Striker: A Dark Bully Romance (Redwood Rebels Book 1)

by Rachel Leigh

  It’s not the video. It’s something bigger than that. “Did he touch you?”

  When she doesn’t respond, I have my answer.

  My steps reverberate beneath me as I tear open the door, unsure of the interval between lying in bed with her and hurtling down the stairs. Completely oblivious to the words flying through the air that she spews behind me.

  I’ll kill him with my bare hands.

  He’s dead.

  He’s so fucking dead.

  “Talon, stop!” she cries out.

  I bee-line straight for his door and kick it in. My foot gets tangled in the slivers of separated wood and I rip it out, paying no attention to the chunk burrowed into the skin of my tugged-up pant leg.

  I thrash onto the bed and tear through the blankets. Where the hell is he?

  Spinning around, she’s there. Beautiful tears spread down her face like wildfire. “Talon, please. Just stop.”

  “Where the fuck is he?” I scream at the top of my lungs. Every vein in my body throbs and threatens to pierce through my skin.

  I push past her and rush downstairs to where I left them playing video games. Tommy jumps up from where him and Lars are sitting. I see blood red as I lunge at him and take him straight down to the floor. “Where the fuck is Zed?”

  “Dude. What the actual fuck?” Lars says, as he lifts me off of Tommy.

  “Did you assholes know about what he’s been up to?” I shout, “Did you?!”

  Marni is still mumbling off something to try and calm me, but I pay no attention. I need answers.

  “What are you talking about? What who has been up to?” Tommy asks, as he brushes himself off.

  “Zed! He showed her the video and—” I can’t even say it. For one, I don’t even know what he did to her, but I know he did something. Second, if the words escape my mouth, my entire body will combust.

  “Zed left after you went upstairs. Said that he wanted to start the first phase of his plan.”

  Pointing at Marni, I scream, “She’s his plan.”

  The son of a bitch. I knew he couldn’t be trusted.

  Marni steps closer, joining the circle we stand in. “Would someone tell me what the hell is going on right now before I run out of this house and never come back.”

  “I need a minute.” I walk away abruptly into the kitchen and out the back door. I slam it shut behind me and it ricochets open a couple inches. The fresh air hits my face and I can slowly feel my heart return to a somewhat normal rhythm.

  When the door slides back open, I spin around ready to take action, but it’s Tommy. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to come at you like that.”

  “It’s fine. Just fill me in. What the hell happened?”

  I point into the night, even though Zed isn’t around. “That sick bastard has been playing her behind our backs.” My voice cracks. “He fucking touched her, Tommy.”

  Tommy's eyes widen. “He what?”

  “Yeah. And he showed her the video. I haven’t gotten the full story, but I know exactly what he’s doing.”

  “I think I’m his act of revenge. Think about it. He’s using her to get to me.”

  “Nah,” Tommy sweeps the air with his hand, “that’s old news. You two moved past that a long time ago.”

  “Did we? Or did we just sweep it under the rug because it was easier that way? Come on, would you forgive one of your best friends if they supplied the pills that killed your mom?”

  Tommy doesn’t respond, but the look on his face says it all.

  A gust of wind tears through, sending an eerie feeling into the night,

  “We need to call this thing off. I’ll find another way. It’ll take some time, but I’ll figure it out,” I tell him. There will be more opportunities. Maybe not now, but someday, I’ll get my vengeance.

  “You’re sure you wanna end it? You’ve worked hard for this. You deserve it.”

  “Do you not see that girl standing in there?” I turn and look through the glass door. “She’s been through hell.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll gladly step aside and let you stop it all, but wasn’t that the plan? What’s changed?”

  “Everything.” Everything has changed.

  Through the door, Marni comes into view, and she’s not pleased. Her sassy steps lead her out here and I know she’s loaded with questions. “We need to talk.” Her arms cross over her chest, and her eyes threaten more tears.

