Chapter 33
Damien
I didn't have to kill her parents. I could have just taken her, but where's the fun in that? Avery deserved to feel pain after all the shit she made me put up with. I've been sitting in my car outside of her house now for several hours, waiting for her to make her grand appearance.
By now, she should have been notified that her parents are dead. I wish I could’ve seen her face when she found out. It would have been so fucking satisfying to see the way it crushed every bit of happiness in her.
Finally, something happens. A car pulls into her driveway, and she steps outside to climb into the backseat. Interesting. It looks like it's an Uber. With any luck, she's on her way to party away her sadness. I spent enough time with her to know that Avery isn't the kind of person who would be able to handle something like this without falling off the deep end a little.
When the car pulls out of the driveway, I follow it. It makes a few turns before pulling up to a stop in front of a random house. She gets out and waves it off before walking up to the front door and knocking. A smoking hot woman opens the door in a tight skirt and a white button-down skirt. She eyes Avery up and down, and I'm willing to bet this is some sort of hookup. Hopefully, she enjoys her last bit of freedom because I intend to take that from her, too.
She steps inside the house, and when the door closes behind the two of them, I pull away. I drive back to Avery's house and park directly across the street from it. I doubt she would recognize my car; she's not exactly the best at situational awareness.
When I notice the coast is clear, I walk right to the unlocked front door and let myself inside. My point exactly. Who the fuck leaves their front door unlocked? She always was a dumb bitch. I make myself at home in her personal space, grabbing a beer out of her fridge and settling onto the couch.
My mind wanders to my wife and how much of an inconvenience she's become. I'm really considering just killing her once I have her back in my grasp. I’ll deal with the consequences from there. I could very easily make it look like she did it to herself.
My phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts, and I look down to see it's Austin Roberts. It's probably some sort of issue with Rogue, which is the last thing I need right now. I answer anyway because I need to make it seem as though I'm readily available until I officially hold the leadership role and not just an interim position.
"Austin, what can I do for you?"
"Damien, I just wanted to let you know the council has come together, and collectively, we decided to hold a trial for Callie in three days. All male members of the Society will convene for her to appear in front of. She will be required to defend the actions she's been accused of."
"You know damn well Callie isn't in my custody at the moment," I seethe.
"That sounds like your problem, not mine. If she doesn't appear in three days, unfortunately, I will have to assume you lied about her involvement in order to cover your own actions."
"Lied about her involvement?" I can't believe the audacity of this motherfucker. "I wasn't aware you were having a council meeting without me."
"Some of the council was concerned. They had additional questions, and you weren't here to address them. You still have not provided the video proof of Callie committing these crimes."
"You know I've been having IT-related issues since Soren decided to skip out on us."
"Again, not my problem. Being the leader of Rogue is a great responsibility, and thus far, you have not proven to be up to the task. The community needs video proof or a trial. Gabriel was murdered, and this will not be pushed under the rug," Austin states as though he has fucking control over me.
"She will be there. I’ll make sure of it." I clench my jaw, thinking about how I plan to get rid of him. He's becoming just as much of a problem as my wife.
"I'm glad to hear that. I think once we get beyond this little snag, you could become a great leader. I'd hate to see anything end that opportunity before you really have the chance to take advantage of it."
"Nothing will go wrong with my leadership. I can promise you that."
"Great. Enjoy the rest of your day," he tells me before hanging up.
I was planning on keeping Avery for a few days before reaching out to Callie, but that luxury has been stolen from me. This will push my timeline along faster than I anticipated, but I'm not going to risk everything I've worked so hard for over a woman.
I spent nearly ten years running around and being Gabriel's little lackey under the guise of living at an international chapter before I wore him down enough to give me his daughter to marry. Everyone believed the international story so fucking easily. We don't have an international chapter and never did. Fucking idiots.
The fact that nobody asked any questions just further proves how much power Gabriel had over manipulating their pathetic minds. I’ve been waiting for Rogue to be mine since the day I turned eighteen and started doing jobs for him. I'm not letting anyone take what is rightfully mine from me.
After what feels like forever, I finally hear a car pull into the driveway, and my body lights up with anticipation. I don't even make an effort to hide any evidence of me being here as I stand up to disguise myself in her hallway. I hear a car door slam shut just before the front door pops open.
"I'm done with this day," I hear Avery say as she closes the door.
She shuffles around a bit and walks straight to her kitchen. When she walks past the hallway, she doesn't bother to look to her left to see me standing here. I slip behind her and follow her as she places a box on the kitchen table. My eyes catch the Rogue symbol on the side and it immediately piques my interest.
She turns to face me, eyes going wide. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm afraid you and I need to take a little trip." I offer my hand out to her. Maybe she will be stupid enough to let me do this the easy way.
