Chapter 24
WHAT A F*CKED UP WAY TO GO
Rebel Pierce
As I fumbled with my keys, I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder, feeling a sense of unease, as I struggled to unlock the door to my apartment. My damn hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I can’t count how many times I almost lost my grip on everything I carried because I was terrified.
Once I unlocked it, I pushed the door open and rushed inside, shutting it behind me.
Somebody was following me. As soon as I stepped out of the coffee shop and made my way home, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
I’d always been aware of my surroundings. I didn’t know where the instinct came from, but I’d always been hyper vigilant of what was going on around me. And today, I could feel someone’s eyes on me. It didn’t matter what street I turned down trying to keep them from following me to my home, and no matter how fast I walked, it was like they were always there. Although, I didn’t see anybody, I knew they were only a few steps behind me.
“What’s wrong?”
I screamed so loud my sister jumped and I dropped everything in my hands. As my purse, the oversized coffee and a pair of muffins slipped from my grasp, scalding liquid splattered in all directions.
“Goddamn it, Rumi!” I hissed with my hand against my chest as I glared at my sister. “You scared the shit out of me.”
This was the very reason she shouldn’t have a key to my place. What if I was fucking J.D. and she just walked in on us? That would mortify her, but it would serve her right. I had a key to her place, and I never just let myself in anytime I wanted to. If she wasn’t home, I just came back later.
“Are you alright?” she asked with a genuine look of concern on her face. It made some of my anger dissipate. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No, I’m good,” I sighed, with my hand against my forehead as I tried to get my heart rate under control. “I... I just thought I... Never mind,” I said, shaking my head. “What are you doing here?” I asked instead of telling her I thought someone was following me. “It seems like you’re spending more time at my place than you are at yours.”
There wasn’t any point in scaring her about a person who may or may not have been following me. She wouldn’t do anything but blame my paranoia on J.D. and Caesar anyway. And I didn’t want to hear her bash them. I liked J.D. more than I probably should and Caesar was one of my closest friends. She didn’t have to like either of them, but I refused to listen to her try to dictate who I spent my time with while talking shit about them in the process. However, I really wanted to know why she was here so much.
Maybe it has something to do with a certain biker. At least I hope it does.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She fiddled with the charm on her necklace—a dead giveaway that she was hiding something from me.
She’s had that necklace since we were teenagers. I had one just like it, but I hadn’t worn it since our grandfather died. These gifts were given to us by him when we turned fifteen, and she never took hers off. It had become a habit for hers to play with the infinity charm when she was hiding something.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re lying but I won’t push you about it,” I said, picking up all my shit from the floor. “Not yet anyway.”
Thank God my muffins were still in the bag, but I still wanted to cry. My coffee was everywhere. I was shit at making coffee and the coffeeshop not too far from my place had some of the best coffee I’d ever tasted.
“I’m not keeping anything from you,” Rumi said as she kneeled next to me, using my napkins to wipe up some of the spilled coffee.
“If you say so,” I mumbled as I walked to the kitchen, leaving her to clean up the rest of the spilled liquid.
I placed my phone and muffins on the kitchen island, then removed them from the bag. Just as I pulled the fridge open to grab a bottle of water, the doorbell and excessive knocking on the door sounded.
“Police!” Another flurry of pounding echoed inside the apartment. “Open up the door!”
I rushed out of the kitchen not even closing the door of the fridge.
“Rumi! Don’t!” I shouted just as she opened the front door.
She looked at me like I was an idiot. But I needed to be cautious, especially with me having that feeling of being followed.
“It’s just the police,” she said, shrugging.
She turned her attention back to the doorway then screamed as she backed away from the door with her hands up. I saw the glint of the chrome barrel of a gun with a silencer at the end aimed at her before I saw the man walk in. He kicked the door closed behind him without lowering the gun.
He was stocky, his graying hair was disheveled, and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few weeks. He hadn’t seen me yet, so I slowly backed away trying to get as close to the kitchen as possible without drawing his attention.
“Rebel Pierce!” He kept the gun pointed at my sister. “You’ve been causing a lot of problems lately.”
Fuck! He didn’t know I had a twin. Who the hell is he?
The sheer terror etched on my sister’s face left me feeling utterly devastated. I had to get her out of here. This had nothing to do with her, and the thought of something happening to her sent shivers down my spine.
I grabbed my phone from the kitchen counter beside my muffins. I pulled up J.D.’s number, and hit the call button, then slid the cellphone in my back pocket. I prayed he answered even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk to him. Maybe he’d hear what the hell was happening and get his ass over here before shit got worse.
Banging on the door drew the attention of the man and my sister. He grabbed her around the neck, put the gun against her head, then faced the door. Rumi whimpered, then my front door flew open.
“Stay back!” the man yelled as soon as the big ass biker stepped inside my apartment. “Stay back or I’ll fucking kill her.”
