Page 187 of Drown My Sorrow

I burst back into the house, leaning against the door while my head reels. He’s here.

I don’t know how he’s here, but I can guess what he wants.

The pack isn’t here, still, though I’d thought I felt them. I can feel Gael, and he’s who I’m frantically searching for.

I find him in our bedroom, doing his belt up. I rush in and pull on my sneakers and grab a jacket. What else do I need?

“What’s wrong?”

“Typhor is here. We have to go. They told him how to find us.”

“No, we-”

“He’s got people with him. We have to go.” My voice is shrill with panic. I grab at his arm and pull him, but he resists.

Gael opens his mouth to protest, but I squeeze his hand and look up at him.

“Please, Gael, trust me, we need to run.”

I drag him out the back door, limping as fast as I can and ignoring the twinges in my leg. I’ve got my cane in one hand and Gael in the other.

We get to the garden that borders my yard and theirs, half overgrown and turning into a forest. That’s when we hear it. They tear through the house, smashing our belongings. Yelling. The guys who walk out are huge with bulging muscles and angry faces contorted into bloodthirsty smiles.

If I’d been a minute slower, we wouldn’t have escaped them. I shiver and lean into Gael’s arm as we watch.

There are six huge guys who look like hired muscle. I think there might be a couple in the house. No sign of Typhor, though, which is a relief.

But I can almost feel his toxic influence spreading.

And then I hear him speaking.

“I own this island now. I bought it for a ridiculously cheap sum. You see, I’m a really petty bitch sometimes, and the Raines family has taken my wife, my daughter, my future, my job, and my whole world.” He pauses, and his voice gets louder. “I know you’re here, and you need to understand one thing. This isn’t personal. This is just business. He ruins my life. I’m going to destroy his.”

Kelly, he’s talking about Kelly.

I lick my dry lips and glance at Gael. He’s listening intently, his eyes almost glowing with dark fire.

“All I want is to watch him lose everything.”

I nudge Gael. “We have to go.”

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way,” Typhor shouts and lets out a laugh that has me crouching back down in the bushes.

I lean forward, watching intently as Typhor appears on this side of the house. Another guy drags out a badly beaten Nat.

“Your precious boyfriends are dead,” Typhor shouts. “The only one left is Kelly. Give him to me, and I’ll let you two go. You can live a nice life somewhere else and never have to remember this nightmare ever again.”

I go still, my eyes widening. Gael does the same. He’s wrong. That’s not true. I grip Gael so hard my nails cut into his forearm.

“Don’t you think they would have come by now? Your precious Ezekial is buried so deep they will never find him. I threw your other boyfriends into the river. Like your father.” The malicious asshole pauses, gloating. “And your sister.”

I make a sound that has Gael whipping back around. He puts a hand over my mouth and pulls me back against his chest. My body shakes, and tears stream from my eyes.

“They don’t know we’re here yet. We leave now. We get her help. He’s lying. Don’t you believe him.”

But I can hear the panic and fear in his voice. He isn’t sure either. Gael lets out a tiny sound of pure pain.

I frantically pull at my broken self, trying to get the willpower to keep going.

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