Page 26 of Claymore
I held up the wallet for Claymore to take a closer look at and he nodded.
“I can’t imagine she’d leave without this thing. Even if she was in a hurry. So, where the hell did she go?”
I shrugged, searching around the rest of the shop looking for clues. My stomach turned and my palms were sweaty but I couldn’t figure out why. Something about this place felt off, disturbed, like something bad had happened. I thought about the state Gina was in. How distant, cold she was. She’d dyed her hair dark, gotten a few dozen piercings, and was definitely high on something strong.
Part of me wondered if she’d gotten involved with Ray again or if he’d reached out. After what happened with him and the Rebels, he didn’t have much to cling to. I heard the light flickering in the back hallway and the whirring of the old refrigerator near the back door. It was grimy and old with water stains covering the entire front.
There was an awful smell wafting through the air, and I opened up the fridge expecting there to be some old food in there, but there were only a few drinks.
“Where the hell is that smell coming from?”
“No idea. This place is a dump, yeah, but that’s a strong one. Maybe out back?”
Claymore stepped out first and I followed, hearing the swarm of flies cling to something in the dumpster. The smell got worse as we approached, and when I looked over, I felt like I was going to hurl. There she was, her eyes cold, lifeless, her body propped up on a few dozen black trash bags. Her throat was slashed, blood still gushing from the wound, drying slowly, but she was gone.
“Oh my God…”
I rested my hand on my stomach to calm the whirlpool that erupted inside of me. The tears streamed down my face fast, my throat tightening, and I couldn’t breathe. Claymore wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him and I cried.
“This had to be him. This had to be him, right? No one else would do this. No one else would hurt her like this,” I blurted.
“Ella. Ella, look at me. We need to go, okay? I know. I know this is hard, but if he really did do this, then we need to get out of here.”
“Claymore, I can’t. I can’t just leave her,” I cried.
“I’ll call the guys. I’ll make sure she’s well taken care of. Right now, I need to get you home safely.”
“I can’t. I can’t go home. Take me somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere where I don’t have to think about this right now,” I begged and he pressed his lips together, sighing. “Please?”
“Yeah, I know a place.”
I glanced over my shoulder one last time to see Gina’s mess of dark hair and her cold, bloodied body. The urge to cry soon subsided, replaced by a familiar numbness I knew all too well.It wouldn’t be the first time you hurt someone I cared about, Ray. You’ll never get away with this. You’ve gone too far.
***
The sky was an indigo blue, fading into blackness by the time Claymore pulled up outside a bar near the entrance to Mascid. It was a quaint wooden building, out of the way, and its warm atmosphere was inviting. My body was reeling with a mix of emotions I couldn’t navigate, but if there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I was glad Claymore was here with me.
I felt his hand lightly brush against mine, leading me in, and we both immediately walked over to the bar. I slid onto the stool, taking a deep breath, sniffing the scent of alcohol wafting over from the beer tap.
“Ella? Are you okay?” asked Claymore, and I could see the concern in his eyes, clear as day.
I bit my lip, swallowing hard, trying to keep myself from fidgeting, but I nodded anyway. The anxiety crept up on me fast, consuming me whole before I could even order myself a drink. Claymore shook his head at me, clearly not convinced.
“Is that the first time you’ve seen something like that?” he whispered, curiously.
“No, it’s not.”
Claymore’s eyes flitted across my face like he was searching for answers, but he didn’t pry anymore. He simply nodded, waving down the bartender.
“What will it be?”
“Whiskey, please.”
“I’ll have what she’s having,” said Claymore.
Claymore grabbed my hand, resting it on the wooden bar while he stroked the little heart tattoo on my wrist. His touch was electric, and it made me feel things I knew I shouldn’t be feeling right now. I had the overwhelming urge to let loose, to be reckless, to let out all of the crazy emotions rushing through me right about now.
“Ella, what happened to Gina was tragic. It was absolutely terrible and I promise you, once we find Ray and deal with him, he won’t hurt anyone ever again. I’m gonna go call Tank and make sure that Gina’s in good hands, okay? You stay here,” he said, and I nodded.
