Chapter 5
Amelia
“You really put in a lot of effort taking care of her, boss,” a voice says just as I come to.
I wince as I come to. The voices in the room are too much for my already aching head to bear.
Trying to navigate through the cloudiness in my head to focus on the voices is a little difficult, and I would have given up if it wasn’t for how unfamiliar the voices in the room sounded.
A cool cloth is placed on my forehead, dulling the ache to a degree. A groan escapes my lips as I try to open my eyes.
“Oh, she’s awake,” the voice says again, this time closer.
Wait…how is this happening again?
My brows furrow as I try to piece everything together.
I really need to stop waking up in strange environments. I gasp and sit up as images come flying in, although it still seems like something is missing.
“Ohhh…” I hold my head in pain. That was such a stupid thing to do. The pain in my head has intensified to a whole other level.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Large warm hands touch my forearm, pushing me back down. Despite the unfamiliarity of it all, I lie down without a fight.
“You really shouldn’t sit up so suddenly. Especially not after what happened.”
What happened?
The voice speaking to me is deep and calm. It feels like an endless well and I want to drown in it. The feeling should be uncomfortable, but it isn’t.
I open my eyes slowly, blinking away the brightness that hurts my eyes. I look up just as a figure stands over me, shading me from the bright light.
A man towers over me. He’s the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. I’ll admit that he strikes me as a little odd, but his jawline could cut a diamond. The man has a gorgeous bone structure.
He’s very tall, probably around six foot five. Every part of him that I can see is covered in black tattoos except for his face, which makes him look incredibly pale. It’s not just the contrast; he actually does have very pale skin. It’s just that the contrast makes it jarring. He’s like a vampire. His eyes are as black as the ink on his skin…and vacant, like pools of darkness threatening to swallow me up. I can’t get a read on him.
Am I dreaming you up?
The man chuckles.
“No, you’re not dreaming.”
My lips turn down in a frown. Did I say that out loud?
“I think this was meant to be a thought too, but yes, you did.”
Despite myself, my cheeks burn.
What is going on?
I raise a hand to my head. At least my hands and feet aren’t tied, and I didn’t wake up in a strange warehouse like I did the last time. Instead, I’m in a room and on a bed.
I gasp in surprise. What am I wearing?
My clothes have been taken off and I’m wearing a large shirt, with my lower half covered by a blanket.
I look around the room and my eyes widen. I thought I was alone with this handsome guy, but I wasn’t. Two other guys are here with me, both as handsome as this first guy was.
The second guy stares blankly at me. He’s jaw-dropping as well. He’s tall and muscular, with long black hair falling to his shoulders, gray eyes, and full lips set in a straight line.
He’s wearing dress pants and a white button-down shirt with a button left open. He stands with his hands in his pockets, looking slightly out of place with the other guys and their more casual looks. Still, something about him makes him seem right at home.
The third guy looks much like a heavyweight boxer, with huge muscles and very large hands. His blonde hair is close-cropped, with striking blue eyes and a nose that appears to have been broken too many times.
All three men look like handsome devils who could ruin your life…just in different ways.
I bring my knees up to my chest defensively as I size them up. Who are they and what am I doing here?
“Who are you?” I give voice to my thoughts. “Where am I?”
The second guy looks familiar, although I struggle to place him.
“I’m Rueben, and you’re in our house,” the first guy says, drawing my attention back to him. His face is impossibly chiseled and he has a piercing in one ear, all of this adding to his beauty.
“You are Amelia Burke, right?” dress pants guy says as he walks forward. “You’re Captain’s daughter?”
My nose scrunches. “Who?”
“William Burke.”
“How do you know my father?”
My brows crease as I look at them once again. Have I seen them before?
I cover my mouth with my hands, gasping as I connect the dots. Rueben Blake, Tanner Smith, and Josiah Cane.
No wonder he seemed familiar. Tanner’s is a face I’ve seen many times, although he is better-looking in person. He is the best known of the three, considering he is in charge of their businesses. Because of that, he was in more police reports than the others.
The other two beside him must be his lesser-known partners. Although I haven’t seen a clear picture of them before, I somewhat recognize their builds from the few times they had been photographed with Tanner.
“Don’t touch me.”
I smack Rueben’s hand from my shoulder, glaring at him with so much hate.
“Oh…” He retracts his hand from my shoulder just as I see Tanner’s expression going from neutral to very much pissed off.
Clearly, he doesn’t like the way I talked to his boss.
“What did you do to me?” I ask. Although I’m not tied up, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m in a room with the men who killed my father. My heart beats fast in my chest.
“Where are my clothes?” I clench the blanket tightly as I stare at them with wide eyes. “You perverts! Pieces of shit! Where the fuck are my clothes? What did you do?”
“We’re sorry to have startled you. Nobody touched you. You’re fine,” Rueben says, holding his hand in front of me like I’m some startled animal.
His action annoys me. He doesn’t get to act so considerate, like he’s not a terrible excuse for a human.
“Then where are my clothes?” I hope my tone shows my animosity towards them.
“We had to take them off because you were injured and covered in dirt from the explosion,” he explains.
My brows knit in confusion. “The explosion—”
Everything comes flooding back to me. Chief kneeling as he pleads for his life after betraying me, just before the wall explodes.
“Chief! Whe—”
“You were captured. Your police chief tried to sell you to a dangerous gang, but we were able to rescue you.”
“You are Sins of Man,” I say.
“Yes. We got wind of the news quickly enough that we were able to save you before Flames of Hell could get to you.”
I scoff, looking at them with disgust. “Who the fuck asked you guys to save me ?”
My disregard for what they consider to help rub Tanner the wrong way. “The fuck?”
He glares at me before turning to the others. “Should we just drag her back there? I’m pretty sure we would have been able to get the information anyway. Maybe she would be a lot more grateful if we let her get a taste of their torture.”
“Tanner, stop it.” Rueben’s displeasure with Tanner’s words is evident.
Josiah, who’s been silent up until now, draws his lips back in an amused expression. He raises his shoulders slightly and leans back against the wall, folding his hand across his chest as he watches the drama unfold.
My jaw ticks, completely pissed off. I’m not some entertainment to be enjoyed.
“You shouldn’t act like saviors when you’re just as bad,” I spit in disgust. “Whatever you claim would have happened to me would not have been as bad as being with the people who killed my dad.”
“I beg your pardon?” Tanner’s face shows his shock as he takes a step in my direction.
You didn’t think I knew, did you?
I won’t give them the satisfaction of pretending to be my saviors even for one second.
“You murderers! You killed my dad!”
My posture is defensive as I glare at them. I would rather die like my father did than keep up this farce for a moment longer.
“I joined the police to make you pay for your crimes, and I intend to do just that,” I almost scream at them; the only thing stopping me is the ache in my head.
Tanner turns to Rueben with disbelief in his eyes.
“We got the right bitch, right?”
“Tanner, don’t be disrespectful.”
Tanner scoffs. “You gotta be kidding… You know what?” He throws a hand up and turns on his feet to leave the room.
Josiah’s amused expression has fizzled out. His lips are pressed into a thin line, and his eyes are hard beneath his drawn-together brows.
I turn my attention to Rueben. Although he’s the one who shut Tanner up, he looks just as upset as Josiah is.
What’s with them? They did kill my father, right?