Page 109 of Endure the Pain

“I’ll go too. Finn, you’re with Maura,” Dean said and took off.

Finn moved toward me as we ducked behind one of the cars. Louie showed up next and crouched behind the other.

“I want him alive,” I reminded everyone.

Louie looked at me. “I know, beautiful.”

A shot went off inside the house, followed by a scream and glass breaking.

“Tiffany!” Alex yelled and tried to stand.

I stood from behind the car, aimed for his shoulder, and fired. His shoulder jerked from the shot and he fell back to the ground.

More rustling came from inside the cabin. Then I heard Jamie grunt in my earpiece.

“Jamie?” I called. He didn’t respond and without thought I dashed for the house.

“Maura!” Louie shouted and ran to catch up to me.

I rushed onto the porch next to Alex. Our eyes locked. I could barely contain my rage and need to make him pay, but finding Jamie and Dean took priority. I kicked him in the face, making him roll in pain on his side. “Watch him,” I ordered over my shoulder. I was getting ready to go inside the cabin when Dean said through the earpiece, “We got her.”

My shoulders slumped in relief. “Jamie?”

Just as I asked, Jamie stepped out onto the porch, Dean right behind him. I noticed right away that they weren’t wearing their masks. I yanked mine up, ready to question them as to why when my gaze caught on Jamie’s arm. It was bleeding.

It looked like he was cut from the crease of his elbow down to his wrist. I went to reach for him but stopped myself. He caught the movement and his eyes locked with mine and I looked away.

“What happened?” Louie asked, pointing at Jamie’s arm.

Jamie looked down at it. “The bitch cut me with a piece of glass when we tried to grab her.”

I pretended not to listen and went over to where Alex was lying. Finn had his gun trained on him, but Alex only stared at me. Blood dribbled out of his nose into his mouth and down his chin.

Standing next to him, I pulled my mask off the rest of the way. I held his stare with a blank expression. For three months, his face and the way he'd looked when he'd stabbed me had been seared in my mind. No amount of alcohol could make it go away and I'd cried repeatedly, begging for just a moment of peace. Today, I’d replace that memory with one of him suffering and screaming out in agony.

His mouth stretched into a bloody smile. It was meant to intimidate, but I was too busy playing out his death in my head. “Let’s tie him up.”

CHAPTER 36

We tied Alex and Tiffany to two kitchen chairs, facing each other in their living room. We couldn’t let Tiffany go now because she had seen Jamie’s face. He hadn't put on his ski mask. His half-hearted excuse was that he'd forgotten. He hadn't forgotten. He'd wanted her to die. And the sad truth was that if it hurt Alex, I wanted her to die too.

I pulled Dean and Asher aside. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want you guys here for this.” I tilted my head at Jamie and Louie. “This is something the three of us need to do on our own.”

Asher nodded, understanding, and handed over his truck keys. “We’ll tell Brenna and Finn. See you back at the cabin,” he said and shoved Dean out of the room before he could argue. “They’ll be fine,” I heard Asher assure him.

I put the keys in my pocket, and I turned. I eyed Alex and Tiffany, tied and bloody. Tiffany had a pretty bad cut on her temple. Alex was still bleeding from where Brenna had shot him in his leg and where I'd gotten him in the shoulder.

My eyes drifted to Jamie and Louie standing on the other side of the room before I pulled out my hunting knife and went to stand next to Tiffany, facing Alex.

“I warned you that we’d wipe out your pathetic little gang and take away everything you care about. I’ve pretty much followed through with the first half of that threat.”

Alex stared up at me with a defiant, bored look. I took my knife and lightly ran it along Tiffany’s collar bone. She flinched and his eyes flickered slightly, telling me what I needed to know. She was his weakness.

“Do you know where Buck is?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

Jamie’s fist came out of nowhere and collided with Alex’s face.