Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
The words are strained, but I know it was the right thing to do.
The officer nods and leaves the room.
I glance at Magnolia and she’s staring at me, her face puffy, her eyes so empty it scares me.
“What are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
And I don’t know.
I really don’t know.
16
NOW – BRIELLA
“Answer the fuckin’ question,” Alarick roars, grabbing the scrawny man I first spoke to when I came to town by the throat, and slamming him against the wall.
“I don’t know nothin’ man,” he wheezes.
“You do fuckin’ know somethin’. You think we don’t know who you deal with for your fuckin’ substance abuse? We’re the people who supply that shit. I know good and well that you know fuckin’ somethin’, or someone, and if you don’t talk, I’ll make you fuckin’ talk.”
His eyes get a little big, and he yells, “I can’t say anything, man. I can’t.”
“You fuckin’ can, and you will. Now tell me whatever it is you know or I’m goin’ to start cuttin’ your fingers off, one by one, until you start speakin’.”
Oh, boy.
I swallow and cross my arms, so as not to show how freaked out I am right now.
I mean, I’ve never seen Alarick like this. Never.
He’s always been strong, sure, but I’ve never experienced the biker side. It’s quite ... scary.
“Please,” he whines, shaking his head from side to side as Alarick pulls out a knife and slams his hand onto the table, Cohen moving behind him to hold the man down.
I look away, because I’m terrified he might actually cut his finger off and I’m not sure I can stomach that right now.
I’ve seen enough horror this week.
“Stop! I’ll tell you what I know. Just stop!”
I realize in that moment I can’t recall his name. This man they’re currently tormenting, I don’t ever recall asking for it. I wonder what it is? Probably something totally sleazy, because nothing short would suit his skinny, hideous, drug ruined form.
God damn.
That was harsh.
“You got five minutes to speak before we start cuttin’,” Alarick growls and the man winces in what sounds like pain.
I turn around and Cohen has his hands firmly jerked behind his back, making sure there is no way he can move. Alarick is trailing the knife over his neck in a threatening manner, one that says if you don’t speak soon, we’ll do things you will never escape from.
I glance at the man and ask, “What’s your name?”
He looks to me, his eyes wide with fear. “Did you bring them onto me? Because you were lookin’ for that whore of a sister of yours? Is this your doing?”
I storm toward him and my fist lashes out, slamming into his face. I think it hurts me more than it hurts him, but I’m so highly strung right now that I had no control over my actions just now.
“My sister is fucking dead, you piece of shit. Now you tell them what they need to know or I’ll be the one to cause damage, only I won’t leave you alive.”
He stares at me, a little shocked, considering last time I threatened him, it was to tip over a pot plant. So, you know, I’ve stepped up in the world in regard to that.
“I hadn’t seen her for weeks before I took over that apartment, wasn’t lying when I said that. She was rentin’ a room off the owner, and she moved out, so I moved in. She was hangin’ out with some bad crowds, bad people that deal around town. Not just that, they were gettin’ into some twisted shit.”
“What kind of twisted shit?” Alarick demands.
“The kind that will have your head spinning. Dark and dangerous. Her friend, Sally-Anne, was seein’ this fella and he was like, I don’t know, part of some weird cult, I suppose you could say. He’s dangerous as fuck and dealin’ drugs, but not only that, I heard he takes girls and sells them overseas for money. Like, trafficking. It’s a big deal. He takes them and convinces them to play along with him, don’t know how, guess they have to be fucked up in the head to fall for it. But they do fall for it. I heard that’s how he gets them to do what he wants.”
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
What am I listening to right now?
“Sally-Anne went missing a month ago, just before Magnolia moved out of this place. Nobody knows where she is, she just vanished without a trace. Magnolia got involved, wanting to find her friend I suppose, and shit started gettin’ bad.”
This is not what I ever expected to hear.
Not in a million years.
“Who is this man that’s running the show?” Alarick asks.
“I don’t know his name; I just know of him. Look, I only heard about it because I overheard them talkin’ about it one night, and I’ve heard talk around town. I don’t get involved in that shit. I buy my drugs and mind my own damned business. Nothin’ more. Nothin’ less. You’re going to have to dig deeper if you want to know more about that.”