Page 44 of Justice

It's difficult to leave her at my parents' house, but I pulled my dad aside and explained what happened. He is getting the rest of the family together, and now I'm waiting outside of Derek's house. I wanted to be the one to tell him the news.

I knock on Derek's door, my knuckles rapping against the wood with a sense of urgency. After a moment, the door swings open, revealing Derek's surprised face.

"Christopher? What's going on?" he asks, his brow furrowed in concern.

I step inside, my jaw set with determination. "We need to talk. It's about Elle."

Derek's eyes widen, and he closes the door behind us. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," I assure him. "But we found out who might be involved in what happened to her that night in the woods."

Derek's face hardens, his fists clenching at his sides. "Who was it?"

"Some of the football players from school. They were bragging about it outside the clubhouse, talking about how they should have…" I trail off, unable to finish the thought without wanting to fucking punch holes in the wall.

Derek's eyes flash with fury as the implication of my words sink in. "Those fucking bastards," he seethes through gritted teeth. "Where are they now?"

"We have them locked up in the clubhouse basement," I reply, my voice cold and steady. "Joanne and her friends too. They were there, laughing about it like it was some kind of sick joke."

Derek runs a hand over his face, his expression a mix of rage and disbelief. "I can't believe this. How could they do that to her?”

"They're monsters," I state simply, my tone leaving no room for argument. "And they're going to pay for what they did."

Derek nods, his resolve hardening. "Damn right they are. What's the plan?"

"We're gathering the brothers. We'll make them talk, find out exactly what happened that night.”

With that, we head out, riding our bikes to the clubhouse with a sense of grim determination. The roar of the engines cuts through the night air.

When we arrive, the other brothers are already gathered, their faces etched with the same fury and resolve that course through my veins. We make our way down to the basement, the muffled screams and pleas echoing off the walls as we get closer.

You couldn’t tear the grin off my face.

I enter the room first, my boots thudding heavily against the concrete floor. Kevin, Danny, Joanne, and her friends are huddled in the cage, their eyes wide with terror as they take in the sight of us.

"Please, let us go!" Joanne's mascara-streaked face pleads with us, her voice trembling with fear. "We didn't do anything wrong! This is insane!"

I step closer to the cage, my eyes boring into hers. "Insane? You think it's insane to face consequences for laughing about a girl being raped and left for dead?"

She shrinks back, her bravado crumbling under the weight of my words and the fury from the brothers surrounding me.

I turn my attention to Kevin and Danny, who are pressed against the back of the cage, their faces pale and slick with sweat.

I pace in front of the cage, eyeing each of them hard, rubbing my chin. “Hmm, I’m trying to think of which one I want to start with.”

One of the girls turns her head to the side and vomits along the floor, spilling all over her shoes.

My eyes settle on Kevin, I never did like the fucker. “Ready to play, Kevin?”

He wails at the top of his lungs, trying to push his way to the back of the cage like he can escape.

Fucking pathetic.

He pushes Joanne in front of him like she can protect him, and if I didn’t already think he was a piece of shit before, I do now.

I unlock Kevin's cage, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him out. He stumbles, his legs weak with fear, as I shove him into a chair in the center of the room.

He smells like piss and I can almost taste his fear. It’s feeding my fucking soul.

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