Page 25 of Fire

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“Are you kidding? I am not going to change my pad with you watching me.” Even if I was on my period, no way would I allow him to watch me.

Niles was more than annoyed with me. He rolled his eyes and turned his back toward the door. Change of plans, I had to think fast. All he had to do was turn around and catch me pulling my nail file from my purse.

I pulled down my jeans and sat down on the toilet. Placing my purse on my lap, I hurried to find the file I knew was at the bottom of my purse. When I had it in my grasp, I shoved it inside my bra. I planned to put it in the pocket of my jeans, but at the moment, they were around my ankles. Knowing that Niles would probably check to make sure I wasn’t lying, I pulled my red lipstick from the zippered pocket inside my purse, pulled off the top, and rubbed it against the only pad I had in my purse. No one in their right mind would take a bloodied Kotex pad from the trash to make sure it was blood and not lipstick.

Wrapping the pad so that the lipstick would be visible, I tossed it in the trash, ensuring that Niles would see it when he looked down at the trash can. When I finished doing my thing, I flushed the toilet and walked toward the door. It was wishful thinking on my part that Niles would allow me to keep my purse, but when he prevented me from leaving the bathroom to take it, I was thankful that I got what I needed.

Niles escorted me back to the bedroom and locked the door behind him. When I heard the door lock click, I began working on my escape.

~18~

Axe

Levi’s apartment proved to have nothing to help me find Kenzi. I thought about taking him back to the warehouse, but what good would that do? It was better to keep an eye on him and watch his every move. Considering the shape I left him in, I was sure he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. I thought about Kenzi’s phone and the possibility of Patton retrieving its activity. It might just tell me where she was. Before I left Levi’s apartment building, I had to make sure that a trip to the warehouse wouldn’t be a waste of time.

When I reached my truck, I pulled Kenzi’s phone from my pocket and flipped it over. When I popped off the back, I wasn't surprised to find that the SIM card had been removed. Levi was smarter than I thought. When I searched his apartment, I found nothing, but it wasn’t to say that he didn’t have it on him. Wasting no time, I got out of my truck and headed back inside the apartment building.

The door to Levi’s apartment was barely hanging on the hinge just as I left it. Levi was still lying on the floor, unconscious, between the couch and coffee table. I shoved the table out of the way and rolled his body over. I smiled at the job I had done on his face.

As I searched his front pockets, Levi began to stir. I could have given him another punch to the face, but he was barely moving and had had enough. Lifting him by the collar, I looked him in the eye. “Where is the SIM card to Kenzi’s phone?”

Barely able to speak through his broken jaw, he said, “It’s gone. I washed it down the sink, asshole.”

Could Levi have been any dumber? If he weren’t already messed up beyond recognition, I would have beaten him to a pulp. Lifting him from the floor, I twisted his good arm behind his back. “Come on, you worthless piece of shit. You’re coming with me.”

We stumbled out of Levi’s apartment with me holding him up as we made it down the stairs. If it weren’t for the fact that I needed him alive, I would have thrown his ass down them. When we reached my truck, I held him up while opening the passenger door.

“Where are you taking me?” Levi asked, resisting my effort to get him inside my truck.

“You are in no position to ask questions. Now get inside the damn truck.”

Luckily for him, he did as I asked without any other persuasion. Pulling the glove box open, I moved the papers inside out of the way until I found the black zip ties I kept for emergencies. “Hold out your hands.”

Levi complied without a fight, and within seconds I had his hands secured to the “oh shit handle” near the ceiling. He was too banged up to try anything, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.

Before turning on the engine, I pulled out my phone to give Davian a heads up. “I’m bringing in Levi McBride. He has information on Kenzi that he isn’t willing to share. I thought maybe you could persuade him to talk.”

“We’ll be ready,” Davian replied before ending the call.

~

“You need us to handle this, Axe. You are getting too emotionally involved. You could have killed him.” Davian’s words sunk in, but only because he got in my face.

I stepped away from the situation to cool off. Davian was right. I learned long ago that it was better to walk away whenever things got to the point that I could no longer keep my cool. But damn if Levi didn’t get under my skin. I hated only two people in this world more than my father: Van Wilkerson, and now Levi McBride.

The heavy metal door crashed behind me as I stepped out into the fresh air. The crisp air reminded me that fall was right around the corner. Even though the trees hadn’t changed color yet, the night air was a good indicator that soon they would. I didn't smoke, and standing in front of the warehouse with my hands stuffed in my pockets seemed to defeat the purpose of cooling off. Putting one foot in front of the other, I walked away from the warehouse and down the alley. With every step, I took I filled my lungs with air. Slowly, the tension in my body eased, and my mind cleared.

It was short-lived—just the thought of Kenzi and where she was overcame me. If I didn’t find out something soon, I would be pulling out Levi’s toenails. If he still hadn’t talked, his fingernails would be next.

Every.

Single.

One.

When I reached the end of the alley, I turned around and headed back to the warehouse. I was still pissed, but my anger had settled enough to contain it. Hopefully, Davian got Levi to talk.

Before entering the warehouse, I took one last deep breath for good measure. As I swung open the door, I could hear Davian’s voice coming from my right. I saw him standing over Levi, bound to a metal chair with zip-ties. A wet towel covered Levi’s face, and I could hear him gasping for air. This form of torture I knew well, and from what I could see, Levi still hadn’t given up Kenzi’s location. I wasn’t sure how long Davian had been at it, but if Levi didn’t talk soon, I would be pulling out his toenails one by one.