by Jordan Marie
“Motherfucker,” he roars, gripping my phone so tight that I half expect it to turn to dust.
“What? What?” I cry, terrified. I reach out and grab Liam’s arms needing some type of contact with him.
“Ellie,” Liam says. His tone doing nothing to make my fear go away. If anything it chills me to the bone.
“Liam, what’s going on?” I ask, afraid of the answer, but needing to know.
“That’s Wolf, the guy I’ve been hunting, in that picture.”
I have to fight to keep from passing out, my nails biting into Liam’s arm.
“Oh, God.”
I’d never seen a picture of Wolf. I’m sure Liam probably had one when talking to people at the church, but I didn’t truly want involved. Now, I’m kicking my own ass. It feels as if I’m caught in a horrible time loop. My words feel as if they’re torn from my soul. They bleed out and each syllable is painful.
“Let’s load up and get to them. I want this motherfucker in my hands before the sun goes down,” Devil growls, already walking to the door.
“But,” I respond, and I don’t know if I’m talking loud at all. My heart is pounding in my ears and it’s drowning out all other sound. “I don’t know where they’re at. Dawn wouldn’t tell me. They could be anywhere, Devil. They might not even be in the city and this photo was almost an hour ago. Dawn could be…”
“Ice—”
I cut back to look at Liam, seeing the worry on his face and I whisper the one thing I’m thinking. “Dawn could already be dead.”
I collapse then, letting the tears fall as if a dam has broken. Sobs rack my body and Liam takes me in his arms.
Fury
“I can’t believe this motherfucker is going to get away again,” Devil shouts, kicking one of Ellie’s dining table chairs and causing it to fall backwards. I would slap him and tell him to get control of his shit because he’s scaring Ellie, but I figure of all of us, he has more right to lose it when it comes to Wolf.
I’m on the phone to Scorpion, waiting as they try to ping Dawn’s phone. I’m still on the couch, holding Ellie, and doing my best to keep her from completely losing it. She’s still crying, but nothing like she did when we first discovered that it was Wolf the girls were with. I promised her I’d find Dawn and get her back safely, but the truth is I could be lying out of my ass. Wolf has a reason for targeting Ellie and then Dawn. My brother warned me of it, and I ignored him more or less. I’m not ignoring him now. Wolf found a way to exploit my biggest weakness. I’m going to make sure this motherfucker dies. Devil may have to fight me for the right to end him.
“Sorry, Fury. The phone is a no go. I get a general vicinity from the tower it last pinged off, but that’s it,” Scorpion says.
“Fuck.”
“The good news is he’s still in the same city. The bad news is he can be anywhere downtown. I shudder to think how many hotels are in downtown Phoenix.”
“That’s not enough to go on. Damn it, Scorpion, I need something to track this sack of shit,” I growl.
“What about credit cards?” Ellie suggests. “Dawn has a couple and they’d probably use hers. I don’t think Glenna has a card. She was in bad shape financially. I remember her and Dawn fighting over the bills Dawn was having to pay.”
“You hear what she said, Scorp?”
“Yeah, you’re going to have to give me a bit. This could take some time unless she knows the credit card information,” he replies.
“Do you have her credit card info, Ice?”
“No,” she says, the tears threatening to intensify again. “I know she has a Visa…I don’t know the other. Discover maybe? I don’t know, Liam.”
“I’ll work with that and expand. Give me thirty,” Scorpion mutters. I can hear keys on a keyboard being typed on furiously. I know he’s trying, but I don’t have time to wait.
“Make it ten and call me back on my cellphone, we’re heading downtown,” I growl.
“You expect miracles,” Scorpion mutters.
I hang up and I don’t even have to look to know all eyes are on me.
“Let’s load up. We’ll head downtown and start checking out hotels. Scorpion will call when he gets more information,” I tell them, helping Ellie to her feet.
“Ellie, you need—”
“Don’t even try it. I’m going with you. This is my sister,” she says, and I smile because even terrified, my girl still has a backbone of steel. My brothers are already outside and I hear their rental start up. Ellie and I quickly follow, piling into the back of the SUV.
