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Grinder takes out his phone and shows me the time. “The decorations was last night, brother, and it’s almost seven at night so you’ve been out for a long ass fucking time.”
“Fuck, right there.” I can feel it, like a bug bite or a pinhole or—
“Jesus Christ, were you jabbed with something?” My eyes lock with Psycho’s as my mind tries to make sense of his question. It explains the sleeping for over eighteen hours, the fact I’m on the fucking floor in just my boxers, the mess…
Athena.
“They took her. She looked terrified right before everything went blank. The bed’s a fucking mess and we never got in it and the books are everywhere and I’m on the fucking floor.” I’m rambling, trying to stand and falling to my knees every time I get a foot under me. The guys each take one side of me and, with their help, I’m finally able to stand.
“I’ll be right back.” Grinder runs out of my room and Psycho’s eyes roam my face and neck like he’s trying to find another fucking wound. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.
“I gotta find Athena, man. I gotta find her. If they… no, they definitely took her. There’s no other explanation for this shit. They’re gonna torture her for what she did. They’re gonna punish her because I couldn’t fucking keep her safe.” I realize my voice is rising with every word I say, and to Psycho’s credit, he doesn’t even flinch.
“That fear mixed with rage, brother? I know exactly how it fucking feels. So I’m gonna give you the same fucking advice you gave me all those months ago.” My jaw clenches because I know what he’s about to say. Even though my rational mind agrees, my heart and every drop of blood in my veins is screaming at me to raze this fucking Earth until I find her standing among the ashes of my destruction. “We plan, then we kill every motherfucker who laid a finger on her.”
Just then, Grinder comes back in with a large glass of water and a pill I’m guessing is for the pounding headache that’s threatening to split open my skull. I was so worried about everything that I’m just now noticing the throbbing pain. “Thanks, man.”
With my hand-eye coordination not exactly on point, I carefully place the pill on my tongue and swallow it back with the cold water.
“Grinder, get on the phone to Hoops, bring him up to speed. We need all hands on deck. I’ll get this guy dressed.” Grinder doesn’t crack a joke or do anything but follow Psycho’s orders because, at the end of the day, he’s loyal to a fucking fault. “Oh, and tell Kincaid to bring the truck out here. Ain’t no way Bear’s riding his bike in this state.”
I’m about to argue and tell him to fuck right off but when I take one step, my knee nearly gives out. The truck it is then.
“On it.” Grinder leaves us in my bedroom and as Psycho throws whatever clothes he can find on the bed, I do my best to get dressed. I’ve only got one arm inside the sleeve of a T-shirt when I realize I’ve got to fucking piss like a racehorse.
On unsteady legs, I head for the bathroom as quickly as I possibly can go, which, spoiler alert, ain’t quick enough. Behind me, Psycho is watching, like the stalker he is, just in case I fall on my ass. Not like he can catch me. If he tries, we’ll just both end up on the floor with me, most likely, crushing him.
Shaking that visual out of my mind, I lift the lid and push my boxer briefs down so I can take a leak, one hand on the wall in front so I don’t topple over.
“I can handle it from here, Psycho. I don’t need a watchdog. Besides, you’re giving me performance anxiety.” With a chuckle, my best friend steps out and the relief comes immediately, but it’s short lived because the invading thoughts of what is happening to Athena right this second is enough to make methrow up. I don’t have time to shake the last drop before my mouth aims for the hole and I hurl out everything that was in my stomach. Ain’t much, but it’s enough to part the fog in my brain. For ten minutes I dry heave until fucking finally, my stomach doesn’t feel like it’s twisting up in itself.
“Feelin’ better?” Psycho is back behind me, leaning against the door frame, assessing eyes roaming around my face through the mirror.
“Yeah. Ready to kill some motherfuckers.”
“Right on, brother. We plan, then we kill.”
Chapter Eighteen
Athena
There’s a thickness pounding through my skull, blocking my ears from the outside world, but so loud at the same time. Why does it hurt so bad? My eyes are sealed shut and my arms feel like every muscle has been ripped apart. I want to rub the soreness away but I can’t…
Then everything comes rushing back all at once.
Bear was knocked out with some kind of dart, left in a heap on the floor…
“You’ve been a real bad girl, Athena. Time to go home.”
“Who are you?” Tears immediately spring to my eyes because I know I’m screwed here. But the snake took Bear out without even giving him a chance to fight back, and I’m not leaving here without doing everything I can to stop this from happening. I shuffle backward on the bed, not caring that my body is on show because a lot of skin usually makes this kind of man stupid.
“Your worst nightmare.” He raises his hand, holding what looks like a gun, at the same time as I grab the closest thing to me and throw it at him. The hard book hits him in the shoulder, just as he pulls the trigger, and a small dart shoots past my ear.
Without looking, I grab another book from the pile and hold it up in the air like a shield as the man’s mouth slowly contorts into a sneer.
“They told me you’d be fun. After you left Dan in a pool of blood at the house, and somehow Keith is now missing after he failed to report in from his mission to find you, they didn’t wanna take any more chances.” He holds his arms out to the sides and narrows his eyes. “Gimme your best shot, Athena.”
My breaths are fast, my heart is beating out of my chest, and all I want to do is curl up and protect my body, but I glance down to where Bear is passed out on the floor. A ball of anger grows at the sight and overtakes some of my fear. I know what I need to do. If I can get out of here, I can make enough noise to alert the neighbors and one of them will either call the cops or Bear’s club.