Chapter 57

Chapter 57
Ryker 

We left Claud and the other men inside the safe house, after gathering all the information we could. Deacon handed me a towel to clean up as him and the other’s set fire to the house. I stood back and watched as my darkness and sin burned in front of me. I walked towards the roaring flame throwing my shirt and the towel inside. When I turned around Deacon reached me a new identical shirt. He didn't look directly at me, I knew he was disappointed. He thought he would never have to witness this side of me again. I want to apologize to him, he’s family to me, but I am not sorry. After the way these men treated my Iris, they got what was coming to them. Sometimes you must embrace the darkness to beat the darkness. That is what I had to do here. I won't apologize for that.  “Are we ready to head back to the house? I would love to see that beautiful woman that is waiting for me to return?” I said, somewhat sarcastically, walking back to the SUV. “We are, Sir.” Andrew spoke up noticing Deacon was still silent. “Deac, let’s go.” I said climbing into the vehicle. He looked up at the fire before walking back to get in the seat beside me. “The sirens will be ringing; we need to find a secure exit out of here.” He finally spoke up to the security driver. The man nodded but didn't speak.  

We drove down a dark road with the lights off. No one spoke. The sirens wailed in the distance. They would never know I was there. As a prosecutor, I knew everything I needed to know to be untraceable. As the vehicle glided further into the shadows of the winding road, the weight of what had transpired hung heavily in the silence. My gaze fixed on the road, clenching my fists to quell the storm within, while Deacon’s palpable tension reverberated in the small space. We would need to talk, but I wasn’t up to it. The occasional glimmer of moonlight through the dense canopy overhead cast fleeting silver streaks across our faces, a contrast to the darkness they carried. Each twist and turn of the road felt like a subtle reminder of the precarious edge we both balanced on—of the man I had to become and the one I know I might still need to be. As we neared our destination, the distant glow of the security lights shimmered faintly through the trees, a beacon of safety yet a stark reminder of the chaos that had taken root within. The thought of Iris waiting inside tugged at my resolve, her presence a fragile tether anchoring me to the life I have fought to protect. Yet, with every passing moment, the uncertainty loomed—of what awaited me inside, of whether I could still be the man she needed, and of what more I might have to sacrifice to keep our new world from crumbling entirely. The SUV slowed as the house came into view, its silhouette bathed in faint luminescence, and I steeled myself for the storm yet to come.

I knew Iris would have more questions than I have answers. I wasn’t prepared for her to know the true darkness I carried. She had only seen flashes of what I kept within. When we walked up towards the door, one of the security guards pulled Deacon to the side. He was telling him something that infuriated him. He hit the man so hard he fell to the ground. I ran over, stopping him from continuing his beating. “What? What is it?” I said my voice raised. “He let him in.” My heart sank. “He let who in?” I said, now hearing the darkness return more quickly than usual. I headed for the door, pulling my needlepoint knife from its sheath. Deacon was right behind me, holding his pistol in offense. I rushed through the door. The lights inside brighter than the security outside. I looked up, first spotting the nurse. She had he hand over her mouth and was leaning against the wall in the hallway. As soon as her eyes met mine, she looked away. There he stood, Theo the good cop, holding a still and silent Iris in his arms. Smacking her hard in the face. I screamed out at him and grabbed him slamming him into the wall. My knife held right to his pumping artery. “What the fuck are you doing here?” My voice dark like a growl coming from the rage inside me. No one answered. I glanced back at Deacon who had Iris pulled into him protectively. I knew he cared for her, but at times it bothered me to see how much. “Lorcane, get the fuck off of me.” Now Theo was also angry, his voice dark and low. “Fuck you! Why did you smack her? Tell me now or I will stop asking and start cutting.” I pressed the knife further into his skin, watching drops of blood forming underneath. “Fuck. Fine. I came to check on her and she wasn’t herself. She smells like whiskey, and she is barely conscious.” He shoved back against the knife to point at her. “Look dumbass, she is clearly out of it. She can't even focus on what's happening.” I wasn’t ready to turn and see that, so I called back to Deacon to check her out. I heard him talking softly before the nurse spoke up, her voice shaken.

“Mr. Lorcane, she did drink quite a bit. She sat at the table with a weapon, refused to rest. She took two of her pills and I told her she shouldn’t drink on top of them.” She took a few steps closer. “The man, she seemed to know him without fear, so I left them to have some privacy as Ayden has trained me.” I stepped back from Theo and put my knife back in the sheath. I threw a dish towel at him and walked towards Iris. “What were you thinking Babygirl?” I asked as I took her from Deacon’s arms and lifted her easily into my arms. “I will be back. Nurse, you may go, tell Ayden I will send your payment and let him know if we need more assistance.” She nodded but didn't speak gathering her things and walking towards the door. I carried Iris to the bed, laying her down gently. I felt the darkness inside of me subside some as I took care of her. My love for her melted away the rage that lived inside. I kissed her lips gently, ignoring my impulses to completely come undone. I wanted her. I wanted to feel her tightness around me. She wasn’t in a position to provide me with that, so I had to resist the urge to take what was mine. She looked up at me, half asleep, and smiled slightly. “I am sorry, Daddy.” she whispered, and I kissed her again, harder this time. She took in a deep sharp breath. “We will talk about this later, Babygirl, rest.” I walked out of the room, leaving a small night light shining.  
When I got back to the dining room, Deacon was glaring at Theo. I excused the softness of being with Iris before speaking, “What the fuck are you really doing here?”