Darkness Returns | Darkness #2

23.

"Kitten, breathe."

I'm literally shaking. The events of the past few hours are getting back to me. They're drawing me into a dark place where only guilt  and shame exists. Yes, their father was a bad man, but did I have the right to kill him? Should I have left it to my husbands anyway?

"I don't think I can," I whisper, disgust waving over me when I see my bloodstained hands. Oh God. 

"You have to," Dominic whispers. He's holding those crimson red hands of mine, regardless if he thinks it's awful or not. Even my beautiful ring is plastered with blood. 

"I know this is difficult to get through, Daisy," he tells me. His hand squeezes mine for a moment. "But you're strong. You can leave this behind you, and I will gladly help you along that way. You're not alone, alright?"

The moment my body starts trembling, from fatigue or emotions, Dominic wraps his arms around me and rests my head against his chest. One of his hands sneaks up and cups my cheek, with his thumb swiping over it. My eyes close in comfort, and I'm finally able to catch a breath. 

The silence in the room, other than our breaths and Dominic's murmured sweet nothings, is something constant. It's something I can rely on, something I'm sure will stay like this for a while. I can relish in the peace of it, and I kind of like that. 

Easton and Asher are downstairs, together with Michael and a few other of their closest men, to clean up my mess. Easton felt distant earlier, as if he was far away and I was unable to reach him. Maybe he didn't mean to do that, maybe he was just as shocked as his brothers, but it felt like he was afraid of me. 

I don't want him to feel like I frighten him. I would never hurt any of them. Hell, I never would have thought I would hurt another human being. Yet. . . does Benjamin Whitlock count as a human being? Would a human being put his sons through torture, arson and attempted murders? Doesn't that qualify him as a monster rather than a human?

"Exactly like that," Dominic murmurs, keeping his voice low to not startle me. I'm slowly relaxing in his arms, realizing he isn't judging me. He doesn't think horribly of me. 

"My Daisy," he whispers, wiping the few tears away that escaped. "You're my Daisy, you'll always be. I would never look at you differently for doing the things I do every day."

There's some truth in that. Yet the big difference is; I knew this was their job way before we got engaged and married. They never knew I would do this kind of stuff. None of us expected it, and now they may be fearing what else I might do. 

"Can we just move a little so I have a blood flow in my leg again? Yes? Great," he mutters, grabbing my thighs and hoisting me onto his lap. I laugh through my sniffles. He's definitely not gonna hear me complaining about simply being closer to him. 

The ding of the elevator cuts through our peaceful moment. On one side, I hope it's neither Asher nor Easton because I'm scared for their reactions, but on the other side, I do want them here because I miss my real life size teddy bears. 

"Do not—ow! That's literally my bad leg, asshole!" I hear Asher complain with a groan. Frowning just a little, I hide my face in Dominic's leather jacket. Why are they so damn loud?

"I don't care," Easton tells him. I hear his rapid footsteps towards me before I even feel his hand on my back. 

"Hi, little love? How are you feeling? Everything's taken care of, don't worry. And. . . don't care about my earlier reaction, okay? I know I may have reacted a little extreme, and I'm sorry for that. It's not an excuse, but I was very shocked by what was happening and my brain wasn't fully comprehending it. It was not because of you, alright?" Easton whispers, crouching down next to me. 

I nod, leaning back and allowing him to steal me away from Dominic, if only for a moment. His hug comforts me in a way his words can't; it's more genuine, more reliable. He can say words he doesn't mean, but he can't hug me in a way he doesn't want too. 

"I am also not mad," Asher pipes in. He sounds strangely energetic, considering he just cleaned up his father's body for the last hour or so. It's a positive thing, though. 

"Don't forget me," Dominic says. "But I think it's time to go home, don't you, kitten? We'll take a long, hot shower and relax. I'm sure Val wouldn't mind looking after the kids for a while longer."

I don't look up from the buttons of Easton's shirt, toying with them to calm down. "But he'll lose them."

Easton's buttons move along with his chest as he chuckles. "His wife is with him. And besides, if he loses my kids, he loses a finger for each one of them."

I look up at his face with a frown. "That doesn't quite comfort me, you know. I would rather have three kids than three of Val's fingers."

He simply shrugs. "Don't worry. We aren't about to lose another kid."

Right after that, he grunts in pain and rubs a sore spot on his arm. "Dude! Why would you punch—" "Don't say that, asshole."

Asher lifts me from Easton's lap and carries me away, not unlike how he carried me to bed on our wedding night. He looks behind him and scowls at Easton once more before kissing my cheek. "Don't listen to him. He's rude."

I nod, wrapping my arms around his neck and closing my eyes in comfort. "He is, isn't he? Always has been. I think he should wash his mouth."

"Oh, definitely," Asher nods, ignoring Easton's "I heard that, asshole" call. The elevator doors close behind us, leaving Dominic and Easton behind. 

"Dominic is sweet," I tell him. "Not all of your brothers are that bad."

He hums in agreement, walking out of the building and carrying me to his car. Making sure my head doesn't hit the ceiling of his car, he gently puts me down in my seat. I can walk perfectly fine, but for now, I enjoy him being a little overprotective. It's like I'm pregnant all over again. 

As I move my hand in front of my face to shield my eyes from the sun, I notice two figures on the top floor, waving like crazy. With a little smile playing around my lips, I wave back. They're acting like we won't see each other in twenty minutes, max. 

"Dramatic," Ash rolls his eyes. Hm, as if he wouldn't be the one suggesting the idea if I went along with Easton. 

By the time we're back home, I'm able to laugh at jokes again. Little by little, I'm overcoming my shock, and it's all thanks to my sweethearts. 

Screeching tires sound right next to us, and there is Easton's car. Two seconds later, Dominic's pulls up. I guess I can await the speeding ticket, then. 

Waiting or them to cross the distance between us, I quirk an eyebrow up. "What did I say about speeding?"

"Oh shush," Dominic tells me with a teasing grin. "It's done out of love."

See, now I can't scold him anymore. 

I turn to Easton, whose smile falls. He's quick to defend himself, "Hey, I did it out love too!"

That may be right, but he would take any chance to speed through the streets. I've told him  thousand times that it's dangerous, to not do it, but he does it again, time after time. At least he drives decently when me or the kids drive along.

~

Next chapter is smut🤭