CHAPTER TEN
ERIC
Something was wrong, I could feel it in my bones. I’d texted Aracely and she’d told me she was on her way, but nearly an hour had passed and no sign of her. Usually I made sure to follow her, I couldn’t simply leave her alone knowing there was danger lurking out there. I covered all my tracks, except, today I had some calls I needed to make. I didn’t expect for time to have slipped like it did, but by the time I realized it, it was already coming onto the start of her shift.
What I was working on needed to be done. I had a few loose ends I needed to tighten up with that shit for brains, Shane Buckley. That son of a bitch needed to pay for every sin he’d committed against my sweet girl. For stealing her innocence, for taking away her strength, for breaking her like he did.
So, I’d made some calls, made sure he was being followed. The last thing I needed was for him to show up at our door step unexpected. I’d have to put a bullet in between those leery eyes of his, and at the moment I wasn’t in the mood to have blood on my hands.
I took the shot that was placed in front of me as my nerves continued to heighten. There was an instinct that I never turned my back on, that feeling in your gut that shit was about to hit the fan. I took a glance around the club, all faces now looked familiar. If there was a face I didn’t know, I’d find who it belonged too quickly enough. Trent walked in a few minutes later and took over the bar. He nodded over at me and then frowned.
“Have you seen Aracely?”
I stared at him and shook my head. “She said she was on her way.”
“That’s strange, she’s never late.”
Nodding, I took another shot. “I know.”
I tried calling her again, but the damn phone immediately went to voicemail. I was getting anxious, every minute that past by my eyes would stare at the phone, almost begging it to ring. It was twenty minutes past her shift when the phone finally rang. I stared down at it for a second, the name producing fear to run its course.
“Yeah.”
“We’ve got problems.”
I clenched my jaw, my fist closing tightly as I took my time answering. “What kind of problems?”
“Look man, I tried to find him. But he just disappeared.”
I looked down at my hands, closing my eyes as he continued to try my patience. “Speak clearly. What the fuck happened?”
“We were at the bar, the one he likes to hang out in. He was trashed as fuck the last time I saw him. Thought I could go take a leak real quick. When I came out, fucker was gone.”
“When was this?”
Silence penetrated the line and I had a bad feeling. “When did this happen?” I growled.
“Three days ago.”
“Three fucking days ago!” I slammed my fist on the bar top, the shot glass shattered from my force. I turned my hand and stared at it, blood dripped from the new cut in my palm.
“Jesus!” Trent came over and started to wrap my hand in a rag, but I tore myself away. I made my way up the stairs.
“I swear to God, when I find you, I’m going to fucking kill you.”
I hung up the phone and made my way out the door. The tracking device I had put on her phone showed that she was still at the apartment, but it just didn’t make sense. Taking my secure line out, I opened the application for the street cameras. As I waited for the app to load, my private line rang. Her name appeared on the screen, and relief shot through me.
“Where are you?”
“I suppose I should have followed my gut and had you killed, but I think it will be more fun this way.”
Her scream penetrated my head and fear clutched at my heart. Closing my eyes, I let the darkness encompass my mind, and I let the cold brittle truth settle in.
“If you harm one hair on her head, I assure you your screams will be much more powerful but they’ll be filled with blood.”
His cynical laugh only fueled my rage as I got in my car. The images on my phone showed where she had been taken. She was walking tonight, even though I told her I’d send a car for her. She was cold, she shivered as she made her way down the street. It was then I spotted the black vehicle trailing behind her. In one instant, she was about to cross the street, the next, a man had gotten out, grabbed her, and placed a rag over her face. She’d struggled, and the fucker had slammed his fist down, knocking her out completely. I gripped the steering wheel as I watched the screen, gaining quick access to where he was going.
“I’m sure you’re on your way to rescue your hot little damsel, but you forget one thing, Aracely belongs to me by law, and I will not have some insignificant piece of shit like you take what rightfully belongs to me. “
I let him talk as I followed the signal on my phone. I may be a piece of shit, but I was also a smart motherfucker. I focused on what I knew, my training made me meticulous in surveillance and tracking, and when I aimed to find a target, I was unstoppable.
A snake like Shane wasn’t going to stop me. Especially when I had a bullet saved with his name on it. Oh no, he was going to pay for every sin he’d committed, and I was going to be his judge, jury, and executioner.