Page 25 of In the Light of Sin

He didn’t stop when I called his name, making desperation rise. Nyla told me Mitchell was ecstatic that she was there even if she didn’t want to be. It was the total opposite with me and Sarge. I loved being here with him, but… he didn’t want me here.

Halting my steps, it hit me–the only people who ever cared about him had died because of him. That’s what he believes. I pushed the dark thought out of my head when I heard his bike start up.

I rushed around the room, looking for some type of key to the car he apparently kept in the garage.

I blew out a breath, rushing into the garage. I tried pulling the door up to no avail. Of course, his garage door is locked. Standing up, I took a panicked breath. I need to follow him, and I have no time to panic. Looking around the garage, I headed straight for a tool chest and ripped the top door open to grab the first thing I could see.

A hammer.

Perfect.

I ran back over to the car, smashing the window out and reaching inside, keeping in mind the broken glass, and unlocked the door. I dropped to my knees and took the wire panel off, thanking God this was an older car that I could still do this with. I grabbed the rotary wires, pressing them together until I heard the engine roar to life. I sagged with relief, setting my forehead on the steering wheel while a wide smile burst across my face. I still have it.

I shouldn’t be proud of that.

I jumped in the driver’s seat, putting my seatbelt on. Looking up into the mirror, I realized I still had one huge problem. The garage door is still locked. Taking a deep breath and slamming the gear shift in reverse, I used all my body weight to punch the gas. The car backed up, smashing through the garage door. I kept it floored, roughly bumping over the rumble I’d just caused. Once I was clear of the damage, I threw the car in reverse. I backed the car up before pressing the brakes, changing my direction to the open road Sarge just went down.

I bit the inside of my cheek to calm my nerves, my anxiety prickling every nerve at following Sarge. I didn’t know what I was going to see…

But I had a feeling it would change everything.

Chapter 7: Joslyn

I wasn’t stealthy.

I guess a perk to being deaf is all my other senses are heightened. I can see farther and clearer than the average person. And since Sarge was larger than life riding the world’s loudest motorcycle, it wasn’t hard to keep an eye on him from a distance.

He made a sudden turn down an abandoned road, dead trees and vegetation lining the way. In the expanse, I could make out a small brick building. It almost looks abandoned. It was run down, the color faded, and the windows broken. He parked his bike on one side of the building where a man came to take his keys from him, but Sarge responded by pushing him onto the ground before making his way into the single door.

The man got off the ground, dusted himself off, and quickly faced the direction of the door Sarge had just disappeared through. After a few seconds, he turned on his heels and began pushing Sarge’s bike down the side of the building and out of sight.

What the hell?

I looked at the time. It was seven at night. The sun was beginning to set, the trees now casting daunting shadows along the exterior of the building. I hurried to turn my headlights off, unsure what my next move would be. My mind was racing with adrenaline, and I needed to figure out what Sarge was doing there.

Drugs? Drinking? Fighting?

A woman?

The last thought hurt. I know Sarge wasn’t particularly fond of me, but the idea of him with anyone else made my stomach hurt. But I wasn’t going to get answers sitting here.

Second strike, Joslyn. Three, and you’re out.

I exited the car, making sure my hood was pulled up and the baseball cap covered my face. Thank God I chose this hoodie today. Who knew I’d be stealing a car and breaking and entering? I guess it’s easy to dress the part when you have to choose a makeshift outfit from a biker’s spare closet. I made sure to lower my face as I hurried through the odd-looking area. I could only describe it as a scene from a horror movie where the ignorant white person casually goes snooping right before they are brutally murdered.

Let’s hope that isn’t exactly what’s about to happen to me.

Walking closer to the building, my ears started picking up loud noises from the back side. I kept my distance, not wanting to get too close and be seen but also wanting to stay close enough to hear. I stepped around the perimeter, quickly shimmying behind a tree to see where all the noise was coming from exactly.

Oh. My. God.

It was a scene straight out of Hellbound.

Men and women everywhere. Keg stands. Public displays of intimacy. Money exchanges…

What was this place?

A man walked around the side of the building, putting his thumb and pointer finger to his lips and letting out a large whistle that silenced the crowd. Once all the attention was on him, he waved his arm inside, causing the group to steamroll past each other to try to get in the building first, leaving a trail of excited whoops and hollers in their wake.

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