The Devil’s Chaos (The Brotherhood #2)

42. Forty-Two

42

FORTY-TWO

KAI

I sat in the corner watching her.

Waiting.

It had become a routine since I moved her into the manor.

3 a.m.

Despite the late hour and my exhaustion from Theo's city fights, I found myself unable to sleep. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, so I remained in the corner, my vigilance unwavering, watching over her as she slept.

My dark, tainted angel, haunted by her past demons. Demons that clawed at her mind, fighting to drown her.

I had finally opened the email Theo had sent me weeks earlier of all the information he had dug up on her, which wasn’t much. As I read through it, my rage boiled over like a pot left too long on the stove. Her father, Abel Benson, had been a cruel and heartless man. He had killed her mother when Haven was only six years old, all because she had tried to run away and give her daughter a better life. The details were gruesome and sickening. How Abel and his goons had found them at a lonely gas station a few hours past the city. And then, like the tyrant he was, he sent a brutal message to his only daughter. He forced her to watch as pigs devoured her mother alive, the stench of blood and death filling the air. It was a twisted demonstration of power and control, designed to remind Haven that there was no escape from her father's wrath. My heart broke for her and the horrific childhood she had endured under such a monstrous man.

And then he allowed his son to rape and abuse her throughout her life. He looked the other way as long as she performed the duties he wanted from her. Flaunting her in front of his clients and associates like she was an escort. His empire was built on his daughter’s back and the backs of innocent women that he sold.

Alexander Benson may be at the top of all of our hit lists, but now Abel Benson was at the top of mine. I vowed to make him pay for every ounce of pain he caused her.

As I sat in the dark, lost in my vengeful thoughts, Haven stirred in her sleep and let out a soft whimper. Her brow furrowed as if in pain, and I leaned forward, my muscles tensed, ready to wake her from the nightmare that gripped her. But before I could move, she bolted upright, a scream tearing from her throat.

“No! Please, don’t hurt her!” she cried, eyes wide and unseeing.

I was at her side instantly, gathering her trembling form into my arms. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” I murmured as I stroked her hair. She buried her face against my chest.

“He killed her,” she sobbed as she clutched onto my shirt. “He made me watch as they tore her apart. I can still hear her screams.”

My jaw clenched as I held onto her tighter. “I know, little lamb. But he can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let him.”

She pulled back, her tear-stained face tilted up to mine. “Promise me,” she whispered, her voice raw with desperation. “Promise me you’ll make him pay for what he’s done. For what he’s allowed my brother to do to me.”

I cupped her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing away the tears that streaked her cheeks. “I promise,” I told her. “I will hunt him down and make him suffer for every moment of pain he’s caused you. He will die by my hand, and you will be free of him forever.”

She shuddered, her eyes fluttering closed as she leaned into my touch. “Thank you,” she breathed as the tension slowly eased from her body.

I held her until she drifted back to sleep, her head resting on my shoulder. As I laid her back down on the bed, I gently kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, my lamb,” I whispered. “I will keep watch over you always.”

I returned to my vigil in the corner. My mind was already plotting Abel Benson's downfall as I swore to end his life for causing so much suffering to the woman I loved. His days were numbered, and it would be my hand that would put an end to them.