Page 38 of Tainted Essence

“Come on, Dest, we got you. No more thinking about him or the fight, it's time to focus on having a fantastic fucking night with your girls.” Britt’s words have me smiling, it’s the first real one I have smiled in what feels like months. The only times I have smiled lately has been when Taylan is around and I hate that, he has become a comfort that I didn’t know I needed. He chases away all my nightmares and makes me feel safe.

He’s become my favorite hello and I know he is going to be my hardest goodbye.

Taylan

I’ve been pacing the length of her apartment for hours!

After she sped away from me outside the gym, I was left to deal with a million fucking questions from her father. None of which I could answer without implicating myself. I was grilled on everything from my training techniques to being a mooch. That shit ground my fucking nerves, I am no fucking mooch! I have been busting my ass teaching her everything I know so she can win this fucking fight in a few months’ time.

My phone begins to vibrate in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts. I fish it out of my pocket to see it’s Knox calling. I debate letting it ring out but I decide against that and answer it.

“This better be good!” I clip out.

“Where the fuck are you?” The worry in Knox’s tone has me freezing mid step and turning rigid.

“What’s wrong?” I snap. “Is Lake okay?” I begin to worry something has happened to her or the baby.

“Where are you?”

“At Destiny’s! What the fuck is going on, Knox?” I snarl.

“Where’s the girl?”

My blood turns cold, I dart my eyes around the empty apartment as dread begins to fill my veins.

“She ditched me,” I grit out through clenched teeth. I can feel my stomach knotting as I wait for him to explain why he is panicking.

“Get the fuck out of the apartment now!” I don’t question him, I grab my jacket and gun and snatch my keys off the counter as I make my way to the door. “Find her, do not go back to her apartment, Taylan!”

I freeze in front of the door. “Why?” That one word holds so much weight to it.

“You need to find her now! He has been stalking her and you, watching your every move.”

I jerk in surprise. “How do you know this?”

“Kimber got a call, we haven’t been able to locate him or find the cocksucker because he’s been there with you the whole fucking time watching!”

A cold shiver works its way down my spine, I turn around slowly and scan the empty place. “Knox, where is he?”

“He’s been living in the apartment above her for months. It wasn’t a random snatch and grab that night, he knew where she would be and her movements. We traced the call, Tay, he’s been above you this entire time.”

“Fuck!” I roar. I end the call and race out of there taking the stairs to the next level. I don’t hesitate as I draw my gun and ram my foot against the door, the wood splinters and gives under the pressure of my boot. I dart inside scanning the entire place but it’s empty sans the plethora of photos that are scattered across the counter in the small kitchen.

Disgust, fear, anger and a range of other emotions race through me as I stare down at the still shots from a video feed. My phone keeps ringing but I can’t move to answer it. My gun falls from my limp grip and clatters against the hardwood floors, when my phone starts ringing again I swallow and blindly answer it without checking the caller ID knowing exactly who it is.

“Get our guys onto tracking her phone,” I whisper.

“Taylan, what the fuck did you find?” I open my mouth but no words come out. There are photos of me and her fucking all over her apartment, pictures of her in the shower, me and her sleeping in her bed. There are even pictures of us walking into the gym, her and me at dinner at the restaurant down the road. “Taylan!” Knox’s voice snaps me out of it.

“He’s been stalking her, there’s pictures of us,” I grit out.

“Fuck! You need to get rid of them.”

“Why?” I clip out.

“Because her father and uncles are on their way now, I texted them when I called you.” Just as I reach for the images to hide them so her father doesn’t find out, they all barge into the room. I look up and inhale what I’m sure is going to be my last breath. Gage, King, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Vincent and Luka all stand there with their guns raised and pointed at me.

“Too late brother, they’re here,” I say before I end the call and shove it in my pocket. I bend down and retrieve my gun. A wise man would keep it in his hand to try to defend himself but there are seven of them so I stash it in my waistband. If I’m going down, then I’m gonna go down like a man, I’m no bitch. The seven of them creep in closer as my phone continues to ring incessantly but I don’t move to answer it even when Gage steps and stands on the other side of the counter staring down at the images before us of his daughter being fucked by me.