Page 36 of Revenant

Too many times we thought we located her, only for her to vanish again.

I don’t know how much longer I can survive without her stable presence in my life. I almost beat a guy to death two days ago for touching a girl inappropriately. Instead of being grateful for rescuing her, she ran away in fear and I almost got arrested.

One of these times, I’m going to go too far…or at least that’s what the guys say. They tried to cuff me to my bed, lock me in the room, but I couldn’t stand being in the house where her ghost haunts me.

I’d swear that it’s literal. Every time I close my eyes, I see her in my dreams…or nightmares. Every night, she is locked in a tiny room, too drugged to protect herself. People touch her, hurt her. It’s so fucking real that her screams ring in my ears when I wake up. I can’t sleep more than a few hours at a time before the dreams become too much. I wake sweaty, my heart pounding,helpless to do anything to keep her safe, and it’s slowly driving me insane.

While I’m desperate for any glimpse of her, seeing her in pain is a torture like no other.

It’s my worst nightmare come to life.

I’m not sure how much longer I will last without being able to touch her and make sure she’s okay. The answers are just on the other side of the door, and I’m too terrified to open it.

Please, let this be real.

With a deep breath, I throw open the door and storm into the bar, not waiting for the others. I instantly catalog the threats, noting the rough interior and the even more brutish customers. The place looks like two men slapped some boards together over fifty years ago and it hasn’t been updated since. The floor is rough and uneven, the walls warped, the tables and chairs rickety, the ceiling stained.

And that’s with the muted lighting.

My lips curl in disgust.

If it’s possible, the customers are in worse condition, no more than thugs looking for a fight, and if I wasn’t on a mission, I would happily oblige.

My eyes catch on one set of particularly broad shoulders—Gunner—and I head in that direction. As I snake around the decaying furniture, I frantically search every corner of the bar for my pookie. My spirits plummet when I don’t spot her anywhere. I kick Gunner’s barstool in frustration, nearly toppling him to the floor when one of the legs snaps.

Gunner shoots to his feet, dropping into a defensive stance, even as he whirls. For a big dude, the fucker is fast. When he sees me, he grunts in annoyance and straightens.

“Where’s pookie?” I demand with a snarl, clenching my hands into fists to keep from pounding him into paste. I’m annoyed he got the chance to see her, touch her, and I didn’t.My blood pressure rises as I struggle not to indulge my raging jealousy by decking the fucker.

Logically, I understand we all share her affections, but I miss her like she’s a piece of me. I’m unable to live without her. Gunner wraps his arms around me and squeezes me tight. His voice is gruff when he whispers in my ear. “I saw her. I touched her. We found her.”

I wilt in his grip, my legs going out from under me, but he doesn’t even stagger under the extra weight, just squeezes me tighter. Tears burn the backs of my eyes, my throat so tight that breathing is almost impossible, and it’s all I can do to swallow back my sobs. By the time my legs work again, Ellis and Hicks join us, and we claim a shady corner of the bar away from the too curious gazes of the patrons.

We haven’t taken more than three steps when every person in the bar stands at once and brandishes their weapons. Half of them point guns at us, while the other half carry military grade tasers. The guys and I go back-to-back, and I bounce on my toes, my smile manic as I crack my neck from side to side in excitement, waiting impatiently for them to make their first move.

They have my pookie. My need to make them bleed for their sins is almost a compulsion. We are outnumbered nearly three to one, and my chest thrums in excitement. It’s the perfect odds to work off some steam. Just as I take a step forward, one of the guys in the crowd smirks. “You either come with us peacefully, or we’ll take you by force and work out our aggression on your little girlfriend.”

My insides turn liquid at the threat, and I lock up tight. Gunner growls behind me, the rumble full of menace. Ellis is calculating the odds, while a muscle ticks in Hicks’ jaw, his stormy green eyes promising murder.

Then I register what he said, and I cock my head in his direction. “You’re going to take us to pookie?”

The man smirks, his expression cocky when he nods. “Sure, I’ll bring you right to her.”

That’s all I need to know. Without hesitation, I drop to my knees and hold out my hands for them to secure me. “Sounds good to me.”

“James,” Hicks snaps in annoyance, and Gunner snarls in fury.

I wince at their displeasure, then shrug and justify myself. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to my pookie.”

If I have to knock out the fuckers myself to do it, then I will.

Chapter Fourteen

RUE

Ifling open the door, then stop abruptly when I nearly crash into the four hulking guards waiting in the hallway. Looks like I’ve been upgraded to maximum security. Even though they’re armed and outweigh me by a hundred pounds or more, their forbidding expressions say they consider me the bigger threat.

Their eyes are dead, their snarling expressions oozing menace. Instead of seeing an eighteen-year-old girl, they see me as the enemy.

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