Madness: A Dark Revenge Romance

Another week has flown by since I’ve been at Haidyn’s house. It seems like home at this point. We might as well be married since we haven’t spoken much to one another.

I’ve been giving him my fuck you attitude, and he doesn’t give two shits. We don’t need to make small talk. He ties me down and fucks it out of me. The only words I speak to him are please and oh my god when I’m coming all over myself.

There are worse ways to live.

Haidyn received a call last night that Tyson and Ryat wanted to see him this morning. I didn’t expect him to bring me along, but this morning after he fucked me senseless, we showered and got ready. I was prepared to crawl back into his bed because what else is there to do with my life, but he grabbed my hand and ushered me to the garage.

I wasn’t going to argue. I haven’t heard from the Lords since the video they sent me. It’s almost as if they forgot me. A part of me isn’t complaining, but the other keeps looking over my shoulder, waiting for them to show up and haul me off to the cathedral for failing.

I feel like the video they sent was a hint that I just can’t figure out. Why are they showing me what Haidyn went through? Does it have to do with why he killed their dads? If so, I don’t feel sorry for those bastards. I hope Haidyn gave them a slow and painful death.

On the other hand, I think their silence is a good thing. What if they reach out to call it off? What if they tell me to walk away and give me another assignment? Is it possible? Most likely not but then again you can’t put anything past them. They want to leave you confused and always guessing. It gives them the upper hand.

We pull up to a house tucked back into the woods. Haidyn comes around to open the door for me and holds my hand with the other on my back. Ryat opens the front door, and we make our way to the living room. I sit with Haidyn on the couch. Ryat and Tyson sit in high-back chairs facing us on the other side of the coffee table.

Haidyn’s hand is still in mine, and I have to bite my inner cheek to keep from smiling. I don’t know why I care that he’s doing it.

Are people who get laid always this happy? Maybe that’s my problem. I’m having too much sex. Is that a thing? God, I hope not because we fucked last night and then again this morning, and I could still do it again. It’s like a drug. An addiction. My body craves it all the time. I can’t get enough of it. And I love when he takes it. I always felt like I was missing out by remaining a virgin, but I didn’t know just how much. My body is in a constant state of pain from the positions he fucks me in and arousal waiting for him to use me again. Like now, my thighs ache from how hard I came this morning, but my pussy is throbbing for him to drag me out to the car and bend me over the hood. He makes me a blubbering mess, and I can’t even think straight. Then he praises me for not being able to talk, let alone beg.

I watch Tyson’s eyes drop to Haidyn’s hand in mine, and I blush, looking at anything but him. It’s like Haidyn is claiming me. All he needs to do is whip his dick out and piss on me to show them that I’m his. As if his name branded on my ass isn’t enough.

“I found this photo a while back. You guys recognize him?” Haidyn asks, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and holding it out across the table to Ryat.

Ryat shakes his head, staring down at it in his hands. “No. But I knew Benny looked familiar from Blackout…”

“You knew him?” Haidyn asks.

“No. I was there one night with Gunner watching the girls when two men made moves on Sarah and Blake. Benny was behind the bar. I didn’t know him personally. Just saw him the one time. I asked Blake about it, and she confirmed that one of the guys called the bartender Benny by name.”

“He never worked for me, so I don’t know how the fuck he got behind the bar,” Tyson adds, leaning over and looking at it as well.

“Could have been Beau or Bethany,” Haidyn suggests, and I pretend to know what they’re talking about. “We know both were working with Luke and were unfaithful to you.”

“Maybe.” Tyson sighs as Ryat hands it over to him to get a better look. “It just doesn’t make sense. If Ash was in Vegas, why was Benny here?”

“To see how close the Spade brothers were to finding her. That’s what I would do,” Ryat answers, sitting back in his chair.

“You would think he had eyes and ears everywhere, making sure the Spade brothers weren’t going to get close.”

“The moment you took in Luke and Whitney, his contact was severed. He had to know something was up.” Haidyn sighs. “I think he allowed Saint to take her. He wanted her back here and at Carnage.”

Ryat nods. “Maybe Ashtyn was just the bonus.”

“You think he wanted inside Carnage…” Tyson trails off as a knock comes at the door.

Ryat gets up, checking his Rolex while frowning. He walks over to the door and opens it.

Haidyn lets go of my hand and jumps to his feet as does Tyson.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ryat demands, and my eyes widen, noticing the woman.

“Anne?” I ask, standing as well, surprised to see her here. Does my mother have her following me?

Haidyn takes my hand again as if I’m going to walk over to her and squeezes it painfully. “Ow,” I whisper, and he loosens just a tad but keeps a good grip on it.

