Page 77 of They Call Me Wicked

Aiming my gun down the stairs, I press Wicked against the wall beside the door, her raccoons sticking close to her legs. Throwing a pointed look at Kai, I give him silent orders and wait for his nod of agreement before pressing my lips to Wicked’s ear once more. “Stay right the fuck here with Kai. No arguments. I’m fucking serious.”

She jerks her head in affirmation and I thank God that she’s not fighting me for once.

I stare at her for a moment, taking in her tiny, freckled nose and the scars peeking out from behind her glasses. I memorize every one of her features, absorb them, and hold them close to me. Whatever happens, I’ll always have our memories.

I brush my lips against hers softly and quickly, not even giving her a chance to react, before turning and nodding at Ezra. We both hold our guns up, aiming them down the stairs as we start our descent. I tread on the sides of each step as I go first to lessen the creaks of the old wooden boards under our feet, getting about halfway down before my God fails me and one particularly rotted slat screams its abuse to the intermittently quiet space.

A crash sounds from the basement and I waste no more time, bounding down the rest of the way and rounding the corner with my gun held out in front of me. Just as I get a glimpse of the scene, a loud bang rings out and I duck behind the wall as a bullet slams into the sheetrock where I was just standing.

My heart races as I curse the bastard under my breath. Normally I’d fire around the corner, but I can’t risk hitting Wicked’s mom, so I crouch low and try and peek again. I can’t see all the way into the room, but I catch sight of a dilapidated couch towards the left and I don’t hesitate.

Throwing my body forward, I roll behind it and allow Ezra to take my spot on the stairs. I shuffle quickly to the left side of the couch and peer around the side, getting a glimpse of a metal upright table with a slumped figure secured to it.

I pray with all my might, my fingers itching to caress the rosary around my neck, before shooting up and quickly scanning the room.

Nothing happens.

Another crash echoes from further inside the darkened portion of the basement and I curse. “Fuck!”

I rush forward, barely sparing Wicked’s mom a glance as I make my way past her. The basement is much larger than I originally thought, and with the darkness smothering everything past the morbid torture area, I have no idea where the bastard went. But I move forward regardless.

Another bang sounds and I fall to the ground as a pinging sounds behind me from where the bullet hit something metal. I shoot blindly into the darkness where the shot came from, but there’s only silence in answer.

Just when I get to my feet and start moving towards him again, a bright light flashes across the room, blinding me. I blink past the sudden change, catching sight of a black shape in the light, before it disappears completely.

“No!” I rush out, racing to the now exposed cellar door. I reach the ladder to climb out, and rapidly ascend with one hand, my other pointing my gun up as I wait for the bastard to look back and see me coming.

I have no such luck. I just barely reach the top rung as a flash of black surfaces and I let out a shot right before the galvanized steel door slams shut between us, smothering me in darkness once more.

“Fuck! Ezra! He’s outside!” I slam my shoulders into the door over and over to try and break through, but I know without a shadow of doubt they locked it behind them.

Giving up on the pointless endeavor, I slide down the ladder once more and race to the stairs. I rush past a confused Kai and out the back door, catching sight of Ezra’s massive form disappearing around the corner of the house. He’s faster than a man of his size has any right to be and he’s past the side yard and in the street by the time I’m rounding the same corner.

I catch up to him when he stops and we both wildly glance around the streets searching for any movement at all. Frustration wells up inside of me, my teeth grinding together when nothing happens.

Then we hear it.

The sound of a car starting grabs our attention and we sprint in that direction, but it’s no use. We get to the corner of the street in time to see a silver Toyota Camry peeling out. I take in the plates as I race after it, only getting the first two letters before it picks up speed and easily leaves us behind.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I shout, kicking at a trash can on the side of the road as I watch the car fade into the distance, our chances at ending this once and for all going right along with it.

Ezra says nothing, but his eyes are shining with a murderous rage that I’ve never seen in him before. Taking one last glance at the now empty street, he simply turns and walks away. I holster my gun, my gaze returning to the direction Wicked’s stalker managed to escape in, my heart plummeting with the knowledge of how close we came, yet how far away we still are.

23

“He got away...” So many emotions flash through me when Nic says those words as he returns to the house. Disappointed? Angry? I don’t fucking know. I’m just glad everyone is okay. When I heard those gunshots, I thought the absolute worst. That somehow the stalker had gotten the drop on the guys and taken them out, taken them away from me.

It wasn’t a fun feeling.

“And my mom?” I ask, worry in my tone that I try to mask the best I can. I really shouldn’t give a fuck, not when she is who she is, but I can’t help it. I have a biological drive to give a shit about her even when she doesn’t deserve it.

“Fuck,” Nic curses before heading towards the basement stairs again. “Kai, call an ambulance and ring Alan. He should have fucking been here already. See where the fuck he is.”

“On it,” Kai answers before walking a little ways away to do exactly that.

I hesitate for a moment, not sure what to do, before creeping to the stairs. I reach out, finding a wooden hand railing to my right and use it to slowly guide myself down into the basement. The planks beneath my feet creaking with every step making me wonder how the fuck the guys managed to descend so quietly only moments ago. They’re both much larger and heavier than me. I may have a fat ass, but it’s notthatfat.

My foot finally meets flat ground and I hear thumping as Gizmo and Snitch follow me down. I focus on their auras as we round the corner and I get flashes of objects and where to step over or around them.

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