“Erika?” I ask as I watch.
Luke and Celeste nod.
The camera pans back to Will. He’s half paying attention to his own recording, half watching what’s happening on the bed behind him. “I intend to get my money’s worth from your whore, Lucky Lucas. There’s several buyers online that are very interested in paying a pretty penny for her. She’d make such alovely slave for someone, don’t you think? That is, unless you’d rather trade the raven-haired beauty for this one? Your choice, brother.”
Rage like I haven’t felt in a very long time courses through my veins as I watch. I may not care much for pink-hair, but no one, and I mean no one, deserves that. I watched my sister’s face empty of emotion, turning into the same broken nothingness in the video of her that led to her death. I was too late for my sister. I won’t be too late to help another female broken by the same selfish destruction.
“Get her mouth open, my cock is aching to fuck her tight throat,” Will’s voice booms loudly from behind the camera which is now pointed directly at the assault. Then the video goes black, the media message ending.
When the video ends, we all sit in stunned silence for a moment. “We have to help her,” Ali pleads as she turns to face me. Tears trail down her perfect cheeks but it’s her eyes that tell me everything I need to know. Her normally soft green irises burn with flecked fire. My girl isn’t just upset—she’s angry. And for her fire, I’d burn down the whole motherfucking world and dance on the ashes. “Please.”
“Of course,” I confirm as I lay a soft kiss on her brow. Her scent floods my system, calming the raging storm inside me that demands blood. I hold her tightly, letting her presence in my arms ground me.
“We have no fucking clue where they’re holding her or how much Will knows from hacking our system,” Luke growls as he puts his arm around Celeste’s shoulder and pulls her into him. She immediately melts into his touch. She never responded to me like that. She trusts him.
“I think I have an idea,” Ali states. From the expression on her face I think her idea even surprises herself. “I think we can solve all of our recent problems.”
Luke’s dark eyes fly to me. I haven’t had a chance to tell him about the most recent developments involving Brody with everything going on.
“It’ll be messy though.” Ali looks to each of us, gauging our reaction.
“If it means we get our girl back…” Celeste steps forward, pushing her shoulders back and interlacing her fingers with Luke’s. The fire in her eyes is enthralling. She’s no angel, she’s as depraved as the rest of us now. “Then let’s fuck some shit up.”
TWENTY-SIX
Garett
My heart thunders against my chest as I ascend the stairs. Last time she was in here, she ran from me. I can’t—I won’t, lose her again. I grab Ali’s hand tighter, clinging to the unstable connection between us. She’s mine and I’m hers. But she’s still scared. And I get it. This is a lot.
I’m acutely aware of Luke’s shadowy form behind us in my periphery. He’s taller than I am but leaner. His brown hair is always perfectly styled and his clothes are always in place—he’s the calm to my chaos. Ali is my soulmate, but Luke is my brother. He’s been by my side through everything—good and bad. There’s not another human being in this world I’d trust more than I trust him.
Even if he drives me insane at times.
Celeste clings tightly to him. Her presence in this space—Ali’s space—grates at my nerves. She feels like an intruder in our private retreat. She does not belong here, and the longer she stays, the more anxious I feel myself becoming.
“We do this and then you two have to leave,” I state without turning.
Luke huffs. It’s his annoyed noise.
Why’s he annoyed? He’s the one that woke me up and assaulted me in my house.
“Garett, social pleasantries are generally extended to guests,” he admonishes as we reach the top of the stairs and turn down the hallway.
“Do you want my help, or no?” I snip at him as I reach the door and extend my hand to the top of the doorframe.
I’m not quite sure why I hid the key again. Clearly, my hiding place was ineffective. I should have known my girl was too smart and too tenacious to not find a key above the door.
“You know we do,” Luke grumbles and I know I’ve won. Per usual.
Swinging open the door, I make sure Ali’s hand stays firmly planted in my own. She feels so small against me, our connection still so fragile. I want to cling to her, hold on to her, for as long as she’ll allow me, making sure she can’t run, can’t hide, can’t leave. I’ve spent far too long without her. I refuse to spend another waking moment without her right by my side. Call me obsessive, crazy, intense—I don’t give a shit. She’s the other half of my fractured and broken soul. I don’t want her, I need her.
“This looks familiar,” Celeste snarks under her breath as weenter the room. I have no idea what her comment means and frankly I don’t care. I just want to get this over with.
The screens illuminate the darkened room in front of us. The entire wall is an endless array of various screens used to monitor my properties and other locations of value. I may not be great with people all the time, but my mind understands the wiring, the programs, the black and white systematic processes that run software quite easily. I’ve always been better with computers than humans. They’ve put labels on me over the years—I find them all irrelevant and unhelpful. A label isn’t going to change who I am and how my brain works.
Spinning, I turn to face Ali, pulling her toward me until her warmth envelopes me. Her big hazel eyes stare up at me and it’s as if I can see my entire future in her gold-flecked irises.
“I need to work,” I tell her. “Please don’t run.”
