Page 6 of Thorned Vengeance

I’ll never forgive myself for not following her, but we thought our town was safe. We were wrong… dead wrong. When Joe and I found Daphne, she was naked and propped against a dumpster in the alley behind the bar. One of her hands was jammed between her legs in an obscene manner, and there were bruises around her neck.

I knew before I reached her, Daphne was gone.

I didn’t realize Daphne’s locket was missing until my parents went to the morgue to officially identify the body. My mom asked for her necklace to be returned so they could make sure she was laid to rest with it, but the coroner said that no jewelry was recovered. The same locket we’d both worn since our parents gave them to us on our thirteenth birthday was gone. The sick bastard not only raped and murdered my sister, but he also took a piece of her with him.

A part of me died right along with Daphne that night. Depression set in, and I withdrew into myself, pushing anyone and everyone away, including my parents.

A tear slides down my cheek, but I don’t bother wiping it away as I think about that night.

“Daph, I swear I’ll find the mother fucker and make him pay,” I whisper.

I stay at the cemetery for an hour, talking to Daphne and telling her what’s been going on lately, which isn’t much. When I’ve said everything there is to say, I stand and brush the grass off my ass.

“I miss you so much. I’ll try not to stay away so long next time. Love you.” I turn on my heel and head back to my car.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I turn in a circle to check my surroundings. One of the things I love about this cemetery is that there aren’t a lot of trees. It’s flat, and you can see all around. Nothing out of the ordinary catches my attention, but I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me. I glance around once more before opening the car door and sliding into the driver’s seat.

As I turn the key in the ignition, I release a shaky breath. For the last five years, paranoia has been a constant in my life. Every face I see, I can’t help but wonder if that’s the face Daphne saw as she took her last breath.

I’m vibrating with nervous energy so instead of turning toward home, I go left and head to the gym. The smell of sweat hits me in the face as I open the door. It might make some people cringe, but it calms my rage as I make my way to the locker room. I change into a pair of gym shorts and a sports bra.

TJ, the owner of the gym and my trainer, is leaning against the wall waiting for me.

“You okay?” he asks, knowing what today is.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “Got time to spar?”

“I already cleared the ring.”

“Let’s go.”

“I won’t spar with you if you’re distracted.”

“Damn it, TJ!” I spit out. “If anyone ever tries to attack me, it’s going to be when I’m distracted. Quit babying me.”

TJ runs his hands through his hair. “I know. Look, you’re like a sis?—”

I raise my hand. “Stop, please don’t,” I plead. “Not today.”

“Fine.”

“No, I’m sorry for being a bitch.”

“No, I’m sorry.” He hauls me to his chest in a bone-crushing hug. “I know this is a hard day for you.” TJ releases me and grins. “I might even let you kick my ass because of it.”

For the first time today, I laugh. “Whatever big guy. You know I can drop your ass.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

TJ found me drunk off my ass at a bar on the one-year anniversary. I wasn’t being careful or paying attention to my surroundings when some frat boy tried to roofie my drink. All I wanted was to forget but not like that. Luckily TJ saw what was going on, intervened, and handed the guy his ass. Then he handed me his business card for the gym, and I’ve been coming here ever since.

He grabs the kick shields first, and we start warming up. I practice my punches and low groin kicks before I straighten my stance.

“I’m rea?—”

TJ drops the pads and charges me. His hands wrap around my throat, and for a brief second, blackness swirls around my vision.

TJ is a foot taller than me, but we’ve practiced this move a million times, and I’ve perfected it. It’s harder when you’re not expecting it which is why he charged me without warning.