Fractured Minds (Rebels of Sandland Book 3)

by Nikki J Summers

  The video flickered like there was interference, and then the main guy spoke, his words distorted by a voice changer that sent shivers down my spine.

  “Welcome to the game of consequences, Mr Knowles.”

  He stood centre of the screen, with his legs wide, swinging his bat to and fro like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Let me tell you how your game is going to work. We are going to set you some tasks. You can choose whether to carry out those tasks or not, but like the game says, there are consequences. If you comply, things go well for you. If you don’t… Well, let’s just say we have something that you might be interested in.”

  The guy stood to the side, and behind him, strapped to a chair and looking like he’d already taken a pretty bad beating, was my Uncle Tony.

  “He squealed like a pig when we caught him. Spilled all of your little secrets within minutes, Mr Knowles. I’m guessing you’ll want those secrets to stay hidden. All the stuff about Alice… and you. See, that’s where we come in. Play the game and your little problem goes away. Choose to forfeit your turn and all the filth that came out of his mouth just now goes viral. Everyone will hear. Is it becoming clearer now?”

  I swallowed nervously, not bothered for a minute about my uncle in that chair, but scared shitless about what these sick fuckers would expect me to do, what they could do, and who they might tell. This was blackmail at its finest, and they had me right where they wanted me.

  “This is how the game works. We text you. Give you a mission to complete. You submit the evidence of its completion to us by our deadline and it’s all good. You live to see another day. Uncle Tony here doesn’t though. If you fail to meet our deadline, there will be consequences for you. Comply and that consequence falls on his head.” He pointed his bat over towards Tony, who sat slumped forward in the chair, snivelling and whimpering.

  “Do you want to know what your first challenge is?” The five of them stood in a row in front of the camera, but the speaker stayed in the middle, standing slightly forward to give him an edge.

  “You have until sunrise tomorrow morning to add your own artistic touch to our town sign. The one on the wall that reminds everyone what we stand for here in Brinton Manor.”

  All who come here, abandon all fear.

  “Repaint it. Make it look good and we won’t make your past come back to bite you in the ass.” One of the men held up bolt cutters and started snapping them open and closed. “We’ll also use those on your dear old uncle here.” The main guy pointed at the cutters. “Relieve him of a few unwanted body parts.”

  Tony started to thrash in the chair behind him and grunt like the animal he was.

  “It’s your choice, Mr Knowles. Take a photograph of your work and send it to this number before sunrise. If we like it, you get to live another day, and Uncle Tony gets the snip. But don’t get too comfortable. We’re starting you off with an easy task. They will get harder. What you need to remember is, we run this game. We say when and we say how. Try to trick us and you will regret it. This is your waking nightmare, one that you will never be free from. Not until we set you free.”

  The video cut out and so did my heart. I threw the phone down on the airbed and just stared blankly ahead, blinking and trying to make sense of the head fuck I’d just watched.

  They’d kidnapped my uncle.

  They knew what he’d done.

  And now, they were using that to blackmail and control me.

  The Soldiers of Anarchy were going to destroy me, but not before they’d ripped me to pieces like their fucking Rottweiler would a toy. They had the conscience of a rabid dog too. They wouldn’t care what this did to me. This was fun for them. A distraction from their own shitty lives.

  But what choice did I have?

  I didn’t.

  If I wanted this to end, I needed to see it through.

  I dragged myself off the bed, my head in a daze and my body shaking. I was moving on automatic pilot because I didn’t know what else to do. Without even noticing what I was doing, I freshened up as best I could, while everything I’d seen on that video played on repeat in my head like a sick horror movie. Then I headed into the living room, hoping my deathly pale complexion didn’t give me away.

  Zak was typing at his laptop at the table in the corner. I had no idea what he was working on, and I was too consumed with my own shit to care. Like a zombie, I sat down in the chair opposite him and concentrated on breathing and not letting on that I was consumed by fear.

