Page 25 of Reed

Another scream comes from Blaze. It’s so loud my ears start to ring. “I… I don’t know… what you’re talking about,” he says.

“The fuck you don’t. We got your name from someone directly connected to what happened with Tara. We also have you on camera placing the device under Ali’s seat,” Nick growls. I leave my knife in Blaze's leg and move back so Nick can have his turn.None of us bat an eye at Nick’s lie. He raises a baseball bat and brings it down on Blaze's arm, breaking it in one swing. “Now, do yourself a favor and tell us the truth.”

Blaze’s head drops as he vomits all over the floor. Luckily, Nick moves out of the way quickly. “Fucking disgusting man,” he says, covering his nose.

Gabe strides over, grabs a fist full of Blaze's hair, and pulls his head back. “Give us their names,” he says, his tone more dangerous than all of us combined. While Tara was my half-sister, he was in love with her. I think his need to find justice for her is stronger than mine. He lands a punch to Blaze's tender stomach. Then he aims lower, and we all groan and try not to grab our own dicks when his powerful fist makes contact with Blaze’s.

“F… fine,” Blaze studders. A loud groan falls from his parted lips. All the color drains from his face. His whole-body shakes making the chain’s rattle. “D… Dean is the one who raped Tara. He called me and Ben to help him dispose of her body. He didn’t mean to kill her,” he sobs.

Gabe pulls out the knife he had tucked into his waistband and stabs Blaze right through the hand. “You want us to believe that you didn’t touch her as well?” Gabe’s face is red, his eyes black and his whole body is tense. It doesn’t take a genius to see that he wants to run out of here to find Dean. But we need to know who hired him to watch Ali.

“I… didn’t, I swear,” Blaze pleads, his voice catching on a sob as tears run down his face.

“Tell us who hired you to kidnap Ali,” I demand, pushing Gabe aside. Blaze's head drops, and I don’t bother raising it back up. I grip my knife and twist it, earning another scream from Blaze. “His name!”

“Linus,” Blaze screams. “Linus Calder.” I pull the knife from his leg and thrust it into his neck. His blood splatters my face,but I don’t wipe it away. Instead, I turn around and pull my phone from my pocket. I dial Max’s number and push the door open. One of the guys will call Hook to take care of Blaze’s body.

“I have a name,” I say when Max picks up.

“And we have a meeting with Demon. Where are you? We will pick you up,” he says. I rattle off Jessie’s address. Once the boys exit the room, we head upstairs to clean up and wait for Max. This reign of terror for Ali will end tonight. Then, we will finally get justice for Tara.

Chapter Fourteen

Ali

“This is crazy,” I say, looking around at the small number of moving boxes that litter the floor of Reed’s living room. Two years ago, I would have thought that I was making a mistake or that I had lost my fucking mind. Moving in with Reed doesn’t feel wrong, crazy yes but not wrong. I guess the universe agrees with me because thirty minutes after Reed left, I received an email from the new owners of my apartment complex. They are buying everyone out of their lease and tearing the place down. Which is good because the building should have been condemned long ago, but I feel bad for the handful of people living there. That is until I see the payment the owners are givingus. Three thousand dollars. Also they are offering to pay six months’ rent for our new accommodation.

I sent back a reply thanking them for their offer. I’ll take the three thousand, but I refuse the offer to pay my rent for six months. I don’t think Reed would take it well if I offered to pay him. I pick up the box-marked toys and head upstairs. I will have to figure out a couple of toddler beds for the boys, but I can pick a room for them in the meantime. Grandmama said she would bring them over later, and I want them to have a place to play. I choose the room closest to the master bedroom. Once I’m done setting up the small number of toys, I start washing all our clothes. I’ve been washing them in the sink, so they never truly got clean in almost a month. After throwing the first load in, a ringing noise comes from the box beside the front door.

Shutting the door to the laundry room, I rush to the box and hit the flashing red button. “Yes?” I say, because I don’t know what else to say. I’ve never had a gate whose sole purpose is keeping someone from coming onto the property. I let the button go and wait for something, hoping I’m doing this correctly.

“I have a delivery for Mr. Black,” a male voice comes through the speaker.

Reed said something about having things delivered to the house, so I think nothing of it before pushing the button and saying, “Of course. Let me figure out how to let you in.” I think about texting Reed to ask for directions, but I see a switch below the button labeled gate, so I take a chance and push it.

“Thanks. See you in a second,” the male says, so I assume I did the right thing.

I hear the sound of tires coming up the drive and, at the last second, start to worry. What if this is who is stalking me? I push that thought from my mind because no one knows where I am.But to be certain, I pull my phone out of my pocket and type a message to Reed.

Me

Hey, were you expecting a delivery this morning?

No reply comes, nor does the delivered text below the message change to read before a knock comes from the door. I slip my phone back into my pocket and try to ignore the nagging thought that I fucked up. I unlock the door but keep the chain engaged. The crack in the door gives me enough space to see the delivery driver. His head is down, I assume, checking his paperwork. “You can leave it on the porch. Thank you,” I say, holding my hand out for the paperwork.

“That’s not going to be possible. Kate,” the man says, and my heart stops working. I pull my hand back as the man raises his head. A scream comes from me that leaves my throat raw. I slam the door shut and stumble back. He’s here. He found me, and I fucking let him past the gate. Dennis is here, and I have to find my gun.

I race into the living room and start opening boxes. I only get the first one open when the sound of wood splitting fills the room, and I scream again. I turn around and see Dennis standing behind me, but he isn’t alone. Next to him is the boy from my writing class that Reed kicked out, Dean. “Now, that wasn’t very nice of you, was it,” Dennis says, scratching his chin.

My stomach rolls, looking at his hands as my mind tries to assault me with images of what those hands did to me. I look around for a way out or a weapon but see nothing. They are blocking the only way out besides the window, which is shut. As for weapons, the only thing here is lamps, but they are too far away. I step back, and my feet hit the raised platform of the fireplace. My hands, which I have behind my back to keep them from seeing how badly they are shaking, hit something. I feela handle and remember the tools there. The same tools I was worried about the boys finding and hurting each other with. I grip one of the handles and try to quietly slide it from the holder.

“What do you want?” I ask loudly enough to cover the noise coming from behind me.

“Well, that’s easy, of course,” Dennis says, stepping closer.

I finally managed to get the tool out and move to the right, trying to keep as much space between us as possible. My heart is racing, my legs are unstable, but I try to act as if nothing is wrong. “I’ve kept my mouth shut about what you did to me,” I say calmly, hoping he will see reason even though I know it’s not possible.

“Oh, now that’s not true, is it?” Dennis asks in a deep tone that sends shivers up my spine. “You told someone and that someone took my brother away from me for good.”

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