“Someone threw a brick through the window. Burke went chasing after them.” I am still trying to finish the rest of my message, but before I get anything else out, Kai disappears into his bedroom. In under a minute, he reemerges in sweatpants, and he’s holding a gun as he runs past me.
I need to get to Teagan’s room. These people can sleep through anything it seems. How is she not awake with all the commotion of the last few minutes? Luckily, I know right where Teagan’s room is since I tried to help Burke get her into her room earlier. I wasn’t much help and really only opened doors as he carried her like a sack of potatoes. With both men out of the house, I can’t get to Teagan’s room fast enough. Fear grips my insides as I rush though her door and flip the lock. The envelope in my hand is practically burning my fingers with anticipation. Who the hell would attach a letter addressed to me to a brick and then throw it through a window in a house I’ve never stayed at before?
How do they even know I’m here or who I am? What’s inside? I’m itching to open it and find out, but I need to wake Teagan first. I shake her with a firm hand until she starts to stir. “Teagan, wake up.”
With one eye open, she greets me with a whine. “What’re you doing? I have a wicked headache and my mouth tastes like cotton balls dipped in sewage water.”
“Someone threw a brick through the kitchen window. Burke and Kai are trying to find whoever is out there.” It takes a second for my words to register in her head, but when they do, she shoots up out of bed. She takes one step and then stumbles to the floor, obviously ahead of her probably still drunk body. “Teagan, sit down. There is nothing we can do, and my guess is Burke and Kai are perfectly capable of handling themselves. It won’t do us any good to go running out into the night. Plus, Burke ordered us to stay here with the door locked.” I speak these words to try to calm her, but I’m worried. Worried for what this means and also worried for two men I barely know. My gut is screaming at me that something is really wrong.
“What’s in your hand?” Teagan’s question prompts me to look down at the envelope I’m still holding.
“I don’t know. It was attached to the brick and it has my name on it. I haven’t opened it yet. Should I? I mean, it has my name on it, but it was attached to a brick thrown through a window of your house.” I can’t seem to stop my rambling as my mind races over the situation.
She looks back and forth between my face and the envelope with wide eyes. “Of course you should open it. Open it, right now!” Teagan climbs back up on her bed, and I follow her, sitting on the edge with the envelope heavy in my hands. It’s relatively small but thick, as if it’s packed full.
Inside, I find two more envelopes and two single pieces of paper. Each item is labeled. One paper is folded neatly and has “Paisley” written across it, just like the outer envelope had. The second paper is identical to the first except it has Burke and Kai’s names scribbled across it. The two envelopes are also labeled—the first with “Paisley and Teagan” and the second with “Burke and Kai.” First, I open the paper with my name on it. Written inside is an ominous warning with no identification of who it’s from.
“Be careful who you associate with; you’re as dirty as the company you keep. You might end up as collateral damage.”
Teagan reads over my shoulder. We share a look of confusion and fear. Who the hell even knows I’m here, and are they threatening me? Moving on, I ignore the paper addressed to Burke and Kai, as it doesn’t seem right to open it, and open the envelope with my and Teagan’s names on it. Inside are dozens of photos. In each one, the center of focus is either Teagan, me, or both of us together. As I flip through them, today is portrayed like a story in the form of photos. Teagan getting into her car, I’m assuming this morning. Teagan in the parking lot of the diner. Her and I talking at the booth inside. Pictures of us walking into my apartment. There is one of us outside a bar and more than a few of us inside a bar.
This is freaking scary. Someone has been watching us all day and taking photos. The house is eerily quiet, and the knowledge that we’ve been watched all day really is not sitting well with me. My skin is crawling. The silence grates my nerves. I want Teagan to say something . . . to explain this away. Yet, when I look at her, her face is a myriad of the same emotions I feel—shock and fear.
“Do we open the other envelope?”
I want to know what’s inside, but my fear seems to be holding me back from tearing into it. Teagan answers without hesitation. “Yes, we open it! Open it right now!”