  “I’m heading over to Brandon’s in a bit. They’ve got a problem with their internet and they’ve asked me to take a look. Do you wanna come or do you have to go to work?” he asked, without stopping or looking up from his screen.

  “I don’t have work,” I responded, keeping my voice as even as I could. “They laid me off after I landed myself in the hospital. Said they needed to make cut backs, but I’m not stupid. They didn’t want me there.” I didn’t care. I’d hated that job at the call centre. It was fucking draining on the soul. I couldn’t even imagine trying to drag myself into that place with all the rest of the shit going on in my life at the moment.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Zak glanced up at me now. “Are you okay for money?” This guy was solid gold. He’d given me a roof over my head and now he wanted to put money in my pocket too.

  “I’ve got savings.” I shrugged, wishing I could sound more grateful, but I felt numb to the world around me. “I’ve been doing some work on the side for a guy I met through the call centre. He runs an online art website.”

  “Oh yeah?” Zak sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, giving me his full attention.

  I don’t know why I’d never really told anyone about it. I wasn’t the type to brag or make small talk though, and the opportunity to tell someone had never come up before. I didn’t really want to talk about it now, but I owed Zak a conversation at least.

  “Yeah, people send in photos of themselves,” I explained. “Their dogs, pets, anything really. Then we cartoonify it or cartoonize it, whatever the word is. I’ve done a few for him. It’s good money.”

  Zak cocked his eyebrow and nodded his approval.

  “Sounds cool. You should use this time to look into something better to do, maybe doing that full-time would suit you more? Make the most of your talents. You were dying in that office anyway.”

  I smiled in agreement, but all I could focus on was since that night, when I’d found out he’d been freed from jail, every part of me was dying. Even more so now I had the soldiers breathing down my neck. I had enough to think about without trying to give my life a complete overhaul. I needed to focus on one fuck-up at a time. I was struggling to even have this conversation. My mind was all over the fucking place and I couldn’t concentrate.

  “So, Brandon’s? You coming or staying here?”

  I doubted Zak cared either way, and I had a shit load to prepare for if I was going to get this street art done tonight.

  Who was I kidding?

  It was never an if; it was a when.

  But I also knew, if I didn’t go it’d look suspicious, and I didn’t want any of my mates asking questions about me or probing into stuff that I didn’t want them to know about. Not now. Now, it was my turn to protect them. I couldn’t let them find out about this. I had to dance with these devils all on my own.

  “Sure. I’m in.”

  In body, anyway, but my mind? That was long gone.

  “You look like you’ve lost weight, mate. You need to come down the gym with me and I’ll get you bench pressing enough to build those muscles back up.” Brandon fake punched my chest and grinned, flexing his own muscles.

  He meant well, and in his usual, subtle way, he was trying to lighten my dark mood. He could sense something wasn’t right with me today, but he knew better than to address the problem head-on. But lifting weights or training in the ring with him wasn’t going to help me. Not this time.

  “For God’s sake,
give him a break,” Harper piped up from across the room. “You look great, Finn.” She smiled, then turned and glared at Brandon. “Not everyone is obsessed with muscles like you, you know.”

  He huffed out a laugh and strode over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and stroking her baby bump. When he nuzzled into her neck, he made her giggle.

  “It’s not just muscles I’m obsessed with,” he grunted low.

  I turned away. I loved that my best friend had found his soulmate, but I didn’t want to stand there like an idiot, watching them make out. It was bad enough that I didn’t have what they had, but I didn’t need salt rubbing into that wound.

  Brandon and Harper were settled. They’d bought an apartment in town not far from Ryan and Emily, and they had the babies on the way. They’d made it; and just walking through their door, you could feel the warmth and love in the place. If Brandon had his way, the apartment would be full of steel, chrome, and pictures of Bruce Lee, but Harper had done a really good job putting her stamp on it. She’d made it into a proper family home, something Brandon deserved after the life he’d had.

