by Jenica Saren
Unable to behold the sight before me, I begged and prayed that I wasn't in that hospital, that I was back in the safety of the car while I waited for the guys to do their vengeance bit. It had little to nothing to do with me, anyway. As soon as I had thought about my tiny silver car, I felt the coolness of metal pressing against my back.
I opened my eyes to find myself on the other side of the mob of people and breathed a deep sigh of relief. I unlocked my car and slid in, waiting for the heat to kick on. I hadn't relaxed for even two seconds, leaning my head back on the headrest, when there was a knock on my window, and I just knew that it was one of the guys.
I glanced at Eliam standing outside with a scowl and rolled my eyes as I unlocked the doors. He walked around the front of the car to the passenger side, and when he reached the door, I locked the doors again with a smirk.
If it was even possible, his scowl deepened and he started to look really pissed. He pressed both hands to the window as he glared at me. I was positive that he could break my window if he wanted to, but I had a little faith that he would respect at least my car, if not me.
Unlocking the doors again, I waited for him to reach for the handle before locking them again. He stared at me, bemused and pissed right the hell off. I started snickering before I could control myself and hit the unlock button quickly as I saw him pull his arm back, as if to hit my beautiful baby.
He hurried inside the car and closed the door a little too roughly. "Hey, be gentle with my baby." I warned as I wagged a finger at him like he was a misbehaving child. He gave me a straight up what the fuck look and I giggled like an idiot.
"When did you learn to do that?" He asked me suspiciously.
It was my turn to give him a look. "Uh, well, at some point in history, automobile manufacturers started installing buttons that can lock and unlock doors at the owner's discretion. Weren't you hanging around at that point in time? I feel like you should know these things."
He scrubbed a hand over his face and looked up at the sky. Well, ceiling of my car, but the intent was clear. "Why me?" He grumbled. He took a steadying breath and looked back at me. "I mean traveling. Moving from one place to appear at another in seconds. That." He clipped.
"Oh, that." I rolled my eyes, thinking that he could have probably just been a little bit more specific. "I did it this morning on accident. I feel a little bit like I've got the ruby slippers on." I admitted.
"Well Dorothy, you're still in Kansas, it's just a little more fucked up than you knew it was." He quipped tiredly.
I was a little confused about why Eliam of all the guys would be the one to follow me, but I wasn't going to question it too much. We seemed to at least have an amiable relationship now and I didn't want to mess it up by interrogating him every time he said or did something that resembled concern.
We sat in companionable silence for I don't even know how long, before I finally felt the need to ask. "Holden?"
"The others are looking for him. We don't know how he slipped away without us noticing, but Gray will have found something by now." He informed me. I appreciated him actually communicating with me on the issue.
I thought about Gray chasing down anyone and it made me want to laugh. "Why would Gray be the one to find him? Isn't he Sloth?" I asked.
Apparently, my question was hilarious, because Eliam broke out in a very short spasmodic sort of laugh, as though he hadn't expected something so funny. "The good thing about Gray is that he will always find the easiest way to do something."
When I thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense. If I was lazy, I would find the solution with the least amount of hurdles to overcome. It never really occurred to me that Sloth may correlate with laziness, but neither equaled unmotivated. It was some pretty interesting insight that made me realize how ignorant and blissfully unaware I had been before meeting the guys. I didn't even know that there was a single town still in existence that openly rejected homosexuality.
Proving Eliam right, Gray, Rafe, Gatlin, Beck, and Kellan emerged from the hoard of people and headed straight for the Jeep parked right beside my car. Beck paused at my window and rolled it down.
"Security footage showed him leaving in his car about an hour ago. Our best guess is that he went home, so the plan is to confront him there." He said, looking mostly at Eliam. He glanced at me and I nodded.
"I'll meet you guys there." I told him. He winked at me and made his way back around the Jeep.
I cocked my head to the side as I eyed the blonde, casanova beside me. "I'll ride with you." He said casually, as though he volunteered to spend alone time with me every day.
I shrugged at him and put my car in gear, following behind the guys as we all made our way to the house of a man who completely deserved to burn in hell.
* * *
"Wow, I thought our place was rural." I said offhandedly to Eliam as we pulled around the paved, circular drive in front of the mayor's mansion.
It was a beautiful house, if it could even be called that; the entire place was built like a museum. If the White House had a younger brother, this house would be it. Upon getting out of the car, I noticed two things at once.
Rafe spoke before I could get a word out, pointing at a sleek, black SUV parked in the drive. "He's here. What's the game plan?" He asked his brothers.
I put my hand up, only to be ignored. "Guys, I-"
"I think Beck and I should go around back and make sure we're there in case he makes a break for it." Gatlin suggested, cutting me off.
As I opened my mouth to speak again, I was cut off once more by Kellan. "I think we should all just go in at once. He's not going to get very far." He rumbled, driving his point home with a cheesy punch in his own hand.
The guys all nodded in agreement, their faces serious.
"Guys!" I yelled, annoyed at the fact that I was being ignored.