She ignores me and looks around the room. “Haidyn.” She acknowledges him, and his body stiffens against mine. “Tyson.” She nods, then looks back at Ryat. “I’m here to see my daughter.” She goes to step inside, but Ryat moves to block the front door.

“She’s unavailable,” he tells her tightly.

She seems unfazed. “I just wanted to swing by. When she is available, have her call me.” With that, she turns, giving Ryat her back, and steps off the front porch.

Ryat slams the door shut and pulls out his cell phone. He places it to his ear, and the house is so quiet we can hear it ringing on the other end before Blakely answers.

“Hey—”

“Your mother was just at our house,” he informs her. “Looking for you.”

A long silence comes from her end before she speaks. “I haven’t heard from her.”

“I’m on my way to come get you,” he growls. No questions asked, end of discussion.

“Ryat.” She sighs. “You can’t come get me. I drove. I picked up Lake, and we’re on our way to meet Elli for lunch. Then we’re going shopping for the babies. It’ll be fine. I’ll be home soon.”

I’m pretty sure she hangs up on him by the way he grinds his teeth when he puts his cell away. “How the fuck do you know LeAnne?” he demands, looking at me.

“Anne?” I ask, correcting her name. Haidyn and Tyson all turn to face me, and I feel like I’ve done something wrong all of a sudden. “She’s my mother’s best friend.” Haidyn’s hand tightens on mine again, and I whimper. I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it, or he doesn’t care because he doesn’t let up like last time. “She met us for dinner weeks ago.” I ramble when they all just stare at me. Ever been the only woman in a room full of Lords staring at you like you’ve wronged them? It’s fucking terrifying.

“Weeks ago?” he barks, making me jump. “Why the fuck was she in town?”

“She’s looking for a house,” I rush out. “She and her husband are moving here…”

“Goddammit,” he shouts, cutting me off.

“Come on.” Tyson slides his jacket on before handing Haidyn the picture back that he shoves into his pocket with his free hand. “I’ll drive and drop you off. You can drive Blake home, and I’ll pick up Lake.” He’s already headed toward the door when Ryat walks toward us.

I want to step back, but the couch is there, and Haidyn still has a tight grip on my hand. Ryat comes to a stop before us, and I swallow nervously as he glares down at me. Surely, Haidyn won’t let him kill me, would he? He looks from me to Haidyn. “If you’re smart⁠—”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I know.” Haidyn finally speaks, interrupting him.

Ryat nods like they’re speaking a different language I don’t understand. Then he adds, “Sorry, I have to cut the meeting short.”

“No worries,” Haidyn says. “We’ll finish it another time.”

I sit in the passenger seat of my Cullinan as Haidyn drives us back to his house. It was raining earlier, so we chose my car. Of course, the fucker had to drive. Haidyn is the type of man who is always in charge.

My mind is on what just happened at Ryat and Blakely’s. “Do you know Anne?” I come out and ask, tired of the lingering silence. He didn’t even turn on the radio. I can tell he’s inside his own head right now, and it’s driving me crazy, wondering what he’s thinking.

“LeAnne,” he corrects me in a dead tone.

Why do they keep calling her that? My mother has never called her anything other than Anne. Even my father called her Anne. They were best friends before I was ever born. She’s in all my childhood memories. She’s practically family to us. I’m named after her, for Christ’s sake. “I grew up visiting her in Chicago. I think I know her name.”

“Well, everyone thinks you’re Charlotte, and we both know that’s a lie.”

I whip my head around and narrow my eyes on him while he continues to drive. I don’t like his attitude all of a sudden. It’s not my fault she showed up and ruined his meeting. “She called Blakely her daughter.” He says nothing, but it wasn’t a question; it was more like an observation. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

“It’s a long story,” he clips.

“Are you going to tell me?” I snap, getting irritated. Anne didn’t even acknowledge me there, but she made sure to point out that she knew who Ryat, Tyson, and Haidyn were. Why?

I huff at his silence and cross my arms over my chest, staring out the passenger window. Anne—LeAnne never mentioned having a kid. Her husband was killed a while back, and she was gifted to another Lord, forcing her to move to Texas. Maybe Blakely is his daughter, and LeAnne is having some kind of motherly crisis since she never had kids of her own.

I don’t know Blake personally, but I feel bad for her. Ryat seemed pissed at her. It’s not her fault. Then he went and picked her up…how did he know where she was?

I roll my eyes at myself. Of course he tracks her. All Lords track their property. I have one in my neck. Wonder what Haidyn would do if I cut it out? I just might try that.

