Page 45

I was never meant to be saved.

Maybe my death will bring peace, or maybe it will bring war. My hope is that it will lead to him finally facing justice for his evil deeds. My men have each other, and they will find love again. I will become a distant memory, and they will heal. I have to believe that. I have to believe this will not break them.

My feet are on the edge of the chair as my mind races through memories of happiness. I am choosing to die with the warmth of their love surrounding me.

Nineteen

Julian

It’s been twelve hourssince he took her from us. Twelve hours that we have been frantically searching for her. I will not give up until I find her. There is a pit in my stomach that tells me she’s dead, but I have to at least find her body. We promised her peace, and I will fucking give her that, even if only a peaceful burial. It pains me to think she is gone, but it’s a reality I am trying to prepare for.

We pull into Natalie’s driveway, and I jump out right as Ryan puts the car in park. They don’t stop me because none of us care that I am about to beat information out of this bitch. I am not one to hit women, but she is a demon. Eliza tried so hard to be her friend, but Natalie sold her out. For what? For the hope she could get with us? Fuck her. Fuck her feelings. Fuck her life.

When I get to the door, I kick just beside the handle. I smash my shoulder against the door, and it slams open. Natalie’s panicked face is busted to shit, and she screams as I charge her. She doesn’t even get a chance to get off the couch before I grab her by the hair and throw her to the floor. I have not a shred of remorse or hesitation when I drag her up to lay her across her coffee table. When I wrap my hand around her neck and squeeze tight, her eyes practically bulge out of her stupid fucking face.

“Where is she?” I growl.

“I don’t know,” Natalie sobs. “Please don’t….”

“She tried to be your friend,” I scream as I pick her head up and slam her body back down on the wood. “Where did he take her?! Do you realize what you’ve done? He will kill her, you stupid fucking bitch.”

“Please stop. Please make him stop!” Natalie screams, begging the others for help.

“Don’t look at us,” Jasper muses. “I don’t give a fuck enough about you to be a good cop right now. I would advise you to open your fucking mouth and talk.”

The benefit to Jasper being a dirty cop is that he does it for the right reasons. Everyone knows that Troy should’ve gone to fucking jail, but that stupid fucking judge is corrupt. He is sexist. He sided with the abuser, and unfortunately, that’s not uncommon.

“Where did you take her?” Ryan asks, pulling her away from me and pushing her down to sit on the couch. Natalie is sniffling and hiccupping, and it annoys me. “I’m trying to be the nice one, but understand I will absolutely let him kill you for what you’ve done. You need to talk.”

“I took her to Troy. Uhm… Kirkland Road off Highway 77. It’s a dirt road. He was going to take her to his cabin. It’s a few hours north. He took me there once before… I’m sorry. He convinced me that I could have you guys for myself… she was right. You’ll never want me.”

“What is the address of the cabin?” Jasper asks.

“15378 Westfield Drive,” she sighs.

“If she is dead, I will kill you for this,” I snap before walking out of the house. The others follow after me, and we get back into the car. No one says anything as Jasper types in the address, and we start toward what we hope is Eliza.

I feel frozen as we drive. I just stare out of the window, growing more and more nervous as the miles pass by. By the time we are pulling down the long drive to the cabin, I am filled with dread. I’m not ready to see her dead body. I’m not ready to grieve the only woman I’ve ever loved.

When the car stops, I jump out. There aren’t any vehicles here, but all of the lights in the cabin are on. Jasper gets ahead of us and walks into the cabin first. He has his pistol drawn ashe clears the main floor. When we find the basement door, a metallic scent hits us immediately when the door is opened.

Fuck…

When we get down to the bottom of the landing, a mix of emotions slams through me when we see her.

“Liza!”I scream out as I rush to pull her down from the chair. Her back is slashed up, and she is covered in both blood and come. A chain is wrapped around her throat, and when I get that off, I see a leather collar. Jasper appears with a sheet and helps wrap her so I can lay her down.

“I’m sorry,” Eliza whispers with a broken voice.

“Shhh, baby. You’re okay,” I say. “You’re safe now.”

“Be careful. It has spikes in it,” Jasper says as I slowly peel the collar off. Fresh blood trickles down her neck, but she relaxes a bit.

“We are too far out for an ambulance. We need to take her to the hospital,” Ryan says. I scoop her into my arms, and she cries out in pain.

“I’ve got you. I’m so sorry, baby,” I say as I hurriedly get her out of the cabin. I sit in the back seat, and she relaxes in my arms when I cup her cheek. Her body is shaking, and I’m sure she is in a lot of pain right now.

“You came for me,” she says softly.