Even though I didn’t know who the biker was, I was relieved to see him. When I saw the same leather vest J.D. wore, I knew he was on the way. I just had to hold on, keep all of us safe until he got here. Maybe I could distract the intruder long enough for the big guy to grab him and hopefully that would force him to let my sister go.
“Let her go.” I held my hands up, stepping closer to my sister and the intruder. I also spoke loud enough just in case J.D. had answered my call.
The man’s attention jerked to me, and his eyes widened before narrowing.
“Let her go,” I said, again. “She’s my twin sister. I’m Rebel. It’s me you want not her.”
My plan to distract him was working, as of right now, he seemed completely focused on me. The huge guy moved closer, and the man was no longer holding the gun to Rumi’s head, but he had it aimed at me. It wasn’t the first time I had a gun pointed at me, but I was still scared out of my mind. Not about dying. We all would die one day. But I was more afraid of what I’d miss out on if this bastard killed me. What would happen to my family?
What would happen to J.D.?
He hadn’t said anything, but I think he cared for me a little and if I died, I believed he absolutely wouldn’t recover. To lose two women to horrific circumstances would break anyone.
“I don’t know who you are,” I said.
“You know exactly who I am bitch. You’ve been digging into me and my partner.”
Detective Abrams.
He looked different, almost unrecognizable. His hair was messy, and his eyes were wild, giving him a disheveled and manic appearance.
“Okay, I do know who you are, but my sister has nothing to do with this,” I said continuing to walk towards him and Rumi. “The police are on the way.”
At least I hoped they were on the way. My neighbors were nosey as hell. Mrs. Shelley from down the hall had already asked about the FBI showing up at my place. With all the commotion, there was no way she hadn’t called the police.
“Stop, right there!” Detective Abrams yelled. “You take another step and I’ll put a bullet in her fucking head.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Okay. Okay.” I held my hands up higher. “Just let her go and you can take me. She has nothing to do with this. Tell me what you want. I can help you.”
Keep your eyes on me.
He laughed, then narrowed his eyes at me. “You can’t help me with shit. You’re trying to ruin my life. What I want is you dead.”
In his eyes, I witnessed the precise moment he made the fateful decision to squeeze the trigger. To brace myself for what was to come, I tightly shut my eyes. I knew it was going to hurt, I just prayed I survived. However, after a few moments the pain never came and when I opened my eyes, the biker and the detective were wrestling over the gun. As they fought for control, Rumi fell to the floor.
“Run Rumi!”
A muffled gunshot sounded, and a wave of relief washed over me as I watched her scramble from the floor and hurry towards my bedroom, but the biker’s face twisted in pain as blood soaked his shirt. He was still alive and although I was grateful for him, the only thing, I could do was get out of my apartment to draw Detective Abrams away from him and Rumi.
Detective Abrams was still stunned from the flurry of punches the biker had delivered as they wrestled for control of the gun, but he still had it in his hand.
I rushed towards the front door. He’d either chase me or shoot me in the back, but I prayed he’d follow. That would at least keep Rumi safe.
As I reached the entrance, a sudden force yanked me back by my hair. The searing pain enveloped my entire head, causing me to scream as my body crashed onto the unforgiving hardwood floor.
“Let me go!”
I struggled against his hold, ignoring the pain.
“I’m going to kill you bitch!” His grip tightened on my hair, and I hissed. “Then I’m going to fuck your corpse while your sister watches. Then I’m going to do the same to her.”
As he dragged me across the floor from the entrance of my apartment, I clawed at his arms, but his grip on my hair remained tight. I had to do something. I had to hold on until J.D. got here. I knew he was coming. I just felt it.
Suddenly Abrams’ hands let go of my hair and he released a piercing scream. When I hit the floor, I frantically crawled away from him, but my focus was immediately drawn back to the detective who had Rumi by the throat, her desperate gasps filling the air. She clawed at his hands, but he wouldn’t let go. Her movements gradually became slower, and her eyelids drooped. I pushed myself off the floor and rushed towards them and jumped on his back. He let go of Rumi, then hoisted me over his shoulder, slamming me on the floor not too far from my sister.
I groaned. The excruciating pain was unbearable, causing me to clench my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut. My entire body felt like I’d been hit by a damn truck.
I opened my eyes when I felt fingers intertwine with mine. Tears welled in both my sister’s eyes and mine as I looked at her. I didn’t want it to end like this especially for her. She was never supposed to be involved in anything I did.
“Say goodbye bitches,” Detective Abrams sneered, the sound of the gun cocking filtering through the room.
I mouthed I’m sorry and I love you to my sister as the tears in my eyes finally spilled over.
What a fucked up way to go but I at least hoped my sister found peace in the next life and I prayed J.D. found love again.
Then everything went black.