ve never met before blocking the exit to my room, both looking on, showing no emotion to the scene currently taking place in front of them. Then there’s Jake, the guy I owe my life to, standing not far from them, looking equal parts unhappy and worried at the scene taking place. It’s certainly a combination of emotions showing on his face right now.

“Alex.” I manage to croak out through my seriously dry throat. I know I need to get his attention before he causes himself some serious fucking damage. Or well, more fucking damage than he’s already clearly done up to this point.

My voice isn’t very loud, but he must hear me because his fists stop flying almost immediately, and he spins to face me so fast I’m surprised he doesn’t fall over. My heart hurts when I get my first look at his face. His chocolate brown eyes give away the lack of sleep he’s clearly had; they’re bloodshot and surrounded by black circles. The happiness that’s normally always in his eyes is nowhere in sight. It’s not a look I like on him at all. His fists are now hanging down by his side, and I can see blood dripping on the floor from the damage he’s caused himself in his war with the wall. The thing that worries me most though is the emotions on his face; he looks fucking angry and scared. I’ve never seen that combination of emotions on his face before, and I don’t like it one bit.

While I’ve been staring at Shadow, Flame’s made his way to my side and is passing me a cup of water. Thank God for his forethought. I need this drink before I can talk more, and I know I’m going to need to be able to talk in order to find out what the hell is going on. Giving him a small nod of thanks, I take the drink and take a couple of sips. Placing the cup back down, I turn my attention back to Shadow.

“Come here.” I say not breaking eye contact with him.

He starts shaking his head in protest. Yeah, that’s not happening; he’s going to get his ass over here, even if I have to get Wrath or Flame to physically move him. Hell, if I have to, I’ll force myself out of this bed. One way or another, he’ll be by my side.

“Now Alex. Come. Here.”

“I can’t. It’s all my fault.”

What the fuck is he talking about? It’s not his fault; it’s the fault of whoever lied to my torturer. Why would he think it’s his fault? I glance around the room at everyone present; all the men are looking at Shadow in disbelief, while Megan looks equal parts angry, scared, and pissed off.

“Can someone please fucking tell me what’s going on and why the fuck he thinks it’s his fault?” I all but demand. Someone in this room knows why he thinks this, and I want a fucking explanation and fast.

To my surprise, it’s Jake who speaks. “Because I figured out Megan was the reason you were taken by my brother Rex. She lied to him about you attacking her.” Jake starts to explain, but I cut him off before he can carry on. I don’t need him to say another word. He’s already filled in the major question I had when it comes to who lied.

“You don’t need to say anything else, Jake. I didn’t realize he was your brother, but he told me why he’d taken me. He just didn’t give me the name of my accuser.” I say keeping my attention on Jake while I speak, even though the only person I really want to focus on right now is Shadow.

Jake gives me a nod, and I know I need to talk more to him later. I can’t even begin to imagine what he must be feeling right now; he’s in an impossible situation, but for now I really do need to focus on Shadow. Guilt is going to eat him alive if he carries on with his line of thinking, and I know I’m going to be the only person who’s going to be able to talk any sense into him.

“Alex. Get your ass over here right now. Don’t make me have to try and get out of this bed. It will hurt, but I’ll fucking do it.” I tell him, making sure he can hear just how serious I am.

He must realize I’m deadly serious, because he’s at my side in the blink of an eye. He just stands next to my bed, looking so fucking lost. Reaching my hand out, I grab his and pull him down so his face is level with mine. I need him to look into my eyes as I speak so he understands I mean every word I’m about to say.

“Listen to me very carefully. It’s not your fault; it’s hers. The blame lies solely on her shoulders. I didn’t for one minute blame you, and I never will. You didn’t have any idea she’d do something like this, Alex. Please stop blaming yourself.”

As I speak, his eyes fill with tears that begin streaming down his face when he can’t hold them back anymore. Using the pads of my thumbs, I bring my hand to his face and try to wipe them away, but they’re falling too fast for my actions to really make any difference. He’s breaking my heart right now. I want to wrap him in my arms and make everything better. I want to take away all his pain.

“You wonder why I fucking wanted him gone!” Megan’s angry shout breaks the moment between us. As if I already didn’t have a reason to dislike the woman after what she had me put through, she just has to make her presence known and ruin my moment with Shadow. It’s not very often I feel hatred towards people, but I can admit I really fucking hate Megan right now.

With my moment with Shadow now shattered, I turn my attention to the person behind the hell I just went through. The person behind the pain Shadow is currently in. It never once passed through my mind that Megan was the one who lied to Rex. Why would it? I knew she didn’t like me, sure, but fuck if I ever believed she’d do something so fucking horrific just to try and get me out of Shadow’s life.

Her hysterical crying has stopped now, which I’m very grateful for. At least I don’t have that annoying sound making my head hurt worse. She’s now red-faced with anger, and if looks could kill. Well, I’d be a goner. Shadow turns around to face her, even though he looks like he’d rather do anything else. He does grab one of my hands in the process of facing her, holding on tight.

