by J. L. Drake
I tore myself away from the darkness, but it felt like I had left a layer of my skin behind.
Focus.
“Find him,” I barked at Rail, who had fought his way over to me.
“On it.” He ducked under the sea of people and disappeared.
I had my father inches from the reaper’s grip. He was there in the flesh, ready to be taken out, but I lost my focus, once again trapped by betrayal. I yanked the door back and screamed with frustration.
“Where is she?” I boomed at Cray, and he put his hands up so I wouldn’t hit him. I heard my men come up behind me, but nothing mattered.
“Hang on!” He tried to stop me, but I was five strides ahead. “Trigger, before you flip out, you need to hear this!”
I ignored him and tore open my door and saw the room was empty. I went on to the next, and the next, and every empty room elevated my anger.
“Nolan!” my mother squealed. “I saw what happened.”
That stopped me.
“I saw them take—”
My hands snapped around her neck and pushed her into the wall. Brick appeared on one side of me and started to shout, but nothing made it through the demons’ cries for more. They were savages and slowly taking over.
Cray and Cooper came up with their weapons drawn, ready to do what was necessary.
Her fingers clawed at my arms while her face turned bright red.
“Allen. He took…her.”
My grip tightened as I fought to stay in the present, but Nolan was fading fast, and so was Tess.
No. This wasn’t happening.
“His fucking assholes jumped me!” Rail held his broken nose and limped as he came into view. “I’m sorry, man. Allen’s gone.”
What the hell?
“You did this, didn’t you? You played me! You know I love her, and you took her from me!”
If I couldn’t kill my father, my mother was the next best thing.
“No.” Tears streamed down her terrified face. “I don’t even know her. But I can help you find her.”
“Trigger!” The familiar voice cut through my rage, and a small body slammed into mine. I didn’t move. I was stone, but I broke the hold on my mother, my fist still raised, about to pound.
“Listen to me!” Fin’s face was bright red, and tears pooled around his cape Tess had helped him make to support the fight. So much terror was held in such a tiny face. “Stop fighting and find her!” He started to sob, and I broke. I scooped him up and buried my face in his neck. He shook as he sobbed and held onto me tight. I knew that fear. It was that of a boy who just lost his mother.
A feeling I knew and held onto for many years.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”
“Oh, my God.” Brick covered his face as he turned around, looking about ready to puke. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Anchor to anchor.
“Where’s Gus?” I barely heard Cray ask.
I glanced at Minnie and handed Fin to her. I started to scan the hallway. He was slower than the rest of us.
“Watch her.” I jammed a finger at my mother but directed my words to Minnie. “She moves, shoot her.”
“Yeah, okay.” I noticed Brick as he tucked a gun into the waist of her pants, careful not to show Fin.
“Trigger?” Morgan nearly ran into me and turned his phone to face me.
Mike: Jace is your mole! Get Trigger to call me now!
What? That sucked the breath right out of me.
“Jace.” He shook his head, the betrayal deepening the creases around his eyes. “He took her. He’s the goddamn mole!”
Motherfucker! I clenched my fist, and my muscles quivered with the need to kill something. I should have known. Jace and Tess became close quickly. He burrowed his way into her trust, only to rip it away.
He betrayed me—no, us—his fucking family that fed and housed him.
I am done.
My head tried to keep ahead of the demons. I wanted so much to give in and let them take over, so I could get through this without the terrible ache that held my body prisoner.
“Trigger!” Big Joe burst around the corner. His face was broken out in a sweat. “You need to see this.”
“Joe, if this has something to do with Tess, you need to—” Brick couldn’t finish the sentence, and I didn’t want him to.
“No.” Big Joe motioned for us to follow him. We raced down two hallways, through the lobby, and down another hall. He held open the door, and we rushed in and our boots were covered in…blood?
“Holy shit.” Brick glanced around at the five twisted bodies. One’s neck had been snapped, an ear looked like it had been ripped off another, and the smell of bleach almost took our breath away. “Who?”
“Stripe Backs.” I pointed to the lime green eyes staring back at me as the rest of the guys joined us. Minnie covered Fin’s eyes and hurried back out with my mother on her heels. “Trigger.” Brick turned with a haunted look, and I nodded. It looked like one of my kills.
“Get Rich to call Sam,” I quickly instructed Rail. I had a sinking feeling we’d need our lawyer. He went to pull out his phone but stopped when we felt someone come in.
“You mean your prospect?” One of the men who carried our bags in before the fight suddenly appeared next to Cooper. “Yeah, man, he left, like, ten minutes ago with that girl Trigger had on his arm.”
What the fuck?
“With who?”
