Page 2
Thankfully, the universe takes pity on me, and the third one is the charm.
Ripping the door open, I duck inside. “Brrr,” I exhale, my teeth chattering involuntarily as I remove my jacket and shake as much water off as I can.
It’s dark in here; the only bit of light comes from moonlight that streams through the big window on the far side of the room, and a glow that snakes out from under a door. The lights I saw from outside were on the second floor, but without light here, I can’t see any way of getting to the 2nd floor. Not that I would even want to. I do NOT want to be caught trespassing.
My hand digs around in my purse until I find my phone. Pulling it out, I click the lock screen on. “Fucking hell!” I let out a harsh sigh. My phone is at five percent.
Quickly, I unlock it and pull up maps. From what it says, I have to head back the way I came and turn on Ninety-ninth Street, then it’s a straight walk back.
Just as I put my phone away, ready to head back outside in this shit weather, I hear a blood-curdling scream followed by, “Please! No more!”
My body stiffens as my heart starts pounding painfully in my chest. A cold sweat prickles along my body as I stand there, frozen.
Way to go, Cove, totally a good idea to go into the abandoned warehouse. Not like there’s a million movies that prove how bad of an idea that is.
Chapter Two
Cove
No, Cove, we don’t run toward the screaming person begging for help in the abandoned warehouse at two in the morning in the pouring rain. Let’s not be the stupid white girl in the horror movies who walks right toward the crazy killer or the possessed demon.
I’m just about to leave, with my hand on the doorknob, when the sobbing begins again. I just can’t do it. There’s no way I can go home knowing I left someone here to potentially die. That would eat away at my conscience. And just my luck, I’d wake up tomorrow to news about a body being found.
On the bright side, I have a gun, it’s loaded, and I know how to use it. Maybe I can fire a few shots and scare off the attacker. Or you can use the last of your battery life to call the cops.
Grabbing my phone, I decide to try that first. Only... when I click on the lock screen, it stays black. Well, fuck me, I guess we’re going with the gun-wielding option instead.
Tucking my phone away, I wrap my hand around the grip of my gun and pull it from my purse. With a deep breath, I flick the safety off and, with my best fake bravado face on, I follow the screams.
As quietly as possible, I creep down the dimly lit hall. When I reach the end, I creep into the last room and hide behind a shelf lined with boxes.
My heart thuds rapidly against my ribs as my eyes widen with shock at the scene before me. What the hell did I just walk into?
There’s a man strapped to a chair, his face bloody and beaten, with a bright light shining in his face. The light isn’t bright enough to illuminate the whole room, but rather acts as a spotlight over the captive and allows the darkness to consume everything else. Shadows slither in and out around the edges of the light, just enough to see by.
Three men stand before him, their backs to me. For a moment, I forget about the man in the chair as my eyes take in the others.
The one on the left has short blond hair, the color of sunshine on a hot summer day. He’s dressed in a white t-shirt, his thick arms display full sleeves of tattoos. The guy on the right isn’t wearing a shirt at all. His back is covered in tattoos of all sorts, but the reaper takes up most of his back. His hair is brown and closely shaven to his head.
Then there’s the middle guy. He’s massive. I mean, they’re all well over six feet, but this guy has got to be hitting closer to seven. His midnight black hair dusts the tops of his shoulders, and his arms are the size of fucking tree trunks that could easily toss me around like a ragdoll.
My attention goes back to the guy when he starts to sob. I stand there and watch. The hand holding the gun is shaking uncontrollably as I lift it, loosely aiming toward the group of guys. The giant man in the center, let’s call him Midnight, steps forward. He grips the beaten man’s chin, making him cry out in pain. “Cry all you want,” he taunts with a deep chuckle that sends a shiver down my spine. “No one’s gonna hear you.”
“You know, you sure like to act like the victim, as if you haven’t raped multiple women,” Sunshine, the guy with blond hair, says before tsking and shaking his head.
The guy on the right walks around the man in the chair with a switchblade in his hand. He grabs a handful of the broken man’s hair, yanking his head back and bringing the blade to the guy’s neck. “What should we do with him, boys?” he asks, looking up at his buddies. I have to suppress a gasp as I get my first look at his sky-blue eyes. The scar by his left eye makes them pop. He’s gorgeous.
Really, Cove? Of course... you, of all people, would think the scary man with the knife holding another man hostage would be hot.
I’ve always been a strange woman interested in a lot of things that normal people would think are odd, sick, or twisted. I’m a sucker for a sexy bad boy. Who isn’t, though? I can’t be the only one who finds the killer on TV shows or movies to be hot. I mean, have you watched The Originals? Klaus Mikaelson can kill me any day.
Midnight’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “I think we’ll have a little fun before we send a message back to Rafe.”
The man in the chair stills, his eyes widening. Whatever they needed from him, he just outed himself. “Oh, ho, ho!” Sunshine shouts with a laugh. “Recognize that name now, do you?”
“N-No,” the guy denies, shaking his head.
“We know who you are, Georgie-boy,” Sky retorts as he presses the knife into the man’s skin, making him hiss in pain. “And we know who you’re working for. So why don’t you tell us why Rafe sent you to our town? There is currently a ceasefire in place, so why would he risk sending one of his little lackeys here?”
