by Hart, Eve R.
Andrew cried and pleaded for Sketch to stop. He begged for mercy and asked for us to just end it all.
But there was no way I was going to let that happen.
Sketch stood up and wiped the spot with a torn part of the guy’s shirt as he studied his work. I shook my head not knowing what the hell to say.
Rules.
I read the word in my head then looked over at Sketch.
“Same as her.” There was a dead look in his eyes.
“Tell us where the girls are,” I said. I was trying my hardest to stay calm.
“I don’t know! Okay! I don’t know where all of them are!” he yelled out.
“Who was at these auctions? Let’s start there.”
“Fuck,” he said and I could tell he was close to cracking.
Then he went silent for a long while.
“Fine,” I said reaching for the baseball bat that was propped up against the wall. “One of the other girls found in that room was beaten black and blue.”
I didn’t have a whole lot of room to work with, but I did the best I could as I swung it down onto his stomach.
“Shit. Stop!” he screamed like it would make me quit.
The next one landed on his ribs and I was pretty sure the crunch that filled the box wasn’t a good thing.
I swung it to the side, bringing it back to smash into the side of his face. I had surprisingly good aim considering I’d never played baseball in my life.
His cheek split open with that one and looked like it swelled up instantly.
“Okay, okay!” I paused and waited for him to say something else. “On my computer. There’s a list on my computer. At my house.”
“The computer that you remotely wiped?” I asked with a raised brow.
Nice try, asshole.
“Shit, yeah,” he said and I got ready to swing again. “I have a backup!”
“Tell me,” I demanded as I let the bat fall limp at my side.
“There’s a flash drive in my house. It has everything I kept on him and his auctions.”
“Where?” I asked impatiently.
“In the kitchen sink,” he said sounding dead serious.
“In the fucking kitchen sink?” I asked dumbfounded. “You mean under the cement that is currently filling up your kitchen sink?”
“In it.”
“Inside the cement?” I asked just to make sure I was getting it right.
“Yeah,” he said and nodded as much as his position would allow.
“Fucking shit,” I muttered under my breath.
I looked up at Sketch and he just shrugged.
“You better not be fuckin’ with me,” I said.
I made sure he was good and secure to that table before I walked out.
I pulled my phone out and called Iron.
“So he says there’s a flash drive with names of people that went to Keften’s auctions,” I said right away.
“He tell you where it is?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a frustrated chuckle. “Get this shit, it’s in the cement in the sink.”
“You’re fuckin’ with me.” He sounded much like he didn’t believe it.
“Nope.”
“Fuck,” he breathed out sounding resigned. “Let’s go get it. I’ll grab some tools and meet you over there.”
I told Sketch to stay behind and watch the container. I didn’t want him going over there and seeing all the shit this guy had up on the walls. Sketch was close to losing it and I imagined that seeing all those photos of Claire would have set him over the edge. I didn’t need this Andrew fuck dead before we got what we needed.
Iron and B-ry pulled up just as I flicked my kickstand down. They got out of the SUV and went around to the back.
I headed for the house knowing that they probably didn’t need any help.
As I stared down at the fucking sink, I thought of how fucking messy this was going to get.
“It better be in there,” Iron said as he held the demolition hammer while B-ry got on all his safety gear.
Iron and I got suited up with our own safety shit after B-ry hopped up on the counter and straddled the sink, looking like he was ready to get shit done.
It was loud and since we had no idea where this thing was, we had to take off tiny chunks at a time. B-ry switched off and I stepped up to take his place after we’d cleared some of the broken chunks out of the way.
Damn.
I’d forgotten how much this damn thing vibrated.
“I think I see something,” I called out even though they were right there.
Awkwardly, I squatted down and brushed some of the debris away.
“Thank fuck he’s wearing clothes for this,” B-ry said with a chuckle and as I looked up, I realized that my crotch was pretty much right there in their faces. Yeah, I couldn’t even blame him for that.
I let out a laugh and tossed a piece of concrete his way.
“Yeah,” I said as I brushed my fingers over what looked like duct tape. “I’m gonna take off a little more, tell me when I get close.”
I couldn’t see what the fuck I was doing because the thing was big and in the way.
“Stop,” Iron called out as he threw up his hand.
We did this a few more times until what turned out to be a giant ball of duck tape was half hanging free.
I hopped down as B-ry pulled out his knife and attempted to delicately cut into the thing.
Finally, he pulled out a small rolled up plastic bag. It was kind of funny watching him trying to wrestle it free from the tape.
“At least it’s not a foot,” I said taking the bag and pulling out the flash drive.
“Foot?” B-ry asked looking like he was missing something huge.
“Check the freezer,” I said with a laugh and nodded to Iron before making my way to the front of the house.
“Oh, fuck! What the hell?!” B-ry’s terrified roar followed me all the way outside.
“See you back at the compound,” I said as I mounted my bike then took off.
Turned out the thing was fucking encrypted. I shouldn’t have been surprised. And really, I wasn’t. I was no longer holding my breath that this would be easy.
