Tit for Tat (Take a Chance #4)

PROLOGUE

Reid

A strong gust of wind throws the hood of my ‘Hayes Removals’ hoody off my head as I step out of the pick-up and glance up at the converted warehouse owned by my brother’s girlfriend, Rebecca.

At first glance when we pulled in, it looked a little sketchy.

The brick building with a black trim still holds the original, large, mirrored bay windows on the lower level, which don’t look to have been cleaned for decades.

There’s a steel door to the left of the building that has been upgraded to have a window in the top centre.

Industrial bins are lined up to the side; one for rubbish, one for recycling.

Not far from them are two black letterboxes with the paint rusting off, attached to the wall.

From an outsider’s perspective, this seems like an abandoned building.

I’m not sure if Rebecca did that intentionally or not.

This is the first time I’ve ever been here, so the only thing I know about it is that it holds two lofts on the top floor, and there are storage units on the bottom floor.

Wyatt once mentioned something about them being used by the golf club Rebecca’s father owns.

As we step into the building, the inside looks nothing like the outside. The walls are plastered, painted in white with a few art pieces to give it colour. There’s a rustic table that runs along the wall, a few knick-knacks artfully displayed on top.

I’m not sure what the urgency is that has us being summoned here, but Rebecca is with Eli, and for that, I got my arse in the car. She’s been through enough. It wasn’t too long ago that she had been held captive. Since then, everyone has been on edge, keeping a closer eye on her.

That said, they were fine when they left with the baby this morning, so I have no idea what could have happened between then and now.

I turn to Jaxon since he’s the one Eli called. “Do you know why we’ve been summoned?” I question.

Not even forty minutes ago, I had been balls deep in a girl I met on a house removal. I couldn’t complain about being cock-blocked since I promised Jaxon I wouldn’t sleep with the clients again. And listening to him tear me a new arsehole isn’t on my to-do list today so I kept my complaints inside.

“They didn’t say much, just to get here quick,” Jaxon responds, and by his tone I can tell he’s distracted. And worried.

“Not even a hint of what it could be about?” Isaac asks.

“Wait, isn’t this where the girl who Black attacked lives?” Luke questions before Jaxon can respond.

“Yeah,” Jaxon answers. “She lives across from Lincoln, Rebecca’s friend.”

We reach the top of the stairs, and before we can knock, Eli steps out. His gaze goes straight to Wyatt. “You didn’t bring Evie, did you?”

Wyatt straightens. “No. What is going on?”

“Brace yourselves,” Eli warns and opens the door wider.

Jaxon steps inside first, and I hear him suck in a breath. A tall, brown-haired guy is shaking in the corner, his face pale. His gaze seems to be frozen on something in the middle of the floor.

What the fuck?

I side-step Jaxon and inhale sharply. “What in the Carrie is going on here?” I blurt out.

“That’s what I said,” the guy shaking in the corner mumbles, coming unglued.

The girl can’t be more than eighteen. Her face, top and hands are covered in blood, and in her hand is a fucking knife.

“I killed him. I killed him,” she rants, her voice shaky. I’m not even sure she’s aware we’ve entered the room. Her eyes are vacant.

Rebecca pulls away from the trembling girl. “She’s been like this since we found her. She won’t let go of the knife.”

“Why did you bring us to a crime scene?” Isaac accuses.

Luke shoves him. “We could be here to collect the body, asshole,” he grumbles.

“Oh yeah.”

I roll my eyes. “Like fuck am I carrying a dead body down those stairs.”

“Start talking,” Jaxon warns, going into boss mode.

Eli runs his fingers through his hair. “Black came here. He tried to hurt Mina again, and take her. He had a knife. She used the manoeuvre Drew taught the girls in self-defence classes and got the knife off him. She thinks she killed him. But there’s no body, just a spot of blood.”

“You do know I’m not going to believe he’s dead until I see the body, right?” Jaxon tells him.

Eli points to the girl. “Look at her. There’s no way he survived. She said she either got him in the face or the neck.”

“We really need to get her to calm down or we’ll have to call an ambulance. But if we do that, the police will be called,” Rebecca stresses. “And I don’t... I don’t want her to be in trouble.”

Jaxon goes to take a step toward Mina but she freaks out. “Don’t come near me. Don’t! Please. I killed him.”

Seeing we need to calm her down and fast, I slowly approach, then I notice Sienna is in a bouncer on the floor. I glance to my brother in horror. “You brought a baby to a crime scene?”

“I didn’t know it was a fucking crime scene,” he snaps, then runs his fingers through his hair again, looking skyward.

