Page 41 of Chomp's Challenge

“M-my brother. I want to see where it happened.”

Spike frowns. “Why?”

“Because I need to know before I die. Okay?”

Spike folds his arms over his chest. “Fine.” He ticks his head at Peanut. “Do it.”

Peanut forms a fist and slams it over the top of Jerry’s head. He crumbles to the floor as I shift from my gator, pissed at the delay. Ariel won’t be able to speak to him yet. We need that info to help save the other women and ensure those involved don’t harm anyone else.

Spike turns to the room. “We take him to the campsite, but he doesn’t get out of the van until we have what we need.”

No one disagrees. It’s time to serve justice.

Chapter

Eighteen

ARIEL

Chomp seems on edge as do all of the other shifters. The club took Jerry to the campsite where Chomp’s gator rescued me from my living nightmare and tore Ricky and Perry apart. It’s surreal being here. I don’t know how this is going to affect me to return to a place where I was so violated. I find my body at war with my mind. I want to be strong, but I’m shaking, and I don’t know if I can get out of the truck. Bile crawls up my esophagus, and I quickly swallow it back down. I know that if I vomit, Chomp will demand I go back to the clubhouse. But I can’t. I need this for some reason. I need to at least show myself that I’m strong enough to face my past.

I insisted on coming as soon as Chomp filled me in. He’s concerned. I know he’s worried this could cause me to spiral, and it’s a terrifying thought. But I can’t miss my only opportunity to find closure and move on from what happened. I’m still struggling every day to let it go and be free. I need this, even if it’s painful. I make a mental note to ask Callie if her friend ever got her the information for a trauma therapist. If nothing else, it’ll help me sort through everything, even the grief from losing my mom.

I open the door and slide from the seat, following behind Chomp, Spike, and Kodiak. Fang and Peanut are dragging Jerry toward the tents, and I pause to breathe, taking time to settle my nerves. Anxiety has a chokehold over me. I want to run and never look back, but it’s cowardly, and I know it’ll only hold me back. Thank goodness it’s rained since that awful night, because I think if I saw all the blood that was literally everywhere, especially the ground itself, I’d probably lose it and not be able to face my demons.

Surprisingly, it’s not as haunting as I expect. The tents are still there, blowing in the breeze, and rocks form a semicircle where sticks and logs are thrown into the pit to burn. Whatever personal items had once been here, they’re gone now. It just looks like someone packed up and left a few things. I breathe as my chest relaxes. I can do this. Chomp and his brothers won’t allow anything to happen to me, of that I’m confident. Hell, Chomp’s eyes have been his gator’s most of the day, so I know this is impacting him as well.

Jerry stands by the firepit, taking it all in. For some reason, no one holds onto him or binds his wrists. He’s walking like he’s a free man and I frown. Don’t they think he’s going to run?

And then it occurs to me, maybe they want him to run. I shiver at the thought. As much as I’ve enjoyed getting to know Spike, Chomp, Kodiak, and the rest of the club, I don’t ever want to be hunted by one of them.

Scratch that. Maybe by the gator. I know he won’t hurt me. And I just might like it. Startled by that realization, I flush at the idea. Chomp sniffs the air and I see his gaze lock onto me.

Wait. Is that arousal I just felt? The feeling is so foreign, I push it to the back of my mind.

This is so new. I think I need to focus on the present. I might just bring this up to Chomp later if he doesn’t ask me about it. His arms look a little scaly from here. I wonder if he knows I’m thinking about him like this.

Jerry starts talking, and the moment he does, all I hear is Perry’s voice. They’re too much alike in pitch and timbre, down to the phrases he uses. Anything I feel about Chomp fades. The past tries to shove its way forward, and I clench my fists. This isn’t Perry, I remind myself. I’m safe.

It’s this moment that chaos explodes. Two things happen that collide and startle me. One, Jerry rushes me. It catches everyone by surprise. His hands wrap around my neck as he slams into me, knocking us both to the ground. Second, I hear my mother’s voice. It’s clear and sweet, and it cuts right through all the suffering of my past with its hopeful tone.

Just breathe, Ariel, you’re going to be fine, my mom whispers in my head. You found a good one this time, I just wish I had known the other was a waste of space.

Despite the dire situation I find myself in, I smile because that is something my mom would’ve said. She was a nice and kind person, but she didn’t put up with bullshit and called a spade a spade. I think it’s only because of the medication she was on for her cancer that she missed the warning signs that Perry definitely exuded. I may not have seen a therapist yet, but I’ve been picking apart our relationship from the beginning and he was definitely the winner of the red flag award.

“What the fuck are you smiling about, bitch? You’re the reason he’s dead!” Jerry snarls as his hands tighten around my throat. I kick and thrash, trying to knock him off of me, but I’m still not very strong. Chomp and Peanut have been working on self-defense moves as well as building my muscles, but it hasn’t been all that long.

Kick his knee now, Ariel, Mom says. Without any hesitation, I slam my foot into his knee and hear his wail of pain. I must’ve hit something that one of the guys did earlier. Not that I care at all because his hands loosen slightly and I’m able to draw in a deep breath.

Just when I think I’m free, he reaches for me again. His fingers don’t find traction because he’s yanked from my body as I hear a deadly hiss.

“Get him, Gator,” I whisper. I must be loud enough because I briefly see Chomp peering at me from his gator form and he grins, I think, because all his teeth are now showing as Jerry screams in terror.

I manage to sit up, gulping in fresh air as Chomp drags him backward, toying with him as he slowly dips into the lake. Jerry claws at the dirt of the embankment but he isn’t a match for a pissed off gator shifter. I can’t help smiling as I see Chomp begin to do the death roll that gators are known for. He won’t show any mercy.

Suddenly, Spike yells, “Chomp! Stop!”

Hissing and bellowing, Chomp drags Jerry back onto the grass. He looks worse for the wear, with large tears from Chomp’s teeth covering his legs. Blood is freely flowing, and I suspect that Chomp probably hit something vital. I can see muscle and bone, but it doesn’t terrify me like it did before. The gator’s teeth drip with Jerry’s blood and I have no sympathy for a man who wants to terrorize women. He deserves this as equally as Perry and Ricky did.

---