Page 35 of Rebel

Storm looked at his watch. “It’s almost three now. Let’s gear up and start with the ex-boyfriend. Then we’ll have a little chat with the old lady and her asshole grandson, the pyromaniac.”

***

Storm, Celt, Grit, and I set out together, following the GPS to Lacey’s ex’s apartment. I could not wait to get my hands around this prick’s neck. And the worst part would be having to tell Lacey what he’d done. Fuck this asshole and all his asshole friends. I couldn’t imagine how he could have done something like this behind her back while smiling and acting like the perfect fucking boyfriend to her face. Setting his ass straight was going to be a fucking honor.

We parked up behind his condo in the visitor spaces and went in two at a time, leaving Grit to look out for the cops and guard our bikes. As Celt and I walked through the parking lot, he muttered. “Our chances are good. The asshole’s car was parked out front.”

I shot him a feral smile.

He gave me a shove, “Don’t smile at me like that. It looks weird on your face.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered under my breath, knowing he was just joking around.

We stood on either side of his door so he couldn’t catch sight of us through the peephole and I rang the doorbell. After the fourth ring, he pulled the door open. “What the fuck? If someone doesn’t answer by the third ring, it means they don’t fucking want to be disturbed.”

The asshole was standing there in his underwear and a t-shirt, eating a bowl of cereal. I slapped the bowl out of his hand and pushed him back through the doorway, following him in. “Too damn bad about not being in the mood for company. We’re gonna have a little talk anyway.”

“What the fuck? Get out of my house.”

I shoved him back again, almost making him lose his footing. “This ain’t a house. It’s an apartment.”

“Condos are considered houses, dude.”

I glanced over my shoulder as Storm slipped through the cracked door Celt held open with his boot.

“What’s this about?”

“You’re Rudy Mandel.”

“Maybe,’ he replied.

“I’m not asking,” I told him in no uncertain terms.

He backed up a few paces, glancing suspiciously at each of us.

“I never had any contact with the Dark Slayers, I couldn’t have done anything to piss you off. Why did you force your way into my home?”

Although he was trying to sound calm, there was an element of fear in his voice. Rudy was a puny little fucker, his waist about the size of one of my biceps. I didn’t know whether we had caught him on a bad day, or he just had hygiene problems. Looking him up and down, I shook my head, unable to imagine what Lacey ever saw in this man.

Storm spoke up. “He wants to know why we’re here. Get on with it, brother, or I will.”

I took a menacing step forward. “To be honest, I came to mess you up because of what you did to Lacey Livingstone.”

He looked shocked at the mention of her name, “Lacey fucking Livingstone? Whatever that bitch told you, it’s not true.”

My hand came out and slapped him across the face hard enough to knock him to the ground. “Here’s how this is going to go down moving forward. Every time you say something shitty about my woman, I’m gonna break one of your fingers. Every time you lie about what you did to her, I’m gonna punch you in the face. Are we clear?”

He put the palm of his hand under his chin and wiggled his jaw back and forth.

I knelt down in front of him. “In general, stupid fuckers like you answer me back when I ask a fucking question.” There was a brief pause as we stared each other in the eye. I asked quietly, “Do you understand what’s going on here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you think I did something to Lacey and you’re out for revenge.”

I deadpanned, “I don’t think you did something to her. I know you did. Best thing you could do is stop trying to lie about it.”

He frowned. “What do you want from me? What would it take to make all this stop? Do you want money? I’ve got lots of it.”

Tilting my head to the side, I looked at him with new eyes. “Is this what jackasses like you do when faced with the consequences of your own actions? You lie and then try to bribe your way out trouble.”

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