They all started walking inside and Gray looked over his shoulder at me. "Ria, you should wait in the car. This won't take long." He turned back to face the house as he continued walking away.
I felt an angry heat creeping up my neck and cheeks as I shook with anger. I tried to recreate the feeling that I had in the kitchen, but couldn't seem to pinpoint it. Instead, I focused on doing that traveling thing that I had done before, thinking and wishing that I was in front of them.
When I traveled to the front door, arms spread wide, the guys all stopped in their tracks. "Eliam, isn't that your fucking car?" I asked angrily, pointing at the sleek, red Camaro, mostly hidden by a car cover.
As one, each man turned and looked at the little corner of the car that could be seen from under the drab cover. Everyone seemed at a loss for words as realization dawned on us.
I threw the door open and bolted inside, mildly surprised that there wasn't a security system activated as it was already dusk. I ran to each room that had a light on, my heart beating in my chest at a thousand miles per hour. I started running up the stairs, following a feeling I had in my gut.
When I reached the top, I ran into the first room I saw with a light on and practically skidded to a halt, my eyes going wide and my breath caught in my throat. I put my hand to my chest and tried to breathe through the itchy feeling in the back of my throat that meant I was about to cry.
"Guys, in here." I called out, looking down at the sight before me and trying my very best to stay standing.
29
Ria
My best friend was kneeling there on the floor, a knife in her hand that was as drenched in blood as the rest of her was. Mayor Holden's body lay motionless on the floor before her, his open eyes glazed over and staring upward into nothingness.
I stepped slowly and cautiously over to my friend, being careful to avoid the pooling blood on the marble flooring and the body of the man who had caused so much harm. Drea didn't move as I approached, she only stared down at the body of her stepfather with emotionless eyes, her body quivering ever so slightly.
"Drea, sweetie, it's okay." I told
her, gently coaxing her with my voice to meet my eyes. Out of the corner of my vision, I could see the guys standing in the doorway, faces grim and turned down in mild disgust. I doubted the disgust was for our fragile friend, but for Jonas, who never had an ounce of compassion in his impeccably dressed body. The mayor had been in the possession of too many sins, and it was ultimately his downfall.
It felt like hours had passed before Drea finally turned to look at me and her eyes were full of unshed tears. "Did I really do this?" She asked me on a whisper. "Is he really dead?" She looked so scared at what my answer would be, so opted for folding her into a tight hug instead. I held her while she cried and brushed her matted, bushy hair back from her face.
I felt a large hand on my shoulder after some time had passed and my friend's hysterical sobbing had calmed into silent tears. "Drea." Kellan's rough voice makes me turn and look up at him and his face is so full of agonizing heartache that I can't stand it. I may call her my best friend, but to Kel, she was so much more. She was his anchor. "Come here, little one."
Drea looked up from her place on my shoulder and burst into tears once more at the sight of her huge Trump wall of a protector. She scrambled out of my hold and practically flew into his waiting arms. "It's okay." He soothed. "We just need to know what happened." He put a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his, forcing her to look at him.
Her lower lip quivered and she opened her mouth to speak before shutting it again. She looked to me and I nodded encouragingly, giving her a small smile. "I heard you guys talking and you said that he was the most likely culprit." She explained in a soft voice. "I ran home to look for evidence and he found me in his office. He told me I was a disappointment and that if I had just been normal, my sister and I would have had a happier life." Tears welled up in her eyes again and my heart broke for her all over again. How could one person have so much hate in their heart? I just couldn't understand it.
I stood up and stepped over to where Drea stood in Kel's embrace and rubbed small circles into her back for comfort. "What happened after, babe?" I asked as gently as I could, knowing that this must have been the painful part.
She took a deep, shaky breath and continued. "He told me how Ana would be devastated to learn of my death when she woke up and he rushed at me. I ran for the kitchen, but he beat me there and pinned me against the sink. I got away and ran for my mom's old study, which is where we are now, and grabbed the knife from her desk right there." She pointed an unsteady finger at the huge desk in the corner of the room, looking like someone would be back to do work there any moment. Only, I knew that wasn't the case for this room. Her mother wasn't missing, she was dead. I didn't want to have to tell Drea what we had found out. "I only wanted to defend myself, I swear."
Eliam stepped up to my side and placed his own hand on Drea's arm, gently rubbing the spot with his thumb. "We know, love. You're no killer." He stated in an attempt to console her. Which, of course, only made her cry again. He looked at me, alarmed, and I only shrugged. It wasn't his attitude... This time, anyway.
"Except, I am." She wailed, the pitch hurting my ears. "He told me he killed my mom. He said that he'd bury me next to her to rot together. I just... I lost it. Everything went red and I couldn't seem to stop myself." She fell to her knees, out of Kellan's arms, and buried her face in her hands as she fell into a fit of hysterics.
I dropped to my knees beside her and wrapped my arms around her small, shaking body. "He was a horrible person, Drea. He was consumed by his sins and would never be able to redeem himself. This was a mercy on his soul." I told her gently.
