Stuart shot Griffin a sideways look, the weight of his gaze prickling down along Griffin's spine as he continued to study Spike.
His old bandmate climbed from the car and started up the steps towards the second level of the motel. He held his arm tightly against his body, and Griffin could see blood on his face.
The sight of the blood clenched Griffin's gut, and he grabbed the door handle.
"We agreed to wait," Stuart said, his voice low as Griffin hopped out of the car.
"Well, I changed my mind. There's blood on his face. I'm going to kill the bastard," Griffin answered, ducking low as Spike unlocked the door to his room.
Griffin stayed low as he raced across the parking lot towards the stairs. His body hummed with energy as he took the steps two at a time.
Spike had said he needed time, and now Griffin understood why. He needed time to wash the blood from his face.
What if she's already…
Griffin pushed the thought out of his head. To think like that was to admit defeat, and that wasn't something he could do right now. She wasn't dead, of that Griffin was certain.
Everything Cami had told him about her stepfather suggested he was a petty and vindictive man. After what she had done to him before she left, Griffin knew he would want his revenge. His pound of flesh, so to speak.
The thought of what he would do to her if Griffin didn't get there in time made him sick to his stomach, which only spurred him on.
Griffin reached the door to Spike's motel room. He didn't knock; giving him any sort of courtesy now was more compassion than Griffin was capable of feeling.
He stepped back and landed a kick against the flimsy wood of the door. It splintered against the frame as it flopped open, the force of the kick causing it to slam back into the wall. The sound of the plaster cracking gave Griffin a sense of satisfaction as he scanned the room.
He headed for the sound of the shower running in the bathroom, Stuart catching up with him.
"Remember, we need him to talk," Stuart said. Griffin merely nodded.
At least his brother hadn't forbid him to kill Spike. For that, Griffin was grateful.
He slammed open the bathroom door, smiling at the shocked expression on Spike’s face as he grabbed his former friend by the scruff of his neck and dragged him from the shower still naked and dripping wet.
"What the hell is going on… Griffin!" Spike cried out as he stumbled into the main area of the motel room.
Griffin landed a punch on him, the force of the blow snapping Spike's head back as he went down over the edge of the bed.
At the sight of the three scratch marks clearly visible down the side of Spike's face, Griffin felt his blood begin to boil in his veins. Dragging Spike back onto the side of the bed, Griffin started to rain blows down on top of him, not pausing long enough to give Spike a chance to recover.
Strong arms wrapped around Griffin's shoulders, dragging him away from Spike.
"I'm going to kill him, let me kill him. The bastard deserves to die," Griffin shouted, his voice hoarse with emotion as he lashed and kicked against Stuart’s strong grip.
"What the hell has gotten into you, man? It's me, Spike, your buddy… Your brother in arms, remember?" Spike clung to the edge of the bed as he cowered away from Griffin.
Blood dripped from his lips and nose, but in Griffin's mind it wasn't enough. He deserved far worse; he deserved to be delivered back to his very worst nightmare. He deserved to have everything he cared about ripped away from him.
"Where is she? Where did you take her?" Griffin demanded. He stopped fighting against the hold Stuart had on him. There was no point in fighting; he may be strong, but his brother was stronger.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Griff. What happened to you?"
Although Spike was a pitiful sight as he struggled to pull himself up onto the edge of the bed, Griffin knew he was lying. He'd known Spike for so long. All the years they had travelled together, touring the country and sharing rooms, experiencing the crazy highs of being in one of the most successful bands in the country, along with the sickening lows of addiction and poverty.
Griffin felt the ache in his chest spread outward as he stared down at the man he had once considered to be family. They had been best friends.
Griffin knew all of Spike's darkest secrets, and Spike knew his. To see him now lying through his teeth in an attempt to save his own skin made Griffin doubt everything he had learned about Spike over the years.
How could he have been so wrong? How could he have completely misread the signs? Had he just not wanted to see the truth or believe Spike to be capable of such heinous acts?
Stuart released his grip on Griffin's shoulders, allowing him to straighten up.
"He's lying. The idiot doesn't know when he's beat," Stuart said, stepping closer to Spike.
Griffin put his arm out to halt Stuart's progress.
"Don't. He's mine. If anyone is going to break him, it'll be me. It was me he fooled. I couldn't see the truth, and my stupidity endangered Cami and her little sister."
Spike watched them carefully, and Griffin knew he was mulling his options over in his head. He could practically see the wheels turning inside his tiny, pathetic brain.
"Tell me where she is and I won't kill you," Griffin said, his voice suddenly as calm.
Spike shook his head and smiled, the blood trickling from his lip grotesquely ruining the effect he was trying to achieve.
"Nah, you won't. We've been best friends forever, Griff. You don't see it now but I did what I did for you. She was a hindrance, holding you back from your true potential, and I couldn't allow that."
Griffin dropped his gaze towards his hands; he hadn't even noticed that he'd curled them into fists. It would be so easy to beat Spike until he didn't move anymore, until his begging and pleading stopped, and yet the thought of it did nothing more than bore Griffin.
It would take time. Time he didn't have.
