Chapter 10
FRANKIE
I’d cream in my pants at the sight of that car if I wasn’t shit scared of the fucker driving it. The rumble of the engine comes to stop a few feet away, the scissor doors rise up, and shiniest fucking shoes I’ve ever seen step onto the freezing concrete.
And there he is in his full glory.
Benjamin Grenville, my sister's crazy boyfriend.
He looks better than the last time I’d seen him; the bags under his eyes have lightened, and his white blonde hair is perfectly styled. “Hello, brother.” Ben says as he strides over to us, his long, black woolen coat billowing behind him. He looks fucking livid.
“Glad you could join us, Benji, I was just about to take care of Frankie here…” Zach claps me on the back of the shoulder as if he didn’t just tell him he was about to murder me in a carpark.
Faster than my eyes can track, I’m being lifted into the air by the collar of my shirt and pinned against the wall.
I blink and Ben’s face comes into focus.
“Zach tells me you spent my money. That money was to get your sister back, not so that you could go and place a pathetic bet.” Ben’s voice is low, but his face betrays nothing, expression a dangerous calm.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I try to process what the fuck just happened. How did we get over here so fast? More importantly, how did he know I’d spent the money? I hadn’t mentioned anything to Zach.
Charlie’s face peers out from behind Ben’s car and my eyes go wide. I told him to leave, what the fuck is he still doing here?
“I have money, you can have it!” Cora screams and tries to run over to us, but Zach grabs her arm and pulls her back. It boils my fucking blood that he’s touching her.
Ben smiles, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. Those silver orbs look lifeless. “I don’t care about the money. I want your sister back. It’s about the integrity of it all, I don’t like being disrespected.” His grip tightens on my collar.
Fuck this cunt is strong, too. It’s unnatural.
“We’re doing things my way from now on. Give Zach your phone.”
“Brother, no you don’t—” Zach starts but is cut off.
“GIVE ME THE FUCKING PHONE!” Ben ignores Zach and screams in my face.
I scramble into my pockets and pull it out, nearly fumbling it as I offer it up. This fucker can have whatever the hell he wants at this point if it means he’ll let me go.
He glances down at it and narrows his eyes. “Not that one. The other phone, you imbecile.”
Shit. How did he know about Malachi’s phone?! I swallow and pull it out, holding it out to him. He shoves me back against the wall, letting me go as he grabs it from my hand. The back of my head feels wet and warm, dark spots form in my vision. I shake my head as I slump down onto the floor.
“Brother, listen to me; give me the phone, you don’t need to see it.”
Ben doesn’t even so much as look at Zach He scrolls through the phone, searching for the very thing I’ve tried to block out.
“How did you know?” I splutter, and both brothers turn to me. It’s scary how alike they look. The silver in their eyes swirl with anger and disgust as they look down at me.
The clicking of Cora’s heels running towards me drags my attention away from them. The glow from the car headlights forms a halo around her head, and more dark spots form across my vision.
“Frankie! You’re bleeding. Are you okay?” She asks as she crouches down next to me.
Then the sound of my sister's screams cut across the carpark. I close my eyes and try to block it out, but I have the video memorized. Bile surges up my throat and I lurch forwards, emptying my stomach contents onto the floor.
All of us are silent. Our bodies still.
“Frankie, is that…” Cora whispers.
“Yes.” And just like that, the world crashes down around me.
Everything comes flooding back. I glance up and see Charlie peeking out again, his boyish face stone cold in shock as tears form in his eyes.
Why is he crying? Zach follows my gaze straight to Charlie, then whirls back to lock eyes with me before they narrow into two curious silver slits.
Ben’s entire body shakes with anger as he hands the phone back over to Zach. They’re both white as ghosts.
“I told you, you didn’t have to look.” Zach says to Ben as he puts the phone into his pocket.
“Did you find out who sent it?” Ben asks me, voice rough.
“No. But you already knew that didn’t you? Since you seem to know everything else.” My body feels broken, I lean further into the wall.
Ben nods solemnly.
And then his face changes, his youthful skin becoming decayed and sallow. Those silver eyes sink deeper into the sockets, the flesh around them drips from the bone, leaving small parts exposed to the elements. My eyes fly wide.
What the fuck is happening?!
I look at Zach and the same thing is happening. They look like zombies. If I had the energy, I’d run for my fucking life. But all I can do is sit there as they advance on me. Cora grips onto my shirt tightly, her chest heaves up and down in the corner of my eye.
“From now on, we will do things my way. You work for me now, Frankie, and I like my debts to be paid. I’ll provide you with two hundred soldiers to get a fucking grip of this place, and with those men I want you to search every single fucking nightclub in the country until you find her.
As previously agreed, your parents' funeral will go ahead as planned in a few weeks. Cora, I expect you to make sure Frankie is prepared for it.” Cora nods ferociously, as if two monsters aren't standing in front of us in designer suits.
I must be hallucinating. That’s the only way to explain this shit.
“Of course, Mr. Grenville.” She bows her head.
I can do nothing but sit there with a throbbing migraine trying to make sense of it all. My brain pounds like it’s about to explode.
“Zach, see to it that my office is moved to Birmingham. It seems as if I must micromanage this situation.” Zach nods.
“And you—” Ben closes the space between us in a few strides. He crouches so that he’s eye level with me, those sunken eyes glaring from behind the deep set sockets.
“You will do every single fucking thing I ask. You will not lie to my brother again; any piece of evidence you find, you will bring to me. And I want a report of your progress every fucking day. If you fail to do this, I’ll kill you myself.
” And I believe every fucking word he says.
I nod and swallow, relief washing over me as his face changes back.
“I’m glad we could come to this arrangement.” I flinch as he pats my shoulder before standing up.
“Merry Christmas Frankie.” The last thing I see is his shiny shoes. The last thing I feel is a blinding pain behind my eye socket.