I looked to the guys and each of them nodded in turn. I did good, which seemed to be a first. The whole sin thing seemed to make it a lot easier to explain things. Maybe that's why people clung to that belief.
"We have to go now, babe. The guys will take care of this while we go outside, okay?" Drea didn't look at me, but nodded anyway, her gaze glued to the floor beneath us.
I got to my feet and hauled my friend with me, still holding her as close as I could manage without falling over. She needed me and I was going to be there for her, no matter what. I managed to get us down the absurd number of stairs without falling flat on my face, and once we were on the ground I felt like I could relax a little. No offence to my BFF, but she was a whole lot of dead weight at the moment.
"Can you walk now?" I asked her, trying really hard not to sound as hopeful as I felt.
She nodded back to me and my whole body flooded with relief. Thank literally everything.
We made our way to the glass patio door at the back of the massive house and stepped outside into the crisp, cool night air. It seemed to have a strengthening effect on Drea, who was standing there with her arms outstretched at her sides like she was standing in snow. Her mind was probably a little broken with trauma after tonight - hell, her whole life was traumatizing - but I wanted to be there and help her. I knew all to well the struggle with demons that liked to lurk in the shadows of our minds.
I don't even remember how long we sat out there in silence, looking up at the cloudless night sky and soaking in the peaceful, majestic sight of the twinkling stars above us. It was startling to realize that it was also a moonless night. The darkness seemed to make the stars stand out even more than usual, and I felt like it must have been a sign.
Even as I enjoyed the lurking sense of victory over the evil man whose soul was now washed clean from the face of the earth, I felt like something was wrong. Very wrong. How did Jonas Holden do what he did to all of those people? How did he make them all into mindless shells of the people they once were. It just didn't make any sense at all to me. If it was scientific, then the guys would not have sensed magic at play. If it was magical, how did he get his hands on it and harness it? There were too many missing pieces to the puzzle and I didn't like the feeling that this realization gave me in the very pit of my stomach.
Even my inner self seemed uneasy, pacing back and forth, sweat beading on her brow, looking green with sickness. Something wasn't right. But if that was so, what was wrong?
The guys came filing one by one out the back door as I resurfaced from my deep and troubling thoughts. I would have to mention it to them as soon as possible, because I was sure they would realize how right I was and that there seemed to be a bigger threat looming over us all.
Gatlin stepped in close to me and I smiled tightly up at him. I was exhausted and completely drained. I wanted to go home and stop getting interrupted, because a little boot knocking sounded real good after so much fucking crazy. "Everything's taken care of. Let's head home, okay?" He said to me, sounding worn out and nearly dead on his feet.
I nodded my agreement and looked beside me at Drea, who was fast asleep in Kellan's arms as he carried her like a newborn child. I wondered if he had been a dad of any kind in his many years. I remembered Gray's heartbreaking story about his family in Moscow many centuries before and realized that it was a very strong possibility. These guys had millennia to form relationships and build many lives before I came along. I wasn't a very jealous person, but the knowledge definitely stung more than I would have liked to admit.
"Let's go." I told Gatlin as I reached to hold his arm as we walked. We went around the side of the house with Kellan and Drea while the others went through the house and turned off the lights and locked the doors. When we reached the cars, I slid into the back of the Jeep and let the custom leather seats support the weight of all worries that were sitting on my shoulders. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Kellan piled into the back with me, Drea tucked into his arms and sitting on his lap, while Gatlin moved to the driver's seat. Gray climbed into the passenger seat and leaned his head back heavily against the headrest. Eliam, Beck, and Rafe were likely driving my car, but I didn't care. I didn't feel like driving and being near Eliam lately was making my hormones skyrocket like nobody's business. I just didn't have the energy to deal with all that crazy at the moment.
>
Before I knew it we were on the road and I was seriously contemplating just taking a quick nap, but I needed to talk to the guys, no matter how much my eyes wanted to close.
"Guys." I said while leaning forward and rubbing my eyes to get rid of some of the sleepiness. "Something doesn't feel right." I watched Gatlin's eyes dart to mine in the rear view mirror before turning back to focus on the road. Kellan turned his attention full on me, his bright eyes making my squirm a little in my seat with the intensity of them.
Gatlin was the first to speak, saving me from my own libido. "What do you mean?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.
I rubbed my eyes some more and leaned on the seat in front of me, accidentally catching some of Gray's hair in my hands. "I don't know," I struggled to explain the feeling I had. "I don't think he was our guy. Things just don't add up."
"He's the only one with enough motive and the only one we could find any real evidence against, Ria. If it's not him, we're back to square one." Kellan interjects.
"He's right. There's enough information in our favour to prove that he was the one behind it all." Gatlin told me, a little too condescendingly. "I think you're just exhausted and it's making you a little paranoid."
I bristled at his words and seriously wondered how guys could be so fucking dense sometimes. "I'm not paranoid, Gat. I can feel it, in my gut. Something is very, very wrong."
"I agree with Gatlin. We've been full-fledged Sins for a lot longer than you have even been alive. We don't sense any danger anymore." Gray said, his heavily accented voice only irritating me at that particular moment.