The sound of a phone ringing broke the silence, and Griffin shot Stuart a look over his shoulder as his brother pulled his cell phone from inside his jacket.
"It's Riley. I'll be back in a minute," Stuart said as he headed for the door.
Griffin didn't bother to answer him, instead waiting until his brother had stepped out the door before turning on Spike.
"You'll tell me where she is, Spike, or I will kill you right here, right now."
The self-confident smile was back on Spike's face as he shook his head once more and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet.
"Griffin, I know you, I…"
He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. As far as Griffin was concerned, he'd finally heard enough.
Enough excuses.
Enough stalling.
Enough pretending.
He was done with all of it.
He was done with Spike.
He pushed forward onto his toes and wrapped his hands around Spike's neck. Griffin didn't hesitate for even a moment as he pushed forward into Spike, forcing him down onto the bed.
Spike fought back, his hands swinging wildly as he struggled to punch and dislodge the Griffin’s strong grip. But there would be no escape unless Spike decided to come clean.
"Tell me what I want to know and I'll let you live," Griffin said through gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on Spike's neck.
Spike rolled and heaved beneath him, his face gradually turning from red to purple, his lips growing blue. Griffin stared down into Spike’s face as his eyes became bloodshot from the pressure.
"Griffin!" Stuart shouted, but, in Griffin’s mind, the world had narrowed in on that moment.
Spike was a monster. What he had done to Cami was beyond all redemption. More than anyone, Spike knew what it was like to escape from an abusive parent. Yet he had still happily delivered Cami and her little sister back to their demon.
Stuart grabbed Griffin, who was forced to release his hold on Spike’s neck.
Spike ro
lled away on the bed, his body shaking as he coughed and choked.
"You could have killed him, Griffin. I told you we needed him alive," Stuart said, jerking Griffin around to face him.
"He's not dead yet, is he? He's still breathing," Griffin answered, staring coldly down at Spike.
"Riley came up with an address. Did you drive her out to Brien's Row in Keene?" Stuart asked, leaning over the bed.
Spike nodded and swiped at the tears that decorated his cheeks. He was a pitiful waste of a life, and Griffin knew that whatever the cops threw at him wouldn't ever be enough to make up for all the damage he had caused.
Stuart pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back pocket of his jeans and quickly snapped one of the bracelets onto Spike's wrist before securing the other side to the iron frame on the bed.
"If you're lying, I won't stop him the next time," Stuart said as he stared down at Spike, his expression one of pure disgust.
Griffin started for the door without waiting for Stuart to follow. He made it to the car before his brother and started the engine, his mind in complete turmoil as he imagined what he would find once they made it over to the address where Cami was supposedly being held.
Stuart slid into the car, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
"I really didn't think you had it in you, little brother. You almost had me convinced in there. A few seconds more and he would have passed out."
"It was pretty close, but I had to be sure that he believed I would kill him," Griffin said, his voice flat as he tore out of the motel parking lot.
It was a complete and utter lie. It hadn't just been pretty close; Griffin knew without a doubt that he would have killed Spike. Thinking about his betrayal was enough to make Griffin’s blood boil, but that wouldn’t make him take another man's life.
It was the thought what he had done to Cami. Of all that he had put her through. But it was even more than that. For Griffin, it was also the fear of what he might find when they reached their destination. That alone was enough to make him want to end Spike's life.
It wasn't a line he wanted to test. For Cami, Griffin knew that he would gladly step over it.
* * *
They made the trip in silence. Griffin's sole focus was to find Cami and get her to safety, no matter what he would have to do to achieve that goal.
He let the car roll to a halt outside the gate that led up to a long dirt track.
"We should go on foot from here. The last thing we want to do is alert him to our presence with the sound of the car," Stuart said, pulling his gun from the holster under his arm.
Griffin watched his brother as he checked the clip, securing it back into the gun before he handed it across the car.
Griffin stared down at it, his eyes widening as he reached out and took the gun from Stuart.
"You're giving me a gun willingly?" he asked as his fingers flexed around the grip and adjusted to the gun’s weight.
"I know you won't do anything stupid in there like fire it prematurely, but I can't have you going in unarmed," Stuart said, pulling out his second gun.
All the places his brother found to conceal a weapon never ceased to amaze Griffin.
"Ready?" Stuart asked, his hand on the door.
Griffin nodded and swallowed hard, a dose of nerves suddenly turning his limbs to jelly.
She would be fine. Cami was a fighter, and she had to know he was coming for her. That no matter what, he would always come for her.
"I'm ready," he said, pushing open the car door.
Chapter 24
Cami hung limply from the chains Bradley had secured her to. Her back was an aching, crisscrossed mess of burning pain, and it had taken all of her concentration just to keep from passing out.
But through it all, there was still just one thought in Cami's mind: escape. She'd watched Bradley remove his shotgun from the cabinet in the corner, the same gun she had used to beat him the first time. And there was no doubt in Cami's mind about what he intended to do with it.
It all depended on who got to the gun first.
The belt whistled through the air once more, the pain as it shredded against her flesh drawing a ragged scream from her lips. She was tired of screaming, tired of the pain, but, despite her best attempts to saw through them, the cable ties hadn't yet given way.