  My hand lands on the small of her back. “Not out here. Come on.” Glancing back at Tommy, I nod. “We’ll find another way.”

  Once we’re back in my bedroom, Marni sits on the bed with her feet on the floor. Her eyes stay fixated on her fingers as she picks at her nails.

  Pacing the length of the room, I begin chewing on my thumbnail. “I know this is confusing as hell for you.”

  Her head lifts. “Ya think?”

  Just when I go to speak, her phone sounds in her hand. “Who is it?” I rush over to her side.

  She ends the call and drops her phone back down. “Just my dad.”

  Dropping to my knees in front of her, I rub both hands up and down the top of her legs. I could sugarcoat this shit. Sprinkle in some lies and put a bow on it, but instead, I just lay it all out there. “When I was thirteen years old, I watched my dad drag my mom across the kitchen floor by her hair, leaving a trail of liquid. Only it wasn’t blood, it was her own urine. The blood was still caked in her hair and drying by the time he was finished with her.” I don’t look up as I continue. I can’t look at her out of fear she’ll see him inside of me. “He beat her so bad that she passed out and pissed herself. I didn’t even care. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head and she could have been dead for all I knew. Yet, I felt nothing.”

  “Talon—”

  “Let me finish.” I hold up a finger as I continue, “They say that somewhere deep down all parents love their children, but my mom and dad weren’t like others. They were incapable of love. When I watched him pull her away, do you wanna know what I said?” I finally look up at her. “I asked him if he needed help.” Her expression isn’t fearful or calloused. The eyes I'm staring into are laced with pity.

  “I craved his acceptance and his love. It’s all I ever wanted.”

  A tear drops onto my hand that’s still rested on her leg. Sweeping it away, I muster up the courage to get to the point. “His cold eyes sought me out and he dropped Mom’s head to the floor with a thud and strutted toward me. She was finished off for now—alive, but no fight left in her—I was his new target for the remainder of the night. He was a monster.” I recant that, “He is a monster. And he deserves to pay for the misery he inflicted on me and my sister. We are forever fucked up because of him.” Getting to my feet, I begin pacing again. “That night I made a solemn vow that, one day, I would kill the mother fucker. That day was supposed to be tomorrow.”

  What started as a void inside of me, when I started telling her my truth, has blossomed back into rage and an overpowering desire to carry out my plan, even if it doesn't involve Marni anymore. One day, he will pay.

  I’m looking out the window into the night of nothingness when she walks up behind me. Comforting hands wrap around my waist and her head rests on my back. It feels foreign. To have someone pacify me out of sheer concern.

  “You shouldn’t try and comfort me. Because there’s more.”

  She doesn’t budge. “Tell me everything.”

  I could let this all go right now. Tell her a lie and keep her in my life until she’s sick of me and wants to leave. Or, I could tell her the truth and set her free.

  “I never heard of the WatchMeNow app until I was packing up my things in the old house and found a box of papers my dad left behind. It had his username and password on it. I downloaded the app, logged into his account and searched through his entire history. I talked to so many random women before I found you.”

  Her hands drop, and she takes a step back. Her displeasure shows in the
reflection staring back at me through the window. “You found my profile on your dad's account? Please tell me, he wasn’t—”

  “No,” I spin around. “He never talked to you, at least not then. I did an area search and found Josh. I was desperate to find anyone in Redwood who had connections to the app and to him. I wanted to find him, Marni. I wanted to find him and kill him. So, Josh and I met up. Most people don’t list their location, because most people are smart—like you. Josh was an idiot. Anyways, he ranted and raved about a girl from Redwood who bared all on there. He said she was in the top ten for most interactive.” I quote with my fingers.

  Marni’s hand slaps over her mouth, but I keep going. “Josh didn’t just watch you on the app. He watched you at night from outside your window. He was fucking obsessed with you.”

  Color drains from her face, and I extend an arm when I think she might pass out. Instead, she shoves it away and rushes to the bathroom. “I’m gonna be sick.”