“We have to find this motherfucker,” Devil growls as Rebel peels out of the drive, barely avoiding careening into Ellie’s car.
“We will,” I tell him.
I just hope it’s not too late.
Ellie
I’ve never been more terrified in my life. The ride downtown is silent and full of tension and even though I’m not crying any longer, I’m still terrified.
“Do you know of hotels down here that Dawn would choose?” Rebel asks.
“No. She’s not really the type to go to hotels,” I murmur, flinching when Devil lets out an annoyed breath. I know he’s disappointed and mad. I wish I could magically just know, but I don’t.
“This is all my fault. I should have insisted that Dawn give me all the information. I asked, but she just told me to mind my own business. She let me ask you to run a check on him, and I figured once he got the all clear…”
“It’s not your fault, Ice. It’s mine. I should have demanded a picture or something,” Liam says, his voice sounding bleak as we wait in traffic for a light change.
“I’m fucking tired of how this son of a bitch is always one step ahead of us,” Devil growls, slamming his fist down so hard against the car door that I worry the window will fall down.
The loud sound of Liam’s phone ringing makes me jump. We all look at him as he raises his phone and answers it, leaving the call on speakerphone so we can all hear.
“Speak,” he barks.
“No card activity under Dawn’s name, Wolf’s, or the Glenna girl.”
“Fuck. Why did you waste time running Wolf’s anyway? He’s not stupid,” Devil snarls.
“No stone unturned and all that shit,” Scorpion replies.
“Big fucking lot of good that does us. I guess we’re checking out more hotels,” Rebel mutters, cutting into another lane.
We’ve already checked two hotels while waiting for Scorpion to call back. There’s been no sign of my sister. I lay my head on Liam’s chest, trying not to feel like it’s hopeless and we’re already too late.
I’m afraid we are though.
“Well it’s a good thing I am thorough assholes, because on a hunch I ran one Reginald Cleary’s info and two days ago at the Hotel Palomar downtown, ol’ Reggie rented a suite.”
“Why in the fuck didn’t you just say that?” Liam demands, but before Scorpion can reply he hangs up.
“Take this exit,” I yell at Rebel. “It will be the quickest route to the hotel and miss most of the traffic.”
Rebel does as I ask and we are at the backside of the hotel in no time.
“There’s valet parking in the front,” I tell him. But he’s already coming to a stop.
Everyone is jumping out and I’m with them. Liam looks back at me, but I shake my head no. There’s no way that I’m being left behind. I can see he’s torn, but he knows better than to ask me to do that.
We sprint to the front door and I somehow make it to the front desk first.
“Reginald Cleary’s room?” I ask, my voice sounding weird and frantic even to my own ears.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t give out that kind of information.
“You’ll give it or we’re going to have problems,” Liam orders.
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t,” the clerk says, obviously nervous.
Liam leans in and drops his voice down to a deadly level. “That motherfucker up there is a known felon. He’s lef
t a trail of corpses from here to the East Coast. He has my sister-in-law up there in that hotel room and if you don’t tell me what room he’s in, you better believe we’re going to have problems.”
“Please help us,” I plead, desperate. I watch as the clerk carefully takes out a hotel card. She types on the screen and runs the card through some kind of machine. She slides it across the counter to me.
“Room 714,” she whispers. I grab the card with shaking hands, tears in my eyes. Then, I call out my thank you as we run toward the elevator.
Once we get inside, Liam takes the card out of my hand and he holds my face, framing it in his large hands.
“Ice, I need you to keep a clear head. You stay behind me the entire time. You let my body cover you and you hold onto my belt loop. You don’t move away from me. Got it?”
“Got it,” I reply, nodding my head.
