I punch in the code and slowly open the door.
Everything is still, but it feels wrong. Off. I haven’t seen them leave.
Oli and Andre follow behind me. Oli throws his hand up in question. “I don’t know,” I whisper. My house isn’t large—I wanted land more than I wanted a big home—but I hear nothing. We walk through the house. I go down one hall, checking the bathroom and Lianna’s bedroom... Nothing.
Then I turn back down the hall. “Grey! Out here.”
I speed toward Andre’s voice. I see him in the kitchen, looking out my sliding door. I’m so scared. My heart’s in my throat as I look out, afraid of what I’ll find. A fire blazes in the pit. Felix is there, his neck tied with a belt and his hands cuffed behind his back. Steven has him by the throat, holding him close to the fire while he sits in my Adirondak chair. “That is not how you use a belt!” Andre growls.
Oli looks at him, shaking his head. “What do we do?”
I disappear through the living room and into my bedroom, taking my gun out of the gun safe. I have it for safety, and I’ve fired it at a range for practice, but I’ve never shot anything living. Nerves rattle my guts, but I swallow them down. My hands are shaking. I take a breath. I need to calm down.
I walk back out. Oli and Andre are standing by the door, watching them. “What do we do?”
“You sure we can’t call the cops?”
I think for a moment. “Call the state troopers in Portland. Tell them what’s going on,” I say to Andre. “Stay here,” I say to Oli and go to leave.
He grabs me by the arm. “You aren’t going out there alone.”
“Oli—”
“No, fuck that. I’m not letting you do this alone. You’re my brother and we’re going to get him out of this.” I nod, opening the back door.
Steven lolls his head up. He has a beer in his hand—my fucking beer. His gun is on his lap and his belt is twisting around Felix’s neck, holding his head dangerously close to the fire. He’s not wearing his glasses, though. They’d probably melt with how close he is to the heat. “Ah, damn. Spoiling the fun already? You following us?” He takes a swig of his drink.
Felix blinks his eyes open, dazed, and they land on me. My heart shatters and rage fills me at the cut bleeding along his temple. “Let him go.”
“No can do. You fucked with something of mine, and now I’m going to fuck with something of yours. I’ll start with the house. Then your friends. Then everyone who has ever meant anything to you.”
THIRTY THREE
Felix
Why am I shaking so much? I blink. I can’t... I don’t understand. Everything’s fuzzy. I can’t move. My throat is sore. Everything is... hot. So hot. I blink again, trying to wipe away the fog surrounding my brain.
I roll my neck and feel resistance. Finally, my eyes clear. My glasses are gone. They’re mainly to see long distances and for reading, but right now all I see is orange.
Fire.
I look behind me. Steven is holding his belt tight around my throat. Fire. That’s right. He’s been holding my head close to the fire for a while now. He knocked me out inside and dragged me out here, and I’ve being coming in and out of consciousness. How long have we been out here? I blink again. Smoke chokes my lungs. It still looks light outside.
“Ah, damn. Spoiling the fun already? You following us?” What? What is he talking about? I don’t even have the strength to fight back. I don’t care anymore. I just want it toend. I feel something slick dripping down my face. The gun. That’s right. He whipped me with it.
“Let him go.” And now I’m hearing shit. Great.
“No can do.” What? Why is he answering the voices in my head? “You fucked with something of mine, and now I’m going to fuck with something of yours. I’ll start with the house. Then your friends. Then everyone who has ever meant anything to you.”
What? I blink harder. Everything is fuzzy.
Then I see him.
“Let him go and I won’t rip you limb from fucking limb,” Grey growls.
“Grey?”
Everything is hazy, but I see him. He’s here. How is he here? I’m hallucinating. I have to be. I watch him, real or not, take a step toward me. A click sounds behind me. I wrench my head around and watch Steven raise his gun. “Not a step.”
