Page 43 of Traces of Her
Twenty-Seven
GRIFFIN
“FUCK!” I yell, driving my fist into the steering wheel. Rowena’s expression is burned into my brain, the look of disappointment and rejection so dominant. Leaving her behind was the last thing that I wanted to do, but it’s in her best interest to stay as far away from Jared as possible.
I should turn around and go back to her, but I can’t, not now.
As I drive, I call Jared over and over again, each time getting his voicemail. Anything and everything that could go wrong in a situation like this has an equal probability of happening right now. My mind can’t even begin to fathom what is happening or prepare itself for this.
Pulling up in front of the house, I’m already halfway out of the car before the engine shuts off. Sprinting up to the front door, I waste no time and shove open the door like I’m there to raid the place.
“What the fuck?” Scarlet mumbles from the couch, slowly sitting up.
“Where the fuck is he?” I yell at her.
She cuts her eyes at me. “I don’t know, Griffin,” she sneers. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Leaning down, I grab her arms and give her a rough shake. “I’m not playing these fucking games, Scarlet. Where is Jared?”
“I told you I don’t fucking know!” she screeches. “He left while he was on the phone with you.”
Fuck.
I let go of her in a rush, shoving her to the back of the couch and walk out of the room toward the basement door.
“Of course, go run to your little sister like everyone else!” Scarlet screams from the living room. Ignoring her, I run down the basement steps and push the door open, letting it slam against the wall.
The picture being painted in front of me is a nightmare, like a scene from a horror movie. Lydia’s naked body is strapped face down on a table with some Oompa Loompa looking fuck pounding into her while another guy stands beside him with his dick in his hands.
“What the fuck is going on!” I roar, rushing into the room shoving one of the men into the toolbox, sending different tools scattering across the ground. The man pulling his dick out of Lydia looks at me with pure fear and my fist meets his face faster than he can blink. Hitting him twice more, I shove him to the ground, wrapping my hands around his fat throat, squeezing his windpipe tightly.
“Where the fuck is he!” I shout at the man that’s pinned underneath me. He shakes his head, unable to speak with my hands wrapped tightly around his throat. Glancing at the other man, I narrow my eyes at him as the one under me tries to throw me off of him, fighting to get oxygen. “Tell him, he comes here. Now!” I snap at him. His hands shake as he pulls out his phone while the man beneath me finally stops moving.
Finally getting off the ground, I walk over to the man as he hangs up the phone, grabbing the knife from my pocket. His eyes are on me, but he doesn’t dare speak or move, almost as if he doesn’t think I’m about to do anything.
Crouching down behind him, I grip his forehead pulling his head back and press the blade against the side of his throat.
“You played for the wrong team and fucked with the wrong person,” I say in a hushed voice in his ear and quickly drag the knife across his neck, his skin splitting open from ear to ear as the blood sprays from his arteries and flows from his veins.
Standing back up, I watch him as he chokes on the crimson liquid with wide eyes. Cocking my head to the side I keep my eyes on him with a smile of satisfaction with his blood on my hands, watching the life drain from his body.
The door is jerked open, gaining my attention and pulls me away from the bloodbath as soon as I see who it is.
The man of the hour.
The devil himself.
My brother.
I jump on him, slamming him against the wall, holding him against it with one hand while driving my other fist into his face. He grunts out a slew of words no one could make out in between blows. Fighting against me, he finally shakes free making an attempt to move away from me, but he’s not fast enough. Grabbing onto the collar of his shirt I give him a hard shake.
“Get the fuck off of me, Griffin,” Jared spits in my face. “This is none of your concern.”
I shove him hard against the wall. “The hell it isn’t!” I bark. “You’ve let this go way too fucking far. This stops now.”
Jared shakes his head with a crooked grin on his face. “No, this starts now. It ends when I decide it ends. Robert needs to pay for what he’s done. And if this is how it has to be done, then that’s how it’s going to go. Mom would be proud.”
I stare at him in disbelief. This is a whole other level of delusional for this motherfucker, and I’m not sure I know how to play this game.