Sure, I probably could have eventually cracked it. But why even try when I had a man tied to a table that could get me what I needed.
So I drove back over to see him.
Laptop and flash drive in hand, I walked over to the shipping container, giving Sketch a nod as I went inside. He followed me in but hung back a bit.
“Think you’re fuckin’ smart, huh?” I asked as I yanked on the chains that bound his wrists.
He chuckled but it didn’t last long.
I plopped the laptop down on his thighs, not giving a shit if I hurt any part of him. Then I released his arms and watched as he struggled to sit up.
“Type in the password, now,” I barked.
“Why would I do that? Then you won’t have a reason to keep me alive.”
“Put. In. The. Fucking. Password. Right. The. Fuck. Now!” I was done playing games.
He flinched but still didn’t make a move to do what I said.
There was almost a hint of a smirk on his face and he reminded me of a defiant spoiled rotten kid.
With a smirk of my own, I grabbed my knife. And before he could even figure out what was going on, I brought it down and plunged it into the back of his hand. I would have kept going but the metal top of the table stopped the blade.
He wailed and screamed as I held firm so he couldn’t pull his hand free. He was trying to jerk his hand away and I knew that shit had to hurt.
“Only need one hand to type. Get to it,” I said in a calm tone.
He didn’t hesitate this time, his hand moving over the keys with lightning speed even though he was only using one.
“There. Done. Everything is in the file labeled party,” he said.
With my free hand, I navigated the mouse and made sure the file was what we were lookin
g for. It seemed right. A few of the names I recognized.
“The ones in blue I’m pretty sure were buyers. But I have no solid proof.” His tone was defeated and resigned.
In a few clicks, I turned the encryption off on the flash drive. I no longer needed him. I knew it. He knew it. There was no sense in drawing it out anymore.
I ripped the knife out of his hand and in a flash, I plunged it into the side of his neck. Blood spurted everywhere as I yanked the knife back.
His eyes were wide as he brought his hand up like he could somehow stop the bleeding.
“She was never yours,” I whispered right before his eyes fluttered closed and his body fell back against the table.
I wiped the blood from my hands and then called Iron.
“It’s done,” I said then dropped the call.
I needed a little bit of time and space to get my head on straight before I dealt with anyone.
As I turned, I was almost startled by Sketch standing not three feet from me. I’d completely forgotten he’d been there. Then again, he had been oddly quiet.
“Take a ride. Clear your head,” he said with a slight nod like he knew what was up right now. “I’ll make sure this gets handled.”
I couldn’t talk.
I could barely think right now.
So I gave him a chin jerk then made my way outside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Claire
Things were good. For once in a long time, things were looking up. I couldn’t believe that it took me going through hell to get to this point but I was doing my best not to look back.
I’d been clean for seven months now.
I’d gotten a job.
I’d gotten an apartment.
I paid all my bills on time and I was looking forward to what would come next in my life.
It had been a long, hard road to get here. But I’d walked it. I’d pushed through and stood on my own. I’d shown life my middle finger, that was for sure. And though I knew I still had a mountain to climb, I was ready to do it.
I was focusing on one day at a time and so far, that had been working out for me.
“You’re up. Table six,” Lavinia said as she tossed me a wink.
Yes, the same Lavinia that had been on my list. The same one that had been trapped in hell right along with me.
Needless to say, we had bonded over that horrible time in our lives and we were both making each day count for the better.
“What’s with the wink?” I asked with a giggle as I subconsciously ran my fingers through my hair like it might fix the frizzy mess it had become from the dinner rush earlier. The bad thing about short hair was that I couldn’t just smooth it back into a ponytail and move on.
This job wasn’t easy. Three times a day it was packed and you had table after table for a couple of hours. But I didn’t think I could love it any more than I did.
“He is fine, girl. I almost took your table.” She let out a throaty laugh as I swatted her with my pad. “I said almost.”
I peeked around the corner, Lavinia doing the same over top of me.
The man had his back to me, his form hunched over slightly as he looked over the menu. I couldn’t see his face, but what I could see were his rippling muscles through his shirt and golden tan skin. He had a thick head of dark hair and I could see a bit of beard just above where his shoulder cut off my view.
Fine was not a word I would have used to describe this man. Just, wow!
I wasn’t ready to date again. Or even think about men, really. But I could look. And boy, did I.
“I can’t go out there,” I said in a harsh whisper like he could somehow hear me from that far away.
Then his head tilted to the side like he had. Which was insane. I got a glimpse of his full lips and I about died.
“Wow,” I breathed out and tried to hold my body still as a shiver traced its way down my spine. “That man is like perfect.”
Too bad I couldn’t see his eyes.
“Yeah,” Lavinia said with a shrug. “I bet he’s got some weird thing. Like, he has some creepy doll collection. Or likes to watch alien porn.”
“Or likes to walk around naked,” I said and we both giggled.
“I don’t see where that would be such a bad thing.”
“True.” I gave a little nod like there was no way I could argue with that. “Okay, I shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer.”
