HIS BELLA - the sequel

Chapter 19

WADE'S POV

There were sounds coming from downstairs where the men sulked and talked amongst themselves. It had been a whole year without doing this and here we were feeling sorry for ourselves. I never thought I'd ever have to kill again but I did. There was nothing I could do about it.

Besides ponder on how to tell Bella everything.

I ran my hands through my wet hair. I tried to take a shower to get rid of all the blood and all the memories of tonight but I couldn't. I still remembered vividly. Axel's constant sobbing distracted me a little. I looked at him as he sobbed slowly, Mae's breathing body lying next to him. To an extent, I could feel what my brother felt. It took me back to when I saw Bella in that ambulance. I was scared and angry that I couldn't have prevented it. Although, there is no telling what Mae could have faced in the hands of those bastards.

There was a soft painful groan and Axel immediately became alert. Mae turned slowly as her eyes fluttered open. She hissed at the pain before looking around the room.

"Hey", Axel said softly.

"Axel?", She called out. Her gaze shifted towards him and I watched her eyes light up.

"Yeah"

She motioned to sit up and I quickly walked towards the bed to support her. She groaned painfully, cussing as she did.

"W-what happened?", She asked, her gaze shifting between the two of us, "how did you guys find me?"

"It's a long story Mae", I said, as I looked at Axel. He gave me a small nod. "You have to tell us what happened"

She took a deep breath and stared at me tiredly. There was a deep cut next to her lip.

"Axel", I called, "go outside and see if you can get some drugs and painkillers for her"

He stood up almost immediately, "okay". He turned to stare at her, his eyes softening. "I'll be back", he said and she nodded.

He left the room and the silence came back when he shut the door.

"I'm so sorry I left", Mae said softly, her eyes getting watery.

"No it's fine", I reached out to hold her hand. "I just need to understand as much as I can right now"

"I was trying to protect Axel I swear", she said. "This man reached out to me while we were in Italy. Said his name was Greg but I don't think that was his real name. He used to be a rival"

I clenched my jaw at the mention of the rivals. I should have found every single one of them and killed them when I had the chance to.

Relax Wade, no more murder thoughts.

"I thought he was hunting Raiders but he wasn't. He was recruiting for something bigger. They call themselves the southern hoodwinkers"

What kind of stupid name was that?

"I thought it was a joke at first but he was persistent. He would come every day to school and when we would talk, he said it was either join or die. These guys aren't playing Wade. Their aim is to be the only gang so they're wiping out the rest of them or any memories of the ones who don't even exist anymore like us"

She looked at the door and I did too. Where was Axel?

"I figured since he wasn't talking to Axel then he didn't know that he used to be a Raider as well. Probably because you were always hiding him"

I should have hidden her as well.

"So I said yes to keep him safe and so I won't get killed. I left the school, dropped a note for Axel so he won't come after me. I thought it was best. I planned to find you as soon as I could gather enough info about these guys and who's leading them"

The Southern Hoodwinkers is such a stupid name.

"We were in Italy for a while but then during my snooping around, I found out they were coming here because they found out that there were Raiders here. That's when I knew you'd be here because it's the same town Bella is in"

I nodded briskly. Mae was smart.

"When I tried to escape, they caught me", the tone in her voice was shaky. "They knew everything Wade. Some former rivals had told them everything about you, Bella, what we came to do in this town a year ago. They felt Bella knew too much and the boss, whoever he is. He didn't see her life as worth anything if she wasn't a gang member"

I didn't like where this was going.

I swear to God.

"I wanted to warn you but I couldn't. I've been in town for weeks now but I couldn't escape. A couple of weeks back, I overheard a couple of men outside the room I was locked in talking about how they were sure Bella wasn't going to survive. That the crash would kill her"

My hands had begun to shake.

"I'm so sorry Wade", Mae had begun to cry, "I'm so sorry"

The door opened at that moment and Axel walked in. He rushed to her side when he saw her sobbing. I stood up from the bed and watched as he tried to comfort her. A small bottle of pills and a bottle of water hanging in his hand.

It wasn't an accident like Felix had said.

Bella was attacked.

We lost the baby.

Bella could have died

And it would have been because of this whole bullshit I inherited from my father.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay", Axel said softly to Mae and she rested in his embrace.

I had to get out of here. I could see her lying in that ambulance all over again. I imagined what it would have been like in that car, turning over, scared to death. I remembered every single bruise on her face that I wished would heal.

Every single time I wished I could kiss the pain away.

It was my fault.

I retreated slowly out of the room. Thankfully, Axel didn't stop me. I had to get to Bella. I couldn't do it. She wasn't safe even if I faked my death a thousand times. She would still get hurt. Fucking hell, she would still get hurt.

I walked down the hallway quickly, stopping when I got to my room. I knew she was on the other side of the door. I took a deep breath.

I was doing it for her.

I needed her to be safe.

I'm so sorry Bella.

I opened the door and walked into the room slowly. I was avoiding her gaze but I could tell she was staring at me. There was shuffling and then she was close to me. I could smell her perfume. She had a nice scent.

"Wade?"

I looked up to face her. The eyes I couldn't bear to see in tears stared and watched me with worry in them. I tried to force a smile, to fake that I was okay.

She needed to believe that I was okay with this.

I don't think she did.

"What's wrong?"