Page 13 of Ruthless Angel

He shrugged it off in an effort to keep any emotion hidden beneath the surface. “It’s all good. That was a long time ago.”

My heart squeezed with a sympathetic warmth that I didn’t want to feel. Getting to know these guys should be the last thing on my to do list. Forming any kind of bond would make it so much harder to cut ties when this was all over. Once we got Blaze back, I had to find a way out.

I managed to steer the conversation in a safer direction, asking him about his studies at school. Listening to him talk about his marketing classes wasn’t all that exciting but it was a solid way to fill the space between us. Eventually, fatigue took over and I began to drift off.

The sudden chime of the doorbell alert coming through Cash’s phone startled us both awake. I sat straight up, my eyes wide as I checked my own phone for the time. It was getting late, past midnight now.

Cash leapt out of bed first. I was quick to scramble out after him.

He fumbled his phone, almost dropping it as he tried to open the camera app. “Nobody should be here this time of night. A late night visitor is never good news.”

Downstairs, I heard Daire pounding towards the door in his haste to open it. Was that a good idea?

“Daire, don’t,” Cash called, rushing ahead while staring at his phone screen. “Don’t open it.”

Too late. By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, Daire had already pulled the door open. There was nobody on the front step. Only a small box.

Daire strode outside, searching the night for the person who’d left the box behind. Spotting someone in the distance, he broke into a run. Cash went after him, chasing him down in his boxer shorts. He caught Daire quickly, grabbing him around the waist, hauling him back to the house.

“Get off me, Cash,” Daire shouted, jabbing an elbow into Cash’s ribs. “We can’t let that fucker get away.”

“We can and we will. It could be a setup to lure us out. Don’t be an idiot, man.” Holding tight to Daire, Cash dragged him back into the house.

I closed and locked the door, holding the small box in one hand. I narrowly avoided being knocked down when Daire shoved Cash into the closed door.

“Fuck you. We could’ve grabbed that guy and tortured him until he told us where to find Blaze. You screwed this up.” Daire didn’t stop there. He swung a fist that caught Cash on the chin.

Cash wasn’t content to take Daire’s abuse. He pushed away from the door, punching Daire square in the nose. His large fist hit hard, bringing a flood of blood from Daire’s nose. That only riled Daire up more.

He flung himself at Cash, tackling him to the floor. I leapt out of the way, darting partway up the stairs.

“Stop it, you guys. This is insane.” My cries went ignored.

Down below, the guys rolled around on the floor in the entryway, hitting one another and snarling angry insults. There was nothing I could do to break them up. Instead, I turned my attention to the box in my hand.

Wary of what I might find within, I pried it open and held my breath as I looked inside. A panicked yelp escaped me as I peered into the box at a severed finger. Blaze’s severed finger.

“They sent us Blaze’s fucking finger,” I screamed, my voice rising above the noise of the fight.

That was enough to make them both freeze. Daire let go of Cash and got to his feet. He swiped the box from my hand and looked inside. Then he sat heavily on the step below me. Dropping the box, he let his head fall into his hands.

Cash picked up the box, confirming what I’d said with a glance. “Fuck. Goddamn cock sucking motherfuckers. Those pieces of shit will pay for this. I’ll fucking kill every last one of them.”

While Cash continued to rant and rave, Daire merely sat in silence. He didn’t look up or speak. Not knowing what to do, I sat on the step beside him.

My body shook from the shock of seeing Blaze’s bloodied finger lying there on a bed of cotton gauze. This was their last warning. I felt it in my bones. It was only a matter of time until Blaze was dead.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BLAZE

I floated in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of the men around me. Brady and his buddies had been having a blast torturing me in every way they possibly could. I was exhausted. They wouldn’t let me sleep either which made me feel messed up in the head.

My hand ached where they’d cut off my finger. My fucking ring finger on my right hand. Brady had cackled as they did it and said, “It’s not so bad. We’ve given you a permanent shocker. I’m sure it will serve you well, if you ever walk out of here alive. Doesn’t look like your friends are in a hurry to save you though.”

They’d tossed my bloody finger into a box which would be delivered to Daire and Cash. No doubt they were worried. Brady had really gotten the jump on us this time. He and his guys had been following me when I went out to the store. They’d jumped me in the parking lot. I wasn’t even sure how many days ago that was now.

Despite the throbbing in my hand, I started to doze off. It wasn’t easy to sleep while tied to a chair. We were in a basement somewhere. That’s all I knew. They’d blindfolded me during the ride here.

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