The elevator ride seems to take forever. When the doors slide open, Liam moves quickly, but quieter than before down the hall. He draws his gun and my eyes automatically go beside me to where Rebel is and he has a gun drawn, too. We make it to the door, and Liam looks at me. I immediately get behind him, hooking my finger into his belt loop. He puts the card in the door and the small light turns green and I hear the clicking of the lock. I watch him turn the knob. There’s no screaming coming from the other side. There’s no noise at all. I’m terrified of what we will see when that door opens.
We’re already too late.
Fury
I shove the door open so hard it slams against the wall. I step in, casing the place, finger on my trigger and cover every corner of the room. I hear Ellie gasp. She’s spotted her sister. She’s lying on the bed, covered in blood, holding Glenna. Ellie goes to them, and I curse under my breath as I use my body to shield her, giving her my back as I stay on alert.
Rebel goes around us after securing the door and putting the safety lock on. He goes into the bathroom. And a second later he calls out, “Clear!”
He walks back into the room, pulling the curtains open, to make sure Wolf isn’t lurking behind them.
“Fuck,” I hiss, shoving my gun in the back of my pants. “He’s gone.”
“Where’s Devil?” Rebel asks.
“I think he missed the elevator. He doesn’t move as fast as we do. He’ll be here,” I mutter.
“She’s dead,” Dawn says, so quietly that I almost miss what she’s saying.
“Fuck, this is a mess. He slit her fucking throat,” Rebel growls.
I reach down and touch Glenna’s neck, for a pulse. I know it’s useless, her eyes are open and glassy. There’s no way she’s alive. I am surprised because the body is warm, however.
“Dawn,” I snap. Dawn ignores me, continuing to just rock Glenna in her arms. “Dawn,” I growl more sternly. “When did Wolf leave?”
Dawn’s dazed eyes come to me for a second, but then she turns away.
“Dawn, honey, when did Reggie leave?” Ellie asks more softly, holding Dawn’s face and forcing her to look at her.
“He left right before you got here,” she says, surprising the fuck out of me. I figured she’d be too looney to answer. It’s obvious she’s in deep shock. She might also be completely wrong and Wolf left hours ago. I have to see if we can find any signs of him, however. Plus, I doubt Wolf can get the drop on Devil, since Devil is looking for him, but I don’t like the fact he’s not here, yet.
“Ice—”
“Go, I’m calling 911. You see if you can find this bastard,” she says, seemingly in complete control now that she knows Dawn is alive. “Keep the fucking door locked and I mean the safety lock. Follow me and do it the minute I go out.”
She does immediately as I ask, and I know it’s not the place for it, but I tilt down and kiss her quickly on the lips.
“Be safe,” she says and then Rebel and I are out the door and down the hall. We take the stairs, wanting to make sure the motherfucker isn’t hiding in them. If we don’t find any sign of him, I’m going to personally go door by door. I won’t let him get away again. He’s haunted my family for way too long.
Devil
I lean against the cement pillar, waiting. I can’t tell you for the life of me what makes me so positive that Wolf is going to show up, but I just know it. Suddenly everything around me is clear and I know without a shadow of a doubt that my waiting is over. Finally, after all of this time, I will have my hands on Wolf.
I should end him quickly and be done with it, but I won’t. I’m going to take my time with the motherfucker and enjoy every minute of it. When we were going into the hotel, I saw the car parked at the edge of the alley. It’s a silver Corvette. I mean, Wolf likes luxury and he loves to be flashy, and this is one of the best hotels in a huge city. That Vette could belong to anyone, but the vanity plates on the front snagged my attention.
Reggie 1.
Now, I might be wrong. There’s probably a million Reggie’s in Phoenix. But, considering Wolf is supposed to be here and he’s been pretending to be this Reggie, and added in the fact that Reggie’s card paid for this pricey as fuck hotel…I’m going to say it’s a good chance that Wolf is the one driving this car. I’m torn between wanting to go to the hotel room with Fury and Rebel and needing to stay down here. Wolf has proven to be a slippery motherfucker. I can’t take the chance of letting him get away. I grabbed my weapon that I despise, but am dying to use on Wolf, out of the back of the SUV. Now, I’m waiting. The longer time goes by without Wolf showing up, the more I’m starting to think I misjudged the sorry fuck yet again.