He pulls into a gas station and brings the car to a stop. “Do you want anything from inside?” he asks, finally speaking to me.

Huffing, I cross my arms over my chest and turn my head away from him to look out the passenger window like a child. Fuck him! If he wants to ignore me, then I’ll ignore him. No matter how immature it makes me look.

He gets out of my SUV and slams the door shut. I drop my arms and lean my head back against the headrest, letting out a sigh. What the fuck is going on? Why were all three of them so on edge to see LeAnne there? And for her to be Blakely’s mom…? If that’s true, then why was Ryat so concerned? He called LeAnne her mother when he was on the phone with Blakely, and she seemed…off? Definitely not as shook up as Ryat was but still not excited about the fact that she had been at their house either.

My head is spinning. Surely, I’m missing something. That’s something my mother would have told me over the years. When we visited her and her husband, they had family pictures up of the two of them but none of any children.

I did find it odd that they didn’t have any since the Lords expect you to give them heirs. LeAnne was high up in the rankings. She is why I wanted to be initiated—after my father took me to the cathedral that night, and I saw her in charge—I just figured they couldn’t have them. The Lords don’t believe in adoption. Outsiders are not welcome into our society.

My eyes wander to the window again, and I look around the gas station. It looks like a hole-in-the-wall. A mom-and-pop store sort of vibe. Not a well-known chain for sure. It only has four pumps and a small building where you don’t even have to go inside to pay. You can choose to go to a small window.

Looking at the side of the building, I see two doors. One says men, the other women. I decide I could use the restroom.

Opening my door, I look over to see Haidyn look up from his phone. He was typing away but stops and a smirk graces his lips, but he has his sunglasses on, shielding his eyes from me. “Change your mind?”

I roll my eyes, not in the mood to decipher his mood swings. “I’m going to use the restroom.”

“Give me a second.” He looks over at the gas pump. It’s crawling. No wonder it’s taking him so long. I also didn’t offer him my card to put fuel in my SUV. How gentlemanly of him.

I give him my back, not sure why I have to wait for him.

“Charlotte?” he barks.

I raise my right hand and give him the peace sign, not bothering to turn around and look at him. I know the bastard is into some weird shit, but I don’t need an audience to go pee. He’s already seen me do that.

Reaching the women’s bathroom, I open the heavy door, making it squeak at my entrance. The place smells musty and the lighting sucks. It’s the middle of the day, and there are no windows in here. The floor is dirty and the mirror by the single sink is broken in multiple places—shattered like a spiderweb.

Three stalls are lined up on the right, with the last on the end larger due to it being handicapped. All of the doors are closed, so I bend down to look under them to see if they’re occupied. I try to open the first one, but it’s locked even though no one is in it. Same with the second. I push open the third stall to find it unlocked when I’m hit from behind, shoved through the door, and knocked onto the dirty floor. Before I can process what’s happening, my hair is grabbed, and my face shoved down into the cool tile. I manage to get a scream out before a hand slaps over my mouth from behind.

The taste of salt and dirt makes me gag as I claw at the floor trying to crawl out from underneath whoever is on top of me.

I manage to open my mouth and am able to bite the hand, making them release me. I’m pushed onto my back and look up to a man who has a black ski mask over his face. I start swinging my fists at his mask, trying to yank it off at the same time.

Managing to knee him in the balls, he grunts and rolls off me. I jump to my feet and run toward the door. I don’t bother looking back. Instead, I start to scream as loud as I can for Haidyn, hoping he hears me.

Before I can reach the door, an arm wraps around my throat from behind and I’m picked up off my feet. I kick and fight as much as I can as he pulls me back from the door and panic grips my chest as he takes my air away.

“Fucking bitch.” He growls in my ear before he spins me around and throws me to the floor once again.

I gasp and cough, trying to breathe as he kicks my side, forcing me to roll over onto my back. Then he’s on top of me again. This time, my legs are under his, pinning me down so I can’t knee him. I arch my neck, trying to catch my breath and yell, but he cuts me off as his hands wrap around my throat and squeeze as hard as he can.

HAIDYN

I’m on edge. LeAnne showing up at Ryat’s threw me off. It makes me rethink why the Lords sent Charlotte to me. She’s known her all her life? Her mother’s best friend? Why didn’t I find that out when I did my research? Bill never mentioned her at our meeting. Is there a reason he left her out of our conversation?

Shoving the door open to the women’s bathroom, I start to open my mouth to tell her I’m going to take my belt to her ass for her little attitude, but the sight of her shoes and another set underneath the last stall has any words I was going to say die immediately.

