Page 5 of Wrath

“Thank you, Quinn, we’d already established that.” Raze’s patience is getting thin, and I can’t help wondering if it’s more to do with his sister being back than what we’re dealing with here. “I called you out here to find out how it happened.”

“Icould’ve told ya that. Didn’t ya notice the marks on her neck?” I cut in.

“Good observation.” Quinn crouches down and points her pinkie to the purple marks on the girl's throat that I noticed earlier. “She has indeed been throttled, but that's not how she died.”

“What do you mean that's not how she died?” I blurt out in shock. It’s pretty fuckin’ clear to me that it’sexactlywhat’s happened.

“Those marks are thumbprints,” Quinn explains, and I swear she makes Sasquatch's balls shrivel up inside him when she reaches high and grabs his throat to demonstrate. “They are repetitive.” Holding her thumbs against his windpipe she somehow manages to shake his body and make him choke. “Some of the bruises are older than others, by a few days.” She drops her hands and smiles while Sasquatch clears his throat and looks a little embarrassed. “I’m guessing our killer made her suffer for a while.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal, and it surprises me how detached she seems from the girl who's lying dead beside her. I guess that's what happens when you see death every day.

“So, whatdidkill her?” Raze moves her on to her point.

“She has lacerations all over her body, someone’s been slicing at her for quite some time. At first glance, I’d say it was the stab wound to her liver that was fatal. That would have been slow and very painful. Whoever killed this girl is undoubtedly a sadist.”

“Wait.” Raze shakes his head suspiciously. “I’ve seen what happens to a person when you stab into their liver, even sand wouldn’t soak up that much blood.”

“You're right,” Quinn agrees. “Does anyone wanna earn themself a prize and throw a guess at what happened here?” She pulls a candy bar from her back pocket and holds it up.

“It means whoever did this to her, didn’t do it here. She’s been moved.” Sasquatch mumbles under his breath.

“Looks like the big guy’s gettin’ a treat.” She winks at Sasquatch as she hands over his reward.

“Fuck.” Raze turns his back and storms off toward the ocean, but before the tide can touch his boots he manages to pull himself together and marches right back at us.

“This right here…” He points at the girl, “...is a message. And I wanna know who sent it.” He lights himself another smoke. “Wrath, call everyone in for church.” He throws me an order, before turning his attention back to Quinn. “Can we move her?” he checks.

“You can do what the hell you like with her, she’s on your beach.” Her shoulders shrug.

“That’s what fuckin’ worries me.” His head slowly shakes and I can see the rage in his eyes getting stronger by the second.

“I need to know more. Can you get anythin’ else from lookin’ at her?” He runs his hand through his hair, the way he always does when he’s frustrated.

“I could, but not here, and I can’t exactly sneak her back to work with me,” Quinn points out.

“Okay, I hear ya. Ruck, Sas. You load this body into a cage and you take her and Quinn to the warehouse. Whatever she needs, you make sure she gets it.”

“The warehouse?” My spine shudders just thinking about that place.

“You got a better idea, Wrath?” Raze frowns while he waits for my answer.

“No, boss, it’s just…I wasn’t sure the club even still had that place.” I don’t close my eyes in case a vision of the last time I was there comes to me. The warehouse used to be my playground, it was where Raze spent hours teaching me how to become an enforcer. Back then it was the only place I ever wanted to be, now those cold, damp walls haunt me every night in my dreams.

“Well, given the circumstances it’s a good thing we do. Get to work.” Raze marches back down the beach toward his hut, and just thinking that Eden could be there, makes me wanna go after him.

“Wrath, you gonna help?” Ruck looks up at me from where he’s got the girl by her ankles.

“Careful how you move her,” Quinn warns him and Sasquatch as they lift her off the sand.

“I’ll bring a cage up to the gates.” I leave ‘em to it, taking out my cell as I head up toward the parking lot and type out a group message.

CHURCH 10 AM

“Idon’t know about this, Peyton. Raze is gonna be mad.” I shake my head as I stare at the double doors that are currently acting as the barrier between me and Aaron.

“You leave your brother to me,” she assures me, taking my hand and squeezing it tight. “We both know the reason you came here was to have things out with Wrath, you’ll feel much better once you do that.”

It’s strange hearing people call Aaron by a different name, it’s also a reminder of all that’s changed between us.

“Problem is, I don’t know what to say to him.” My feet tap nervously on the sticky, wooden floor while my head protests at the fact I’m even here.

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