20. Powertrain
Whisper had been acting strange since we’d arrived back from dinner last night. She barely said a word to me, and I worried she was getting sick once again.
“Baby girl, are you feeling alright?” I came up to her as she was coming out of the bathroom.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” she kept avoiding my gaze, and that alone was an indication that something was wrong.
I slipped a finger under her chin and tipped her face up until she was forced to look at me. Her light eyes stared back at me, full of concern.
“Are you sure everything is okay? You”re not keeping anything from me, are you?”
“I’m fine, it’s just the raven. When it’s anxious, it fucks me up royally. You’ll get used to it, don’t worry so much. I might just need to spread my wings tonight.”
“You know you can tell me anything. I’m not going anywhere.”
She gave me a small smile and then touched my cheek. “I’m alright. Truly. I’m gonna go take a walk around the clubhouse, calm the raven.”
“Will it shift tonight?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe.”
“Be careful, okay. I don’t want to stop you, but I also don’t want you to think I’m trying to hold you back.”
“It’s okay, Lee. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
She gave me a swift kiss before walking away but it was the way she kept avoiding me that made me feel like she was hiding something. I understood and accepted the fact that she was a shifter, but this was different. Her reactions were human, as if she were afraid of something.
“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” I told her, closing the door behind me.
I headed down the hallway and out to the bar lounge area at the front of the clubhouse. I met Macabre halfway there. We hadn’t spoken since he found out I was doing things to his baby sister. I wasn’t sure if it was safe yet to approach, but as I walked past him, he placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. At first, I thought he was picking a fight, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“I don’t like your relationship with my sister.”
“Noted,” I replied, keeping myself on defense mode as he turned to me.
“But I also know I can’t do anything about it. She won’t let me protect her. And I’d rather keep her here with you then in some cage, or worse, found lying near a lake somewhere.”
“Agreed,” I nodded. The pang of the reminder of Lucy’s death, still felt like a punch to the chest.
He gave me a hard glare before he spoke. “Is she alright?”
I was surprised by his question, but I sensed there was more to that statement. “If you’re asking if she’s physically well, yes. Emotionally, I have no fucking clue.”
“Why? Did you hurt her in some way?” Brotherly concern lined his brow.
“No,” I said carefully, almost amused by his reaction.
“Then what”s wrong with her?”
“I’m not sure. She’s been avoiding me all day. Before I found out about her raven, she’d hide things from me, but she wasn’t scared about it. Tonight, I saw true fear in her eyes. As if something had startled her.”
“Did something happen while you were out with her?”
I shook my head trying to recall the events of the night, but we’d only gone out to dinner, had a few drinks. She’d been teasing me and playful the entire time, that is until I left her to go get some drinks. By the time I returned, she wanted to come home.
“I’m not sure what happened. She was fine one moment, the next she wanted to leave. We didn’t fight, hell, she barely spoke to me.”
I followed Macabre to the bar where one of the prospect’s handed us our drinks. “Have you told her what’s going on?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I don”t want to frighten her. She already feels like I’m controlling her.”
“My sister always feels that way. That’s nothing new. Just let her do her thing and you’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want her flying tonight, but if she doesn’t, she says the power surges and it causes her pain.”
“That’s true. I’ve seen my mother shift that way, it’s not pretty.” He furrowed his brow as if the memory caused him pain, and he took the shot of tequila that sat in front of him. Taking the bottle, he helped himself to another one. “She’s safer in the skies than down here with us.”
He knocked back that second tequila shot and got to his feet. “Gotta go. I’m up for surveillance tonight.”
“What”s up? What’s happening?” I asked, surprised.
“You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Bloody Scorpions set fire on two of our businesses. Jameson’s got us on surveillance teams, especially at the Old Mill.”
“Well, damn. I had no idea.”
“It’s alright, brother. You focus on my sister. She’s more important than the shitshow we’re dealing with.”
“Watch your back,” I called out as he vanished out the door.
A few minutes later, Tick Tock took his seat. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” I replied, but my gaze froze on the screen in front of us. Another murder had occurred in Louisiana, same stabbings as the slew of murders happening in the south. Ron Hargrave”s name and photo appeared on the screen, sending a chill down my spine.
