The Hollow (Preacher Brothers 4)

“Fuck,” he grumbled as he rolled onto his back and touched the side of his head. “Please tell me you got that motherfucker.”

“Yeah, brother.” I helped him to stand then moved him over to the desk so he could sit on it, catch his bearings. “You good?”

He nodded. “Is Nadja okay? The fucker came at me full force. I got him a few times….” he trailed off, and I could hear the self-anger in my brother’s voice. He thought he let me and my woman down.

“All’s good, Wilder. She’s safe. She’s whole.”

I glanced at Nadja then, the fear on her face still there, and I hated it. I went to her instantly and wrapped my arms around her small frame, keeping her close, cocooning her body with mine. “I love you,” I whispered against her hair.

She tightened her hold on my waist and said, “I love you too.”

I looked down at where Maximillian lay, his unconscious body soon to be unrecognizable once I got done with him. He was still alive, but he wouldn’t be for long. Death was the only outcome for the motherfucker who tried to take Nadja from me.

“What’s going to happen to him?” she whispered against my chest.

I could hear in her voice she was afraid of my answer.

She slowly lifted her head from my chest, and I stared into her eyes before leaning down and kissing the center of her forehead. I felt rage and violence swirl within me and wanted to shield her from it… from myself.

But I wouldn’t lie to her either.

“I’m going to make sure he never hurts you again, Nadja.” I tightened my arms on her once more. “Never again.”

30

Frankie

I’d never thought of myself as a violent man, never wanted to hurt someone as vengeance, not anyone aside from my father.

But the rage I felt right now as I stared at Maximillian chained to the rafters, as I knew what he wanted with my woman, how he’d defile her, how he wanted to hurt her and make her submit, had this white-hot rage filling me.

I’d never wanted to spill so much blood than I did right now.

And I would.

I’d spill so much of his fucking blood it ran like a river under my feet.

I felt Wilder, Dom, and Cullen all standing behind me. I knew they were waiting for me to make the next move, to make the next call. Or maybe they’d just watch me, let me handle this like I wanted to so fucking badly.

“The things I wanted to do to that sweet little Nadja,” Maximillian said and laughed, blood spilling out of his mouth. I beat the shit out of him, his skin black and blue, cuts on his face. I wanted to kill him right on the spot, but I also wanted to prolong this, the sadistic side of me wanting vengeance for Nadja.

I took a step closer and felt a smile spread across my face. It wasn’t one of happiness, not one of amusement. It was one of satisfaction that Maximillian could talk shit all he wanted, because when this was all said and done, he would be six feet under the ground.

“You can talk all you want, even imagine the things you’ll never get to do with her, but know this,” I said low, deadly, and stepped up to him so our chests almost touched. “She’s mine. She always has been.” Maximillian bared his teeth, and I chuckled. “Strung up like a fucking fish about to get gutted.” I took a step back and eyed him. “No one to come to your aid, the organization you associated with turning their back on you.”

I turned and walked over to the crate I brought in when we came to this rundown piece of shit building. Leave it to Cullen to know where I could get my hands dirty without anyone bothering us. I grabbed a hammer, eyed it, then tossed it back in before grabbing the rusty hacksaw. I faced Maximillian again. “Looks like it’s just you and me who want to have the fun.”

Max struggled in his bounds, and I had to give the bastard credit. He was one strong motherfucker for not having passed out yet. “I want to make you suffer,” I murmured and stepped up to him, looking at the saw and turning it over in my hand so the dirty blade caught the light. “But I also need to make this quick so I can get back to my woman, so I can hold her and tell her she’s safe, that a psychopath will never have to cross her mind again, because I hacked his fucking body up into little pieces and scattered him in the middle of nowhere.”

Maximillian started laughing, the sound garbled by the blood in his mouth. “She’ll always have me in her mind.”