Page 26 of Piece You Saved
But when they were human…
I glance down at my palms. The cuts from when Eva made me pick up pieces of glass shards with my bare hands instead of letting me get a dustpan and brush have all healed over. Now, they’re faint white lines that might stay there forever or completely fade away in time. I’ll always see them though, even if they do all disappear. And I’ll remember.
As humans, they never stopped being cruel.
So, I sit, trying to ignore how every hair on the back of my neck is standing up and goosebumps prickle every inch of my skin. I bury my nails into my thighs as my heart trip, trip, trips along.
Kade makes dangerous turn after dangerous turn, seemingly blind to cars blaring their horns, red lights, or the people who were on their way to crossing the road but fling themselves back when he doesn’t even slow.
By some miracle, we survive both Kade’s beyond reckless driving and dodge cops in the city tonight—or is it morning? In the distance, the sun is creeping up into the sky.
Morning. Definitely morning.
Tires squeal when he wrenches the car left, drives down a road lined with large, mostly dilapidated houses in various stages of construction, and then pulls up in front of a familiar one.
We made it.
Leaving the engine running, Kade throws his door open. He’s out and pulling the back door open so fast he moves between one blink and the next. He just…flowsright out. I move at a pace much slower, probably because I’m the only human here, and my stomach is demanding to know why the hell I’m continuing to abuse it.
By the time I’ve unbuckled my seat belt, Kade and Dariel are at the front door.
As Kade taps a five-number code into the keypad above the lock, Dariel waits with Aden clamped in his arms. When I say clamped, I mean it. Aden isn’t the least bit passive for a guy who had his heart nearly carved right out of his chest a few hours ago.
Aden is fighting him.
And those vicious snarls…
There’s nothing even remotely human in the sound.
My urgent need to catch up melts away, and I hesitate to get out of the car.
Do I really want to go into that house?
Yes, you do, because this mess is yours, and you’d better find a way to clean it up.
The way to do that is by putting a bullet between Rylan’s eyes. But first, I need to do anything I can to fix Aden, so he survives this. Which means I have to go inside.
Gritting my teeth, I drag myself out of the car, needing both hands to lever myself up from the low seat. The movement pulls every muscle in my belly. I pause midway, needing a break from the pain, and catch the moment Kade shoves the front door open. Dariel and Aden disappear inside.
Thump thump thump.
Footsteps pound up the stairs.
Bang.
Looks like Dariel has Aden secure. For now.
A furious growl makes me jump, the sound only marginally muffled by that heavy wood door.
I stop.
“Angel?”
I rip my eyes from the entryway and take in Kade, striding toward me. “What happens now?”
“Now?” He returns to the driver’s seat, leans in, and cuts the engine before slamming both his and Aden’s back doors, then rounding the car to slam mine too. “Now Dariel helps Aden through his shift.”
After crossing over to me, he slips an arm around my waist and propels me along.