Page 106 of Ricochet

“Nick … I didn’t tell you something. I should’ve … a long time … ago. That night … of the fire. I was with … my brother and his crew.” She spoke through sobs that had my heart hanging on her words, anxious to get her away from that place, the hell she must’ve suffered. “Bunch of … drug dealers. They set fire … to some abandoned houses. Just havin’ fun. And these men … came from out of nowhere. They shot up … all of them. Tried to … rape me … and kill me, too. I got away. I was screaming … for help. Nobody answered. Whole damn ‘hood shut me out … like some criminal. Your wife … let me inside. I hid in … the basement, like … she told me.”

Numbness spread beneath my skin as the one missing puzzle piece finally came together, fitting perfectly into what I’d wondered for years. Why did they choose us? Why had they been there?

“She let me hide.” Tears slipped down her cheek. “From them.”

“It doesn’t matter now, Lauren. None of that matters, you hear? Now, shut the fuck up. We’re getting out of here.”

“It was … my fault. I’m so … sorry Nick. I was stupid … a kid on the streets. Had nothin’. You changed … my life. I’m sorry … for what I did. I … love you … Nick.” Words flew from her mouth, as much as they could between each desperate bid for breath.

“Don’t you fucking die on me, Lauren. You just hold on. I’m going to hoist you over my shoulder, okay? Just hang in there.”

“Nick … they did … so many bad things.” Tears streamed down her cheek, gathering in a small puddle beneath her head that mingled with the blood spilling from her wounds. “I’m so scared.”

“I’m … I’m lifting you up. Just … I don’t want to hurt you, but I gotta get you out of here.”

Her weak clutch of my arm made me pause, and I stared down at her swollen, beaten eyes, flickering with the light’s reflection in a stark contrast to her pallid complexion. “Who guards … the flock?”

The sudden ease in her voice filled me with dread. I slumped my shoulders and bowed my head at the realization that I wouldn’t be carrying her out of that place alive. “The shepherd,” I whispered back.

“Who is … the shepherd?”

“Your brother.”

“My … brother.” Her eyes fluttered, before her muscles softened against my grip and she went limp in my arms.

I buried my face in her hair, muscles taut as a bow, and my curses bounced off the walls.

“How very precious.” The voice arrived from behind.

I tugged my mask over my face and turned, with the AK pointed at Culling.

A dozen thugs stood behind him, some with their own AK’s, all guns pointed at me.

Didn’t matter how quick I was, they’d execute me like a fucking firing squad.

CHAPTER 48

Aubree

I opened my eyes to a blur, like looking too closely through a magnifying glass. I could make out details—the bathroom door, a light, the adjacent wall. Everything else remained too wide for my eyeballs, and I squinted, trying to blink it away. A dull ache throbbed in my head as I sat up from the bed. The bed. Nick’s bed. Why couldn’t I recall how I’d gotten there?

I remembered holding a gun at Nick. Why? Had he hurt me? I didn’t feel pain, aside from a slight headache. Had he threatened me?

I wracked my brain, trying to recall the last few minutes. Screams bounced inside my skull, forcing me to slap both hands on either side of my head.

The video.

Pieces came together, retelling the story, just moments before I’d blacked out. A girl. Torture. Nick went after her.

Oh, God. He went after her!

He went after Michael.

I slammed the heel of my palm against my temples. “C’mon! Remember!” I’d caught him watching the video inside … inside … his closet!

Jumping up from the bed had me falling back down on the mattress. Wooziness overpowered my urgency to remember what the hell had happened. I stood up, catching my balance for a moment, before rushing toward the closet.

Hangers, perfectly spaced apart, carried two leather jackets, along with hoodies, white wife beaters, and a number of jeans and T-shirts, varying in shades. A shoe rack held four pairs of heavy black boots.