Page 29 of The Aftermath

“No, man. This is all kinds of fucked up. Get Levi and meet me there.”

“Okay. We’ll be there.” The line goes dead, and I speed all the way there. Of course, I arrive before the guys do.

When I enter, I spot Hunter. We lock eyes and he knows something is wrong.

“What do you need?” he asks, knowing I need something, although I don’t know what.

“Ry and Levi are on the way. We need to talk,” I answer him.

“You okay?”

“No, man. I’m not okay. I’m-I’m fucking losing my mind here.” I tug at my hair. Fuck. He knows this is bad. He slaps a hand on my shoulder before he walks off and comes back with some beers and hard liquor. Maybe that’s what I need. I need to numb my fucking mind. I need to numb everything before I lose it.

I take the beer and take it down before grabbing the bottle of liquor, too. I keep drinking until I hear Rylan and Levi. I turn my head and look over my shoulder at them, and they can tell instantly this isn’t going to be good. They both come and take a seat as Hoax joins us.

“This about what we talked about?” Hoax asks me. I nod my head. “Fuck.”

“Fuck is right. I’m going to say some shit, and I need you all to stay fucking calm because I don’t know if I can right now,” I admit. The guys agree, and I go on to tell them about the deal I made with Matt and what the fucking mayor said before I blew his fucking head off. I tell them about the girl and how my dad has to fucking know who it is.

They’re all pissed but not as much as me. And now I’m fucking drunk on top of that. I’m slamming bottles, busting chairs, tearing the fucking place apart with my bare hands. I’m not myself. I feel like a fucking fool for not knowing what my dad was up to.

I hit Levi and went after Hoax. I’m a complete fucking mess when they tackle my ass and drag me into the middle of the room. I’m losing control right now.

Hoax grabs my hands and secures them with a chain before they’re being yanked up above my head. I laugh fucking manically as Hunter and Rylan secure my ankles. I see Levi on the phone in the corner, but I don’t give a shit who he’s talking to.

“How? Huh? How the fuck did he do it with me right under his nose?” I scream louder this time. The guys step back and leave me hanging here. In the part of my mind that isn’t spiraling, I know it’s probably best for me right now.

“You couldn’t have known, Silas. He hid it well,” Rylan tells me.

“I should have fucking known, Ry! How the fuck didn’t I know? It was a kid! A little fucking girl!” And as I scream that, I’m thankful. I’m thankful I was an only child and I didn’t have a sister because God only knows what the fuck could have happened to her. But then there’s Tamsyn and Angel and all the other fucking princesses. It could have been any of them! Any one of them.

“We’ll handle it,” Rylan says.

“Will we? Will we handle your fucking dad, too, Rylan? Are we going to take out all the fucking leaders?” I roar this time. Hoax looks calm, maybe too calm.

“It isn’t a bad idea,” he offers.

“What?” Rylan asks him.

“Taking out all the leaders. It’s not a bad idea considering they’re all fucking twisted anyway,” he adds before taking a long pull of his beer.

“It’ll have to wait.”

“Till when?”

“After the ceremony when they’re all vulnerable. Everyone will be in over their heads dealing with that shit. We wait until after,” Rylan says. I agree that makes the most sense.

“How, Rylan? How the hell do you want me to live there and not kill him? Or look him in the eye and not claw them out of his fucking head?” I ask him. I hear commotion and I know exactly who’s voice that is. I look over Rylan’s shoulder and see Angel and Tamsyn.

“Where the fuck is he?” Angel yells before our eyes lock.

“You do it for her,” Rylan adds.

Chapter 16

Angel

They have him chained to the fucking ceiling and floor. Fucking chained! I’m almost pissed, but then I glance around and see why. He tore the place up. There’s shattered glass, broken chairs, and tables lying all over the floor. I drag my gaze back to meet Silas’s and see the evil grin on his face.

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