Liam POV

⚠️Trigger warning: mention of violence.⚠️

I can’t describe what I’m feeling.

This is not anger. I know what anger feels like. I’ve been angry plenty of times in my life. This is not it.

I don’t know what this is. I’ve never felt like this before.

I am not a very good man, but I’ve never felt the need to kill.

Now I do.

Now I can’t stop fantasizing about squeezing the life out of the two men who dared to touch her.

I can already picture myself doing it. I would kick the door in. They would be sitting on a couch, drinking, like the fucking alcoholics that they are. I would grab them both, tie them to a chair, and have my fun with them. I would cut them just like they cut her. I would break their ribs just like he broke hers. I would cut off his dick just because I could. And then, when they would think I was done, I would slowly kill them. I would grab their necks, squeeze them slowly. I would apply more and more pressure. I would play with them. I would let them breathe in a little air and then squeeze again. I would enjoy the fear in their eyes. I would laugh in their faces. And then I would enjoy the sweet music of their pathetic necks snapping.

I might just do that. I will pay whoever I need to cover it up. I don’t plan on going to prison. I don’t plan on being separated from my sister ever again.

Nate came to take Lucy to an x-ray, and as soon as the door closed behind them, all hell broke loose.

Fists were thrown, curses were shouted, grunts and sobs kept filling up the silence of the room.

I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was completely blinded by emotions. I blinked and found myself leaning on the wall, my knuckles red and swollen.

I opened my eyes and looked around the room.

Ezra was sitting in the chair with his head in his hands.

Noah was holding Theo in a tight embrace. Theo was shaking and mumbling something I couldn’t understand.

I took a deep breath and tried to force myself to calm down a little.

My brothers needed me.

_______________

Ezra POV

My heart hurts.

I feel like something heavy is sitting on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Every time I try to, I feel like a scream is going to escape me. I feel like I’m going to start screaming, and I will never be able to stop.

Seeing the bruises and cuts on her is definitely the hardest thing I ever had to do and will ever have to do.

It was like a thousand punches to my heart. It felt like somebody was squeezing my neck, preventing me from breathing.

And the guilt…

The guilt feels like acid in my stomach.

I could have done something. I could have found her sooner. I could have taken us to Colorado on a fucking hiking trip a million times. I could have stopped this.

I let my sister get hurt by those monsters. I could have done something. I’m sure there was something I could have done, and this would never have happened. She would have been safe with her brothers if I had done something.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up.

Liam had all sorts of emotions written on his face, but the most prominent one was anger. And not the kind of anger I’ve seen on him before. A different one. The more dangerous one. I will have to keep my eye on him. I can’t let him do what I know he is thinking about doing.

“I know what you are thinking, Ezra.” Liam said. “Stop it. It wasn’t your fault.”

I closed my eyes and buried my head back in my hands.

As much as I love how close my brothers and I are, it can be frustrating sometimes. Like right now. Liam could easily tell what I was feeling. Just like I could easily tell what he wanted to do.

I looked to my left and saw our younger brothers holding on to each other. Noah had tears streaming down his face. I couldn’t see Theo because his head was buried in Noah’s neck, but I could hear him mumbling something.

_______________

Theo POV

Kill.

That is the only thing I want to do.

Kill the fuckers who thought they could touch something that belongs to me and get away with it.

They will die, and it won’t be painless. I will make sure of it.

I will cut off their hands. I will set them on fire in front of them. I will laugh while they scream. My face will be the last thing they see before I send them to hell.

My sister, my Lucy, was hurt. She was hurt because I wasn’t there to protect her.

But that will never happen again. Nobody will ever take her away from me again. I will make sure to have her next to me all the time. I will make sure I don’t ever give anyone a chance to get to her. They will have to go through me first, and I will never stop fighting. I will never give anyone a chance to hurt her again.

I was holding on to Noah because he was the only one right now who could stop me from breaking every piece of fucking furniture in this hospital.

My knuckles were bleeding from hitting the wall repeatedly, but I couldn’t give a fuck about that. I wanted to hit it again and again, but Noah grabbed me and stopped me.

I could feel him shaking and I could hear his sobs. They were like a knife to my heart. I couldn’t protect my brother from this pain. I couldn’t do shit about it.

But that will be the last time they are hurt. Nobody is ever going to hurt them again.

I kept mumbling curses under my breath. I kept repeating how much I wanted them dead. It didn’t do shit to make me feel better, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop cursing my fucking mother for taking her away from me 10 years ago.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Noah let me go.

I turned around to see my two older brothers standing in front of us.

They didn’t say a word. They pulled us into a hug, and something between a sob and a scream escaped my lips.

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Noah POV

I don’t think I’ve ever been hurt more than I am right now.

I could feel every slap, kick, punch, cut, and bruise my sister endured. It felt like it was happening to me. And I wish it was. I wish I could take it all away and endure it for her.

I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million tiny pieces, and I could feel each and every piece breaking. It was a constant pain, and I didn’t know what to do with it.

I wanted to hurt them for hurting her. I wanted to hold her and tell her how much I loved her. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something. I wanted to hold on to Theo and Lucy and never let go.

I wanted so many things that I wasn’t even sure what to do first and where to start.

Should I look for them first or should I stay with my sister and hold her? Should I scream or should I hold on to Theo? I wasn’t sure what to do.

But I knew one thing with absolute certainty. No one, and I mean no one, will ever hurt my sister again. No one will touch her again. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure she is happy and safe.

From now on, I am her biggest protector, and she is my most valued treasure.

Ezra and Liam were holding on to Theo and me. I was glad they did. I never wanted them to let go.

“I will kill them.” Theo said with a broken voice. “They will pay for what they did. They will suffer.”

I tightened my grip on him.

“They will, Theo.” Liam said quietly. “They won’t get away with what they’ve done.”

“Nobody will ever hurt her again.” Ezra said.

“We will kill anyone who tries.” I added, clenching my fists.

The door opened and we broke the hug.

Nate walked inside with an angry expression on his face.

“Where is she?” Theo asked frantically.

“I took her to our on-call gynecologist.” Nate said. “She will examine her and bring her back here.”

“Did you do an x-ray?” Liam asked.

“I did.” Nate nodded. “Her ribs are cracked. She will have to wear a rib brace.”

“Anything else?” Ezra asked, narrowing his eyes at Nate.

“The x-ray showed a lot of old, healed breaks.” Nate sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “Some on her ribs and a few on her arm. He broke her bones a couple of times.”

Nate’s words were like fuel to the fire. We went right back to cursing, yelling, and punching walls.

He will pay. We will make him pay.