My lips pull up into a grin before my attention goes to the young woman scared out of her mind. “Do you like kids, Mina?”

“Now is not the time to have a get to know each other chat,” Isaac whispers.

“W-what?” she replies, her gaze darting everywhere, like we are all a threat.

“Do you like babies?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then you should know Sienna is here. She can feel how tense the atmosphere is,” I go on.

Eli and Jaxon continue to talk, but my focus is on the girl. She’ll either completely snap or slaughter us all.

“She is?” she whispers, the focus in her eyes slightly returning.

“She is. She’s watching you. I think she will cry in a minute.

You don’t want her to cry, do you?” I’m lying.

But being around my niece has taught me babies cry a lot, so it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

Rose, Jaxon’s baby, fooled us all. She had one week when she cried a lot, but then she stopped.

Sienna still cries a lot and shows no signs of stopping.

Mina glances up, finally focusing on me. Her lower lip trembles. “I couldn’t let him rape me again. I couldn’t feel dirty.”

“You don’t need to explain that to us. You aren’t the only girl he has hurt. Do you think he feels the same guilt and despair you are feeling right now after he’s purposely hurt them? You were protecting yourself. Anyone would have done the same. He’s hurt so many people. He had this coming.”

“He held the knife to me and I... and I-I...” Her eyes roll to the back of her head.

I move fast, knowing she’s going to hit the floor any minute. The knife clatters to the floor as I reach for her, my hand pressing into one of her shoulders. “Fuck!”

“Mina!” Rebecca cries.

Her top is soaked, too soaked for this to be his blood. “I thought you said she stabbed him?”

“She did.”

“Some of this is her blood. She’s bleeding.”

Without thinking, Rebecca pushes up her top. On her shoulder is a gaping wound, still bleeding. “We need to get her to the hospital.”

“I need to sit down,” the guy I don’t know grumbles.

“Right, Rebecca, get that knife and go clean it with bleach or any chemical you can find. Then go hide it in the loft opposite,” Jaxon orders.

“Eli, you need to see if there’s any footage around here. If there is, get it erased,” Wyatt orders as I press down on the wound.

“Isaac, call an ambulance. Tell them you found a friend stabbed,” I tell him.

“And what will I tell them when they ask for details? Because I know fuck all about her,” he snaps, linking his fingers behind his neck. “A friend would know her last name.”

“I’ll do it,” the guy offers. “I’m Lincoln, by the way.

You can call me Linc, though.” He turns to Rebecca.

“Sweetie, my door is open and I have some chemicals and bleach under the sink. You can clean that knife at my place. I will also make sure your dad erases any evidence of you guys entering the car park.”

“What? Why?” Rebecca asks, pausing at the door.

“Because, sweetie, you won’t be able to explain how you’ve been here nearly an hour and not bothered to call an ambulance,” he explains.

“You watch crime movies, don’t you?” I ask on a grin.

“They’re addictive,” he admits and dials nine-nine-nine.

“What do we say to explain why we are here?” I ask Jaxon as he bends down to help stop the bleeding.

“Linc, we were here to meet you and Mina because we were all going over to the club to have dinner,” Jaxon whispers. “Get her dad to make a reservation if it’s not digital.”

Lincoln nods, confirming he heard.

“We should call Liam,” I quietly warn Jaxon.

“He’s still recovering,” he whispers. “I don’t want him involved anymore. It’s getting too dangerous.”

“Call him, Jaxon. You, more than any of us, know what it’s like to need revenge. Liam deserves to get justice. He died so many times that night. The least we can do is give him a lead.”

“I’ll call him,” he replies, resigned. “Luke, come and help with the bleeding.”

Luke kneels on the floor as Jaxon leaves. “How did no one know she was bleeding?”

“She’s in shock, probably didn’t even know herself she was hurt,” I reply.

“She’s tiny,” he comments.

“She’s wearing jeans too. Is there a point to your comment?” I ask.

“Just saying. She’s tiny and she did something we couldn’t.”

I glance down at the tiny woman, then back at Luke, chuckling. “We are so going to get shit for this.”

He grins. “Knowing Black, he survived and we will get our chance to finish him off.”

“Isn’t killing him what Jaxon was trying to avoid?” I whisper.

“Pretty sure that went out the window the minute he hurt Liam and Rebecca. The only way we can put all of this behind us is to end him. No more of this wanting to make him suffer shit, and hoping he learns his lesson behind bars.”

“Ambulance is coming and the police are being called,” Lincoln announces.

“We need her to get her story straight,” Isaac states.

Mina’s lashes flicker open, her gaze on Luke, lips parted. “W-what?”