She pushes it away from her. "I'm not going anywhere with you, psycho."
I take a step closer. "That's where you're wrong. You are coming with me."
When I reach out and grab her by the throat to squeeze, there's nothing she can do to stop it. She tries to push me off of her and flails around a bit, but she's so tiny it doesn't help. Her nails come up to my wrist, digging in as she tries to pry my hand free, but all she manages to do is tire herself out.
I see the moment the edges of her vision go black because her eyes widen in panic. I only tighten my grip to try and hurry this process along. I don't want to kill her, at least not yet. I need her alive so I can lure Callie back to Rogue.
The only purpose Avery serves is bait. When her body goes slack in my hold, I release her, letting her fall to the ground with a thud. I look down and pull the syringe out of my pocket, injecting her with the drug that fills it. Ideally, she will stay unconscious now for the entire trip.
Leaning down, I lift her up and throw her over my shoulder before walking toward the door. My eyes drift back to the box on the table, and I pause for a moment to decide if I want to grab it or not. Her phone rings, pulling my attention from the box, and I decide it’s not important right now. Whatever’s in there isn’t going to change the outcome of any of this. I’ll send someone to grab it.
Once I get to the car, I throw her on the back seat and grab some of the zip ties from the floor to bind her wrists and ankles together before leaning down to grab the duct tape. I rip off a moderately sized piece to place over her mouth. I definitely don’t want to hear the dumb bitch talk on the off chance the drugs wear off. She can still breathe out of her nose, so she’ll be fine.
I'll likely have to repeat the dosage before we make it back to Rogue, but I can do that when I stop for gas or something. I move to the trunk to grab the big blanket to cover her with so that if anyone happens to peer in, they don't see a tied-up body in my back seat. I can watch her better with her here rather than inside the trunk.
Now that everything is all set, I slide into the front seat to start my drive back to Rogue. I want to get Avery secured in the cell in Gabriel’s basement before I snap a few photos of her. Maybe I'll keep her sedated in the photos and tear some of her clothes for further effect.
I doubt I'll even need the pictures. My wife is so emotional she will come running to save her precious best friend the moment she hears I have her. That's one thing Gabriel was right about. Callie’s emotions are her weakness, and I know exactly how to exploit them.
I make it about halfway into the drive before I notice the gas gauge getting close to low. I should have prepared for this with gas cans in the trunk, but it slipped my mind. I drive a bit further until I find a smaller gas station. There are only two pumps and no one else in sight. Perfect. I'll be back on the road in no time.
Before I pump the gas, I lift the blanket to find Avery’s eyes still sealed shut and her body slack. Part of me is disappointed. I was hoping she might be awake to make this more interesting.
I pump the gas quickly and pull out my phone to call the team I purposefully left behind. The guy I call answers on the first ring.
"Sir, are you okay? We've been waiting for you at the hotel?"
"I'm on my way back to Rogue. I decided being in Braxton Falls was only bringing up memories that would distract me."
"You should have told us you were leaving. It's our job to keep you safe."
"I need you to do something for me," I tell him, fully intending to keep them busy so I can keep Avery's presence a secret. She's not a member, so I shouldn't be bringing her onto the compound without the council’s knowledge.
"What do you need?"
"There's a woman I need you to watch. I'll text you the address."
I pull the phone from my ear and send over the address of the location I saw Avery get out of the Uber. I thought the woman was an innocent hookup, but Avery didn't go there with that box, which means she knows something she shouldn’t. I have no clue what that may be, but as soon as all this shit with Callie is said and done, I'll get to the bottom of it.
"What do you want us to do, sir?" the guy says, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Just watch her for now. I'll send word in a few days." I roll my eyes.
"Sir, we're not supposed to leave you alone. We can't stay here."
"I'm already halfway to Tennessee. You won’t be able to catch up with me at this point, and I'm not waiting. The council has called a trial. I need to ensure I'm there with my wife."
"If the council called a trial, we should be in attendance. All male members are required to be there."
"I'm aware of the rules, but I’m telling you, as the leader of Rogue, you are to stay put and keep an eye on the woman."
The guy hesitates, clearly uncomfortable with having to choose between defying his leader and the longstanding traditions of the Society. "Okay, sir. We will await instructions."
“Oh, and I need you to stop at another house and grab a box with Rogue’s symbol on it for me. I’ll text you the details.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
"No, that’s all for now. Don’t let that woman see you watching her."
With that, I hang up and get back on the road. I have a whole list of shit to take care of, and the sooner I can get back to Rogue and convince my wife to come home, the better. I'll finally be able to show her what she missed out on after our wedding.