Page 9 of Grim

I continued forward but stopped when a tall, slender man with dark clothing stepped out of the shadows. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m ah... I’m Steven’s sister,” I answer nervously. “He told me to bring this bag over to Jimmy.”

“Hmm.” He gave me the once over, then motioned his head towards the doorway. “He’s down the hall.”

His voice was deep and menacing, which only amplified the anxiety that had been building inside of me. I moved further into the house and the distant sounds of a television and the occasional creak of the floorboards had my stomach in knots. And with each step, that knot grew tighter.

When I finally made it to his room, I knocked softly on the door. Seconds later, the door opened, and Jimmy appeared with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes. Knowing I’d just woken him, I tried to play nice and smiled as I whispered, “Hey, Jimmy.”

"It’s seven in the morning.”

“Yeah, I know.” I held up the duffle bag as I told him, “Steven told me to bring this by.”

“Fuck.” His gaze shifted from me to the bag as he grumbled, “You were supposed to bring it last night.”

“I’m sorry.” I shrugged. “I was just doing what he told me.”

“It’s cool.” He took the bag and tossed it on the table, then turned his attention back to me. His eyes skirted over me as he said, “It’s pretty cold out there. Come in and warm up for a minute.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I wasn’t asking.” He reached out and grabbed my arm, jerking me towards him. “You don’t have to make this hard, babe. I know you’re into me.”

“I think you need to ease up on the drugs, Jimmy.”

“You uptight little bitch.” The fury in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. “You wanna think you’re better than me, but you’re not. And one day, I’m gonna fuck some sense into you.”

“Go to hell.”

I yanked my arm free and charged for the door. I didn’t get far before I heard him coming after me. I picked up the pace, but I wasn’t fast enough. I’d just rounded the corner when he grabbed hold of my hair and gave it a hard jerk, forcing me to fall back on my ass. “You best watch your fucking mouth.”

“Screw you, Jimmy.”

“You live with an Assassin. That makes you Assassin property. We’re gonna fuck you good and hard, each and every one of us, and when we’re done, you’ll be all used up.” He reached down and grabbed hold of my throat, squeezing it tightly as he forced me to my feet. “Then, we’ll go for your little girl. Won’t no one want either one of you when we’re done.”

“I’ll die before I let that happen.”

“The clock’s tickin’.”

Horrified, I stormed out of his house and raced outside. I jumped into my car, and tears streamed down my face as I started the engine and sped towards the drug store. That was it. The time had come.

I had to get away from Steven, Jimmy, and the rest of those asshole Assassins before they made good on Jimmy’s threats.

I just had no idea where I was going to go.

And to make matters worse, Christmas was right around the corner, and we were going to be on the streets.

Damn.

I couldn’t catch a break.

Grim

Relief washed over me when I spotted the familiar lookout tower in the distance. The clubhouse was just around the bend, which meant after two and a half days of driving, I was finally home.

The building used to be an old, abandoned textile mill. It was right on the river and a prime spot for coming in and out of the city—which is why we’d bought it and converted it into our clubhouse. Eager to get inside, I pulled through the gate and parked. I’d just gotten out of the truck when I noticed Prez walking towards me.

Surprise marked his face as he asked, “Where’s Beck?”

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