Page 50 of The Reaper
Adam stared straight at me as I read, anger making his face burn red and a snarl curl his lip. Liv sighed and rested her head on Adam’s shoulder, trying to calm his demons. The others sat quietly and waited.
Oh, Devon. You won’t get away with what you’ve done. You’re a fool to think you ever would. I’m coming for you.
Do you remember what happened after our darts match? I think I’ll have a better aim this time, when I have you chained up properly. That bullseye will be the least of your worries.
So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll run. Run away like the coward you are and never come back to Brinton Manor. This is your final warning.
Vinnie.
The screech of white noise in my head resonated through my brain, piercing my ears and shattering my heart. I crumpled the paper and threw it across the room in anger. How fucking dare they do this to me. Dragging up all the bullshit about the darts game they’d played when I was chained to the radiator as a kid. I guessed that was this fucker’s way of showing me he knew all about me. Making sure I knew it wasn’t some chancer doing this––coming at me with empty threats. Whoever it was, they knew their stuff, I’d give them that. But I knew stuff too. I knew how to fight back now. I’d always fight back.
The demands that I leave Brinton were laughable. Like that’d ever happen. I wasn’t a coward, not even as a kid who was being beaten and abused. Backing down wasn’t in my make-up. My DNA had fighter embedded deep within. And besides, I had more than enough reasons to stay––Leah May being at the top of that list. If he thought this crap he was pulling would scare me, he had another thing coming.
“When I finally catch him, I’m going to enjoy tearing this guy apart with my bare hands,” I hissed, fury blinding my reasoning, venom tainting my resolve. “I won’t need weapons for this one. I want to use every ounce of strength I have to send him back to hell.”
Adam stood up, stalking over to where the letter lay discarded in the corner of the room, and he picked it up. Smoothing the crumpled paper, he read what was written, then snarled and glared at me.
“Do you think it’s him? Vinnie?” Adam asked, passing the letter to Tyler to share with the others.
“No, I don’t. But it’s definitely someone who knew him. They want me to know that too, that’s why they added all that shit about the darts game.”
“Who else was there that night? Who played that darts game?” Will questioned, and I sat down, running my hands over my face, wishing that the high from my night with Leah May had lasted a little longer.
“There was Ray, Nigel, and Vinnie. That’s it. No one else was there apart from me.”
“We took care of Ray back at the old meat factory.” Colton grinned and added, “That was a hit I’ll never forget. The slicer, the bone saws…” He screwed his face up, then remembered Liv was in the room and looked apologetically at Adam, then he shrugged like it was nothing. “Best use for any meat grinder if you ask me.”
“Nigel was the one we strapped to the chair in that abandoned barber’s shop, am I right?” Will asked, and Colton started to nod, his reminiscing turning from meat grinders and slicers to cutthroat razors, straight-bladed scissors, and scissors with serrations––that for the barber would’ve been used to cut finer hair, but we used them for the finer touches of our torture plan.
“There isn’t a chance in hell either one of those guys is behind this. Ghosts don’t talk. So that leaves stepdaddy dearest,” Colton announced.
It was true that Ray, Nigel, and all the other men who’d been a part of Vinnie’s crew had been killed by all five of us. Taunted at first with our game of consequences, then put down like the dogs they were. Vinnie was the only one I killed alone. But I knew he was dead. There was no way this was him.
“Show him the CCTV,” Adam cut in, knowing I was about to lose my shit over them questioning my murder skills again.
Tyler placed the laptop on the table in front of me, and I leaned forward as it played out. A tall, dark figure dressed all in black was videoed posting the letter and walking away. Nothing stood out. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The cap that he wore, a cap that most of the men in this area owned, was pulled low over his face so no features could be identified. It was the most pointless piece of evidence. It gave nothing away.
“It’s not him. For a start, that guy’s a scrawny sack of shit,” I stated, feeling pissed off.
“Maybe a few years at the bottom of the canal did wonders for his figure?” Colton joked, but no one laughed.
“He’s too tall as well. Did the water give him a few added inches in that department?” I slammed the laptop shut and cursed under my breath.
I hated not knowing who this was, and from the grimaces that I saw on the faces that surrounded me, they felt the same way. There was no chance that this could be Vinnie or his mates. Anyone that he had dealings with, everyone in his fucked-up crew, we’d already dealt with.
All except the one person closest to him.
Stella.
“It’s got to be Stella.” I gritted my teeth, eager to face-off with her and stop this bullshit. “She’s the only person that’s still alive that might know about all this. Maybe she hired someone to deliver the letters?”
“You need to go and talk to her, man. Have it out with her. Let her know you’re on to her and she can’t fuck you about like this anymore.” Adam was right, and the murmur of agreement around the room told me what I had to do.
“Oh, I will. Tomorrow, I’ll pay her a little visit. Let her know what’s what. She might think she’s smart, but I’m smarter.”
“We’ll come with you,” Tyler added. I appreciated the sentiment, but this was something I had to do on my own.
“No need. This is a cat I want to skin all by myself.”
