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It didn’t matter. I was here. In my own little heaven.
• fourteen •
“The little shithead was entertaining.”
King
Glancing back at Storm and Sebastian, who were covering the main floor, I found myself wanting to study the place. There was no reason for me to want to explore the fucking house. At least not one I wanted to admit. But I was curious. This was where Rumor had spent the past fifteen months of her life. This had been her home. One that had been a hell for her.
Turning my attention back to the stairs, I followed behind Thatcher, who was taking them two at a time, as if he was in a hurry to get this over with. He was always the bloodthirsty one, but I had to agree with him this time. I was ready to see Churchill Millroe suffer.
A nurse was closing a bedroom door, and her back was to us. Thatcher moved quickly and wrapped the gag around her mouth before she could turn around. She began to fight back, and I slipped the cloth bag over her head as he grabbed her arms more roughly than necessary, then tied her wrists with the rope he had brought. Her muffled screams were making her inhale the soaked chloroform gag she had on, which would speed up her unconsciousness. Throwing her over my shoulder, I headed to the nearest closet and shoved her inside, then bent down to bind her ankles before closing the door and leaving her in there.
Thatcher was already in the master bedroom, standing over Churchill Millroe, who appeared to be sleeping. This had been Rumor’s bedroom too. I wondered which closet was hers. If I could get some more of her things without her questioning where they’d come from, I would. Unfortunately, my being here was something I’d never be able to tell her.
“There was a nurse downstairs and a housekeeper. Both have been sedated and tied up. Sebastian said he would take the chloroform gag off the one up here when she finally passes out,” he informed me.
Which meant the only person left in the house was the man we had come for. Sebastian slapped him hard across the face, causing his head to snap to the side. Churchill’s eyes flew open as he let out a strangled shout, and Thatcher slapped him even harder. He began to try and move, but his current pain medication had him so sedated that he had little control over his body. It was almost too fucking easy.
“Yo-you got your money. You got all my money!” he cried out, his body shaking as his eyes darted from Thatcher to me.
Thatcher hit him again, and blood trickled out of his nose as he began to cry. That was just pathetic. Son of a bitch was crying like a damn baby over being slapped after he beat the hell out of Rumor.
“We aren’t here for the money,” I told him, walking over so that he could see me clearly. I wanted my face to be one of the ones he went to hell remembering.
“Wh-what m-more do y-you want?” he stammered. “I have n-nothing else.”
“Information and revenge,” I replied, then grabbed his hair and jerked his head back so that his neck was at a painful angle. “But it won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. It will be long and agonizing.” I glared down at him.
“What revenge?” he choked out, unable to talk clearly. He already knew the information we wanted.
I leaned down, inches from his face. “For Rumor.”
His eyes widened even more, and I saw the understanding slowly sink in.
“You done? I’m ready to get him out of here. I’m fucking starving,” Thatcher drawled.
Letting his head go, I stood back up as Thatcher tied the gag around him. I waited while he then kicked up the morphine from his IV enough to completely sedate him before unhooking it and stepping back so I could toss the bastard over my shoulder.
Sebastian was standing outside in the hall with the chloroform gag that had been on the nurse we left in the closet, swinging it around and looking bored. He glanced from me to his older brother. “Storm is out back with Wells in the Escalade.”
I started down the stairs and tried not to get caught up looking at the photos on the wall or the touches I knew had been Rumor’s doing. Knowing she’d lived here and what she had suffered in this house infuriated me. I wanted to begin beating the man thrown over my shoulder now. See him bleed out, listen to him beg for mercy.
Sebastian went ahead of me and opened the door to the kitchen, where he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer before going to get the back door for us. I heard him crack open the can and shook my head, unable not to smile. The little shithead was entertaining. Nothing like Thatcher. Two brothers couldn’t be any more different.
The back of the Escalade opened, and I threw the bastard inside before closing it. With one last glance, I felt relief that he would never touch Rumor again. She was safe. I’d made fucking sure of it.
• fifteen •
“Not sure what went wrong in his DNA.”
Rumor
I was going to take more books this time. The four I had taken Sunday only lasted for three days. I had woken up early and walked the one mile from the cottage to Maeme’s. She was thrilled to see me and even insisted I have a cup of coffee with her and try one of her blueberry muffins. It was nice to feel normal. I had felt guilty about turning down her invitation to come to dinner Tuesday night. She had called me and said she’d come get me, but I had lied and said I had a headache.
Now back in the library, I wanted to inhale the smell of books, run my fingers over the bindings, and stay lost in here forever. No fear of the future or what was to come. My ribs were feeling much better, and Maeme had said the doctor was coming tomorrow to take a look at them. My lip were healing, and the bruising on my face was almost gone. All that being said, I knew my time was running out here. Soaking in every moment I had left was important. I might never have this again. A safe place to be. I didn’t want to miss a moment of it.
I reached for a book on the third shelf near the left side of the door that I had noticed Sunday just as the door opened. Expecting to see Maeme, I froze when an unfamiliar face entered the room. I wasn’t sure if I should scream or remain calm. Just because I had never seen him didn’t mean he didn’t belong here. There were a lot of people in this family of Maeme’s, and I didn’t quite understand all their connections, but the man was attractive. Somewhat familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. I’d definitely recognize that face if I had seen it before.
