Page 15 of Ruthless Angel

CLOVER

After receiving a video of Blaze being waterboarded, Daire lost it completely. He raged through the house punching holes in walls, overturning tables, and squeezing a glass of rum so hard the glass exploded in his hand.

He calmed down long enough to let me clean his bleeding hand. I took deep breaths, counting to ten with each one. Anxiety ran rampant through me. Seeing that video had almost made me empty my stomach.

There were several small cuts all over Daire’s fingers. The especially deep gash in his palm needed stitches. Daire wouldn’t hear of it.

“Fuck that. It’s fine. Just wrap it up. I’m not going to any hospital. We don’t have time for that.” With his other hand, Daire drank straight from the rum bottle.

“Dude, this is insane. You need to calm down. We’ll figure this out.” Cash had gone around righting the overturned tables and cleaning up whatever he could.

Daire and I stood in the main floor bathroom with Cash hovering in the doorway. Blood stained the floor and sink. I’d managed to get the wound to stop gushing, although it continued to slowly seep.

“Figure this out?” Daire snapped. “We’ve been saying that for days. We’re no closer to finding out where Blaze is beingheld. We need a real plan. We’re backed into a goddamn corner here and Brady knows it. Pretty soon we won’t have any option other than to give him Clover or let Blaze die.”

I stiffened, my frightened gaze darting to Cash. What was happening to Blaze made me sick. He didn’t deserve such torment. But I didn’t want to be sold off to some sick freak who would use me for God only knew what.

“Shut the fuck up, Daire,” Cash snapped right back. “We are not giving them Clover. How can you even suggest such a thing? Blaze would kill you himself.”

Daire’s green eyes met mine. The rage within them faded as he said, “I’m not going to give you to them, Angel. I’m just at a fucking loss here.”

Swallowing hard, I said nothing. Instead, I focused on bandaging Daire’s wounded hand. Again I cursed Zane for getting me into this situation. It had all started with him. He drew Blaze’s attention. He got the Angels all fired up wanting to kill him. He made them want me so bad.

And look where it had led us.

“We can try the Sinners,” Cash offered with a half shrug. “I know we already owe them a favor but maybe we can strike a new deal. They might be able to find us some locations linked to Brady.”

Daire opened his mouth to argue. He seemed to think better of it because he only swore a few times instead. The two of them were bruised from throwing punches earlier. I didn’t want to see a repeat of that.

“Fine. Let’s go see the Sinners.” Daire chugged back the rest of the rum. “You can drive.”

Leaving the house came with its own risks. Daire and Cash went ahead to check the car, the yard, and the street. When they’d deemed it clear, I got into Cash’s SUV with them, quickly locking the door.

All three of us kept an eye out for a tail as we drove. Nothing. That should have been a relief. Somehow it only added to our unease.

When we arrived at the Sinners’ house, we found a party underway. That didn’t mean their security was lax. After a camera stared us in the face, Riot O’Hare opened the door. Holding a drink in one hand, he frowned at us for a long moment before stepping back to allow us inside.

“Are you here to party or for business?” he asked, getting right to the point. “Or maybe you’re looking for another fight.”

“Business,” Cash answered, trying to take the lead. Daire was drunk and didn’t seem to be in the right head space. “No fighting. I promise.”

“Fine. Come with me.” Riot led us through the house to the basement.

His black hair stood up in messy spikes and tufts. Black jeans hung low on his hips paired with a black t-shirt that said,Fuck Off.Riot was kind of a looker in a devil may care, doesn’t give a shit way.

The basement was amazing. A wall of computers stretched before us. So many monitors. Felix Prescott sat in a chair, staring at some code on a screen. He glanced up in surprise.

“Back again, huh?” he asked. “You guys still owe us a favor.”

“We haven’t forgotten.” Cash took the lead, trying to be the voice for the two of them. He probably didn’t trust Daire not to say or do something to screw this up. “We need help. One of our friends is being held hostage by some pretty fucked up criminals. We need to find him.”

Felix nodded, his shaggy blond hair falling into his eyes. “Of course. You guys sure seem to lose a lot of people.”

“Why the hell should we help you?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Riot scowled at Daire. “You’re lucky I haven’t ruined your life yet. Can’t say I haven’t thought about it.”

I tensed, hoping Daire managed to keep a lid on his temper. It wasn’t all that long ago that he and Riot had fought at a party when Riot made a remark about having a night with me as the favor the Angels owed. I’d chalked it up to men being idiots once they had some liquor influencing their stupid decisions.

“Yeah, well, you’d only end up six feet under, right?” Daire countered. “If you’d prefer to hold a grudge, then we’ll leave. Otherwise, let’s do business. We both have things to offer one another.”

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