Page 18 of Upon Blooded Lips (Vengeance #1)

THE UNSEEN

I yank off my shirt and drop to my knees in front of the makeshift altar, lowering my head in front of the crucifix. I don’t deserve to look upon it. He sacrificed His life for our sins, and what did I offer in return? Failure.

I stare down at the flogger by my side, hesitating for a moment before wrapping my hand over the handle. Shame curdles in my gut. I have no right to delay this. Jesus didn’t hesitate; He willingly went with the Romans after His betrayal, and I must live by His example.

The knotted leather strips sing through the air before landing on my back, tearing into my sensitive flesh. Searing pain lances through me as streams of blood drip from the wounds, leaving behind puddles of redemption on the cracked linoleum floor.

My mother’s viperous tongue whispers its poison in my mind. You are a scourge, a plague upon this earth. The words flay me more surely than the whip in my hand.

I bring the flogger down again, tearing a new set of lines in my already scarred back. The sacrifice is all I can offer my Father for my failings. My blood and pain for His forgiveness.

Forgive me, Father. I’ve failed you.

It’s been almost a week since Tessa disappeared, and I’m no closer to finding her. I don’t know if she’s still alive or lying in a ditch somewhere, hurt and requiring help. I’ve practically torn Willowmen apart in my search, to no avail.

I push myself to my feet, the aching muscles in my back protesting at the movement. I shrug into a shirt, forgoing any treatment. Later, I’ll have to tear the fabric from the wounds, reopening them, but it’s what I deserve for allowing Tessa to be taken.

As I clean the whip in the kitchen sink of the new apartment I leased, I replay graduation day, from following behind Stephen’s car to standing on the stage, looking for any detail I might have missed.

My fingers curl around the edge of the sink, my knuckles whitening when I remember the rumor about Tessa marrying Rafe Martinelli. How could I have forgotten that?

Hope unfurls in my chest for the first time in days as I stash weapons around my body. If he took her, he better have made his peace with whichever god he believes in.

Moonlight fills the room with silvery light, allowing me to observe my prey while it sleeps on the bed before me. It was easier than it should have been to get into Rafe’s apartments in the Martinellis’ compound. Getting stuck in traffic entering Chicago was more stressful.

Moving on silent feet, I round the bed and remove the pillowcase from the abandoned pillow tossed carelessly on the floor. A deep snore rocks the silent room, setting my nerves on edge. How can he sleep with his fiancée missing? He should be out scouring the streets like I am.

It just goes to show he’s not right for her. Tessa needs a powerful man to stand by her side, ready to fight the monsters baying for her blood. Not some useless idiot too lazy to raze the state looking for her.

I cut off a sigh and stretch the material between my hands. Until I see Tessa safely settled, I suppose I’ll have to fill that role for her.

Rafe turns over, his hand slipping into his boxers. He mumbles something I can’t make out, and I take the opportunity to slide the pillowcase over his head, twisting it at the back to secure it.

He wakes with a violent suddenness, the fabric over his mouth tenting with each labored breath. His hands slap against my arms in a futile attempt to dislodge me while his legs kick against the mattress, knocking his blankets to the floor.

“Shut up.” My sharply spoken words do the trick, and he freezes.

“Wh-what do you want?”

“Information.”

“About?”

“Where’s your fiancée, Mr. Martinelli?”

The little fucker laughs before sucking in a breath when I tighten the knot around his neck. “You gonna kill me?”

“Not if you answer my questions.”

“She’s no longer my fiancée. I have no clue where she is.”

My jaw clenches. A week ago, they were set to be married, and now they’re not? “What do you mean?”

“We called it off.”

“Why?”

“We owed her uncle a favor, so we agreed to the wedding. But it came to our attention that he’s involved in trafficking, and we’re not interested in that. We cut her loose.”

Something doesn’t feel right. “Cut her loose, when? Before or after she disappeared?”

“Umm, before?”

I grab his arm and pull him off the bed in a swift move that leaves him fumbling. My arm wraps around his neck, and I dig my knife into his side. “I don’t believe you. Tell me where she is before I slice your intestines from your body and decorate your room with your blood.”

“What the fuck is with this girl?” I jab the knife harder, drawing blood, and he sucks in a gasp. “I don’t know, I swear! Two guys jumped me at Club Oblivion. They told me Tessa would disappear. They paid me to stop the wedding.”

My eyes narrow behind my mask, my mind spinning with possibilities. Who the fuck would take her? Her parents? Who else is there? “Who were they?”

“No idea. They wore masks.”

A growl works its way out of my throat. If this is the future of the Martinelli family, they won’t last long. “Was there anything identifiable about them?”

He shakes his head against my arm, then goes still. “One of them was freakishly tall. Dude was built like a mountain. That’s all I got, man. Their clothes covered every inch of their bodies, and they wore gloves.”

I tighten my hold around his neck, ignoring the way he flops around like a fish out of water.

Once he’s out, I place him back in his bed, fix his blankets, and put the pillow back into its case.

Once everything’s back to normal, I climb out his window and drop to the ground before making my way out of the compound.

Rafe wasn’t exactly a font of information, but maybe this Club Oblivion will be more forthcoming.