  They’d both asked me if I’d paint something special for the nursery, and I had. I was proud of the fairy garden that I’d created, spanning all four walls. Being in a brighter headspace when I’d done it had been refreshing. A welcome break from the darkness I usually injected into my work. Knowing that those little girls would wake up every day to a magical world I’d created gave me life. The fact that they’d find new things hidden every single day made it all worthwhile; a fairy behind a flower, a mouse peaking from a toadstool, the hidden messages written on tree trunks and petals. I’d put more energy and thought into that mural than any other piece I’d ever made. Even I’d forgotten half of what was hidden in there.

  I jumped when I heard, “Put her down,” bellowed from the doorway behind me, and I turned to see Ryan and Emily walking through the door, chuckling at Brandon and Harper’s display. Moments later, my heart crashed hard against my chest as Effy appeared. Seeing her put my whole body on high alert, and the fear I was harbouring from the text messages I’d received this morning began to fade away now that there was a new emotion to get under control. I was excited, nervous, tense, and apprehensive all at once. I never knew how to be around her when we were with the others. I didn’t like sharing my moments with her. I liked it better when they were in private.

  I pretended that I was too engrossed in one of Harper’s Rodin prints on the wall to mask the fact that I wasn’t expecting to see her today and I hadn’t prepared myself mentally. As always, she took my breath away and made me stop still in my tracks, wondering what a girl like her would ever see in someone like me. And then I remembered the kiss. Our first kiss. And I felt the flame of my cheeks burning at the memory. Did she feel the same? Did her heart race for me like mine did for her?

  “How are you doing, Finn?” Emily came to stand next to me as Ryan slapped me on the back and went straight through to Brandon’s kitchen. Probably to steal from his fridge like Brandon had done for years at Ryan’s dad’s.

  “I’m okay.” I shrugged, keeping my focus solely on the wall and not on the girl that stood out like a beacon in a room of darkness.

  “The bruises are fading. Do you still feel pain when you move?”

  I went to answer that I was okay, just like I’d said before, but Ryan piped up, “Quit fussing, woman. He’s fine.”

  Emily didn’t like that and she spun round to challenge him.

  “Woman? What are you, a caveman?” She narrowed her eyes at him but laughed as he banged on his chest with his fist and winked back at her. Here was another couple that had it all, as far as I could tell. I really didn’t need any more reminders about how tragic my own life was, but I guess fate had other plans for me.

  Emily patted my arm, then moved to the other side of the room to talk babies with Harper. Ryan and the others were hunched over Brandon’s laptop discussing the wifi. And I just stood there like a fool, ignoring the elephant in the room… my crippling anxiety and hopeless social awkwardness.

  Effy shuffled on the edge of the group just like I did, and to my surprise, I found myself talking first in an attempt to settle her nerves.

  “I didn’t think you’d be here.” Not the best opener, but I was impressed with myself for making a move. So was she, if the light in her eyes was anything to go by.

  “Harper asked me and Em to come and see the nursery. Is my being here a problem? I thought after last night that…” she stuttered over what to say to finish her sentence and it made me ache for her, to see her falter like that.

  “Of course, its fine.” I stepped a little closer so the others couldn’t overhear. “I like seeing you.” I whispered the last part, but she heard me and smiled as her eyes darted down to the ground. When she bit her lip, I wanted to reach forward and tug it free. I wanted to do a lot of things.

  “I was going to text you, after… you know… but I didn’t want to bug you,” she said, blushing. I loved that she’d thought about me.

  “You would never be bugging me.” I reached forward and touched her, but pulled away again. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it in front of the others, but the way she stood and her whole vibe had me buzzing. It was getting harder to ignore how she pulled me in. Magnetic forces had nothing on the attraction I felt for Effy Spencer.

  “So, a few of us are going to the cinema tonight. Just Em, Ryan, Liv, and me. I thought maybe… if you weren’t busy… or you wanted to… you might come with us? With me?” Her face shone as she spoke. The hope and light in her eyes was distracting and infectious. And like a cruel motherfucker, fate was giving me the middle finger yet again. Flashing the prospect of a future in front of my eyes and ripping it to pieces as it laughed at me.

