Page 80 of Wrath

“Do you remember hearing anyone else there, any other girls?” There have been two dead girls dumped in the time I’ve been here, I’m certain she was planned to be the third. I’m wondering now if they were kept at the same time.

“I heard screams that weren’t my own, but I started to wonder if they were just in my head. Like my body was tricking me into believing I wasn’t alone.” I can feel tears stinging my eyes, but I have to be brave for her.

“Jenika, did the man who kept you… did he–”

“Yes, he raped me.” She saves me from having to say it. “Almost every day.”

“I’m so sorry.” I try not to choke on the lump in my throat after hearing that. Seeing her look so fragile takes me back to the days when Cliff and his friends were raping me. I’d started to accept that that was how my life was going to be, forever. I forgot what hope felt like. Now I’m more certain than ever, that the person behind all this is Cliff.

“If you heard his voice again, would you remember it?” An idea comes to me. Jenika may have been kept in the dark with the sack he made her wear over her head, but he must have spoken to her to give her orders.

“I’ll never forget it,” she whispers.

“Jenika, stay right there.” I rush out the door, speeding past Saint and Dev who are sitting playing cards at the bistro table that’s been set up between her and Anita’s door.

“You okay?” Saint calls after me, sounding concerned and I hold my thumb in the air to answer his question as I rush toward the clubhouse, to find Aaron or my brother.

I find Aaron first, sitting at a table and focusing on the screen of the laptop that's open in front of him.

“What are you watching?” I take a seat beside him and look at the screen.

“Just some footage Troj gave me of Freddie and Storm in the last fight they had. I’m tryin’ to pick up on any weaknesses.”

“And…?”

“He’s good.” Aaron pauses the video and sits back. “But that don’t mean I can’t beat him.”

“You know I don–”

“You looked flustered when you came in, what's up?” He quickly cuts me off before I make another attempt to convince him not to fight.

“Okay.” I get onto the reason I’m here, rather than trying to fight a losing battle. “I’ve been speaking to Jenika, turns out she was kept in some kind of container, her face was covered.”

“We know that much.” He stares at me blankly.

“Well, do you know what happens when one of your senses gets taken away from you?”

“Your other ones get stronger.” He shrugs.

“So, whoever was keeping her there would have had to speak when he gave her orders. She’ll remember that voice. We need to find a video or something with your father speaking. That way we can confirm he’s the one behind all this.”

“You know, that ain’t a bad idea.” Raze steps out of his office.

“We don’t need it confirmed. We know it’s him.” Aaron places his hand on my thigh and squeezes. Just having him touch me makes my pussy start to pulse, and although I got what I needed earlier, this whole no-sex-before-the-fight thing is getting really old.

“Which means he’s not far away.” Raze moves to sit opposite us and when he rests his elbows on the table and drops his head into them I can tell he’s overworking himself. If he isn’t at the gym training Aaron, he’s trying to come up with ways of finding Cliff.

“You need a break from all this, you both do.” I look between them.

“We’ll get a break when all this is over. You managed to get anythin’ else out of Anita?” Raze lifts his head back up.

“She’s gone into denial mode, again. Right now, she believes her husband is still alive and on another one of his business trips,” I explain. I’m not a qualified therapist so I’ve decided not to interfere with Anita’s thoughts, what she does is clearly a coping mechanism, and after all she’s had to deal with, I won’t take that away from her.

“She hasn’t mentioned Cliff in days, and I don’t want to bring him up. She seems so happy, she’s even started helping out around here. She’s cleaning out rooms right now, and that’s got to be taking some pressure off Polly.”

Raze nods his head back at me to show he agrees, but we both know it’s not gonna help get us what we need.

“The important thing is she’s safe.” Aaron tries to be positive, “Now that Grimm knows he can’t trust that place where he’s been keepin’ her, she needs some kinda security. I guess it’s just gonna have to be here for a while. She’s lucky to have you.” Aaron smiles at me, but his attitude quickly changes and his fingers tense. “I just wish that asshole would be a man and step outta the fuckin’ shadows.”

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