“What the fuck are you on about now?” He asks as he faces off with her.

“Oh, I don’t know Alex.” She spits his name like it’s venom on her tongue. “How many times have I asked to call you that instead of your goddamn road name? Every time you told me no, that you only answer to Shadow.”

“Let me stop you there, Megan.” Wrath interrupts. “He doesn’t answer to Alex for anyone but Wreck. I’m his twin, and even I don’t call him by his name, but you don’t see me going off trying to get his best friend killed, do you?”

“I’m his girlfriend!” She screams, and despite everything going on, I have to hold back my laugh. How the hell can she think her being his girlfriend means more than Wrath being not only Shadow’s brother but his freaking twin? The woman seriously doesn’t make any sense to me.

“Not any fucking more.” Shadow states, his voice devoid of all emotion. I squeeze his hand in support. His mind must be a fucking minefield right now. He hasn’t had the time to process everything he’s found out. It’s all still new and raw.

Her eyes blaze with fury at his words, but before she can speak, there’s a knock on the door. The two men, whose names I still don’t know, open the door, and an older woman enters dressed in a black pants suit with combat boots.

“You’ve really done it this time, haven’t you, Megan?” She says, eyeing Megan distastefully. Clearly, this woman knows Megan, and there’s no love lost between them.

“M-M-Mrs Knightlye.” Megan stutters while looking absolutely terrified. She certainly changed her tune with this woman’s arrival. I wonder who she is. Actually, I’m not overly bothered by who she is; I’m just quite enjoying the reaction she’s gotten from Megan. I’ve never seen her so subdued before.

“Mama, I didn’t realize you were in town.” Jake says as he walks towards Mrs Knightlye and kisses her cheek. Well, at least I know who she is other than her name and why she’s here.

“Well, once Seth and Austin called and told me about Rex, I got the first flight out.” She says, patting his cheek, before turning to look at the rest of us. “Now, Shadow. Wreck. I understand you must both want Megan here to pay for what she’s done, and I’m hoping you’ll allow me the honors. I’ve waited a very long time for this day.”

I take in the woman before me, and I can tell by how she holds herself she’s not someone to take lightly. Plus, there’s the fact Megan is clearly terrified of her, and for me, that’s certainly a positive. She must have her own reasons for wanting a chance to teach Megan a lesson. Who am I to take that away from her? It’s certainly one less thing for us to deal with. Shadow glances at me wanting to know what I think, and I give him a small nod. I’m fine with Mrs Knightlye dealing with Megan. I just want her the fuck out of mine and Shadow’s lives, and handing her over to Mrs Knightlye achieves that in the fastest way I can think of.

“Go for it. If I never see her again, it’ll be too fucking soon.” Shadow answers, but doesn’t once look at the woman he was in a relationship with only minutes ago. He’s lost all care for her after finding out what she’s done, and I get it. If I were the one in his position, I’d feel exactly the same. There’s no one more important to me than him, and I know he feels the same way. She seriously messed up when she tried to get rid of me. She’s lost the most amazing man I know.

I watch Mrs Knightlye, her eyes gleaming with barely restrained excitement. “Thank you, dear. Now, Seth, Austin, please escort Megan to my team. They’re waiting at the end of the corridor.”

“Sure thing, Mom.” They both reply totally in sync. Well, that answers the question as to who they are. They must be Jake’s other brother’s. There’s a serious Knightlye family reunion going on right now.

I don’t even feel one bit of remorse for what’s about to happen to Megan. She deserves whatever is planned for her. She lied to Rex and almost caused him to kill me. Then there’s the betrayal towards Shadow; he doesn’t deserve any of this. She messed with the wrong fucking people. That’s for sure.

“Don’t do this, Shadow.” Megan starts to beg, but it’s no use. Shadow turns his back to not only her but the rest of the room too and focuses his attention on me. He’s clearly done with her; now he knows she’s going to pay for her actions. Actually, I think he might just be done with everyone who isn’t me right now.

I can’t help but watch as Megan tries but fails to get away from the two men tasked with escorting her away. I have absolutely no sympathy for her when they forcibly remove her from the room with Mrs Knightlye following behind. We can all hear Megan shouting for help once she’s out of my room, but I doubt she’ll receive any.

Turning my full attention to Shadow, my heart breaks for him. He looks so fucking broken and lost right now. Despite the fact I’m the one lying in a hospital bed injured, he looks worse than I feel. I have zero doubts that the past few days haven’t been easy on him, and then you add in finding out his now ex-girlfriend was behind it all. Yeah, no wonder he looks like that.

The sound of the door opening again draws my attention, and I see Wrath, Flame, and Jake leaving quietly. I’m thankful for their forethought; I need some one-on-one time with Shadow now that all the drama seems to be over.