“Shit!” Big Joe jumped back, and a team of police held their weapons on me.
“Oh, my God!” My mother snagged my attention as she stared at her phone, not the police.
“Everyone freeze!” one cop shouted, clearly taken over by fear.
I raised my arms, ready to fight. The sound of their weapons filled the room as most of the guns pointed in my direction.
“Stop.” My mother stepped forward, almost as if to shield me. “Let me say goodbye to my son.”
I couldn’t help but feel a strange ripple run through me at the word son. Before anyone could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “They have Gus. He has his tracker on.” She slipped the phone into my hand. She stepped back and blocked the SWAT team’s view of the phone. I watched as the little blue dot moved farther and farther away from me. I couldn’t believe it.
“Nolan Vineyard, Matthew Montgomery, and…” Officer Doyle stepped into the room with a rag over his nose, and my blood went wild. He turned to Rail. “Silas Hunter, you’re under arrest.”
No.
Morgan sidestepped behind me and pulled the phone from my grip as Doyle went on.
“For the mass murder at the Final Temptations Strip Club in Santa Barbara four years ago, and,” he paused, and I saw him smile behind the rag, “the murder of these five Stripe Backs.”
My blood ran cold as I made the connection that I had indeed been played by one of my own. But it wasn’t only Jace who’d betrayed me. I slowly shifted and locked eyes with my second mole.
Nolan disappeared into dust as the cold steel clamped down around my wrists.
The End
Too strong to run,
Too proud to hide.
For this I’ll pay…
For this I’ll die.
My soul is black,
The demons are worse.
Pain was spread,
Love has burst.
Won’t move forward,
Can’t go back.
The reaper is circling,
Can’t fight back.
The world has gone black.
She is gone,
Time will pass.
Evil has spread,
Will we last?
***Sneak Peek***
Devil’s Reach, Book Three
The yard was mainly hard-packed dirt. The few little sprigs of grass that tried desperately to survive were slowly being choked to death under the boots of hundreds of inmates. It seemed like random groups at first glance, but each cluster
was in a specific spot divided by race.
I glanced at Rail as he rolled a cigarette like it was the fifties, and Brick was eyeing the Koreans who felt we didn’t belong here.
A guard with shiny black boots stepped into the yard and walked the inside perimeter. He didn’t carry a gun or a baton, and his unmarked hands were a dead giveaway that he wasn’t a fighter. Once he completed his rounds, he eased down onto a bucket and started to drum a song. It was Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”. I noticed the leaders of each gang tuned into him and stopped what they were doing.
A dark chill filled the yard, the scruffy hair on the backs of the wild beasts inside me stood to attention, and started to hiss.
A big Hispanic man cast a shadow over my face and cracked his knuckles like he was about to fight.
“Heard you take out some of my man.” His English was broken, but I understood enough.
I nodded and blew a puff of smoke toward him.
He snapped his fingers, and the rest of his gang joined him.
“You die now.”
Flip.
BEFORE YOU GO…
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Acknowledgements
My mother and stepfather, thank you for stepping outside your comfort zones and providing me with endless feedback and support along the way. What would I do without you two?
My husband, who encourages me to write every day, knowing what it does for my soul.
To my beloved friends, Jaci Wheeler, Ariana McWilliams, and Thayra Rothweiler, thank you for listening to my many plot twists and murders.
My betas, Ariana McWilliams, Jaci Wheeler, Ceej Chargualaf, Kathy West, Tanyia Pfennighausen, Allison Cheshire, and Joe Rossi, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my chicken scratch and give me your take on it all.
To my editor Lori Whitwam, here’s to book number ten. Cheers!
To Sgt. Steve Chamness and his lovely wife Jill Chamness for saving me on a few key points in this book. I greatly appreciate your time and hope to work with you again in the near future.
To Matt Neve, president of the Clueless motorcycle club for all your help with this story. Your kindness and time will not be forgotten.
To one of my all-time favorite bands, Radiohead, for allowing me to see scenes in a different way. Thank you for opening another door inside my head.
And a huge thank you to my readers, who inspired me and waited patiently while I dealt with a pretty emotional year, both physically and mentally. Your support means the world.
About the Author
J. L. Drake was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, later moving to Southern California where she now lives with her husband and two children.
When she is not writing she loves to spend time with her family, travelling or just enjoying a night at home. One thing you might notice in her books is her love of the four seasons. Growing up on the east coast of Canada the change in the seasons is in her blood and is often mentioned in her writing.
An avid reader of James Patterson, J.L. Drake has often found herself inspired by his many stories of mystery and intrigue. She hopes you will enjoy her books as much as she has enjoyed writing them.
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