Page 54 of Stalked

The thought hits me out of nowhere. But is it really from nowhere? I knew I had feelings for him for a while. I just don’t understand why I never told him.

“Pup.” Izel sighs, coming to sit next to me. “You’re Tobias.”

Nodding my head, I stare down at my lap, feeling like a failure. I lost her brother, her wonderful brother whom she did everything to protect. And I blew it. I let him get taken.

“Can I tell you something about my baby brother?” she asks, taking my hand in hers. There is a faint sound of Zion growling, but Izel shakes her head, causing him to shut up.

“Sure,” I mumble.

“When he was thirteen, I found him crying in the closet with all these stuffed animals. He was hiding, and when I finally convinced him to talk to me, it was hours by the way, I had tried to crack a joke about finally coming out of the closet. Little did I know, when he said he was scared I was going to look at him differently, I had no idea what he was talking about until it finally clicked. We both cried and whenI promised him that his secret was safe with me, we both declared when we finally made it out that we were going to find partners that understood our past. For me, I needed someone who knew that touch was a hard thing. I was raped and beaten since I was thirteen. I needed someone who would push me but also let me be my crazy natural self. Which Zion does, he lays with me–”

“Red,” Zion growls, his dark eyes narrowing at her. Only instead of anger, all I see is love.

“He doesn’t like people knowing he has a soft side,” she whispers, “but that’s what I'm trying to get to. Gabriel said he wanted someone who understood his art, and understood that he didn’t want to hide in the closet again. He had been held behind a door his whole life, and he wanted someone who accepted his donuts obsession, his iced coffee addiction, and most of all understood the trust issues we carry. So, know that if Gabriel trusted you enough to know that you’d protect him, it means a lot. And he knows you’re going to save him.”

I didn’t realize I was crying again until she leaned across, wiping a tear from my cheek. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ll get him…and if we don’t…” Glancing up, Izel gets to her feet, holding onto Zion’s hand. “I’ll kill you.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. Knowing full well I’d let her.

“Found them.” I barely register Killian speaking before I’m on my feet.

“Where?” I growl. Because whoever has them, they better know I’m not stopping until I kill. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.

The cold wind wraps around us as we cover the ground, our guns drawn. Salem stayed back with Mom, Aziza, and Izel, not knowing if this was another trap or not. Zion and Zane, as much as they hate each other, work swiftly and quickly around the building. Kyler stays close to me while my father and Killian flank behind us.

“Stay alert,” Killian says into our earpieces.

The old house is barely holding together, with yellow and red graffiti and glass bottles dumped on the ground. And when Zion double clicks the earpiece, making it known it is game time, we throw the doors open. A few men who I have no idea didn’t know we were right outside, barely register all of us flooding in. Zane and Zion both take them out. Stepping over their dead bodies, we continue making our way through the hallway, Zion and Zane checking each room, while Kyler and I continue on.

“Mierda!” Someone scrambles to get their gun out. Being a little rusty on my Spanish, I take aim with a bullet through the eyes.

Suddenly everything begins to happen too fast. Men pour out of the room, guns drawn, and shots ring out around us. Someone body slams me into one room, nearly missing a used needle. I roll and kick the fucker who tackled me.

“Shit,” I mutter. I can’t remember the last time someone got the upper hand on me. And the fucker barely flinches when I kick him in the nuts. “What the–”

A hand wraps around his forehead, a knife slicing into his throat before his body is shoved to the side. His blood coats my face, as Kyler reaches down helping me to my feet “Come on.”

Checking my magazine, we check our surroundings. Zion and Zane come out of a room, and Killian and Dad both take a shot at someone before nodding their heads to continue. Coming to a set of stairs, Zion orders, “Dimitri,Killian, and I will take upstairs, you three take the basement,” leaving no room for argument.

Eyes glued, we make our way down, Zion in front, Kyler behind me. The basement feels cold, and before we can register anything happening, someone tackles Zion, and a knife flies through the air slamming into Kyler's shoulder.

“FUCK!” he screams, ripping the knife out. Aiming, I shoot the bastard in the gut, watching him fall to the ground. Zion grunts. Looking over, I see him slam the fuckers head into the ground. Getting to his feet, Zion mutters, “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

“Yeah, you are, Grandpa,” Kyler says under his breath, earning him a scowl from the hitman.

“Come on,” Zion says.

The basement is mostly open except for a few doors. Zion and Kyler begin opening doors while I stand there, spinning in circles at where he could be, where they could be, and when I hear something behind the last door, Zion and Kyler both look at me before reaching for the door.

It’s as if they slowly open the door, and my life flashes before my eyes. Gabriel sits there fully naked, while my sister lays next to him facing away. Covered in blood.

“Fuck.” Zion rips his coat off, reaching forward.

“NO!” Gabriel screams, grabbing Blake and pulling her towards him. “Don’t TOUCH HER, DON’T TOUCH HER!”

Dad, Zane, and Killian come running in. My breath rises as I’m unsure what to do, knowing we should have brought one of the girls to deal with this. Because glancing around, we have no idea how to handle this.

“Little Rabbit,” I mumble, pushing my way through until I’m in the doorway of the small closet. My breath hitches as his wild eyes snapto me, uncertain if he knows it was me or not. “Little Rabbit, it’s me. It’s me, baby.” My voice cracks, my hand reaching out. I think he’s going to smack me away but when a tear slips down his cheek, I know he’s back.

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