The rain is pounding outside; the last thing I need to fucking do is get myself killed trying to get to Eve. Who will be tucked safely into her shitty room when I get there or someone will fucking die.
Rush is a rain driver. He’s definitely the fastest on a wet road even when the normal person can’t see four inches in front of them because the downpour is so thick.
“What’s going on?” he asks as soon as I join him outside, rushing to one of the cars parked near the front.
He unlocks it, and we get in. I answer him while stabbing my feet into my boots.
“Drive to Eve’s. Fast. Just don’t get us killed.”
He’s spinning out in reverse and slinging us around the second the words are out. I grip the door until he levels us out, then I resume lacing my damn boots up.
“What’s going on?” he asks calmly, even though I feel him weaving in and out of traffic.
“I don’t know, but apparently there are cops and Drake is hard to get to. Axle didn’t elaborate.”
I raise up just as we hit midtown, blazing through the streets. I can’t see a fucking thing, but Rush is barreling along like it’s clear skies. Hence the reason he’s the one driving.
It seems like we’ve been on the road forever, but I know it hasn’t been that long, thanks to the bright clock taunting me. We fly by the tattoo parlor, and I glimpse it enough to know it’s not the problem, since not a car is in sight there.
Right as we near the shitty motel, my stomach slams into my toes, and Rush slows the car down. Patrol cars are everywhere, and with the rain, all I can see is the blue lights with no fucking other visibility.
“Oh fuck,” Rush hisses, apparently seeing something I don’t as he hops out of the car.
I follow him, cursing the unnatural flow of unrelenting rain, and run behind him until we’re stopped at a line where the cops are keeping everyone back. It’s then I see a massive truck has collided with a car… Drake’s Mustang. Or what’s left of Drake’s Mustang.
The driver’s side is smashed in, the car is upside down, and the windows are mostly broken. I try to break past the line, but I’m pushed back by a cop who threatens me.
Someone drags me back from behind, and I turn around ready to swing until I see it’s Axle. And he doesn’t look happy.
“They took Drake to the hospital. Dash is on his way there,” he says loudly, trying to make his voice carry over the rain that is pounding against us. “He was out cold, so I didn’t get to talk to him.”
He’s thoroughly soaked, and I’m getting there fast.
“What are you doing here?” I yell.
“Waiting on you. I knew you wouldn’t fucking stay put.”
“Eve? Where is she?” I almost don’t want to know the answer. In fact, my stomach is churning with dread and fear, and my heartbeat is in my ears.
He hasn’t mentioned her, and Drake’s house is past the motel. That means he hadn’t dropped her off yet.
“That’s the problem, Drex,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “We don’t fucking know.”
Chapter 17
EVE
My wrists are hurting where the rough twine is binding my hands behind my back. The chair I’m in has my legs strapped in place, holding them individually at each chair leg. And there’s some disgusting tasting gag in my mouth that I swear they’ve used to wipe motor oil up with.
Like every cliché possible, I’m in a basement with a lone light above my head. I’d be scared if I wasn’t so busy being pissed and feeling betrayed.
As if he hears my thoughts, the door opens, and Ben—my once best friend—comes walking down the stairs with a grim look on his face.
“Sorry about all the theatrics, Eve, but you’ve proven resourceful, even managed to lay low for weeks without us figuring out where you were. And somehow you survived Drex and the Death Dealers even with your sweet face. I’m afraid we don’t trust you.”
I knew Benny was twisted, but I never thought that trait was passed down to Ben. He was the sweetest boy I’d ever known in my life. How did I miss this side of him and never notice it before?
I’d ask that, if there wasn’t a freaking gross rag of some sort tied in my mouth.
“I’d take that gag out and ask you a few questions, but you won’t answer. I know how stubborn you are. Right now you’re pissed. You’d be asking me questions like how can you do this and saying things like this isn’t you. We can just skip that part. Let’s say you were so busy loving your normal life that you never bothered to notice I was changing. And I was too busy trying to be the guy I thought you wanted, to let you see the man I was. Turns out you like the sick fucks of my world, considering you rode Drex’s dick for however long.”