  Heaves and sobs come from the bathroom as I stand here looking at myself in the reflection of the window. All of this is my fault. Zed would have never touched her if I didn’t lure her in. I practically fed her to him on a silver platter.

  No. This is his fault. All of this is because Dad fucked up my life and created a monster inside of me—a monster that is meant to be unleashed on him.

  When the sounds from the bathroom stop, and she doesn’t return, I knock on the door. “Marni?”

  Still nothing.

  That’s to be expected. She fucking hates me. Why wouldn’t she?

  “Please, let me finish.”

  “This is all too much. Josh, your dad, everything your dad did to you.”

  Sliding my back down the door, I can feel her on the other side. “You hearing us in the room that night wasn’t an accident, it was strategically planned. We saw an opportunity and we took it. Paid some random chick five-hundred bucks to wait for you to use the bathroom then send you upstairs. We watched every step you made through the cameras. We needed assurance that we could force this on you and leave you with no choice. That’s why we gathered evidence that could incriminate you. Because this whole time, our end game was getting you to meet my dad, and I was prepared to use the evidence against you if you didn’t.”

  It sounds so much worse saying it out loud to her. Talking it over with the guys felt like child’s play. Adrenaline rushed and excitement roared. We were all in. Ready to drag Marni through hell and back, so I could kill my father. I just never expected whatever this is. And I sure as hell didn’t expect Zed to turn on us.

  “Did you plan to kill me, too?”

  “God no. Never, Marni. That was never the plan.”

  “What about Josh’s death? How did it happen?”

  Dragging my bottom teeth between my lip, I bite down. Fuck. I can’t go there with her. I just can’t. That’s one topic that’s off-limits.

  “It was an accident. That’s all you need to know. Please don’t dig any further because it will only make things worse.”

  “Fine. What happened with the app?”

  “That night at Briarwood, I changed your password on the app. I’ve been pretending to be you while I talk to him in a private chat window. I used the video of you as bait.” I stop talking to see if she has anything to say. When she doesn’t, I go on. “It worked. He’s prepared to meet you tomorrow.”

  It’s quiet. Far too quiet.

  “You changed my password?”

  “I assumed you’d figure that much out by now.”

  I can hear the handle turn, so I jump to my feet. The door opens, and she’s standing there with a bunched up tissue in her hand. “I haven’t logged into the app in weeks. RebelSin was the only reason I even bothered with it anymore.”

  “What about the other guys?”

  “There were others in the beginning, but it was just a few shots and live feeds for fun. In the end, there was only you.” She steps closer, surprising us both. “Would taking your dad’s life give you yours back, Talon?”

  I nod.

  “You’re sure?” Her brows raise. “Because once it’s done, it’s done.”

  “He needs to pay for what he’s done. Not only to me and Blakely, but also for Jasper’s mom. She died because of him. So yeah,” I nod again, “I’m sure.”

  Her hands wrap around my neck and that foreign feeling returns. “Then let’s make him pay.”

  20

  There is no way I can begin to fathom what Talon has been through. I’ve basically lived my life as an orphan, but my parents do love me. Dad might love his job more, and Mom may have had an odd way of showing her love, but it existed. I could lie and tell Talon that deep down his parents did love him, but I truly don’t think they did. His dad is the devil incarnate, and I’m not above an exorcism that sends his soul straight to hell. I’ve never killed anyone, and I don’t plan to now, but Talon deserves a shot at life. He can’t rest easy until his dad can no longer touch him or anyone else.

  I don’t look at it as murder—I call it justice. The death penalty that he deserves.

  “What are you thinking about?” I say to Talon, as my head rests on his chest. He’s been quiet ever since I agreed to help him. There is so much more that I need to know, so many unanswered questions, and as soon as this is over, I will demand answers.

  “You’ll be the first person I’ve ever shared a bed with.”

  I look up at him, resting my chin on his chest. “Really? No ex-girlfriends or one-night stands?”

