“What the fuck do you mean? Why haven’t you called for Thomas?” He asks like I’m some idiot, or maybe he’s one if he couldn’t comprehend what I just said.
“Well, I was planning on calling him once I found somewhere safe to hide and could use my phone.”
His eyebrows descend from his hairline, slowly furrowing downward. Confusion evident, he states, “Why would you need a phone when you can just hit the distress button on your watch?”
My eyes look at the watch that doubles as a safety measure, and I rub my hands across my face. Of course, I would forget this thing has that capability. I’ve never had to use it.
Pushing the button that will have Thomas racing to reach me, I mumble, “I forgot it did that.”
“We need to hurry up and get the fuck out of here before her driver shows up. It’s been too long already,” one of the distorted voices from earlier states.
“Too late, but it’s not Thomas you have to worry about. It’s us,” the vitriol in August’s voice travels down the hall.
I make it two steps before Rowan’s hand shoots out and pulls me into his barely covered body. “Stay put. You don’t want to see this,” he commands. I flush at our closeness, remembering the last time he was this close. I can almost feel a phantom tug on my hair.
Clearing my throat, I step away as the crunch of skin connecting with bone filters down the hall. Mewls of terror are the last noises I hear from the front of the locker room before Thomas’s form enters the shower stalls.
Surveying me, he ensures not a hair is out of place and says, “Let’s get you out of here.”
ROWAN
“You need to make another selection, Rowaniel.” My father states, his voice grating my nerves.
Nodding in agreement. “Yes, I understand.” Rising from the dinner table, I inquire, “Have we heard anything about Bethany’s whereabouts?”
“She’s dead, Rowaniel. There’s no body, but we’re assuming she’s dead, and even if she isn’t, she’s of no use to us. Choose someone else,” he orders with finality.
Walking over to my mother’s side, I bend over and kiss her cheek. I feel her smile. My dad is an asshole to everyone but her. For her, he’d steal the moon and decimate planets.
“I’ll have someone selected before the end of the night. I’m still not interested in Samantha,” I declare, preparing to leave for the Tombs. We have two special guests waiting.
“No Davenport will ever marry into an original bloodline. Finish collecting your intel and be done with that worthless line.”
For once, we’re in agreement. With his last directive decreed, he focuses his attention back on my mother, his features softening, and I know I’ve been dismissed.
* * *
“Tell me again what exactly you were planning for our girl?” Karl commands. His usually lighter brown eyes appear coal. He’s so enraged that he’s not basking in the pain of his victims. He’s unhinged.
Reaching for the butterfly knife protruding from Paul’s stomach, he incrementally pushes and turns the blade like a screwdriver. Each twist burrows deeper into his belly button. Paul’s screams would normally be like a philharmonic orchestra where Karl would be the conductor, but where glee would normally be, all I see is rage. Bottomless pits of rage.
Emma has sunken her claws into another one of my friends. First, August, and now Karl. I don’t know if I should be mad at her or feel sorry for her.
On a good day, those two together make the guy from YOU top-tier dating material. I wouldn’t be surprised if August was sneaking into her bedroom before the selection process even started.
I still don’t think she’s the right fit for us. She’s too damn mouthy, even if that mouth looks perfect enough to sink my dick in.
“Ahhhhh!” Rich’s ear-splitting wails draw my attention to my other obsessed friend.
August has Wolverine-styled gloves raking down the already scratched face of Emma’s assailants.
“You should pray for death. This is only the amuse-bouche, wait until we get to the main course,” August growls, sounding more apex predator than man.
They’ve been at this for an hour, and neither of them has asked any questions, confirming that Emma is a distraction.
Clearing my throat, I intervene. We need answers. Then they can get their pound of flesh.
“We need to move this along. The last thing we need is our dads, mine in particular, to think we’re distracted.” I look at Liam, sitting by the bar, head down, as his fingers fly across the keyboard.
“What do you have?” I ask.
“They were paid through some shell company whose location changes every five seconds.” His head lifts before he continues, “They’re good, but they made a mistake this time.”
Liam’s statement halts August and Karl. All of our gazes focus while we wait for him to speak. “One of these idiots didn’t use the burner phone to accept payment for this job.”
A delirious ‘fuck’ is mumbled by Paul, interrupting Liam.
The pained whine of Rich blubbers, “You dumb fuck!”
August silences his rant by slicing off his dick. His words of protest turn into shrieks as his severed appendage rolls off his body, hitting the floor with a quick thud. “It’s rude to speak when someone else has the floor,” August retorts and nods for Liam to continue.
“Paul here has provided us with an original account number that I’ll be able to trace and work malware onto. The next time this account is accessed, I’ll be able to access whatever device logs in. It’s only a breadcrumb, but it’s more of an in than we’ve had in months.”
Finally, something good comes from Emma’s presence. But I know we should be able to extract more from one of them before they both are killed.
Striding over to Paul, I say, “If you tell us everything you know, we’ll make your death swifter.”
Karl takes that moment to slam a meat cleaver down, chopping straight through the cartilage and bone of his ankle. Paul’s body jerks, causing more cries, as the knife impaled in his gut cuts deeper.
“I-I-I-I can-ca-can’t. Th-they’ll k-kill my f-family,” he finally gets out.
“That sounds very much like a you problem. This is your last chance,” I grit out.
Rich’s pained voice croaks, “I’ll tell you everything I know. Please, just make him stop.”
When I glance in August’s direction, I see he’s begun to smash along Rich’s femur to his kneecap with a mallet. Skin lies there, no bone left to support it.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.