Ben is wrong. I wouldn’t be asking any of those things. I’d be trying to draw him closer so I could head-butt him.
He sighs when I struggle, wishing I could get free enough to kick him in the face. But I’m tied up tight.
“I’m Benjamin Gerald Highland Jr., Eve. The son of Benjamin Gerald Highland Sr. The president of the Hell Breathers is my father. Did you really think I was that sweet, loving kid? I was just hung up on you, so I played a part. Not just for your sake, but also for my father’s. Best he thinks I’m the weak shit he can smack around. That way he’ll never see me coming, just like Mom didn’t see me coming.”
That has me stopping my struggle. Hismother? What does that mean? I thought she left them.
“I wish you were the type to just spill everything with a few questions. Tried that already. Turns out you got it bad for Drex, which means you’re loyal. See? I know you, Eve. I know you well,” Ben sighs as he squats in front of me and rests on his haunches.
“She’ll talk when I get done with her.” The gruff voice has my head snapping up, and my eyes narrow as a bald guy with a beard walks in. He’s big and has a nasty beard that curls into a devil’s point that touches his chest. I swear there is food caked in that thing.
“If you touch her, I’ll put a bullet in you myself,” Ben tells him casually, glancing behind him at the beast.
My blood chills at hearing Ben say those words. They sound foreign and awkward coming from him. I keep expecting him to tell me this is all a horrible joke, since he really does suck at jokes and pranks.
“How else are we going to get her to speak?” Baldy asks.
Ben grins as he turns back to face me, and he licks his lips as his eyes roam down my body in a way that leaves me wanting a shower just to wash away the slime trail. Never would I have thought he, of all people, could look at me in a way that left my skin crawling.
“I have a few ideas. But we’ll start with the easy stuff. Starvation. Thirst. And of course my favorite, sleep deprivation. I need her body intact. I’ve spent most of my life chasing her.”
The bastard had me and then agreed we were better as just friends.
“I see that look. You remember our very awkward time as lovers,” he says, grinning when he reads my face. He really does know me. Guess that was a one-sided friendship since I never lied about who I was.
“You fucked me a total of ten times, Eve. How many times did you fuck Drex? I saved myself for you, and you just couldn’t get into me as anything but a friend. How long did it take you to drop to your knees and suck his dick?” The bite at the end of his words holds years of resentment. “Then, of course, still playing the only card I had, I went along with friendship. It was supposed to be me you came to when you were hurting for cash. It was supposed to be me you came to when you needed money. It was me you were supposed to come to when you needed anything at all. It was me who was supposed to be the hero despite the corruption surrounding me. But fuck it all to hell with the timing. I just needed a little while longer, Eve. Your bastard father had to get himself killed just a little too early.
“I had a backup plan, though. Did you really think I just expected Dad to give you the money without expecting anything in return? I grew up in this shit, Eve. I know how things work. And unfortunately, it was my second best option. I knew you’d go for it—knew you’d sell yourself for your family. That’s how you are. Dad was going to keep you, shatter you by doing things I’d really rather not think about, and I was going to rescue you within a few days. I know his clubhouse and his house. I knew how to get you out and be your hero. It was all still going to work out in my favor. But he fucking sent you to Herrin.”
He was just going to let his father fuck me for a few days so he could be my hero? Wanted me broken and vulnerable when he showed up? Anger surges and so does a sickness I hate. I hate him. I really, really hate him.
Freaking sociopath.
He blows out a regretful breath while standing back up and turning to face Baldy.
“Check in on things. See if Drex has made a move yet,” Ben orders.
As soon as Baldy leaves, Ben faces me again.
“I spent years making sure no other guy messed with you, threatening them, warding them off... You weren’t ever really interested in dating, always worrying about your family and how to help them. Always worrying about everyone in general. I kept thinking I’d eventually fix all your financial problems, and I’d be your hero then. Now… Now I see you didn’t want that sweet guy who could fix everything. You just wanted a rough asshole who could tell you when and how to get fucked.”