Page 64 of Tainted Rose

Xander

Deep in my gut, I know something is horribly wrong. I filled Beau and Micah in on everything on our way to Scarlett’s aunt and uncle’s home—the texts, the creepy note, Sebastian’s relationship to Scarlett, all of it. They’re pretty pissed that I’d kept them in the dark while we struggled to figure things out, but understand that it’s a sensitive situation all the way around.

After determining Scarlett hadn’t returned home, I’d gone ahead and put a call through to Sebastian. Everything happening to her is because of him, so I’d figured he was the best place to start. He’d put me on speakerphone so he could listen and drive at the same time while I repeated for him every last detail of what’s gone down in the weeks since Scarlett’s arrival. Everything. And once he shared what his private investigator had uncovered about my father and Justin, it had become clear to both of us where she probably was.

I wouldn’t put it past Justin to have snuck into the party tonight, even though he’s been persona non grata ever since I pummeled his face in for touching Scarlett.

He took her. I know with every fiber of my being that’s how she disappeared. He’s been flying under the radar for weeks, quietly watching our every move, and continuing to play his games. Just yesterday I’d stopped him from following her into the girls bathroom. And that wasn’t the only time I’ve run interference and kept him away from Scarlett in the last few weeks. I hadn’t told her because I didn’t want to scare her. Big mistake.

Now he’s gone too far. He brought her back here and has taken her straight into the heart of my worst nightmare.

We pull over at the curb just down the street from my father’s home. Sebastian is already out of his vehicle and on the phone again. His movements are jerky, frantic. Much like that of a worried parent, if I’m not mistaken. Good, motherfucker. It’s time to make things right with her and this is your first chance to do so. Don’t fuck it up.

I scramble from the front passenger seat, my chest burning with the need to get to her. Sebastian claps a hand on my shoulder to stop my forward motion as he steps onto the sidewalk next to me.

“She’s in there, I know it.” I stare at the outside of my childhood home. Icy fear grips me. I growl, “Justin’s a sick asshole. As bad as my dad, or maybe worse.”

“Yeah, we’re on the right track.” He turns to look at my friends and hurriedly says, “Boys, wait here for the police and explain to them what we think has happened. Answer their questions as best you can. Things aren’t completely clear, but that’s not going to stop us from going in.”

Sebastian and I creep around the house, looking for a way in, and at last, we find it. The side door into the garage is unlocked. We creep through the quiet house, listening for any sign, sound, or movement. A thump comes from upstairs and low murmurs. Having lived in this house, I don’t have to turn on any lights; instead, I glance back at Sebastian and give him a signal that he should follow. Faster now, we move up the stairs and down the hallway.

Joseph’s low voice drifts down the hallway. “If you’re going to do this, you’d better be quick and get this little bitch the fuck out of here. I don’t care where you dump her, but I’m not cleaning up yet another fucking mess.”

The sound of a zipper rips through the quiet, and my heart jumps into my throat.

Sebastian and I exchange a look. Moving faster, we pass my childhood bedroom, and I involuntarily shudder, sick memories rushing at me. Fuck. The voices are coming from the one place I’d hoped never to have to return to ever again—my parents’ bedroom.

All those years surviving in this house taught me one thing—I have to protect the ones I love. I charge forward, ramming my shoulder into the door with such force both my dad and Justin startle, their heads twist toward the intrusion.

Scarlett lies on the bed, the pretty dress she’d been wearing over her bikini bunched up around her waist. Justin kneels between her legs, his hands frozen where he’d been about to shove his jeans down. My sick fuck of a father was going to let this happen. And he was going to watch.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” The words come out of my mouth in a low, menacing growl. Fury fills every cell in my body and courses through my veins. I lunge forward, grab Justin by the shoulders, and yank him off the bed. He stumbles and stands just in time for me to catch him with a punch to the face and a second to his stomach. I can’t stop myself. My fists rain down on him. Knowing what he was about to do, knowing this wasn’t the first time. I want to kill him.

In my peripheral vision, Sebastian hurries to Scarlett, scooping her up into his arms and leaving the room. Good. She needs to be far, far away from these psychos.

The unmistakable sound of a belt buckle clanking hits my ears and has goose bumps erupting over my skin right before the belt cracks across my back.

I’m too pumped on adrenaline to feel any pain. Seeing red, I leave Justin hunched over on the floor and stand to face the villain of all my nightmares. My chest heaves up and down as I eye him. “You’re going to regret that and the part you played in this.”

My father has the gall to laugh. “Come back for more, did you, boy?”

Boy?If he thinks I’m going to react like I did when I was a child, he has another thing coming. “I’m not that little boy anymore. I’m a man about to seriously fuck you up.”

He chuckles and gathers the leather in his hands, toying with the buckle. He examines it for a second. “It’ll be a pleasure to add more of your blood to this.” He holds it out in front of him. “See? It’s still visible on it, all these years later.” With that, he lashes out at me with it again.

My hand flies up, catching the end of it in my hand, and I yank hard, bringing him toward me as my fist slams into his face, knocking him out cold.

Blinding fury claws its way through my body as pent-up rage pours out of me, and I pummel his disgusting face over and over again until I’m panting with the exertion. Blood spatters with every hit. I take pleasure in every ounce of agony I deliver. As I slow, I notice my knuckles have split open, and finally, several pairs of strong hands wrap around my upper arms and pull me back. It turns out it’s a couple of police officers who’ve hauled me off of him—I don’t even know where they came from—and I’m not so sure I would have stopped if they hadn’t stepped in.

I drag air into my lungs, the haze of madness dissipating. I gasp out, “Where’s Scarlett?”

I guess the cops know the situation because one of the officers immediately guides me downstairs to where Sebastian is cradling Scarlett in his arms on a couch, gently stroking the hair back from her face. She’s still out of it. But she’s safe. Safe from the monster who has been stalking her and safe from the hell of my childhood.

Micah and Beau enter the room and my fists clench again, looking around for my asshole stepbrother. “Where the fuck did Justin go?” I spit.

Beau shakes his head, then grabs the back of his neck and gives me a small smile. “No worries there. He came running out the front door while we were waiting for the cops.” He jerks his thumb toward Micah. “Big guy tackled him before he got far. I helped out by sitting on him. He wasn’t going anywhere on our watch. They already have him in the back of one of the patrol cars.”

Micah nods toward Scarlett, a worried look on his face. “Think she’ll be okay?” Sirens sound in the distance. Someone must have called for an ambulance.

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