Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Where’s the house?” Ricky asked.
“Not far. A couple blocks. I have a visual of the kitchen where they’re holding Serenity and her ex.”
“Her ex?”
“Yeah. I guess he showed up to kill her.”
“What? That’s messed up.”
“Yeah, and I don’t even know why he wants her dead, so I’d like to keep him alive if possible.” I shook my head. It would be nice to kill him myself, but I didn’t think Serenity would approve unless it was self-defense. But I could totally make that happen.
Ricky motioned to the bag at my feet. “Put the vest on while we figure this out. There’s an extra gun in there. I guess you lost yours.”
I slipped off my shirt and pulled the vest around me, tightening the straps before tugging my shirt back on.
“Maybe Slater and I could draw them out while you go in and free Serenity.”
I picked up the gun and loaded it. “No. Johnny’s too smart for that. The only thing I can come up with, is surrendering like they want, and then you guys breaking us out.”
“I don’t like it.” Slater held out his hand for my phone. “Let me see what we’re dealing with.”
I passed the phone over, showing him the video feed. He studied all the angles, including the camera on the front porch. “The garage door is open. That’s a plus. Is there a door from the back?”
“There’s a patio door just outside the kitchen, right there.” I pointed to the area. “You can barely see it. Unfortunately, they’d see us coming. I think going through the front door or a bedroom window might be our best options.”
“Wait. Something’s happening.” Slater held the phone so I could see it. Aubree stepped to Serenity and held a phone to her face. My phone began to ring, but I let it go to voice mail. Serenity began to speak, but Aubree jerked the phone away and slapped Serenity across the face.
My jaw clenched, and I grabbed the door handle.
“No. Not yet.” Slater grabbed my arm. “She’s fine. Aubree’s yelling, but she’s not hitting her again.”
“I need to call Serenity, or Aubree will lose it. It’s time we go in. Get geared up.”
“We’re ready. But think a minute.” Ricky’s measured tones calmed me down. “She’s not going to let Serenity go if you show up. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know shit, but if I call, I’ll find out what Aubree wants. If we know that, it will help us figure out what to do.”
“Sure, but first, listen to the message from Serenity.”
“Fine.” I hated that my emotions were making me irrational. I was usually the calm, cool, collected one. Sighing, I called my voice mail, setting it on the console and putting it on speaker so all of us could hear.
Serenity didn’t waste any time. “Nate! It’s a trap. Whatever you do, don’t come!”
Aubree’s slap came through loud and clear. Before ending the call, she spoke into the phone. “If you don’t come, I’ll do to her what you did to Seth.”
The line went dead, and a chill ran down my spine. “What the hell?”
“Who’s Seth?” Ricky asked.
“I have no idea.” I wracked my brain, but couldn’t come up with a thing. Running my hands through my hair, I went back to the beginning. I’d gone over all this with Serenity, and nothing had come up. So who was Seth? “It must have something to do with the tattoos and a gang.”
I quickly explained the tats Serenity had seen in her vision. “Oh, yeah,” Ricky nodded. “We talked about that after the shooting. Johnny had them, right? We thought they were gang-related. This might sound strange, but could Aubree be part of the same gang? Did you notice any tattoos on her?”
My eyes narrowed. “She had one on her shoulder, but it wasn’t a gang tattoo.” I shrugged. “Or maybe it was, and I just didn’t put it together.”
“What was it?”
I closed my eyes to remember. “It was like a banner of some kind with flowers twined around it. There were words on it… something like… love never dies. I thought it was weird because the edge of the banner had a point… like a sharp pencil.”
“Or a weapon? Like a dagger?” Ricky said.
My breath caught. “No. A spike. That’s it. Spike. Seth’s moniker was Spike. I remember him now. It was two years ago, but yeah… he and his brother tried to kill me.”
Ricky raised a brow. “Let me guess… you killed him first?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. His brother went by Needles. He’s in jail, so I didn’t think he was behind this… but if Aubree and Spike…” I closed my eyes. “They must have been together, and this whole time she’s been using me. Most of Needles’ gang is in jail, but there must be enough of them to do his bidding… and Aubree’s behind it.”