“Girl, stop hogging all the view,” Dani complains, trying to move me, but I don’t budge. I need to know why they’re here.
There is no doubt about it, the big guy sports the exact monster tattoo on his forearm that the gun-wielding madman who broke into my papa’s house wore. This is them. The tormentors of my nightmares. My heart races out of control while I try to get my brain to kick into gear.
The kitchen provides us with slight shelter from the diner floor. But it also means I can’t make out what blue eyes says next because Dani is talking at the same time, sending a text while she chatters on. “Come on, babe, what’s going on with you, you look like you’ve seen a ghost, not the hottest guys to ever walk through our door.”
I try to tune out her playful chatter, but when blue eyes leans in closer to Wendy and she turns back to look our way, I drop to the ground like a ninja.
Oh fuck. I can’t stay here.
The usual playful smirk on Dani’s face is gone, replaced by a look of worry. “What are you doing, babe?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I wish I could tell her, but I don’t need her caught up in my mess. It’s safer if I just disappear. Cautiously, I crab crawl my way to the back door, ensuring I stay hidden.
Removing my frilly pink apron, I toss it toward her. “Tell Mark something came up,” I say, closing the door behind me and sprinting for my car before Dani replies or tries to follow me. She looked shocked as shit. But that’s probably because until today I’ve been the good girl they all expect me to be. That was only because I desperately needed this job to survive after I lost everything. Since I had to hide my identity, I had no other means of earning money. I met Dani at a supermarket, and she helped me out with this job, and since then I have been doing my best to keep it.
I couldn’t be the girl those thugs were looking for!
The one who got away.
My papa always said I was clever, and I would like to think that’s true. I made sure not to cause any trouble or draw attention to myself. My routine consists of work, the gym, and returning to my shabby apartment. I’ve been living like this for half a year. And it’s all been leading up to this very moment. The day I get to face the assholes thatstole my life from me. And finally, make them pay for my brother and papa.
On the electrical pole right next to my car is another damn missing person poster. I tear it off and scrunch it in a ball, then toss it on the floor well of the passenger side of my car along with the others I’ve discovered pinned up all over town this week. Who the fuck is searching for a dead girl? Don’t they read the paper? Her body may not have been found in the house, but she was declared another casualty caught up in the fire. Her funeral was held alongside that of the rest of her family. I know that because I am her. And after Ian found me a trembling mess on the side of the street in the middle of the night, it was his idea to change my identity to keep me safe.
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I sit in my little red Mazda. Keeping a low profile, I pull on a shabby baseball cap while I wait for the two men to have their coffee order filled. I’m sure they got more than they bargained for with Wendy. Her tits would have been busting out of her top when she bent over the counter. That’s why she does it. For the extra tips.
Before too long, they stroll into the parking lot with takeout mugs in hand and find their car, a dark gray army-style Jeep. I snap a quick photo of the license plate as a precaution in case I lose track of them. Maybe Ian can find them again if I do. I know he’s going to kill me for following them out of here, instead of calling him to take care of the situation. It’s his job, after all, but it’s my life they stole, and I want my revenge. If he arrests them, I’ll never get it. Once the engine revs up, I follow suit and quickly leave the parking lot, falling into traffic behind them. This might be the dumbest thing I have ever done, but I don’t care. I have nothing left to live for, anyway. They took it all from me, and now I will take whatever I can from them.
Chapter 4
Gazing at the sinkingsun slipping behind the cypress trees surrounding the nearby swamp, I try to calm my ragged breathing. This could be my last glimpse of the day’s light. If I do what my heart is telling me and follow those two thugs into that cave they both just entered, my chances of getting out alive are probably non-existent. Inhaling deeply, I check the Springfield XD-S pistol I retrieved from my car’s glove box, making sure the safety is disabled. Then I pat my thigh where my trusty blade sits. It’s become almost a nervous tic of mine. Ian handed it to me the night I lost everything. To help me feel safe. A sweet gesture from a man I barely knew.
I followed blue eyes and monster tattoo back to this place, being careful to keep my distance so they couldn’t work out they were being tailed, which got harder as we left the busy town centre, and the houses grew farther apart. Spacious estates taking over where the neat suburban homes once stood. They took me past fences sprawling over rolling lawns, the kind with gates and security cameras, the kind where the rich and influential people lived. Before the paved road graduallyturned to packed dirt and potholes, with fields of wild grass stretching endlessly.
The closer we got to the marshlands, the thicker the air became with the scent of damp earth and rotting vegetation. And then their car stopped. That’s when I shut off my engine and carefully got out of my car to creep my way over and see what exactly the two of them were up to.
