Page 66 of Ravaged By the Dark

“I’m sorry baby, I tried to stop, I did, and then I thought I’d pay some of the debt with a cash advance on a credit card, but they wouldn’t give it to me with my history—I’m sorry, baby I took one out in your name.”

Her mother’s lip quivered. She wanted to tell her mother it was okay, but she’d made this mess, just like she’d made all her messes. It was time her mother ‘adulted’ for a change.

“Then I decided to sell the house, but—” A loud crack could be heard as a hand shot out of nowhere and smacked her mother across the face.

“Mom! Don’t touch her, you asshole!” Renee yelled, but all it did was make Tyson laugh and hit her mother again. More blood appeared as a new cut split open on her cheek. She couldn’t believe Cody was standing there allowing this.

“Cody, stop him! That’s our mother,” she screamed as a fist connected with her mother’s face. Wet, hot tears blurred her vision and ran down her cheeks. They may not have been close, and they certainly had their differences on just about everything, but that woman was still her mom. And Tyson had no right to lay a finger on her.

Tyson crudely pulled back on her mother’s hair and stared into the phone; his eyes were so dark they looked black in the poor lighting.

“Here’s the deal, my little deer. Meet me at 555, 7th Ave, and hand yourself over to me, and I will let your mother live. Don’t, and I will kill her. But before I do, I’m going to rape this bitch and cut her up until you don’t recognize her.”

“Why are you doing this? You can have almost any girl you want, and most are far prettier than I am.”

“You sell yourself short, my little deer. You have twelve hours to get your ass back here from wherever you disappeared to and hand yourself in.”

“Don’t do it, baby! He already said he’s going to kill me anyway,” her mother quickly yelled. Renee choked back the tears clogging her throat.

“Shut up, bitch!” Tyson punched her mother again, and she heard herself screaming for him to stop as he laid another punch that clearly broke her nose, blood speckling the screen.

Her mother’s dazed expression filled the screen.

“Run, baby! Run and never come back! I’m sor—”

A sound of pure terror ripped from Renee’s throat as Tyson laid a gun against her temple and pulled the trigger before her mother finished her sentence. Her mother’s eyes went blank as bright red blood, white bone, and other bits went flying. The world spun. She heard yelling and Cody screaming in anger.

“You said you wouldn’t kill her!” Cody’s voice echoed as she began to fall.

“Grab him and hang him up!” Tyson yelled. “Meet me or your brother’s next,” was the last thing she heard before darkness washed over her.

“Who the fuck are you?” Tyson asked as Arek lifted Renee into his arms, her body limp in her blacked-out state. With great effort, he removed the phone from her death grip and calmly stared at Tyson.

“Hey, pretty boy, what’s your name? I want to know what to call you when I kill you for touching my property,” Tyson ordered.

Arek could hear Cody yelling profanities in the background. He stared into the camera, and Tyson shoved the now dead woman off the desk she’d been sitting behind. He got real close to the screen, and one corner of Arek’s lip pulled up in a snarl as he memorized Tyson’s face. Even with blood half covering him, Arek committed every detail to memory.

Tyson had already been a dead man walking, but now Arek would have fun killing him. Arek hit the end button and turned to face the house. Trev stood only a few feet away while Sally and J.J. stood just inside the front door. Arek looked at J.J.’s tear-stained cheeks and knew the kid had heard way too much. His small face was the dictionary image of scarred-for-life.

“I’m sorry, Arek. We heard the screaming and just came running. I wouldn’t have let him see that on purpose,” Trev said as he neared the house.

“It’s fine,” Arek stated. “We’ll deal.”

“Take her up to your room. We need to make a plan,” Trev said, and Arek nodded.

Arek stared down at Renee. She looked so peaceful, her face slack as he laid her down in the bed and pulled the blankets up. He brushed a piece of her long hair out of her face and wished he’d followed Cody back to the snake’s lair and taken care of Tyson sooner. He never wanted to see her in pain, and the sound she made as she watched Tyson murder her mother sliced a hole right through his heart. He shouldn’t have listened to Cody when he said it would be impossible with the number of guards. Cody didn’t know what he was capable of at all.

“I’ll be back,” Arek whispered as he laid his lips to her forehead. His mind was already switching gears to what lay ahead, and he snarled as he pictured slicing Tyson apart.

Renee sat up straight, her heart pounding as images of her mother’s face blowing apart danced behind her eyes. It couldn’t be real. It had to be a nightmare. She looked out the window to the darkening sky and bit her lip as her stomach rolled with the heavy realization that it hadn’t been some terrible dream. Unable to hold it back any longer, she dove to the side of the bed and grabbed the garbage can as her mother’s face exploding replayed in her mind.

She whimpered as the horror of what she’d seen consumed her. With her stomach emptied, she sat back and leaned against the bed, her head hanging between her knees.

How many times had she thought that her life would be better if her mother were dead? She hadn’t meant it. As mad and hurt as she’d been, she never really wanted her mother to die and especially not like that. Maybe this was all her fault. Maybe she’d thought it so much she ended up wishing it upon her mother.

Maybe if she’d just gone to Tyson in the first place rather than being selfish, her mother would still be alive. Cody had sacrificed his future for her and now her mother with her own blood. Who was next?

Renee pulled herself to her feet and managed to make her way into the bathroom to clean up. Her makeup was a disaster, her hair no better, but it was the look in her eyes that scared her. Splashing cold water on her face, she knew she had to do something. Arek would undoubtedly want to protect her, but Tyson could just as easily kill everyone else she loved.