Page 89 of Slaughter

I turn my back on them, running a hand down my face. I know they’re right. But what if he never goes to her? How long will she survive out there without me? I don’t want to find out.

_______________

It’s been forty-eight hours since she was taken, and I’ve done nothing but pace. And drink.

My hands itch to tear Darrell’s head off, but every time I go to make a move, my brother or Kayn get in my way. I’m about to rip both of their heads off just because I can.

I’m in my study, sitting at my desk. I open the top drawer and see her cell sitting there. I haven’t looked at it other than that one time. And it’s dead. Plugging it in, I turn it on. After a few seconds of it vibrating, it shows over fifty texts and ten voicemails.

I open it up and go through her pictures again, but instead of looking at the ones in the front, I scroll to the older ones. When I come to one that has me in it, my heart instantly stops. We’re young. She was sixteen and I was eighteen. It was taken sitting outside by my pool in the house I grew up in. You can tell it’s a picture she took of the original. She’s standing between me and my best friend. The guy she left me for. The one she chose. When there should have never been a competition to begin with. I should have seen it coming. I always found him too close to her. He would go out of his way when he came over to talk to her. She told me they were just friends, but I should have known better.

Twelve years ago

She sits at the outside bar, sipping on some lemonade in a pink two-piece. I promised her we would go swimming after I finished playing basketball. She has half her short blond hair up in a high ponytail. Her white sunglasses cover her face, and she’s smiling right at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Just admiring you,” she answers.

I look away from her, bounce the ball, and then jump up and shoot it. When it hits nothing but net, she claps.

“Best two out of three?” Tristan whines.

“Nope. Promised Bunny I’d go swimming with her.”

He picks up the ball and rolls his eyes.

I turn to walk over to her but stop when I see my friend Mitch standing beside her. I punched him in the fucking face a few weeks ago when I walked in on them playing pool and he had his hands all over her. I warned him to stay away from her, but he hasn’t listened. She takes a step back from him, and he matches it. Lowering his head, he looks her up and down, and my blood starts to boil when he reaches out for her. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles nervously. “Avery. I’m ready when you are.” Then she turns around, giving both of us her back, and walks off, heading toward the pool.

Mitch walks toward me and winks before passing. “Tristan, I’ll play you,” he calls out.

I fist my hands and ignore the desire to punch him again. She assured me last time that nothing was there. He can try all he wants, but nothing will come of it. Instead, I remove my sweaty shirt and head toward the pool to be with my girl.

I power off her phone and drop it back into my desk drawer before slamming it shut. I stand, needing to move.

Promises. She’s the reason I quit making them. She’s the reason for every decision I have ever made.

How dare she do this to me! She fucking plays me. Leaves me. Ruins me. Then eleven years later, I take her with every intention to ruin her in return and then this happens!

She makes me feel again!

Makes me fucking love her again!

You never stopped loving her.

“FUCK!” I grab the nearest thing I see, which is an empty glass that held my scotch from earlier, and throw it across the room. It shatters into a million pieces when it hits the brick fireplace.

I turn to face my desk, grip the edge, and turn it over. My computer goes crashing off it to the floor along with my keyboard, cell and office phone. The drawers I didn’t have locked fall open, and the contents come falling out. My gun hits the floor with a clank.

My door swings open, and Kayn comes running in, gun drawn, followed by Tristan.

“Avery, man, you have to calm down.” My brother sighs when he sees my mess.

Fuck calm! I’ve never been rational when it came to Bunny. Why start now? No matter what she had done to me in the past, she is everything to me.

My rage.

My love.

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