Page 14 of Breaker

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

I watched as Juniper drew in a shaky breath, her shoulders hunched as if the weight of her memories threatened to crush her. “I don’t know what happened to that girl. I was too scared to find out. But it wasn’t much longer that I nearly got caught in his room. I’d been searching for a keepsake of my mother’s. He’d taken it from me months before, and I wanted it back. He was supposed to be gone for hours, but while I was searching, I heard him coming down the hall. I hid in the closet.”

Another tear rolled down her cheek, and I knew whatever I heard next was going to be ugly. I sat patiently waiting for her to continue.

“I-I was still hiding in the closet when he brought a girl into his room. She looked around my age, maybe a little older. At first, I thought maybe she was just another one of his… his girlfriends. Just looked young for her age. But then he started yelling at her, calling her names. He hit her so hard she fell to the floor.” Juniper’s breath hitched, her eyes unfocused as she relived the horror. “That’s when he started ripping her clothes off. She tried to fight him, but he was too strong.”

Bile rose in my throat as I listened, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. The thought of the sick bastard putting his hands on Juniper, on any woman, much less a girl, made my blood boil with a rage so intense it scared me.

“He… he raped her. Right there on the bed. I could hear her screaming, begging him to stop. But he just laughed.” A shudder rippled through Juniper’s slight frame. “When he was done, he started beating her again. Once she quieted down and didn’t have any fight left in her, he raped her again and again. The look on his face… I could tell it was fun for him.”

She took another breath, seeming to gather her thoughts. “I thought it was over, and hoped he’d let her go. But then he pulled out a knife.”

The color drained from her face, and for a moment, I thought she might pass out. Instinctively, I reached out to steady her, but she flinched away from my touch, lost in the nightmare playing out behind her eyes.

“There was so much blood. It was everywhere. On the bed, the walls, the floor. It flew off the knife like he was trying to paint the room with her blood. And he just kept stabbing her, over and over, like he couldn’t stop.” A choked sob tore from her throat. “When it was over, he wrapped her body in a sheet and carried her out. I stayed in that closet for at least an hour, too terrified to move. When I came out, I saw a video camera aimed at the bed. He’d recorded everything.”

The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by Juniper’s ragged breathing. I struggled to rein in my own emotions, the fury and disgust churning in my gut like a toxic brew. What kind of monster could do something like that to another human being? No, I didn’t even have to ask. I’d met men like him before. More than once. As Luciana and Violeta had told her, they’d endured something just as awful. They’d been lucky to survive, unlike the poor girl her uncle abused and murdered.

“I’m so sorry,” I managed, my voice hoarse. “No one should have to witness something like that, especially not a child. And his victim… I can tell she suffered greatly.”

She looked up at me then, her eyes haunted and filled with a pain so raw it stole my breath. “I should have done something. I should have called the police or told someone, but I was too scared. Not only of my uncle, but also that no one would believe me. So I kept quiet. For weeks, I lived in constant fear, jumping at every noise, wondering if he’d come for me next.”

My hands clenched into fists, the urge to track down her uncle and make him pay for what he’d done nearly overwhelming. But I couldn’t give in to that darkness, not when Juniper needed me to be her rock. I forced myself to take a deep breath, uncurling my fingers one by one.

“It’s not your fault. You were just a kid.” I hesitated, then reached out to take her hand, relieved when she didn’t pull away this time. Her skin was cold and clammy, and I gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I promise you, the club and I will do everything in our power to keep your uncle away from you.”

She nodded, but the haunted look in her eyes remained. “There’s more. A few weeks later, I saw him do it again. Kill someone else, I mean.”

Ice slid down my spine, and I had to fight to keep my expression neutral. “Did you report it this time? The police didn’t have anything in their files about a murder.”

Juniper shook her head, a single tear slipping down her cheek. “No, but… I should have tipped off the police. Anonymously, I mean. Should have, but I didn’t.”

My brows shot up in surprise. “You didn’t?”

She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting away from mine. “I know someone turned him in, but I didn’t do it.”

Between her posture, the way her gaze jerked away, and her overall body language, it looked like she was lying and had indeed been the one to rat him out. But I could be wrong. Only Juniper knew the truth. Regardless, something told me her uncle believed she’d been the one to turn him in. I had a feeling he’d be showing up soon, demanding we hand her over. As a man convicted for child pornography, I had no doubt prison had been hell for him. He’d most likely been the bitch of quite a few men. Now he would be free and out for revenge with Juniper in his crosshairs.

I squeezed her hand, my tone gentle but probing as I asked, “Do you know anything about the girl in the video? The one you saw him kill the first time? Anything that could help identify her?”

Juniper shook her head, her expression crumpling with regret and helplessness. “No, I’m sorry. I never heard a name, and I didn’t recognize her. But I think I would remember her face if I saw it again. I couldn’t forget it, even if I tried. At night, it still haunts me, as if she’s accusing me of not saving her.”

My heart clenched at the pain in her voice, the weight of the trauma she’d been carrying all these years. Anger surged through me, hot and fierce, at the thought of what her uncle had done. How many had suffered at his hands? Since the police hadn’t arrested him for murder, and his sentencing hadn’t stated anything about a murder charge, I had to wonder if they’d never found that video. If it occurred weeks before she ran, he had time to upload it or sell it somewhere. So what happened to it?

I wanted to make him pay, to ensure he never laid a finger on another innocent soul again. But first, we needed answers.

“I might know someone who can help. You met him earlier. Surge. He can use his computer skills for many different things. If anyone can find that video, it will be him. I’ll also ask him to gather up any photos he can find of your uncle’s potential victims. Just their faces. Maybe you can tell us if you ever saw them.”

“You think he could do that?” she asked.

I nodded, my jaw tightening with determination. “I’m sure of it. And once we know who she is, we can give her family some peace. Let them know what happened to her, so they can lay her to rest, even if it’s only symbolically. Maybe one day they’ll have a body to bury as well.”

The club had a code, a set of rules we lived by, and men like Robert Murray had no place in this world. We’d destroyed more than one person like him, those who liked to prey on the weak. Another wouldn’t make us lose any sleep. Hell, I’d gladly slaughter all of them. And I knew every other man in my club felt the same way.

Juniper hesitated. I could see the conflicting emotions playing out across her face -- the desire to do right by the girl in the video warring with the fear of confronting her past.

“You’re right. The girl’s family deserves to know what happened to her. They must be worried sick, wondering where she is, if she’s okay.”

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