Page 51 of Tangled Souls
It’s time to stop waiting for him to show himself. It’s time to burn everything down and smoke him out of hiding.
But, first, we need to take care of our wife. Then I’m going hunting, and no one is going to stop me.
CHAPTER 19
HUCK
Oaklynn is now in comfortable lounge pants and a tank top, her face free of make-up and her hair pulled up into a messy pile on top of her head. It’s a stark contrast to how she looked just a short time ago. I love our woman no matter what, but I do think I prefer her looking cozy and comfortable like she is right now.
Even though the conversation we’re embarking on is anything but peaceful, she looks relaxed and that helps to keep the rage inside of me in check. It’s simmering under the surface and waiting for the right time to make itself known.
Now is not the time.
We have to keep our cool for our woman. It won’t do anyone any good to get pissed and fly off the handle. Not when Mikhail is long gone and we need to hear what happened.
Oaklynn sighs and shakes her head slightly. “He caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting someone to come barging into the bathroom since I had just left Maxim in the hallway. He was so close, and I knew it; I felt safe stepping away while he talked to the guy who flagged him down.”
Kirill interrupts, his eyes boring into his brother, “Do you think it was a set-up?”
Maxim shakes his head. “I don’t believe so. He was just a client, and I was caught up at the wrong time which allowed Mikhail to have an opening.”
Kirill seethes, “An opening he should have never had.”
Oaklynn’s eyes flash, her tone hard, “None of that. We will not play the blame game amongst ourselves. I’m not some weak woman who always needs a man to ride in on his white steed to rescue me. I’m capable.”
Maxim begrudgingly admits, “Mikhail didn’t look so great as he pushed past me. It was fast, but he definitely had a broken nose.”
“And at least one cracked rib,” Oaklynn sounds smug as hell. The smirk on her face falls quickly when none of us relax or even so much as have a lip twitch. “Right,” she claps her hands together, “as I was saying, Mikhail came into the bathroom like he owned the place. I knew who he was instantly, which seemed to amuse him.” She huffs out a breath and rolls her eyes. “He didn’t say much as he attacked me other than the usual misogynistic bullshit.”
“What does that mean, Little Bee?” Baker’s voice is soft and calm, but it’s all a front; he’s just as on edge as the rest of us.
“He was glad I recognized him and called me a whore. He tried to taunt me by saying that I’d be on my knees for him eventually,” her voice is soft, but it’s not weak.
The rest of us growl and I have to clench my hands into fists. Tensions are high and it feels like I can’t breathe.
Being able to see our woman, right in front of me and whole, is the only thing keeping me sane at this moment. It would be so easy to lose my shit entirely.
“And he just breezed past you?” I try to keep my question neutral as I look toward Maxim, but even I can hear the underlying accusation in my words.
He looks away, shame coating his features. It’s so damn clear that it has me swallowing hard even though I’m the one who asked in the first place.
“Don’t do that,” Oaklynn’s voice is a warning. “It’s not his fault. He had an impossible decision in front of him. What would you have done?” I look up to find her brown eyes pinning me in place. “I told him to go the moment he saw me, to track Mikhail down, but he saw me—against the wall, holding my ribs, bloody—and he made a choice.”
My eyes slide shut, and I tip my head back. It’s easy to picture the moment in my head.
“I would have done the same damn thing,” I admit knowing the truth of my words all the way to my soul. When I tip my head forward again, I look toward Maxim. “I’m sorry man, putting that shit on you wasn’t right.”
He nods, but I can tell by the way he clenches his jaw that my words haven’t landed. He’s obviously blaming himself. I just made it worse.
Oaklynn is looking at me in such a way that she might as well be screaming at me to make it right. All I can do is nod in understanding at the moment. It’s not something that’ll be fixed in a matter of minutes; there’s not much I can do to change that.
“What about the cameras?” Kirill’s voice is strained and showing just how on edge he is.
With a sigh, I run my fingers through my hair and admit, “The feeds were taken down. Either it was someone on the inside orMikhail was watching and made it happen before entering the hallway to the bathroom.”
When the door opens, four guns are pointed toward the entrance to the living room where we’ve posted up. Wolfe comes into view and pauses for a heartbeat as he takes in the scene before he heads straight over to our wife. He drops down onto his knees in front of her, his eyes assessing her closely.
“I’m fine,” Oaklynn sighs, clearly done with saying the same damn thing over and over tonight.