  My heart literally dropped from my chest and shattered on the floor. What the hell was I supposed to say? I couldn’t go. I had blackmailing psychopaths to deal with. Fuck. Why did shit like this keep happening to me? When was I ever going to catch a break?

  “I can’t.” I was the one to stumble over my words now, and I winced at the pain in my chest when I saw how hard her face fell. “It’s not that I don’t want to… I just can’t.”

  She nodded to herself and took a step away from me. I could sense her walls going up as her body stiffened and she tried really hard to keep her emotions in check. From the pained expression on her face, you’d think I’d just stabbed her in the back. Maybe I had?

  “I get it,” she said without looking at me. “It’s too soon. You have stuff to take care of that’s more important.” She used air quotes as she referred to my stuff and I knew she thought I was bullshitting again. I couldn’t blame her.

  “It’s not more important, it’s just important that I take care of it now,” I urged and wished to God that I could tell her there was nothing more I wanted to do tonight than sit in a warm cinema with my arms around her, but I couldn’t. I had to go to shitty Brinton Manor and spend my night creating art so that this town didn’t find out how dark my past really was. “I have business to take care of. It can’t wait.”

  “But I always will.” She sighed and ran her hands over her face. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”

  “No. It was, and you’re right. I’m the one who should be sorry.” And I was. So sorry I felt like cutting myself open right in front of her to show her how it blackened my soul to keep hurting her like this. My body and my mind were a fractured fucking mess and she didn’t deserve any of it.

  “When is it going to be our turn?” she said so softly I almost didn’t hear her. But I felt it, the pain as she spoke, because it mirrored my own.

  I felt a jolt of anger and then I wanted to kick my own ass for putting her through this. She was hurting because of me, and after the morning I’d had, I wasn’t in the right headspace to deal with this or find a way to put things right. I had to get out of there, get my shit together, and do what I needed to get done.

  Like I always
told myself, Effy deserved better. Better than how I was treating her. Fight or flight? I was sick of doing both, but the fight I had to face was somewhere else, so I took the second option.

  “I need to go,” I said, hoping I was putting her out of her misery.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled like it was nothing, and turned and walked over to the girls, not giving me a second glance. As I headed to the doorway and looked back, calling out that I was leaving, they all looked back at me puzzled, all except Effy. She didn’t look at me at all. Why would she when I’d just ripped both of our hearts out.

  I could feel the burn of tears threatening to break loose as he walked out of the door. And the shame. Shame that he couldn’t even be in a room with me for longer than a few minutes without running. I thought we’d made progress the other night when he kissed me. But no. He had to run again. What chance did I have to ever make that okay? To be something to him when we were always one step forward and two steps back. More like two hundred steps to be honest, and I was exhausted. We papered over cracks that would never mend and I wasn’t even sure if he wanted to mend them in the first place. I needed to face facts; we were never meant to be together.

  “Eff, are you okay?” Emily’s gentle tone set me off.

  “I’m fine. I just need a minute. Is the bathroom this way?” I kept my voice in check even though my cheeks were wet with silent tears, and I shielded my face so they couldn’t see how pathetic I was.

  I headed down the hallway, trying to find whatever room I could to hide in, on the pretext that I was going to the bathroom. But I didn’t care where I ended up, as long as they didn’t see me cry. I hated that I was this weak fucking mess, and it had to stop. I needed to get a grip.

  Pushing open the first door I came to, I was met with a sea of greens, purples and pinks. This was obviously the girls’ nursery, and I slumped into the nursing chair set up in the corner and threw my head back, closing my eyes and giving myself a mental pep talk. It wasn’t long before Emily and Harper found me. Feeling overwhelmed and embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands, trying to get my emotions in check, but I was too far gone. I couldn’t hide this from them.