AllFreeNovel Stories worth discovering

Wicked Games

Page 98

by A.M. Myers

“I’ve fucking let Blaze and this whole club down, Rowan. I should have…” Tears shine in his eyes. “I should have found something sooner, worked harder, and maybe he would still be here with us.”

“Baby…”

He shakes his head. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear you fucking say this isn’t my fault because everyone knows it is. This is my thing. This is what I do and I failed this time.”

“What do you mean this is what you do?” I ask, scowling down at him and he meets my eyes as a tear glides down the side of his face.

“I catch the bad guys… it’s what I’ve always done, what I’ve always known.”

There’s a deeper meaning behind his words, I know there is, but I can’t see it and I know there is no way he’ll tell me. Not with that look on his face. His walls are up, high as hell, and completely unbreachable right now. Laying my hand on his chest, I set my chin on top of it and look up at him.

“Want some help going over the cases?”

He glances down and forces a smile to his face. “From you? Always.”

I smile as he climbs out of bed and goes over to his bag, pulling the files out as I scoop one of his shirts up off of the floor and pull it over my head. He glances back at me and nods in approval as he carries the stack of files back over and plops them on the bed. Grabbing the first one, I flip it open and stare down at all of the information Travis has been able to find on Warren but it’s not much. As I stare at the name, I keep being drawn to the unusually spelled last name and I glance up at Travis as he flicks through another file.

“Have you ever gotten anywhere with Warren’s name?”

His head jerks up. “You mean besides the fact that it’s fake as shit? No.”

“Right,” I say, pursing my lips as I glance back down at the name. “But he had to get it from somewhere, right? And it might mean something to him so why this name?”

Travis stares at me, his brows furrowed, and I can see the wheels turning in his head as he slowly nods. “Okay… so what are you thinking?”

“Well… the easiest would be an anagram, right? And it would explain why his last name is spelled so weird.”

“You think there is another name hidden in Warren’s name?” he asks and I nod. He studies me for a second before jumping up and grabbing a notebook and a pen. When he climbs back into bed, he flashes me an expectant look.

“Okay, what do you have?”

I stare at the name, running through the letters as I try to find another name hidden there. “There’s Ren… which could be spelled with a “w” or without one.”

“I don’t think we know anyone named Ren or Wren,” he answers and I continue studying the letters laid out in front of me as I chew on my lip.

Come on.

There has to be another name here…

“Oh, wait! I’ve got Ryan,” I say as I run through the letters and make sure they work. When he doesn’t answer me, I look up and meet his wide eyes. “What?”

He shakes his head. “We knew a Ryan… but…”

“But what, Travis?” I ask, my heart climbing into my throat. He blows out a breath.

“He’s dead… Storm killed him in this very fucking house.”

My stomach drops. “What do you mean Storm killed him in this house?”

“He was a police officer and he was dating Emma before she met Nix… he was a bad fucking dude and the shit he did to her… it was fucking awful, babe. After Emma met Nix, Ryan lost his fucking mind and started stalking her - that’s how we actually met her cause Nix called his dad for help. He broke in here one night and held Emma and Nix at gun point but Storm snuck in the back door and shot him.”

“Okay,” I whisper, trying to process everything he just told me as I look down at the name again. “So clearly, it’s not him but… someone that he was important to?”

Travis shrugs. “I have no fucking clue.”

“We should go ask Emma.” I’m sure if anyone could help us crack this whole thing wide open, it will be her now that we know more. Travis nods and as we climb out of bed and get dressed, I try to imagine what Emma went through back then and Travis’s comment about Emma bringing Nix and Blaze back together pops into my head. It all makes more sense now.

Once I’ve thrown on a pair of jeans and Travis is dressed, he grabs my hand and we walk downstairs in search of Emma but the house is empty.