“Hey, Bones. Turn that up for us,” Tick Tock asked the Prospect behind the counter. As the volume increased, the news anchor”s voice filled the room, detailing the gruesome details of the crime.
”Are you enjoying the show, Lee?” The phone buzzed ominously in my hand, and my fingers fumbled on the dials as I rushed to respond.
”You’re a sick fuck.”
”But it’s all for you. I’ve done this all for you.” My heart raced as I read the messages, each word striking fear into my core.
”I’m going to find you, Ron. And when I do, I will hurt you.”
”It seems we’re both on the same page. Finally!” I read each word carefully, holding my breath as the next text came in.
”I’m sure Whisper, sweet Whisper, is going to enjoy this, she’s here with me, too, Lee. Oh, the plans I have for her. We”re going to have quite the memorable time together.” A chill gripped my entire being as the weight of those words settled in my chest. The air around me seemed to thicken with tension as I struggled to formulate a response.
”What do you want from me, Ron?” As I texted, each word was a battle against my rising panic. The reply came swiftly, dripping with malice and twisted intent.
”What do I want? Oh, I want so much more than you can imagine, Lee. I want your undivided attention, your agony, your screams of despair. I want you to feel every ounce of pain as I tear Whisper apart, piece by delicate piece. And you, my old friend, you will watch. You will watch until your very soul is shattered, until there”s nothing left but a hollow shell of the person you once were. But you better hurry. Time is slipping away, and I’m not sure you’ll make it on time. I’d hate for you to miss the event.”
Whisper was in danger, and it was my fault. I cursed myself for not being more vigilant, for failing to protect her.
“She was a good girl for me, didn’t tell you where she was going, did she? But She came because she wanted to save you. Isn’t that sweet?” The message continued, each word like a dagger twisting in my gut.
”Now here she is, waiting on me to come find her.”
”Don’t you fucking touch her,” my fingers trembled as I typed out the response.
”She’s a pretty little thing,” the next message taunted, sending a shiver down my spine. ”You’ve got good taste, Lee. I suppose I should do to her what you had me do to Lucy.”
My breath caught in my throat at the mention of Lucy”s name, my guilt consuming me like a relentless flame. I had failed Lucy, and now it seemed history was destined to repeat itself with Whisper.
”Although I’m afraid around here, the gators will get her,” the message continued, a cruel chill reverberating through my bones. ”Can’t have that happen. Maybe I’ll hang her from one of these weeping willows,” he suggested, the words dripping with sadistic glee, ”an appropriate name for what comes you’ll be doing next, isn’t it?”
”Motherfucker, I will end you,” my response was a primal scream of rage and anguish, the words barely coherent as my mind raced with thoughts of what Whisper might be going through.
”I thought you would say that?” The subsequent text read, dripping with an evil that made my blood run cold. ”I”m only perfecting my craft for when I get to her. Your Whisper, that is. She”ll be a special treat, just for you.”
Before I could write a response, the phone buzzed one last time. “I suggest you leave now. Your princess seems a little cold to the touch. I’ll be taking her to Charity Hospital, I’m sure someone will help her there.”
As the conversation came to an end, I stared down at the threatening texts that filled the screen, my hands trembling with a mixture of fear and determination. I knew what I had to do. I had to find Whisper before it was too late-before he hurt her as he had with Lucy.
“Brother,” Tick Tock had been calling my name, and I didn’t take notice until he put his hand on my shoulder.
“Powertrain, you good?”
I stared up at him, shaking my head. “Where’s Charity Hospital?”
“What? I-”
I jumped out of my seat, tugging on his jacket. “Tell me, where is it!”
Bones was the one who responded. “It’s on Howard. But it’s not really a hospital, it’s been abandoned for years.”
The son of a bitch was being sarcastic, he’d taken her to the place he’d been trapped. A hospital ward.
“I’ve got to go.”
“Do you need backup!” Tick Tock shouted at me but I was already out the door. My thoughts were filled with scenes of Whisper laying on the ground, her bright eyes staring at me lifelessly, just like Lucy’s had.