I work to open the envelope addressed to Burke and Kai. Once again, there are photos inside, and I flip through them slowly.
The first ten or so photos are of Kai. They seem to have been taken on different days because he wears different clothes in many of the images. He’s at the gym, outside my apartment, at the very bar we were at tonight talking to the bartender, and then parked outside an auto shop. The next few photos are of Burke and are similar in nature—outside what I assume is his tattoo shop, filling up his tank at a gas station, and there is even one outside my place that must have been taken the day he came looking for Kai. We have been watched, and it seems today wasn’t the first day.
As the photos from the Burke and Kai envelope progress, they get more sinister in nature. What the hell am I in the middle of? There is a photo of Kai struggling with a man, and if I didn’t know any better I would say that Kai is trying to force him into his car. A photo of Kai tying that man to a chair in a large, empty room. The next image shows Kai throwing punches at the helpless man he’s taken prisoner. The next few photos are of Burke torturing the same man with his fist and then a knife. I gasp at the brutality portrayed. I reluctantly continue flipping through the photos.
Burke pointing a gun at the man’s head.
Flip.
The man on the floor, lifeless after being shot. Burke above him with his gun still aimed.
Flip.
Burke and Kai wrapping the man in a tarp.
Flip.
Them putting the body in Kai’s trunk.
Flip.
Burke on his hands and knees, cleaning the blood from the floor.
Flip.
Kai dragging the man wrapped in a tarp into the woods.
I’m stunned speechless.
I’m in the home of cold-blooded murderers. Should I take my chances outside with whatever faces me out there? Even when the guys come back, I’m still in danger. I don’t know who threw the brick through the window, but I do know I’m inside the house of men who have killed a man and covered it up . . . and now I know about it. Will they even let me leave?
“Paisley . . .” Teagan’s voice is quiet, filled with concern. I’m regretting my brand new friendship with her. I don’t answer her. I’m not sure I can. Besides, what in the hell am I supposed to say? “Paisley . . . whatever is in these pictures can’t be what it seems. I can tell you’re really freaking out, but please, trust me. There has to be some sort of explanation. These pictures are not who Kai and Burke are. Please, Paisley, stay calm.”
“What imaginable explanation could there be for killing a man who’s tied to a chair?”
“This looks bad, but they wouldn’t hurt anybody if it weren’t absolutely necessary. People have been threatening us. It must have something to do with that. Think about it, Paisley. My brother and Kai aren’t the bad guys. Someone has been following us all day today and threw a brick through the window. There is more to this story. There has to be. What does the paper addressed to them say?”
I wasn’t planning on reading that paper, but I want all the information I can get. With trembling hands, I reach for it and open it.
“Looks like you both have been busy lately. A rogue sister. A leggy, red-headed whore for Kai and a new play toy for Burke. A dead body. Which should I exploit first?”
Someone is trying to take this family down. The question is, do they deserve it? I’m being warned to stay away. Seems like I heard and ignored that warning once before. Kno
wing all this makes me feel trapped. How will either party let me go about my life with all this information? Will Burke let me leave knowing he’s killed a man and Kai helped him cover it up?
“Someone is out to get my family. You have to see that. Paisley, please. I know what this situation must look like to you, but it’s not what it seems.”
A door slams downstairs, followed by a commotion with screaming and cursing. I’m frozen in place, not knowing what to do. I can make out Burke’s voice, as well as Kai’s, but there is another man’s voice I don’t recognize. All three are yelling in tandem, making it impossible to understand what anyone is saying. The pandemonium downstairs lasts a few minutes longer, and then a single set of footsteps makes their way toward us. Then, there is a knock at the door.
“Teagan . . . it’s me, Burke. Let me in.”
Teagan rises from the bed and walks toward her door. I rise to stand as well, but it’s like my actions aren’t voluntary. The photos are scattered all over the floor around me. I don’t know what danger will be waiting for me on the other side of that door.