I rush over and kick the door to see man straddling her hips, pinning her back to the floor. His hands around her throat. Leaning over him, I place an arm around his neck from behind and rip him off her.

I pull him backward, and his arms flail as she begins to cough and sputter. Letting go of him, I spin the piece of shit around and punch him in the mask-covered face. He stumbles back into the door before falling into the stall once again. I pick him up and punch him again. Then again.

His body spins around from the force, and I grab the back of his black-masked head and slam the front of his face into the wall. He falls to the floor and lies there, unconscious.

“Charlotte?” I walk over to where she’s sitting on the floor, back against the side wall and knees pulled up to her chest. “Doll face.” I kneel in front of her, and her tear-filled eyes meet mine. I cup her face and push her wild hair back over her shoulders to get a look at her face and neck. She’s got a few marks here and there, but nothing too bad.

My eyes drop to her T-shirt and jeans. She’s still dressed, and her shoes are still on. “You’re okay,” I tell her, and she nods quickly, trying to catch her breath.

Standing, I pull my cell out and send a few quick texts before pocketing it. Then I reach out my hand to her. “Can you walk?”

She takes it without hesitation, and I cup her face once more, forcing her to look at me. She’s shaken up but alive. It could have been much worse. I pull her out of the bathroom and hold the door open with my boot. “I need you to get in the car, okay?”

I’m looking down at her, but she’s looking at the unconscious man on the bathroom floor. “Charlotte?” I bark, and her watery eyes meet mine. “I’m going to watch you get in the car. It’s unlocked. Get in the passenger seat and lock it. Do you understand?” Her car isn’t far from where we are, but I can’t leave the guy here alone and risk someone walking in and seeing him here. I have to remove him as soon as possible.

She nods again. I lean down and gently kiss her forehead before I guide her out the door. She sprints to the car, jumps in the passenger seat, and slams the door shut. The tint is too dark to see inside, but I know she’s locked herself in.

Going back into the bathroom, I throw the piece of shit over my shoulder and carry him out of the bathroom. I have her keys in my pocket, so I unlock it and toss his ass into the back seat before jumping into the driver’s seat. I start the car and squeal the tires, getting the fuck out of here.

I pull up to Carnage and bring the SUV to a stop. She hasn’t said one word to me since the gas station. I’m letting her process what happened, but she’s got her breathing under control.

Getting out of the car, I walk over to the passenger side and open her door. She takes my hand and lets me help her out. Then I drag his ass out of the back seat just as the front double doors open. Saint and Kashton come running down the steps.

“Got your message. What happened?” Saint questions. His eyes go to Charlotte and then to the man.

“Attacked her in the bathroom of a gas station,” I answer. “Help me get him inside.”

They each take an arm, throwing it over their shoulder, and I take her hand, pulling her inside Carnage. She stays quiet as we ride the elevator down to the basement.

“Is he a Lord?” Kashton asks as we step off.

“We’re going to find out,” I growl.

“Think it was a hired hit?” Saint inquires, his eyes quickly going to Charlotte again.

They have no clue I’m fucking her. I can tell they’re both wondering why I’m with her to begin with. “I don’t know.” I sigh, but honestly, my mind is telling me no. There’s no way anyone would know we were stopping there unless they were following us. But then again, how would they know she’d choose to go to the bathroom when I stopped for gas?

We exit the elevator down in the basement and make our way to an empty cell. I take Saint’s place, holding the guy up as he removes a key from his back pocket. He unlocks the cell door so Kash and I can place him inside. The first thing we do is strip him of all his clothing.

“Not a Lord.” Kashton observes as we look over the naked man. He lacks the Lord’s crest on his bare chest.

“He looks young,” Saint adds. “Could mean he just hasn’t been initiated yet.”

I exit the cell and walk over to the safe that we have in the wall. Putting in the combination, I grab the vial and a syringe and draw it up to the top. Closing the safe, I turn to see Charlotte looking down at her shoes while Kash and Saint both stare at me and then glance at one another.

“Grab the handcuffs and the chains,” Saint orders Kashton.

“I won’t be needing those,” I say, stopping Kash.

Saint huffs but doesn’t argue.

Making my way back to the cell, they both follow me. I walk over to the passed-out guy who was going to do God knows what to my girl and look up to see Charlotte now standing in the room as well. Her watery eyes on mine. I look at Saint. “Get her out of the room and lock the door.”

“Haidyn—”

“Get her the fuck out of this room and lock the goddamn door!” I shout, interrupting Kashton.

Saint turns and grabs Charlotte’s arm, dragging her out of the cell while Kash follows, locking me inside alone with the piece of shit.

Looking down, I place one hand on his chest while the other stabs the needle into it.