  His chin tucks as he tries to look at my eyes. “I don’t usually like sleeping next to others. You’ll probably laugh at this, but I’ve never even cuddled with a girl before.”

  “I would never laugh at that.” I sort of understand it. He rejects affection because he’s not used to it. It’s like caging a lion and expecting the wild animal to let you pet it. It takes time. “But, why me?”

  “Don’t know. I keep asking myself the same thing. Aside for the obvious, you’re sexy as hell, but you also do something to me that I can’t explain. It’s this overpowering need to be near you. To protect you. To touch you.” His fingers trail up and down my arm, leaving behind a path of goosebumps. “Now you get to tell me why you’re still here? Why stay in my darkness?”

  My shoulders shrug. “Maybe I like your darkness. It ignites a flame in my lightless world.”

  Talon begins to scoot up, taking me with him. With his back pressed to the headboard, I do the same. “I need to know what happened that night?”

  I knew this was coming. I’m just not sure I’m ready to talk about it, yet. Talon is furious with Zed, but there’s a part of me that worries he’ll blame me for not stopping it. I drop back down and roll over to face the wall. I can’t look at his face when I explain.

  “Please, Marni. I need to know, or it will continue to eat through me until there is nothing left.”

  “I really don’t think you wanna know. We should just let it go.”

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  He has no idea what he’s asking for. He knows Zed touched me, but he doesn’t know it was on the inside or that he was sleeping on the floor—because I drugged him.

  “You know how I took your phone?”

  “Yeah.”

  There’s a shift in the mattress, and I know he’s peering over to look at my face, but I pinch my eyes shut. “I needed to transfer the data to a SD card, but you were everywhere I went. So I did something.”

  “Wait a minute. You have a card with my phone data on it? What kind of data?” His body shoots back to the headboard hastily as it crashes against the wall.

  “I don’t have it, but there’s more.”

  “What happened?” he quips.

  “I put a sleeping pill in your drink.” My lips press together and I clench my eyes shut. Opening one eye, I expect him to make a move, but he’s still in the same spot.

  “You knocked me out?” He laughs. He actually fucking laughs.

  “I’m sorry. If I�
��d thought for a second about your history with pills, I would have never done it, but it slipped my mind and I was desperate.”

  “I suspected something along those lines happened.” He pauses. “Ok. I can forgive you for that. After all, I’ve done worse.”

  “I got you upstairs before you completely passed out and you pretty much fell to the floor in my room and went to sleep. Then I snuck away and transferred the data.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you just turn my phone on and snoop?”

  “Well, there’s the passcode block. I also worried you were tracking it, so I only turned it on to transfer the data then shut it right back off.”

  “Ok, that’s not important. Where does Zed fit into all of this?”

  Tugging the blanket up over my shoulders, I attempt to hide the chills that have washed over me. “When I got back, you were still sleeping on the floor. I covered you up and crawled into bed. A couple minutes later, he came in.”

  Talon leaps off the bed. I don’t turn around to see what he’s doing. I just get this over with. “He got in the bed with me. Showed me the video and tried to turn me against you. Which, at that time, wasn’t difficult.”

  “Did you fuck him?!” he blurts out, gruff and unmannered.

  My body shoots to a sitting position in a knee-jerk reaction. “No!”

  “Then what the hell happened, Marni? You just laid there and cuddled all night while bashing me?”

  I shake my head, dropping my tone. “No. He took my pants off and...” My words trail off.

  “And what, damnit?”

  “He fingered me.”

  Shivers roll through me and my body jolts up when the lamp on his dresser is torn from the outlet and thrown across the room. Black splinters of ceramic coat the floor, leaving the wall with a dented smudge. His jaw ticks with ferocity. “And you fucking let him?”

  Tears slide down my cheeks, and I swipe them away. “I was scared.” Curling my legs up to my chest, I secure them in a hug. “I didn’t know what to do. I froze up and I just let him have his way with me knowing that it wouldn’t last forever.”