Page 71 of The Sentinels

"I have no fucking clue." The emotion in my voice turned it deeper than usual. "I was halfway to her door when I heard her screaming her lungs out. Busted in to find her tied to a chair and some fucking video playing on the TV. Caught just enough of it to know it's sick." I handed the DVD to Tanner. "She's been like that since I calmed her down."

"Shock," Sully suggested. "Should we call the doc?"

I glanced over to where Ruby had sat down on the edge of the sofa. Our eyes met. "She seems to be resting okay. Was she physically hurt?"

"Shit," I growled. Had he touched her? I had the sudden urge to slam my fist into something. "No obvious signs," I mumbled after a while.

Ruby's small smile was meant to keep me calm. "Why don't we get her to the bedroom so you guys can talk?"

I thought about the broken window. "You'll have to stay with her, the window is broken."

"That's why I'm here," she smiled rising to her feet.

I gave Sully a look as I handed him the key that I'd found. "See if you can locate the motel this key belongs to. Whoever did this dropped it on his way out the window."

He nodded and set his computer down on the kitchen counter. "Shouldn't be too hard. Not too many motels use these keys anymore."

That's what I was counting on.

Pete, William, and Sid showed up at the doorway and came inside, their expressions somber. No one spoke. They knew without being told that if they’d been called in at this time of night that shit was serious.

"Are we sure this isn't retaliation from the fucking Hellraisers?" Tanner inquired. "We watched them leave with their tails between their asses, but some of them could have snuck back into town."

I shook my head. "I'm not sure of anything, brother, except that Emerson's keeping something from me."

"That your gut talking?" Sid asked. "Or you know it as fact?"

I gave him a glare. "My gut hasn't been wrong yet, brother. When she first showed up we all suspected that she was running from something," I reminded him. "Just never pursued anything because it was her business. But a pretty woman doesn't just show up out of nowhere looking for a job with no family around or history in the area. She's my woman now, and I want fucking answers." I slammed my fist into the wall, angry and frustrated because I should have forced Emerson to talk earlier that night.

"Easy, brother, we'll get answers."

I gave Heath a nod before glancing down at my busted knuckles.

"The answers might be on this video." Tanner walked over to the TV, slipped the DVD into the player, and turned it on. We all gathered around to watch.

"Fuck, brother," Mike murmured with incredulity two minutes into it. "Who is this sick fuck?"

That was the million dollar question. It didn't take long to understand why Emerson had lost her shit, or why she'd been screaming like a banshee. As we quietly took in the brutal slaughter of a pregnant woman and listened to the brief dialog between her and her killer, it became clear that the man knew Emerson, and that she'd done something against him.

But he'd done something to her, too. What I didn’t know was what.

My mind drifted back to a conversation that we'd had about cousins that Emerson had been close to growing up. Emerson hadn't mentioned their names, but I wondered if Sophie and Gracie were the cousins she'd been referring to.

"Jesus, brother, Emerson watched this?"

I gave Mike a nod, grinding my back teeth so fucking hard that it was a miracle they didn't crack. The sick fuck on the video had had his hands on Emerson, had forced her to watch something no one should have to see. What had he planned for her? What if I hadn't seen her light flicker on and off and decided to check on her? Christ, after watching this video I felt sick myself, and I'd seen a lot of shit. But this kind of violence toward a helpless woman boggled the mind.

"Sick fuck." Tanner finally turned away from the TV. "I've seen enough."

"We need to find out who he is," Sid mumbled beneath his breath, looking a little pale.

Sully walked back to where he'd left his computer. "I'll start with Emerson. See what we can find out about her past."

"You don't do background checks on the people you hire?" Mike's inquiry was directed at Tanner.

"Fuck, no," he responded. "I don't hire anyone I'm suspicious of. As long as they pass the trial period, I'm good. Don't give a fuck if they're not squeaky clean. None of us are," he pointed out.

That was true.

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