Page 40 of The Gentleness of Rage

“Come on. Let’s get you home,” he murmured, gazing around.

There was nobody there, but he felt eyes on them, and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. There was a threat in the forest, and it meant harm to them. Slate was sure of it.

Drake – four days later.

“What do you mean there is a fuckin’ body?” he grumbled as his ass hit the bike, with Fish hitting his just behind him. Drake signalled to ride out, and they headed out onto the road.

“There’s a body, Pres, and worse, it’s someone we know,” Hunter said, concerned.

“Who?”

“Skylar, who worked at the bar. Prez, she’s been beaten, and her throat’s been slit,” Hunter replied.

Drake felt a cold sensation settle in his stomach. Shit.

“Call Ramirez. We’ve got a serial killer. Don’t touch anything, we’re on our way,” Drake ordered and hung up.

He dialled Mac. “Find out where Frenzy is and if he’s still locked up,” he ordered as soon as Mac answered.

“What’s happened?”

“Hunter found another body at our cabin, and it is identical to the one dumped behind the Haunted House. And again, it’s a former barmaid. It’s Skylar,” Drake replied.

“Fuck. Two out of the three girls that were fired have turned up dead? We need to find Hailee and quick,” Mac replied. “I’ll run checks on those we locked up. It might not be Frenzy, Pres, we are responsible for a lot of people being inside.”

“Not that damn many, we tend to kill those who really piss us off,” Drake stated dryly and hung up.

When he arrived, he spotted Hunter pacing in front of the cabin. He and Fish parked where Hunter had, and they saw Mina inside.

“Mina okay?” Drake asked.

“She’s shocked. She discovered Skylar’s body during her walk to the shore. I never wanted to hear Mina scream like that again, and someone caused her to,” Hunter answered, scowling.

Drake read between the lines. Whoever this was, was going to get a beating from Hunter, at the very least, for scaring his beloved woman.

“We can call for a prospect to collect her,” Drake said.

“Already called Cody. He’s coming in a cage. Fuck! I just wanted one day with my old lady! Was that too much to ask for?” Hunter exclaimed, annoyed.

“No, brother. And most of us are doing the same, taking days off to spend with family,” Drake replied.

“We better go see,” Fish added, nodding towards the shore.

“Hunter, stay with Mina. We’ll be back soon,” Drake ordered. Hunter sent him a look, and Drake acknowledged it. Hunter wasn’t leaving Mina’s side for the foreseeable future.

Fish and Drake walked down, careful to stick to the path and not trample any evidence. There, with her hair tangled in the reeds, floated Skylar. Her eyes were open and stared sightlessly at the sky. One eye was missing, and Drake winced at the gory sight. She was naked, and bruises were clearly showing all over her body. And Hunter was right, her throat had been slit.

“Fuck,” Fish hissed.

“This is shaping into a shit storm.”

“Why?”

“Because Slate was here. And now there’s another body,” Drake replied.

Fish’s head snapped around so fast Drake wondered if he’d been possessed. “Slate did not do this!”

“Of course not. But in the eyes of the law? Two places Slate’s been and bodies have dropped. Wanna know what’s worse? Jaelynn admitted being a hunter, the girl knows how to cut and gut her prey,” Drake replied.

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