“Teagan . . . don’t. Don’t open it.” My voice sounds strangled. She won’t listen to me. That’s her brother. Her loyalty is to him. As she reaches for the handle, she answers my plea.
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” When she opens the door, Burke steps in, his eyes sweeping over the room before settling back on Teagan. He looks her up and down, as if to make sure she’s in one piece, and then he does the same to me. Next, his vision goes to the photos scattered everywhere. His eyes register what he’s seeing. That hard look is very much present in his eyes. I have an overwhelming need to escape the situation, but Burke’s frame still blocks my exit. He walks farther into the room, eyeing me as if I’m a bomb that’s about to blow any second. I want out of here and fast. Making a quick exit will be nearly impossible. Teagan speaks up.
“Did you get the guy?”
Without taking his eyes from mine, he responds with a simple, “Yes.” That must have been the third voice downstairs. The man who meant for me to find this envelope full of damning evidence. While still moving toward me, Burke directs the next question my way.
“Paisley, what’s going on in that head of yours?” I don’t answer him as my eyes dart between him, Teagan, and the door. I’m trapped. That’s what is going on in my head. “Paisley, I can see you’re freaking out. Let me explain. Sit and let’s have a calm conversation. You’re safe. I won’t hurt you.” His words and his tone are soothing. I want to believe him. Common sense is screaming a different story. It tells me to get the hell out of there and never look back, to run to the nearest police station and seek their protection.
Burke is nearing still. I need a plan. Am I going to sit and listen, or am I going to make a run for it? When he’s only a few feet away from me, I make a split decision and take off, trying to escape his grasp and maneuver around him. Of course it’s stupid. There is no way I’ll make it out of this room without him catching me, but I have to try.
It’s almost comical how fast he plucks me up and throws me over his shoulder, and if I weren’t about to piss my pants out of fear, I would have laughed. Instead, I dangle upside down and rain pathetic punches over his back. I scream as loud as my lungs will allow as Burke walks me through the door, down the hallway, and into another room. Once inside, he drops me to the bed and leaves, locking the door from the outside.
I survey the room for an escape route, finding a window I’ll easily fit through. However, I’m not sure about getting down from the second floor. I jump from the bed and go to the window. It takes some effort on my part, but I’m able to get it open. A screen is in the way. I take stock of how high up I am and contemplate if I can use the roof to my advantage in an attempt to reach the ground. Before I even make an effort to free the screen, the door behind me unlocks, and Burke strides back into the room.
His arms are full of the contents from the envelope. My feeble attempt at escape seems to amuse him, because he watches me intently me with mirth gleaming from his upturned lips as he lays what’s in his arms down on the bed.
“Get over here, Paisley, and shut the window. You’re not going to jump out of there. I told you that you’re safe. Sit down.”
Eyeing the ground from the window again, I determine that I’ll probably have to take a risk with Burke. Jumping and then still escaping him on foot would never work. I close the window and take a seat at a desk chair while Burke looks through the photos and papers scattered on the bed.
I hope he’s telling the truth that he won’t hurt me, because I don’t know what to believe.
Burke
I tell Teagan to go check on Kai and make sure he’s handling the situation downstairs. I’m sure she has plenty of questions for him after seeing these photos, but I have to handle the situation with Paisley. The last thing I want to do is let her in. I don’t have much of a choice. It seems like I have to, in order for her to understand what’s happening. She can’t leave like this. She was just told the man she’s currently in a room with is someone who killed a man. She’ll go straight to the cops. Who wouldn’t?
I thought I ended this when I killed Anthony. I don’t know what to believe. Is this all connected or a coincidence? I have a second man tied to a chair in too short a period of time with no idea if killing again will end this. There must be a bigger picture I’m missing. One fucking thing at a time. I need to convince Paisley not to turn us in. She needs to be persuaded we’re the lesser of two bad guys.
My eyes fall on the photo of me taken right before I pulled the trigger and ended Anthony’s life. I don’t regret doing it. Not even a little. But seeing photographic evidence of that moment sends a mixture of repulsion and white-hot anger through me. I would do it all over again if I had to, because I would do anything to keep Teagan safe. Only now, I have to figure out how to convince Paisley that I’m not the monster these pictures make me out to be.