Then, all at once, I catch sight of a man in a blue suit, coming out of the back entrance of the hotel. He’s changed since I last met him. His hair shorter, a little grayer in his beard, and definitely wearing dressier clothes. He’s still the same bastard that has haunted my dreams for way too long, however. I stay hidden behind the pillar, listening as his footsteps bring him closer to me. Each one seems to take forever, even though I know better. Anticipation runs through me.
There’s been a lot that has happened to me since I faced losing everything and dying. I’ve gone through so much, but I’ve found my way out of the blackness, thanks to having my Angel and now our little boy. Through it all, there’s been this anger that I keep hidden. A darkness that keeps me from letting go of my past. It colors everything, even the happiness I’ve had. But, you better believe when the fucker comes close enough and I swing my bat—one covered in barbed wire, that has nails sticking out of it—the same one that the bastard used on me—I let that darkness take over. As I connect with Wolf’s gut, and he falls down on the ground, I feel a twisted joy rise up inside of me.
“Honey, I’m home,” I growl out, drawing my bat back and slamming into his face. I hit him another three times, before Fury and Rebel come out of the building. In the distance I can hear sirens beginning to get closer.
“I guess that answers the question about where you’ve been,” Fury says and I look up at him and smile and this smile that isn’t weighed down in the darkness, because now, I finally have Wolf right where I want him.
“Quit standing there playing with your dick. Get over here and help me get this motherfucker in the trunk of that Vette over there.”
“What are you going to do with him?” Rebel asks. I lean down and find the keys to the Vette in Wolf’s pocket. Next, I stomp my foot into Wolf’s balls. He’s unconscious so he doesn’t cry like the little bitch he is, but I still enjoy grinding his balls into useless sacks.
“Anything I fucking want,” I tell him, spitting on Wolf, just before my brothers help me load him up.
Ellie
“Dawn, honey. You need to get dressed,” I tell her, my heart hurting as I see Dawn. She’s still holding Glenna. She won’t let her go.
“She’s dead, Ellie.”
“I know, Dawn. But, listen. The cops are on their way. You don’t want to be naked when they come.”
“The cops?” she asks, her eyes going wide. I see the fear there and I rush
to reassure her.
“They have to come, Sis. Glenna is dead. We need to report it and make sure they know who did this.”
“No. Don’t call the police, Ellie. We can’t let them find her. We have to hide her.”
“It’s too late, Dawn. We have to let this play through. Glenna is gone. We have to report the man that did this. We have to make sure that he can’t hurt any other women.”
“I…Reggie. Reggie did this. They’ll understand that,” she says and I blink. It’s then I see the white reside on her nose. Dang it. I look around the bed and don’t see anything, but on the floor almost under the bed is an empty vile and an old straw.
“Dawn, are you high?” I ask.
“He made us. He said he would kill us and then…. Glenna’s dead,” she moans. “She’s dead, Ellie.”
“I know, Dawn. I’m so sorry.”
“She dead. He killed her, Ellie. He killed her.”
“Put this on, Dawn,” I tell her softly, realizing that she’s too messed up to make sense at this point. She finally pulls away from Glenna and I wrap the robe around her. “Sit down in that chair. I’m going to get a cloth to wash your face.” She nods, her gaze never turning away from Glenna, but walking like a zombie to the chair.
I quickly go to the bathroom to wet a washcloth. When I walk back into the room, I stop abruptly. Dawn is standing at the bed, she’s pulled the sleeve of her robe down—almost like a glove—and she’s holding a knife. She’s using the tail end of the robe to wipe it clean. She puts it down beside Glenna, and just keeps staring at it.
“Dawn. What are you doing?”
“I…” her face jerks up to look at me, panic written all over her. I’m starting to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I hate myself for what I’m imagining right now, but I can’t help it.
Why would Dawn wipe the knife clean?