Sophie cried out from across the room, her sobs rising and falling as she huddled into a ball.
"Time for the front," Bradley said as he loosened the chain.
Cami slumped to the floor, exhaustion and pain driving her to the ground. Her legs refused to hold her upright.
"Get up!" Bradley shouted, jerking at the chain. But it was useless; even if she'd wanted to listen to him, Cami knew her body was on the verge of giving up.
There was just enough strength left in her to make one last-ditch attempt at getting Sophie out of there. She just had to wait for the right moment.
Bradley moved around her, and Cami gripped the nail tightly between her fingers.
The moment he bent over her she jerked her arm upwards; pain flared along her back, but Cami knew there was no other choice. She jammed the nail into his face as she hopped unsteadily to her feet.
He fell back from her and hit the floor, clutching at his face, roaring in pain like the animal Cami knew him to be.
She didn't waste time, instead darting towards the table where he had left the gun. As she wrapped her hands around it, Cami felt a sharp tug on the chain that was still secured to the bonds around her hands. The gun clattered to the floor, Cami along with it.
Bradley crawled towards her, blood dripping down the side of his face where she had dug the nail into his skin. Cami struggle to move, to fight, but the weight of his body against the chain on the floor made it impossible for her to scramble away from him or reach the gun.
He made a grab for her leg, jerking her back across the floor in his direction as he pulled the Taser from his jeans.
Cami howled as the electric jolt bit into the top of her thigh, sending her body into a bout of spasms that stole her breath away.
The sudden sound of running feet and splintering wood was enough of a distraction to give Cami the opportunity she needed.
Bradley turned from her, his eyes leaving her for just a second as two men burst through the door. Cami's body was on autopilot, and she jammed her foot into Bradley's guts, sending him sprawling back across the floor as she made a grab for the gun.
Cami fought to push her body into an upright position. There was a ringing sound in her ears from the jolt of the Taser, but it didn’t stop her from levelling the shotgun at the monster who had taken her and Sophie captive.
"Cami!"
It was a familiar voice, one that tugged at Cami's memory, but she fought against it as her arms started to shake, causing her aim to waver.
Her thoughts whirled as Bradley pushed himself onto his knees, his hands raised when he caught sight of her holding the gun.
"Cami, listen to me. Put the gun down! This isn't what you want to do…" Griffin's voice called to her, but her mind refused to make sense of his words.
It was a trick, it had to be a trick. Griffin wasn't here. He hadn't come for her; it was simply her mind trying to give her exactly what she wanted. If he really was here, then she wouldn't have to keep holding the gun. She wouldn't have to squeeze the trigger.
If Griffin was there, she could let go, allow the pain burning through her body to take over. If she was lucky, the pain would bring blessed relief in the form of unconsciousness.
But he wasn't there. It was her, and Sophie, and the monster who had tried to ruin their lives. The man who had tried to murder her.
"Cami, I'm right here with you, sweetheart. I'm right here," Griffin said, his voice closer this time, almost as though he was whispering in her ear.
Someone wrapped his arms around her shoulders, strong hands that gripped the gun, pushing the barrel of it harmlessly towards the floor.
"Griffin," Cami said
, her voice hoarse as she let him pull her against his chest.
The gun hit the floor with a heavy thud as Griffin held her carefully, gently.
"You're just like your mother. She didn't have the guts to shoot me either, and look where that got her," Bradley said, his words twisting in Cami's stomach as she realised what he was saying.
He made a dive towards the gun on the floor but a shot rang out, its roar almost deafening, and Cami clamped her hands over her ears to shut it out.
She watched as Bradley slumped onto the floor, clutching his shoulder as he started to writhe in agony.
Cami turned and stared up into Griffin's eyes. His face was pale as he lowered his arm and let the gun drop to the floor.
The sound of sirens split the air as Griffin cupped Cami's face between his hands.
"Can you stand?" he asked, a tremor in his voice.
Cami nodded and he picked her up, holding her against him as her legs threatened to buckle beneath her.
"Cami!" Sophie cried.
Cami had just enough time to turn and catch her sister as she barrelled into her body, her arms wrapping tightly around Cami's waist.
Pain seared through her back as she held Sophie, but she forced it back as the room began to fill with police officers and paramedics.
* * *
Sitting on the stretcher, Cami winced as one of the paramedics began to check her over.
Griffin approached her, his eyes never leaving her face, and Cami felt her chest tighten as he smiled at her.
"How did you find us?" she asked as soon as he came into earshot.
"Riley tracked a property deal your stepfather made and Spike confirmed the location as the same one where he’d taken you."
A shiver of revulsion rolled down Cami's spine at the mention of Spike's name.
"I'm so sorry, Cami," Griffin said, his voice gruff as he reached out to brush his fingers against her cheek. Then he stopped, as though he'd changed his mind.
"What are you sorry for? You saved us, you saved me…"
"I should have been here sooner. If I hadn't been so caught up in everything else, I wouldn't have left you today. I should have stayed with you."
Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset Page 50
