Saved by the Devil (Devils Arms Book 3)

turned to survey the room and that’s when he noted the bruises on her neck. He inspected her as her shadowed eyes bounced around the diner never settling for too long. A scowl darkened his face as he noted how the bruises marred her pale pink complexion. Peanut didn’t like the stark contrast those marks made on her soft-looking skin. She’d obviously tried to cover them, but the concealer wasn’t hiding them well.
Memories surfaced, leaving his jaw clenched and his teeth aching. Peanut didn’t want to think about the past—or Melony. Thoughts of her and what had happened always left him angry and out of sorts. He could remember finding new bruises on Melony. Each time he’d felt a murderous rage threaten to take him over. The Redfins had moved in next door to him and his mom when he was eleven, which meant he’d seen them more than he’d liked to. Every time he thought things were okay, another bruise’s arrival had reminded him that it wasn’t true. He remembered how she’d tried to tell him that they didn’t matter or that they hadn’t hurt. How she’d hidden them with make-up and long sleeves just like the blonde. His hands curled around the napkin and he found himself staring hard at the woman across the diner. He absently answered Jazzy when she spoke, but his brain was too focused on the past for him to really pay attention.
He’d only been seventeen when he’d ended up in prison. Peanut shifted in his seat thinking of that night and the assault on Melony that had led to his arrest. Remembering how furious he’d been made his chest ache. By that time Melony was staying at his house more than her own.
When they were young, he hadn’t understood at first that there was a reason for all the injuries she showed up with. He hadn’t realized where those marks were coming from until they were thirteen. That was the night he’d seen Daniel Redfin beat her for getting home late. They’d gone to a high school party with some of their friends and he’d helped her sneak back into her room. Melony had been laughing when her father banged on the door. She’d stilled and her eyes had widened before she’d shoved him in the closet.
He thought she’d get grounded like he sometimes did. He hadn’t thought that he’d be in that closet watching her father beat her so bad she could barely walk the next day. Peanut could still remember the shock that had held him silent and stiff inside the tiny closet. He wasn’t proud that he’d stayed put and watched it happen, and his only excuse was he’d been a kid. He hadn’t really understood that type of violence back then.
After that night he’d tried to get her to tell someone, but she’d told him it wouldn’t help. He hadn’t known at the time, but she’d reported it when she was younger, and it had only left her in foster care. Melony had insisted when they talked about her not telling the police that foster care was worse, although she’d never explained why. Her eyes had been haunted and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know why or not. For years she had tried to brush it off, telling him it wasn’t a big deal, but he’d known better. He still wished every day that Mrs. Tate hadn’t called the police after hearing the fight break out between him and Redfin. If the cops had only been five minutes later to the scene, he would have killed the bastard.
Of course, he would have done a hell of a lot more time inside for that, but he didn’t really give a fuck. Even after serving time, Peanut wasn’t a bit sorry that he’d beat the hell out of Daniel. That son of a bitch had deserved every blow he’d received. More than that, he deserved to die for killing Melony. Peanut had stood in that courtroom and told the judge that he wasn’t sorry and he’d damned well meant it. Since he’d been only a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday the night Redfin beat Melony to death, they’d tried him as an adult. His assault on Redfin had been brutal and he hadn’t been repentant, so despite the circumstances they’d thrown the book at him.
He’d never understand how anyone could be okay with a system that didn’t protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. He just didn’t fucking get it. Peanut consoled himself with the fact that he’d put the man in a wheelchair. He’d caused enough brain damage that the man was catatonic and eating from a feeding tube. Daniel Redfin would never get to beat anyone ever again.
He’d never regretted what he’d done that night. It hadn’t saved Melony, but it had made her father unable to ever hurt anyone again. He could still remember walking into the unlocked house and seeing her crumpled on the floor while her father kicked her in the ribs. He’d lost it and attacked the older man. His first punch sent him crashing into the table, destroying a chair in the process. Peanut had a feeling that the judge might have been more lenient if he hadn’t used pieces of the chair to try and break that bastard’s head. The repeated blows were the reason for the brain damage. To Peanut, the injuries that he’d caused were worth every year he’d spent in prison. His only regret was not finishing the job.
They’d given him seven years and he’d served five before getting out for good behavior. Those five years in prison had led him right where he needed to be. That’s where he’d met Hemp who’d been serving out a possession charge at the time. They’d become friends during their incarceration and when he’d gotten out Hemp had introduced him to the club. Hemp had been a prospect who’d gotten