Page 25 of Redemption

“We’ll check upstairs.” Asher jerks his head to the side for Zane to follow him.

“You do that.” I leave them to do their thing and go left through an archway, past the kitchen into a hall that ends at a dark wooden door. I shove it open and my earlier suspicions are confirmed. “Oh, shit.”

Several things catch my attention the second I step inside. Shelves of books are overturned, a computer is smashed to pieces, and papers litter the floor. It’s a disaster, but it’s the empty safe that has that sinking feeling in my gut from earlier returning. Someone was definitely looking for something here.

I step further into the room, glass crunching under my boots the deeper I go, but it’s the large ass mahogany desk that draws me in. On top are pictures. Dozens and dozens of pictures. And they’re of only one person—Kelsey.

My blood boils the longer I stare at them. They must have been watching her for a lot longer than we were. There’s some that go as far back as the night she left me.

“Son of a bitch!” My teeth grind together so hard they crack. I stare down at those pictures as fire races up my spine.

“Ax, get up here, now!” Asher’s voice rings out through the empty house like a bomb.

It’s the tone in his voice that has my blood racing from chest to my feet. I haul ass out of the study and up the stairs. When I reach the room where my brothers are, Zane’s kneeling on the ground next to Asher, but it’s the dried pool of blood at his feet that has my insides turning to ash.

“Oh fuck. Is that…”

“Yup. It’s Mrs. Loren.” Zane doesn’t touch her, but both he and Asher take everything about the scene in that they can, filing the info away for later.

She put up one hell of a fight. Dried blood is caked in her red hair, that’s the same shade as Kelsey’s, and a few sprays of it coat her pale skin. The dark stains on her torn blouse and pants from knife wounds have me ready to punch a hole through the nearest wall. Whoever did this took their time with her. I don’t miss the way Asher tenses up as he stares at the green Celtic butterfly tattoo that’s on her right forearm. It’s a simple design with small script written underneath it. I’m too far away to make out what it says, though.

“We need to get out of here, right now.” He pulls Zane to his feet and pushes us toward the stairs down to the front door.

We don’t stop until we’re inside the truck. Asher starts the engine and peels out of the driveway as fast as he can. We’re blowing past the guard and on the back road heading back to the house in a matter of seconds.

“You plan on sharing with the rest of us what it was you saw back there?” Zane asks, after a few beats of silence tick by.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, yet.” Asher brushes off, but I’m not letting this go. Not when it involves Kelsey.

“My ass it’s not. Out with it, Ash.” Secrets don’t fly with me. There’s too much at stake.

“It was her tattoo. Or more what was written next to it. The name Donnelly mean anything to you?”

“No.” My eyebrows pull together, doing my damndest to figure out where the hell he’s going with this.

“What about it?” Zane asks, as he pulls out a pack of smokes and hands one to each of us.

“I’ve only seen it once before. Before I got out.” He lights up with one hand as he shakes his head.

“She had a fucking prison tat on her?” That doesn’t make any sense.

“Or she’s related to someone in there.” A muscle ticks in his jaw and I have a feeling there’s more to this than her dad told me and I will get it out of him later.

“This is just keeps getting more fucked up. Every time I think we’re getting closer to answers we’re thrown another fucking curve ball.” Out of nowhere a jolt knocks me forward so far I almost hit my head on the back of Zane’s seat and lose my cigarette in the process. “What the fuck was that?” I turn around in time to see a black jeep ramming into us from behind. “Motherfuckers are trying to run us off the road.”

“Floor it, Ash.” Zane smacks his hand on the top of the dash.

“Hold on.” Asher slams his foot down on the gas causing the engine to whine in protest from the force. The jeep stays right on our ass the whole time. “You want to play asshole? Let’s play.”

“We’re not losing him.” Today is one cluster fuck after another. I wrinkle my nose as plumes of smoke float up in front of me. “What’s that smell?” Then my fucking balls start to burn. “Ow, shit! I’m on fire.”

“Calm down. You’re not on fire. It’s just your fucking cigarette you pussy.” Zane rolls his window down and throws his own out the window.

I flick it off my lap and stomp it out as we’re hit from behind again. “God damn it! Teach these fuckers a lesson, Ash.”

“Hang tight.” Asher grips the wheel so tight his knuckles turn white.

“When I tell you to, turn the wheel to the left, Ash.” Zane leans out the open window with his gun aimed at the jeep.

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