Eventually, I found what looked like a large hole in the ground—a cave entrance maybe. Half-hidden by tangled vines, the entrance to the dark underground cavern sent a chill down my back. What the hell kind of place is this?
Moving stealthily from my position behind a large trunk, I peer through the Spanish moss dancing slightly in the evening breeze, watching the brawny guard the two of them passed not ten minutes ago. A twig snaps under my heavy boot as I move closer toward him, and I duck behind a rotted-out tree stump, an earthy, slightly pungent aroma hitting my nostrils, so strong it makes me gag.
The guard glances my way briefly before his attention shifts back to his phone. His attention seems divided, as though he’s immersed in playing a game on his device. It’s not surprising he doesn’t think there’s a threat around, since this place is buried in the marshlands surrounded by overgrown vegetation. My gaze travels up the rocky cliff face, but all I can see is the shadowy outline of sheer rock. His biggest threat would most likely be the alligators that I’m now really wishing I hadn’t reminded myself also live here. Why they even have some guys manning the cave entry is beyond me. I guess maybe our house isn’t the only one they have robbed then torched. This must be where they store all the stuff they steal. That’s the only sense I can make of it.
Silently, I push closer, my footsteps muffled by the heavy undergrowth of ferns and decaying leaf litter. The damp earth clings to my boots as I approach, each step careful and calculated. With practiced precision, I spring upwards, my arm coiling around the guard's neck from behind, his muscles tensing in resistance. The musty scent of his sweat fills my nostrils as he forcefully thrusts me against the rough cave wall, stealing the breath from my lungs. A surge of pain courses through me, but I push it aside, finding a strength I didn’t know I had in me. Struggling against his grip, I tighten my hold, interlocking my hands around my choking arm, ensuring his escape is impossible. He tries to grab at me, his arms flailing about in a desperate attempt to break free. But I hold strong. I don’t have a lot of time, and while I have practiced this move in the gym a thousand times before, I’ve never had to put it into action properly.
Sweat drips down my spine as I apply pressure to the sides of his neck. A wave of adrenaline courses through him, his nails digging into the flesh of my arms, his desperate gasps for air growing fainter with each passing moment. This guy is big, probably every bit as muscular as Ian, but I can feel the pulse beneath my fingers slowing, the blood flow to his brain gradually diminishing. With one final, feeble attempt to break free, the guard’s movements falter, his body going limp in my grasp. He’s out, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
With a soft thud, he collapses to the ground, unconsciousness claiming him. The forest falls silent once more, the only sound the steady rhythm of my breathing as I survey the scene before me. Part of me is not able to believe I’m really going through with this, but what other choice do I have? I can’t keep hiding out forever, scared they will find me. Dragging his body aside and into the bushes, so he’s out of view of the cave, I make myway inside.
This place is rank, perfect for the rats who inhabit it. The narrow tunnels twist and turn, and as I venture deeper, the walls become jagged and slick with moisture and layers of moss. A powerful scent of earth and a faint smell of decay hang in the air. I slip through the dark and find shelter in a dug-out corner of the cave, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. Droplets of water drip from the murky ceiling above me, splashing on my cheek, but I don’t dare move until my eyes adjust.
Slowly, I remove my knife from its holster.Drip. Drip.
Not sure what I’m about to walk into, I creep quietly, taking slow measured steps so I can slip in and take them out before any other men even know I’m here. I spot a beam of light from another guy’s flashlight, prompting me to head in his direction. He spins on the spot and comes rushing toward me without warning. In a panic I find my knife and thrust it toward him, connecting with his chest. Sickness washes over me with the disturbing slice of flesh and muscle, but I don’t hang around to find out how badly I’ve wounded him. Pulling my knife free, I run. I should feel some remorse. The girl I used to be would have, but all that died along with my family. Now I feel nothing but hate and the need for revenge.
Where are blue eyes and monster tattoo? I fade into the darkness, searching for them. The air is heavy with the scent of fear and desperation—mine. My hands tremble as I wipe the slippery blood from them.
Whispers echo off the walls, secrets I’m not meant to hear. Something about a shipment. A truckload of it, whatever it is. Their deep, menacing voices make my skin prickle. One. Two. Three. There are definitely more than just the two of them back here, but I’ve come too far to back out now.
This section of the cave is dimly lit, but I can still make out some details. Two men stand guard, one smoking a cigarette. Blue eyes and monster tattoo. A pain aches in my chest when I see them, a deep-seated need to avenge my family’s deaths. I can’t bring them back, but I can take the lives of the men who stole theirs. For six months, revenge has been the only thing keeping me going. Now I get to have it. A tingle runs through my body as I aim my gun at blue eyes. I have trained for this. I’m a perfect shot. Two quick consecutive shots and they will be gone before they even know what hit them.