Page 8 of Darkest Retribution
Willow plops into a chair, tossing her feet onto the table. Her black boots land on a file that Felix unceremoniously yanks out from under them. She smirks when he turns his back.
“Do the two of youeverstop bickering?” Alex grouses.
I huff in agreement. They’re making my headache worse.
“If she wasn’t so stubborn—” Felix starts.
“Ifhewasn’t so insufferable,” Willow says much louder, “then I’d be a perfect angel.”
“Lies. She’s a menace.”
“Thank you,” she croons.
“They’re like an old married couple,” I whisper to Alex.
Felix and Willow both whirl around to glare at me.
I raise my hands. “Sorry, sorry. You’re like a couple of children?”
“I’d kill you if I didn’t need your help finding David,” Willow says. When Felix snorts, she turns to face him. “Allthreeof you.”
With a tired sigh, I say, “Let’s just get to work. None of us want to draw this out any more.”
“Maybe if this one—” Felix knocks Willow in the shoulder, “—would’ve been more useful when she had access to David’s house, we’d alreadybedone with this.”
“I told you, he didn’t keep anything of importance there. Do you seriously not believe that I searched the place?”
“Still don’t understand why you didn’t just kill him then,” Felix mumbles.
“Because you’re too stupid to put the pieces together on your own,” Willow replies, “and I have no desire to walk you through the process. Now shut up so I can concentrate.”
Felix obliges. It’s a good thing, too, because I was about ready to throw them out if they didn’t stop bickering.
For the next couple hours, we work mostly in silence, only speaking to throw out a theory or an idea. Most of the stuff we go through doesn’t give us any idea of where David might’ve gone.
If I’d tried to get Brooke to break up with him early last year, we wouldn’t be here right now.
It’s a painful thought, especially since it’s true. Thanks to a warning from Felix, I knew David could potentially be a problem from the moment I met him. But I decided to wait. Brooke looked truly happy for the first time in years, and I didn’t want to fuck it up.
Now look where that got her—with a crazy ex who tried to kill her and Blaze. And it’s not just that, either. No, David was terrible to Brooke. He destroyed her mentally and made her pull away from our group. And instead of questioning it, I just assumed that she was busy with college and her new boyfriend.
It’s my fault, really. Mine, Blaze’s, and Alex’s. We were supposed to look after her. But when it came down to it, we failed her.
I think Alex feels the guilt, too. I know Blaze does. However much I’d like to fix things, what’s in the past is in the past. The best we can do now is ensure Brooke’s safety. Ensureallof our safety.
I just hope we can do it before it’s too late.
Chapter three
Jade
Mywholelife,I’vebeen hit with curve ball after curve ball. At this point, they’re kinda my thing.
I guess that’s why I’m not surprised when my Saturday night shift at the club takes a different turn than normal.
It starts off the way they always do: getting ready with the other girls and barely paying attention to the latest gossip. Then the dancing, the mingling with customers, and the lap dances.
One of our older regulars orders a VIP room, and honestly, it’s a relief. By this point, my feet and legs are killing me. And the nice thing about Mike is that he cares more about the emotional connection than the dancing. With him, I’m not selling a fantasy. I’m giving him a listening ear instead.