Page 72 of Shattered

Her snarky attitude makes me whip around. “Were you there while they tortured people? Did you know?”

She recoils, a wounded expression on her face. “It was a don’t ask, don’t tell situation, okay?”

“It’s fucking murder!” I snap.

“Yeah, and do you think I would’ve lived if I’d started poking my nose into that? I know Rocco seems like a peach, Asher, but he’s not a good husband. Why do you think I came to you?”

I turn back around, unable to look at her. “You could’ve gone to the police.”

“No, she couldn’t, Asher. You know that,” Bane says.

“How many innocent people had to die?” I growl.

“The people they usually take aren’t good people. It’s not like they’re killing children. They’re killing drug addicts who steal from them.”

“Yeah, and what do you call Lila!?”

“Collateral. You pissed them off.”

“And you didn’t? They’re torturing Lila; what did they do to you?”

“I told them you forced yourself on me… If I hadn’t, I’d be dead!”

“So Lila gets to pay the price for your loose morals?”

“Asher, are you not fucking listening?” Raven growls. “I told them you raped me, and they didn’t do anything further than busting your leg. But the moment Jared walked into your shop, you started a war. How do you think that makes me feel? This isn’t about me. This is about money.”

“You’re pathetic.”

“Maybe. Ash, if they live, they’ll figure out I helped you. They’ll kill me.”

“Don’t worry. I promise they’re not walking away from this.”

After watching everything they did to Lila, I’m ready to watch them suffer and bleed. I’m tempted to burn them both alive with that fucking torch. But that’ll take time, and I don’t have that. Priority has to be getting Lila medical attention.

If she’s still alive.

My pulse pounds in my ears as we pull in. The cabin is deep in the woods off a dirt road, secluded from the world. We pull in behind the brothers’ vehicles, not bothering to hide.

Bane has secured Raven, so she can’t get out of the car by herself. She’s not going to cause a problem for us. The moment the wheels stop turning, I’m out of the car, racing as quickly as I can on my mangled leg, ignoring the overwhelming pain.

Bane joins me at the front, and Turner takes the back door. We wait a moment to give him time to run around the house. Bane joins me at the solid wood door, holding a large rock. There’s a window off the deck to the left, and he wastes no time. He peeks inside before smashing the rock through the window, breaking all the glass. Then he practically dives face-first through it. I hear some struggle on the other side before the door opens, and I charge inside.

At first, I don’t hear anything. We’re on an open lower level, and I watch as Turner emerges from the back. We freeze as the floorboards above us creak, and Turner quickly finds knives in the kitchen. He slides them across the floor towards us before hiding, and Bane rushes to grab them, handing one to me. It’s a bread knife. How fucking perfect.

My heart stalls as footsteps travel closer to us. Two legs suddenly travel the staircase to the right of the cabin, and before I see his head, I see the gun in his hand. The moment he stops at the bottom and lays eyes on Bane and me, he stops in his tracks, looking briefly furious before confusion settles on him. He’s still covered in her blood.

“Rocco,” I snarl.

“How the fuck are you two here?”

“You’re not very good at covering your tracks,” I say simply.

“Raven, huh? You broke into my house?”

“If you thought some locks would keep me from saving Lila, you might be the dumbest man alive.”

“It’s a wasted trip. Your girl’s already dead. Rooney’s disposing of her body now.”

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