Chapter 9
Amelia
What the hell is happening?
The wetness in my panties is a testament to something I don’t wish to acknowledge, and yet I must.
That’s the first time I’ve ever spoken to Josiah, and it’s also the first time I’ve ever reacted to a man like that. One who’s unapologetically him and unapologetically male.
I’ve never been one to take orders or listen as someone speaks to me in the way he has, and yet, my body is quaking from listening to him speak.
I’d been so tense as he stood next to me, worried that he would smell the effect he had on me. My face burns in slight disgust. It would have been so embarrassing if that had happened.
I know I was being a bitch to them, especially after all that they’ve done and are still doing, considering that they saved me and were being surprisingly gracious to me despite my snarky attitude.
It would take nothing to be a little nicer to them, but I’m just so angry. So angry at them, at the police for betraying my dad, and at myself for not knowing the truth until only two days ago. I almost ruined all that my dad had worked for.
My brows shoot up as I take a bite of the eggs. Somehow, I hadn’t expected it to taste as good as it does, as much as I hate to admit it.
My stomach grumbles and I’m suddenly ravenous after just one bite of the delicious food. I gobble it down, glad that none of the guys are here to see it.
The door opens and Tanner walks in, sweaty, with a band on his head and his hair tied into a ponytail.
Morning run, perhaps?
“JFC, just my fucking luck,” Tanner says, his eyes rolling to the back of his head at the sight of me.
My jaw ticks as I bristle, annoyed at his reaction to me. “I’m not happy to see you either.”
“Get out,” he says sharply as he grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. He takes a long gulp before glaring at me once again.
“I don’t have enough patience to be alone with you.”
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have brought me here in the first place. I didn’t ask for it. Besides, why am I even in your apartment of all places?”
He caps the bottle, taking his time before he replies. “It’s our sort of safe house.”
“So, how am I supposed to leave? Do I call an Uber or something?” I ask.
Tanner stares at me incredulously before bursting into a fit of laughter that makes me feel like I’ve said something stupid. I glare at him in anger.
“Where do you think you’re going and what do you think will happen if you leave here? You’re as good as dead if you go out there. We’re around so we can protect you, and you have to be with at least one of us at a time,” he says, not even looking at me.
“The only reason you’re keeping me here and doing all of this is because you want the stash for yourselves,” I spit. “And I would rather die before I hand it over to you guys.”
Tanner points at the door without a second thought. “We should have left you with them for a day before saving you. You would have been crippled and with a broken mind by now. Maybe that would have made you quieter.”
He looks me up and down, smirking. “That’s if you even lasted a day of their torture.”
I try not to let his words get to me, allowing my anger to shield me from whatever fear and hurt I should have felt.
“You know nothing about me. You have no idea how determined my rage has made me.” I point at him.
“I know all I have to know,” he scoffs, batting my anger away like it’s nothing. “You’re just a na?ve little girl who will crumble in the face of real danger.”
He comes up to me. “I mean, just how stupid were you to trust your police chief so easily? You are a coward and an incompetent police officer. You know nothing about how the world you are trying to delve into works. These are dangerous people out here. You’ve deluded yourself into thinking that just because you’re a police officer, that gives you some sort of superpower and you can just waltz in, in all your overprotected glory, and actually avenge your father alone.”
His words pierce through the armor of hate and anger that I’ve protected myself with and go straight into my core.
Maybe he's right after all. I thought that all I needed was to join the police force and I would be on my way to finding my father’s murderers and bringing them to justice, but it didn’t turn out that way.
In a moment of desperation, I’d thought I was making the right decision by telling the chief about knowing where the stash was, but even that was wrong.
He studies my face for a moment before turning away, leaving me alone in the company of my miserable thoughts.
I rub my ears to take away the sting as tears prick my eyes, but it's not enough. I shouldn’t have let his words affect me so much, and even worse, I shouldn’t have allowed him to see it.
I place the plate in the kitchen sink, abandoning what was left of the beautiful breakfast. After what just happened, there’s no way I can enjoy it any further.
Sniffling, I walk off in the opposite direction of Tanner. I know this isn’t a good time to shower, given my injuries, but I’m mostly healed now, and I’m tired of washing with a washcloth.
I head in search of a shower to wash away the icky feeling that’s overtaken me, but I can’t help the yelp that escapes my lips as I open the bathroom door.