She gave me a little shove and I narrowed my eyes at her as I caught myself out of a klutzy stumble. To which she just smiled widely and shot me another wink.
“Hi,” I said brightly as I reached his table. My eyes remained on my pad as I held it up in one hand with my pen in the other like I was ready to take his order and run. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water, please.”
That voice. Holy hell balls! Smooth. Soft. Confident but not cocky. All mixed with a tinge of sweetness.
“You got it. Do you know what you want to eat yet?” I asked and even I could tell that my voice was a little shaky. Damn, I was practically humming on the inside. I didn’t have the first clue what that was about.
“What do you recommend?”
And then my damn eyes betrayed me, slowly dragging themselves up to meet his rich, dark chocolate ones.
I was goo. A puddle on the floor. Someone needed to come mop me up right now before I completely embarrassed myself.
“Well, the WTF burger is a big seller. But if it were me, I’d pick something a little less crazy. Like the baked chicken platter.” My arm dropped and I pointed at where it was on the menu. I had to do something to break the eye contact because it was just a bit too intense right now. “But today I’d switch out the mashed potatoes for the lemon cup.”
“Lemon cup?” he asked and he almost sounded amused.
“Yeah. I mean, if you like tart things. It’s fresh made lemon custard with a dusting of graham crackers and topped with whipped cream.”
“That sounds good. I’ll get that.”
“Yeah?” I asked and the surprise was clear in my tone.
“Yeah,” he repeated and his lips tipped up with a small, sweet smile.
“Okay,” I said sounding like an idiot as my head did this weird fast nod thing a few times. “I’ll put that in for you. Oh, and be back with your water.”
He didn’t say thanks, but his eyes did.
Huh?
His eyes did?
Clearly, this man was quickly sucking out my brain cells.
Good thing I didn’t say that out loud.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said to Lavinia in one breath as my head shook. I knew my cheeks were bright red and with my pale skin, I had no doubt that it showed.
Her laugh followed me all the way to the kitchen where I put his order in.
“I forgot to ask if you wanted lemon with your water, so I just brought you a few on the side,” I said trying like hell to set the cup and bowl down as smoothly as possible. Yep, my hands were shaking. This guy made me nervous but not in a bad way.
“Thank you, Claire,” he said and I looked up to see him looking at my name tag. For a moment I thought I was going crazy but how could this guy that I’ve never met know my name. Silly me, it was right there for everyone to see.
“You’re welcome. Food should be out soon.” I gave a small smile and scooted off as quickly as possible.
“You okay? You look awfully flushed.” I wanted to punch her. Sure I was flustered but she didn’t have to go and point it out.
“I’m going out for some air. I’ll be back in time to grab his food.”
True to my word, I was back inside just as the bell dinged letting me know his order was up.
The rest of the time went off without any incident. I tried not to linger. And I sure as hell couldn’t make small talk even if I maybe wanted to know about the breathtaking stranger.
“So, how was it?” I asked, pulling his ticket off and setting it on the table before coll
ecting his completely cleaned off dishes. Like wow, did he lick the plate? I would have paid to see that. And suddenly my head was filled with nothing but that image.
Get it together.
“It was just what I wanted. Hit the spot. Thanks.”
He placed a few bills on top of the check without even looking at it. I didn’t hesitate to scoop it up. Only as I grabbed onto the ticket and money, his thick fingers closed around my wrist.
For a second I flinched but I wasn’t sure he noticed.
Then his warm hands were gently turning my hand over, exposing the inside of my wrist.
“Every day is a fresh start, Every morn is the world made anew.” He read the words permanently etched into my skin right where I could see them whenever I needed a reminder. “Someone famous once said that.” He looked up at me with knowing eyes as his thumb lightly brushed over my tattoo.
“Oh, yeah? Well, someone extraordinary once said it to me,” I said with a nervous laugh as his fingers slipped away from my skin.
I didn’t know his name. Or his face. Or really anything about the man that had said that to me that night. But he’d been there in the darkest moment of my life. He pulled me out and set me free. He was a shadow. A ghost I wondered about often. He gave me the strength to claw myself out of the darkness and go on with just a few simple words.
I sometimes wondered if he knew what he did for me. If he had even a sliver of an idea the power he gave me with those words.
I wished I hadn’t been so fucked up that I could have remembered his face. But then again, maybe it was better this way.
“Take care of yourself, Claire,” he said and I hadn’t even realized that he’d gotten to his feet.
Then he was gone before I could even say anything back. I stood there for a long time in a crazy kind of daze, my skin still tingling from his soft touch.
The sound of a motorcycle kicking to life shocked me out of my frozen state. I watched through the massive windows as he drove off until he was no longer visible.
“Wow, it seems like good looking men make you stupid,” Lavinia said as she playfully bumped her hip into mine.
“Seems that way,” I replied in a half daze. As stupid as it might have sounded, that man did something to me. But I couldn’t even begin to explain what was going on. “Anyway.” I shook my head and glanced down at the money I was holding in my hand.