Page 9 of Fiend
“Yep. Let’s get this fucking bitch.”
* * *
We follow Trey back to his house, trailing a few cars behind. He takes us to the outskirts of Le Grande, to a run-down shack of a house with trash littering the sagging porch at the front of the property. The weeds surrounding his house are multiple feet tall, casting the majority of it in shadows.
Perfect.
I drive the car down into the shallow ditch and through the weeds, blocking it from the view of the road. I shut it off and lift my ass to pocket the keys. Leo tosses me a pair of black latex gloves, and I pull them on with a snap before settling back in my seat, staring out at the rain and overgrowth.
A sort of calm has settled over me, solidifying that this is what I’m meant to do. The monster inside of me is rolling, preening with excitement for what’s to come.
“Got the gas cans in the trunk. Rope and my knife…” I ponder quietly. I pull my knife out of my pocket, the one I bought specifically for this occasion. It’s all black, small, but not too small.
“I’ve got my knucks. Not that I’ll need them but…” Leo smiles down at the silver metal glinting over the stretched black latex of his hand.
“Phone off,” Leo reminds me. I pull out my phone and take a quick glance at the screen before turning it off and notice a text from Jax.
Jax: She’s good.
I breathe in deeply through my nose and hold down the lock button, shutting my phone off before tossing it in the cupholder. I close my eyes briefly as I exhale. Essa’s fine. It’s time for vengeance.
My eyes snap open. “We’re all set. It’s fucking time.” I sling the rolled rope over my shoulder, and we both step out of the car and into the weeds. We keep ourselves low as we trudge through the wet earth.
Our shoes make a quiet suction noise with every step we take, and we’re careful to watch where we put our feet. We meander through the overgrown grass, keeping ourselves crouched low, which is easier for me even though I’m taller than Leo’s big ass frame, but we manage.
Before long, we make it to the line of brush in front of the house where we settle down into even lower crouches, keeping our gazes locked on the front door and the singular cracked window a few feet to the right of it. There’s a soft yellow glow of light illuminating it, showcasing a blurred shadow passing occasionally as we wait in mutual silence.
“How do you want to do this?” Leo’s voice breaks through my concentration, and I blink the rain from my eyes before taking a quick glance in his direction. His gaze is still locked on the house, laser-focused.
“Maybe go around back and see if there’s a backdoor or something. If there is, one in front, one in back.”
“On it.” For his size, he moves with stealthy grace, and I feel the smallest tilt to my lips as I watch him make his way around back. He taught me almost everything I know about this, but to finally be able to watch him in action again after all this time is exhilarating.
Leo may have a sweet spot for those he loves, but when it comes down to it, he’s one brutal son of a bitch. He gets shit done, and that’s why he’s so fucking good at what he does.
I envy him and the ability he has to be who he wants.
Curling my fingers into my palms, I strain my ears as I stare forward, waiting for… anything, really. Before long, I hear his feather-light footsteps growing closer before his black-clothed form is next to me again. A thin sheen of sweat clings to his face and neck—much like my own.
“There’s a backdoor. Who’s taking what?”
“I’ll take the front. I want the motherfucker to see me before he goes running.”
“Of course you do.” I’m not looking at him, but I can hear the roll of his eyes as he says it.
“Shut the fuck up, Leo.” But there’s a smirk on my face. He knows how fucked up I am. The sick satisfaction I get from their fear, the blood draining from their face as the realization begins to sink in deep. But this man, Trey Conley. He’s fucking different. He’s even more personal to me than Jason—the man who abused me the worst way possible when I was just a fucking kid.
Not only did Trey almost take my baby doll from me, but he also took Essa’s sister and apartof her she can never get back.
She’s doing much better now. She seems healed, but I know there are still many days where her grief consumes her in unspeakable ways.
I’ve had to hurt her to help her in the only way that works, but since the pregnancy, that hasn’t happened, and I know it hits her even worse without the option to escape it all. Which is why I need to do this.
For meandfor her. I just hope she sees it that way. But knowing Essa, she’ll make it as difficult as she fucking can because she’s a goddamn brat.
“Let’s go.” Leo’s words light me up and bring the heat I’ve been forcing down straight to the surface. He disappears off to the back of the house, and a low growl rumbles through my throat as I stand to my full height, walking directly to the front door.
I straighten the rope on my shoulder as I take the first step onto the sagging porch. The smell of mildew and rotten garbage hits me abruptly, forcing me to hold my breath and swallow down the bile that’s burning my throat.