Taking my eyes away from the glossy photo, I turn to face Paisley and wonder what must be going on in her head. There is fear in her eyes as she watches me. Her hands shake and her breathing is uneven. She sees me for who I am. At least, she knows the truth so I won’t have to resist temptation. Paisley wouldn’t let someone who’s done the things I’ve done go anywhere near her. A dirty fuck isn’t something a girl like her deserves, and that’s all I could have given her.
We stare at each other in my dimly lit bedroom. I don’t know what to say to fix this. I have to make her understand. I search my brain for where to start, but Paisley speaks up first, saving me. “Did you kill him? The guy in the picture?” She certainly doesn’t mince words, does she? She’s ready to jump right in while I’m still figuring out where to start. Pushing some photos aside, I sit on the edge of the bed so that I’m facing her before I answer.
“Yes.” I’ll let her lead the conversation for a bit and keep things short while I try to read her.
“Did you kill the guy who threw the brick through the window tonight?” Her hands still shake, but her eyes show confidence. She doesn’t want me to see her fear. I can’t help being a little proud of her for that. She’s strong.
“Not yet.”
She doesn’t even flinch at my blunt responses. She isn’t giving me anything to read.
“But you’re going to?”
“Most likely.”
The shaking of her body ceases, and it seems as if she physically steels herself for her next question.
“Are you going to kill me?”
She sits perfectly still, without so much as blinking while she waits for me to answer.
“No, Paisley. I told you I won’t hurt you. I meant that, but we do need to figure out what we’re going to do, because I can’t have you going to the police.”
“So what if I tell you no matter what you say or do, I’m going straight to the police station?”
“I don’t know. I’m not that far into my plan. Well, there isn’t even a plan since I didn’t know this was
going to happen, but I have to do whatever it takes to protect Teagan. I’m hoping to convince you I’m the lesser bad guy.”
“These people, whoever that man is downstairs, he’s threatening Teagan?”
Her eyes finally give way to some emotion. Paisley has developed a soft spot for my sister. I get that. It’s not hard to believe, considering Teagan is the chink in my armor. One night with my sister was all it took for Paisley to create a bond with her. “My guess is the man downstairs is a pawn or a decoy. He’s not the person directly threatening Teagan. But yes, someone is threatening her, as well as me and Kai.”
Her eyes really are expressive. She’s trying to play it cool, but through her eyes every emotion is open to me as it hits her. Those expressive blues will let me see what I need to know to sway the situation in my favor.
“Why?”
Why is the very answer I’d like to get. I can’t fill her in on the “why’s” because I don’t know the explanation. If I did, I’d be another step closer to figuring this all out.
“I don’t know . . . all I have are the facts that are being presented to me.”
“Then tell me the facts. From the beginning. You’re telling me you’ve killed. That you’re going to kill again, and you’re asking me to trust you. Do you see why this is a little difficult for me to understand?”
Yes. I do. Of course I do, but my world is anything but black and white. I hate that I’m bringing her fully into this mess by telling her all the details, but this seems to be my only option. I have no idea what plan B will be if I can’t convince her. Getting put in jail will prevent me from protecting my sister, and I can’t have that.
Over the next half hour, I tell Paisley everything that’s happened that led to tonight. I tell her about the break-in at the warehouse, how it happened the day I went to her apartment, the destruction, and the dolls. She asks me why I didn’t go to the police. I could make something up, but I tell her about the illegal business Kai and I run. I tell her about the tip from the bartender at the very place she was at a few hours ago and how Kai tracked down Anthony where he worked. I tell her how we questioned him with heavy-handed persuasion and how he told us he was the one behind everything that happened. I tell her how Kai and I chased down that guy tonight and that he’s downstairs tied to a chair, probably being questioned by Kai in a less than pleasant way.
Deceit in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 1) Page 10
