Page 34

Chapter 33

T ess’s steel-gray eyes, wide with shock, meet mine.

“The property is one of many owned by my uncle Alvin.”

“Wait. Alvin Walker? As in Allie’s father ?”

“Yeah,” I reply. “But why would they go there, and how does it relate to my uncle? No one’s used that warehouse in years. Alvin and Elizabeth moved to North Carolina after the twins graduated high school.”

I can see the wheels turning in Tessa’s mind. “Come with me. I have something to show you.”

I follow her up the stairs and past her bedroom, and we enter a room filled from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. Shelves packed with hundreds of books. She reaches behind a copy of Butcher and Blackbird , and the unit swings open. My mouth falls open when I realize it’s a door. A hidden room behind the door contains a large, impressive collection of firearms, knives, and other weapons.

“Damn, this is quite a collection you have here. ”

She smirks at me as she reaches for a revolver and spins the empty cylinder with a wicked glint in her eyes. Shit, I wouldn’t want to be the person about to face her wrath. She’s so damn hot right now .

Tessa’s expression turns serious. “Grab a few things, and let’s go find the fucker.”

We decide to take my truck. I don’t know what plan she has in that beautiful head of hers, but since the warehouse belongs to my family, it would be more logical in case anyone becomes suspicious.

She appears uneasy, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Dalton.

“You want to tell me what’s bothering you, Tessa?”

“Yeah, there is one thing.”

“Okay…” I wait for her to continue, and she looks at me with somber eyes.

“You’re not going to like it.” She chews on her bottom lip nervously. “I believe Dalton and Wilson had something to do with your sister’s kidnapping.”

“What are you talking about?” I grit out as I slam on the brakes and pull over to the side of the road. My heart is in my throat. The image of Paisley’s face flashes in my mind.

She takes a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t know quite how to tell you this, but I need you to hear me out.”

I grind my teeth as she fills me in on what Allie saw the night of Paisley’s disappearance.

“Why didn’t she tell someone?” I shout in outrage. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“One of them threatened to kill her and her family. She was terrified .

” I glare at her, and she flinches. “How long have you known about this?”

“About what Allie saw that night? Only a few weeks. The thing is, she didn’t realize it was them. Allie only figured it out yesterday, just before Dalton assaulted her. I haven’t been able to ask her more about it, and we can’t right now. She’s already devastated about the baby.”

“Fuck!” I hurl myself from the truck, my fist connecting with the tailgate in an explosion of fury. “How could you not tell me?”

Tessa follows me out of the truck. “Eli, please stop and talk to me.”

“Talk to you? Oh, now you want me to talk to you when you couldn't be bothered to tell me about this possibly monumental thing until now?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She wraps her arms around me tightly, and I instantaneously feel the anger slowly fading into a low simmering rage. Guilt starts churning in my gut, I shouldn’t have yelled at her. I hate secrets, but it wasn’t Tessa that held this from me for years, it was Allie. Leaning into her embrace, I rest my head against hers. A few deep breaths later, I pull back and tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“I’m okay.”

She sees the damage to my right hand and gasps. “I hope you didn’t break anything. Let me take a look.”

Reaching for my hand, she examines it as I extend my fingers, allowing her to inspect my knuckles.

“It probably isn’t broken, but let’s ice it to reduce the swelling.”

Despite everything going on right now, I let out a slow grin. “You’re sexy with all that doctor talk. ”

Flushing a little, she clears her throat, and my smile broadens. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this from me, but maybe you need to step back. Your emotions may interfere with your reasoning.”

“And you have your emotions in check, baby?”

“Maybe not,” she admits. “But I have a little experience with this.”

“You forget, Little Killer, I’ve been in combat. And I have quite a bit of experience with torture and interrogation.”

Heat fills her eyes, her gaze dropping to my lips and lingering there. I lick my lips, and her eyes follow the movement. Instantly hard, my cock strains against my zipper.

Down, boy.

“Stop looking at me like that, Tessa, or I’ll fuck you right here in front of God and everybody else.”

She smirks. “Maybe I would like that.”

My mouth crashes down onto hers in a rough, brutal assault, and I reach between her legs to cup her pussy, soaking wet through her leggings, eliciting a low moan from her.

We pull apart, panting. “You would like that, wouldn’t you, Tess?”

She kisses my neck, biting down into the flesh. “Yes,” she breathes out. “But we have things to handle first.”

