Page 33 of Shattered Love

“What do you think?” He mocked, tilting his head to the side.

No. No, he wasn’t going to be dead. Which meant there was still a chance for us. Knowing he wasn’t going to give us any more information, I held the gun up, aimed directly at his head.

My hand didn’t shake. In fact, I was steadier than I had ever been before. This man had tortured my brother. He had mutilated my body, gifting me scars I would carry forever. And although I had no proof, I knew he had killed my father.

I clicked the safety off, Vex’s eyes flashing with fear finally. I took one step closer, the barrel resting against his head.

My heart soared with the knowledge that this man could never hurt me again. And then I clicked the safety back on, stepping away. I didn’t want to be like him. I didn’t want to be a killer.

I turned my back on the man, not allowing him to have the satisfaction of seeing my face one more time. Walking around Warner, I headed for the stairs, when a shot rang through the air. My body flinched at the noise, but I stood steady.

Warner walked out of the room, tucking his gun back into his pants. He stared at me. I stared at him. The darkness in his eyes seeping into my soul.

“You have a kind heart. Mine’s been tainted black for as long as I can remember.”

His words were a warning. A reminder that he would never be the man to show mercy. Taking a step forward until our feet touched, I raised up on my feet, wiping a fleck of blood that stained his sharp cheek.

“I don’t care,” I whispered and he inhaled deeply, his eyes darkening until they were nearly black.

Dropping back onto my heels, I asked, “Now what?”

He nodded his head back up the stairs. “Now we find out how we’re going to survive.”

Chapter Eighteen

The computers were all password protected. Warner and I figured that each computer held the same information, but there was no way to access it unless we somehow conjured the correct password.

“Maybe it’s ‘I’m a psychotic asshole’?” Murphy suggested from behind us.

After they heard the Warner’s gunshot, they had all filed downstairs, Murphy finally awake and Aiden in Rainer’s arms. Murphy seemed to be doing loads better and although Aiden was still asleep, his cheeks had some color, giving me hope.

Although Murphy’s words were clearly a joke, Warner typed it in anyway, the large red “INCORRECT CODE” filling up the screen. This was the third computer we had tried, locking ourselves out of the first two. Apparently, we only had three attempts per computer.

With eight computers in the room, that gave us twenty-four chances to guess the right word. But right now, I didn’t have much hope that we would access the information.

The computer locked down, my head falling on a groan as we walked to the next computer. Rainer hovered at our backs, his fingers twitching.

“Would you like to help?” I asked him, knowing his need for control was itching under the surface of his skin.

He didn’t answer, only shaking his head, but continued to hover nonetheless. Sasha and Murphy continued to throw out guesses, Warner now only typing in plausible ones.

As he typed the next guess, Bunkers, I glanced at the clock on one of the screens. It was nearing five in the morning, which meant soon the sun would rise, as well as the rest of the camp. If they hadn’t roused from the continuous gunfire. Although, if they had any sanity, they would have stayed in their tents, avoiding the chaos outside.

We locked ourselves out again, moving across the room to another screen. “Someone here would know the answer. Why don’t we find them?”

All heads turned toward Mina, her cheeks pinking under the attention. Sasha squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “It would be a great idea if they didn’t all want us dead.”

That was true. Throughout the past twenty minutes of typing passwords, there had been multiple pounds against the barricaded door and muffled shouts. They were going to find a way in eventually. We needed to be gone before they did.

But although Mina’s idea wasn’t plausible, her words had me thinking. Someone here would know the answer. My eyes strayed toward the bodies strewn across the floor. I had tried to avoid them, not wanting to throw up the little water sloshing in my stomach.

This time, my eyes fell on the blonde-haired woman. We hadn’t moved any of their bodies except for hers. She was gently placed in a corner, away from the cruelty she had wanted no part of.

As my eyes locked on her lifeless body, remorse coursing through me, a light bulb went off in my head. Holy shit.

Shoving Warner’s fingers off the keyboard, I hurriedly typed in a singular word. Brentwood. The loading signal circled as I waited with bated breath for the red code. But my heart soared when the password screen faded, labeled files filling the blue background before us.

“How the fuck did you guess it?” Warner asked, Rainer bumping me aside and moving the mouse over the files.

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