Page 59 of Soulless Angel

“Don’t do what?” JD responded by whipping me across my upper thighs. “Don’t punish two young women who’ve made it their mission to destroy me? You practically begged for this when you got involved in my business.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Raina asked, unwilling to go down without a fight. “That the people you do this to asked for it?”

JD’s malicious laugh came from under the mask. “Of course not. It’s much more enjoyable when they don’t. However, neither of you would be here if you hadn’t come to my business and stuck your noses where they don’t belong.”

I couldn’t argue that. He was right. None of this would be happening if we had stayed away from Paradise. Although it was much too late now, I wished we would have simply incurred the wrath of the Sinners instead. A hacked bank account felt a lot less threatening.

“Typical fucking pathetic manchild,” Raina spat, unable or unwilling to keep quiet. “Doing whatever it takes to make you feel like a tough guy. Raping and abusing innocent victims to stroke your ego. Looks like someone’s mommy didn’t love him enough.”

I wasn’t sure who was more surprised by her nasty remark. My jaw dropped. This girl was fearless, even in the face of certain hell. I wished I could siphon some of that bravery for myself.

Without seeing JD’s face, I knew he was enraged. His entire stature changed, growing stiffer. He turned back to her, swinging the whip several times. The sound of it striking Raina’s flesh echoed in my ears, bringing tears to my eyes.

Despite the obvious pain he inflicted, Raina wouldn’t be silenced. “Looks like I struck a nerve. Tell us about your mommy issues, JD. Did you not get enough hugs as a child?”

Blood dripped from several wounds on Raina’s body. She seemed oblivious to it as she stared hard at our captor. I understood that she was putting up a tough front, refusing to let him break her. I just didn’t understand how she managed to pull it off. I was on the verge of tears and ready to beg for mercy. The only thing stopping me was knowing that’s what he wanted.

Pulling the gun from his waistband, JD shoved the barrel in Raina’s mouth. Adrenaline swallowed me as he placed a finger over the trigger.

“That’s an awfully snarky mouth you’ve got there, girl. You sure know how to push a man’s buttons. Still want to push me? I’m not ready to blow your brains out yet, but I’m starting to lose my patience with you.” JD pressed the gun deeper into her mouth. Only when she vigorously shook her head did he slowly remove it. He patted her face. “Good. Now let’s have some more fun, shall we?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

BLAZE

“There’s something wrong with the cameras at the house.” Havoc studied his phone with a frown. “There was an alert, but everything is black.”

“Something wrong with the cameras?” Daire repeated. “Like what? I knew we shouldn’t have left them alone. I should’ve trusted my instinct.”

“I’m sure it’s just a glitch.” Knight spoke up from the front seat. “We’re only a block away. Don’t sweat it.”

Daire muttered something beneath his breath. He’d been tense all evening. I got the feeling he wasn’t totally present with us.

“There are mobsters outside the house,” I reminded him. “I’m sure you’re just being paranoid because of everything that’s happened. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’ll see that the girls are fine.”

We were down the street from the house. Once it came into view, we saw that the sedan the mobsters had been using still sat out front. That felt like a good sign to me. Until we drew closer.

That’s when the blood splatters on the windshield and side windows became visible. That’s when we saw the two men slumped over inside the car. My heart dropped. For a moment, the world spun.

Knight screeched to a halt next to the sedan. We all rushed to get out of the vehicle. Nobody hung around to check on the men in the sedan. They were obviously dead.

As we rushed toward the house, it became apparent that the cameras on the exterior had been spray painted black. Nothing prepared me for the moment we entered the house to find it deadly quiet. It should’ve been a good thing that Clover and Raina weren’t there dead on the floor. Except it wasn’t. Because I knew that meant something so much worse. Someone had taken them. It had to be JD. He found us after all.

“We fucked up,” Daire shouted, his voice strained with panic. “We led that asshole right to them. He must’ve put a tracker on one of our cars or something. How could we overlook something so fucking obvious?”

Right away Havoc got busy checking the tracking app for Raina’s location. Following his lead, I did the same. It showed me a location on the other side of town. A rich neighborhood known to be occupied by those in the millionaire club.

Havoc showed me his phone. “Is this what you’re seeing?”

I nodded. “Yeah. They’re still together.”

“Then let’s go.”

While Gage gathered more ammo, Havoc made a call to request more mobster back up. Without explaining why, he sent them to the location we were headed to as well. If anything happened to the girls, Desmond would kill us all.

As we piled back into the Jeep, my mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. It would not allow me to consider the reality. JD had Clover and Raina. That could only mean one thing. He was going to do with them what he did best. He would use them for his sick content.

Most of us remained stoically calm. The terror we shared gripped us as a whole, uniting us in fear and determination. Not Daire though. He came apart in a way I had never seen before.

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