Dropping a quick kiss on her lips, I back away, and my mind returns to the task at hand. I’m going to make Dalton wish he had never laid a fucking hand on my sister or Allie.

“Let’s do this.” She heads to the passenger door to get back into the truck. “Oh, and Eli? I love you too, Stalker. ”

Barely having time to process her words, I hop into the driver’s seat, and we take off toward the warehouse. She reaches for my hand, careful not to touch my knuckles, and I glance over and see her eyes shining with emotion.

At that moment, I knew our love was meant to be, regardless of our depravity.

As the warehouse comes into view, I pay close attention to our surroundings. The building was previously used to store boats owned by locals. But a few years ago, when the marina was bought out and upgraded, most of the business went there, and my uncle moved on to other ventures.

“I don’t see any sign of the car that your friend said they were in.”

She reaches into her duffle and pulls out a pair of binoculars. And not just regular binoculars, but ones with thermal imaging. They’re military grade, not a pair the average citizen could legally purchase.

“Christ, where do you get those?”

She side-eyes me. “I have my connections.”

Laughing, I shake my head, and her face turns serious as she aims the binoculars toward the warehouse.

“There is someone here, but I’m only seeing one person.”

“Maybe Wilson took off?” I reply, and she shrugs.

“We’re about to find out. You’re sure about this? You’re stepping into my world now,” she says hesitantly.

“I’d follow you to hell and back, Tessa. Never doubt that.”

Weapons in hand, we walk silently together to the side entrance. My instincts tell me it’s Dalton in there and not some vagrant looking for shelter or a rebellious teenager hiding out from their parents.

Twisting the knob, I find the door unlocked, and we quietly enter the building. I step out in front of her, and she glares at me.

Shrugging, I hang back and let her take the lead. I look around the warehouse—there’s a dank smell in the air and old equipment sits covered in dust, appearing untouched for many years. This building has several hiding places. A few boats were left behind; either the owners passed away or moved away and didn’t bother to pick them up. There’s an office, an electrical closet, and a small bathroom at the opposite end of the warehouse.

“The heat signal is in that direction,” she whispers, pointing to the room where the office is located.

We slowly edge toward the room, my senses on high alert. I approach from the left and Tessa from the right.

Grabbing a rock off the floor, I heave it through the window, and a startled shout rings back before a figure walks out of the office with a pistol in his hand. I make sure he sees me and not Tess, and sure enough, Dalton immediately aims the gun in my direction.

“Eli, what the fuck are you doing here? Stay back,” he screams at me.

“Dalton, I’m just here to talk, my man.”

“Put the fucking gun down.” His hands tremble just slightly, and a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead.

I lower the gun to the ground and kick it away, raising my hands in the air.

“How did you find me?” he demands. “Did someone tell you I was here?”

“Who would tell me that, Dalton? Wilson, maybe? ”

Dalton’s wild, outraged eyes meet mine.

“Wilson? That fucking traitor,” he sputters out. I know I need to handle the situation quickly, but I don’t particularly like a gun pointed at my face.

From the corner of my eye, I see Tessa inching closer, and I try to think of a way to distract him.

“Look, man, I know you didn’t mean to hurt Allie,” I say cautiously, while taking a non-threatening stance, and forcing a cynical smirk. “I’m sure the weak bitch deserved it.”

Dalton eyes me with confusion and a touch of suspicion. “I thought you two got along. Being cousins and all.”

“I tolerate her for the sake of my parents You know, family sticks together,” I scoff. “Look, I can help you.”

“Help me how?”

“The police are looking everywhere for you. I can help you get out of here.”

His eyes bore into mine. “You would help me leave?”

“Yes, now can you put the gun away?”

“Why should I trust you?” he asks.

“Because I’m fucking Allie’s best friend, and I just want this situation resolved. If Tessa is happy, I’m happy. And with you out of the picture, she will be.”

He relaxes his arm down, not dropping the gun, but it’s no longer facing my direction.

At that moment, Tessa sneaks up behind him. Before he can react, she presses her Glock to his temple and clicks the safety off.

“Oh god, what the fuck!”

“Definitely not God, because he isn’t here right now.”

Dalton tenses up, his eyes wide with panic and fear. “Tess? ”

“Now, drop the gun, or I will put a bullet straight through your skull,” she says coldly.

The gun falls to the floor with a loud clatter.

“Kick it away.”

He complies, kicking it out of reach. Before he can say another word, she pulls out a syringe and stabs it into his neck.