AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No,” he growls, banging his fist on the desk in frustration.
“Have you chec—”
“I’ve checked everything. Every place that dick has been connected to, I’ve checked. I’ve tried hacking into the Draaks’ networks, but there’s nothing connecting him to them. Fucking nothing that I can find. There has to be something, anything that I’m missing. But he’s untraceable. The only information on him is what he wants people to know. He’s practically a fucking ghost.” His voice becomes a low whisper, like he’s haunted by the thoughts swirling through his head.
“Maybe—”
“Stop,” he says, cutting me off again. “Whatever you’re going to suggest, I’ve tried. I’ve been at this nonstop since I found out what happened. I haven’t done anything else. I haven’t rested. I haven’t taken a break. I’m itching to fight someone, to punch the shit out of anyone who has laid a hand on her. But I haven’t had the chance. I haven’t—”
“Gotten drunk off your ass like me? I fucking get it. I haven’t helped and you’ve been doing everything you can. But I’m here now, so let me help or at least give my suggestions a chance, and don’t make me feel like an invalid part of this.” It’s my turn to cut him off as the anger at myself rises to the surface, forcing me to lash out.
“Reilly, I didn’t mean it like that.” His expression softens just a little.
“I know you didn’t intentionally mean it, but you’ve definitely thought it. Nix sure as shit is thinking about it. I can’t even blame you both. I’ve been useless, but I’m sobering up. I’m going to help. Tara means everything to me, and she deserves for me to stop pitying myself and get my shit together. So, I will do just that.” I’m trying to convince myself of that more than him, but it’s the truth. I’m going to help, but I need to be on my A-game, and I can’t do that while I’m in this state.
I haven’t seen Nix since he told me I needed to sober up, which is probably for the best considering I’m still pissed as hell at him. I’m not sure I’ll get over being mad at him anytime soon, if ever. I want to cut him so deeply that he never forgets the feeling. I want to hurt him as he hurt us, as he hurt her. I want to punish him in every way I know how, but that will have to wait.
I’ve never been good at controlling my emotions. When I’m mad, I take shots at those who hurt me in ways I know will also hurt them. When I’m happy, everyone else feels it too. When I feel like I want revenge, I make sure to get it, ruining anyone in my path if necessary.
I’m an open fucking book. Anyone can read how I’m feeling.
I’m viewed as the fun and easy-going type, but deep inside me, shadows are crawling under my skin waiting to be released. I’ve felt them since my parents died. I’ve felt them whenever I find myself in situations where I want to destroy everything until I can release this intense burning inside me.
Maybe it’s best that Nix and I keep our distance. There are so many things I want to say to him that I know could destroy us beyond repair. Things that I know would hurt him. If he comes near me, I could let it all out on him, making matters worse.
My attention snaps to the sound of the doorbell ringing. I look towards Rush as he swivels back to the video feed, checking to see who is at the door. “What the fuck? The alarms didn’t go off.” A clear image of a petite, maroon-haired woman appears and looks like she’s going to bust the door in.
Lya.
“Bet she disarmed them herself to fuck with us.” Before Rush can get up, I’m out of my chair with a stumble as I fly down the hall. Maybe she’s coming to tell us that she has Tara. That this is all a misunderstanding and we have it wrong. Maybe she’s coming here to beat our asses for being dumbasses. Either way, if she has Tara, I’d let her do whatever she wants. My legs are carrying me faster than my pounding head can keep up. I clumsily make my way to the front door, pulling it open so quickly that I nearly fall on my ass.
“Is Tara here?” She cuts straight to the chase, crossing her arms over her chest. The look of suspicion on her face instantly makes my stomach sink as each word she utters kicks in. The bottle of vodka still hangs in my hand as I twist the top off and dump the contents down my throat to numb the pain.
“What the hell are you doing?” she rushes out at the sight of me,.“Uh, hello? You hard of hearing? I asked if Tara was here. She missed our workout, and she’s not answering my texts,” she snaps with so much sass it reminds me of Tara.
Pulling the bottle from my lips, I take a moment to compose myself before uttering the only thing on my mind. “It’s probably pretty hard to text when you’ve been kidnapped. I don’t think captors take well to sending GIFs to your BFF.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” She growls, snatching the bottle from my hand before I can take another drink. “You got a babysitter here for your drunk ass? Maybe someone sober that can make sense? Did the adults leave you home alone to play?” Frustration laces her voice, and I can’t even be pissed at the words she’s saying to me because they are all true. She gives off the vibe of an alpha. Like she doesn’t take shit from anyone, and I can already tell she’s possessive as hell about Tara. Tara briefly mentioned how Lya is her best friend and always protects her, but I honestly forgot about her. I’ve only seen her one other time, which was at the engagement party and I didn’t get to meet her properly. But if she doesn’t know what happened yet, she sure as hell is about to kill Nix when she finds out.
“I am making sense,” I try to argue as she pushes past me making her way inside, and I’m not sober enough to stop her. “She’s not here. Nix let his trust issues get the best of him.” Am I selling out my best friend? Yes. But he needs to fucking own up to what he did. It might be petty of me to throw him under the bus, but I can’t seem to stop myself.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying she’s gone because of Nix. I was hoping she’d be with you, but evidently, that’s not the case.” My words slur more than I’d like, making this situation worse than it needs to be.
“Marnix!” she yells, the sound bouncing off the wall. She’s clearly over talking to little ole drunk me. “Marnix! I know you’re here so come on out so we can talk! Marnix!” I can see why Tara is friends with her. She seems to not give a fuck whom she pisses off, and she has no issue walking into someone else’s home to yell at them. She begins to walk towards the doors lining the hallways before footsteps sound down the hall.
“What the hell is going on?” Nix’s angry voice booms.
“I’m wondering the exact same thing. Lushy over here is talking nonsense.” She points to me, shooting me a glare before shoving the bottle back into my chest.
Nix’s blue eyes cut to me with anger as Rush stands beside him looking dumbfounded. Maybe they’re both thinking the same thing I am. Why the hell didn’t we contact Lya sooner, and also, is she going to kill us when she finds out what happened?
Maybe Rush and Nix have thought about contacting her but decided to wait until the last minute to call her in as a reinforcement. Maybe they completely forgot about her like I did until this moment. Or maybe Nix, with his alpha bullshit, didn’t think he’d need anyone else's help or didn’t want to admit that he’s not strong or intelligent enough to do it on his own. Not like I’d really know, considering I’ve essentially been unconscious for the last two days.
All I know is, is a shitstorm is about to happen and it’s going to be complete and utter fucking chaos.
“I’ll ask one more time. Where is Tara?” Lya growls, crossing her arms over her chest and popping her hip with a sass that reminds me way too much of my missing wife. A quick pain pierces through my chest at the thought of never hearing that smart mouth again.
