He’s wrong.
I slip inside, keeping my footsteps slow and silent. The floorboards groan under my weight. Though homey, the house smells like mold and stale air, like a place that hasn’t been lived in for a while.
Then I hear it.
Soft movement. A whimper.
I move toward the sound, my heart pounding hard in my chest. When I push open the door, I see her.
Eleanor.
She’s tied to the bed, wrists red and raw, her hair a tangled mess around her face. There’s a bruise on her temple, a cut on her lip. Her eyes are wild when they land on me.
“Ronan?” she breathes, barely above a whisper.
Something in me cracks wide open.
In two long strides, I’m at her side, yanking at the ropes with shaking hands. “It’s me. I’ve got you, angel. I’m here.”
She blinks hard, tears slipping down her cheeks. “He—he just came out of nowhere. And then he hit me and—and…”
“Shh.” I cradle her cheek, pressing my forehead to hers. “You don’t have to say anything, baby. We’re leaving. Right fucking now.”
I pull a blade from my boot and slice through the last tie. Just as I’m pulling her into my arms, I hear the creak of a floorboard behind me.
I turn.
Too late.
Daryl comes out of nowhere, swinging a metal pipe. It slams into my shoulder with a sickening thud, sending pain shooting through my arm.
I stumble but stay on my feet.
Motherfucker.
I launch at him with a roar, tackling him into the dresser. The whole thing collapses under our weight. We’re a flurry of fists and fury. He punches wild, sloppy. I hit with the aim to break bones.
Hard.
His nose shatters under my knuckles. He screams. I don’t stop.
He swings the pipe again, but I duck, grab his wrist, and twist until it snaps. He howls, crumpling to the floor.
I stand over him, chest heaving.
“You put your hands on her again,” I growl, meeting his eyes, “and I’ll make sure you never use them again.”
He looks like he wants to keep fighting, but after a moment, he looks away, unable to hold my gaze. Satisfied that he’s been sufficiently cowed, I punch his head into the floor until he loses consciousness. He won’t be awake to follow us for a few hours at least.
I rush back to Eleanor, who’s sitting on the floor, shaking. I kneel and cup her face.
“You okay?” I whisper.
She nods quickly, breath hitching. “I knew you’d come. I told myself…you’d find me.”
“Always,” I say, pulling her into my arms. “I’d rip down every wall in this world for you.”
Her fingers grip my shirt tight. “I was so scared.”
