35. Axel
Axel
T he cool air whips against my face through the open space of my helmet as my bike zips and weaves through traffic.
Riding is one of the rare times I can shut the world out and clear my head.
This time, though, my mind isn’t clear. It’s filled with thoughts of one particular girl.
Regardless of how long it’s been, or why I stopped, my heart is racing and my adrenaline is sufficiently spiked. I don’t hate it.
When I ran into my little trainwreck on her date at eighteen looking to lose her virginity and she admitted that she doesn’t drive, I watched her for a while and quickly realized she wasn’t exaggerating.
She didn’t just not drive. She avoided even getting in vehicles whenever possible and when she did, she always got out a little greener than when she went in.
Not that I’m surprised.
My girl could be the poster child for PTSD with everything she’s avoided since the worst day of her life.
I remember that day too.
Arabella called me from the hospital and when I got there, she told me what had happened.
My sister, thankfully, had only minor injuries.
Wrinley had an injured leg and a shattered heart.
That was the first time I watched her sleep.
It was innocent back then, purely from a place of curiosity and a desire to know what it might feel like to lose someone you love so deeply and hold so close.
It’s something I couldn’t comprehend, but I would imagine to do that, I’d have to have even one person you couldn’t bear to lose.
I care for my sister, but it’s not even close to the same.
There was also a part of me, back then, that felt a protectiveness over her that I couldn’t explain. It pissed me off that she made me feel something other than my usual disgust for the world, so I left as soon as she started to rouse.
I felt it again when I saw her at the funeral.
I was only there as Arabella’s driver, because our mother couldn’t be bothered to take her, but I caught her crying in the hallway and then straightening her spine and wiping her tears before shuffling into her father’s bedroom and making a choice to be brave for him–something no fourteen-year-old girl should ever have to do.
I wonder if her father knows the sacrifice she made for him.
“GPS says we should be there in about twenty minutes.” Dom’s gruff voice comes through the speakers built into the helmet. It doesn’t warrant a response, so I don’t give it.
When Ryker told me about what happened to my sister, I was so enraged, I couldn’t see straight.
To make things worse, he got off scott free…
at least in the eyes of the law. In my eyes, he’s been judged and his sentence needs to be carried out.
My sister and I aren’t close, but no one touches or hurts my family and gets away with it.
Dom and I have been searching for the fuckwad for a while now.
He either knows powerful people or he has a metric ton of funds available.
It’s the only way I can figure he’s been able to stay hidden so well.
We got close a few times, but I still had to get Shane involved to confirm the idiot stayed close enough we should be able to get to him, take care of business and be home in less than twenty-four hours.
Exactly twenty minutes later, as predicted, our bikes are parked in an empty lot next to a shitty motel in the outskirts of downtown Detroit.
I assess my surroundings. It’s late, so I can see the bright lights of the city in the distance, likely full of life and unaware of what’s about to go down.
That brightness and life doesn’t extend out here, so I’m going to assume he has connections and not money, based on the decay that surrounds us.
“He’s in room thirteen.” Dom says while rummaging through his bag of tricks. “What do we wanna use? I brought a little of everything.”
“Just bring the drugs and a needle. If we need more than that, we’ll have to revise the plan completely.
But I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t give us a problem.
He’ll probably piss his pants the second we come through the door,” I tell him as I reach into my bag for some gloves and a rope–just in case.
“By the way, Gravity has an opening–basically a high end bouncer. If you want it, I can make sure you get it.”
“Awwww,” he coos mockingly. “You do love me.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I chuckle. “Ryker punched the fuck out of the last one just before he fired him and Hayes hasn’t been able to fill the spot yet. I figure if it gets your naked ass off my couch, it’ll be worth it.”
He pats his gloved hand on my back causing me to arch an eyebrow at him. “Come on, Axe Man. One day, if that day ever comes–don’t worry, I’m never leaving you–I promise you’ll miss me and my big dick gracing you with our presence.”
Christ.
He’s lucky he’s my only friend and basically a brother at this point.
“Can we fucking get this over with, so I can get home?”
“Uh huh. Of course. Let’s do it.”
Our feet are quiet–barely noticeable–on the pavement as we approach room thirteen.
I press my ear against the door and am able to hear a noise but unable to make out what exactly I’m hearing.
I nod at Dom, cueing him to crouch down and pick the lock.
He makes quick work of it and the door pops open easily.
That’s one of the reasons I brought him.
I’m good at a lot of things, but windows have always been easier for me than doors.
Motel windows are not as easy to get into, though and even if they were, this is more public than other jobs we’ve done and we don’t need the mess.
To our surprise, our target is not in the front room. From the sounds of it, he’s in the shower… or the bathroom at the very least. It’s not a huge space. There are only so many places he can be.
The closer we get to him, the more prominent another sound becomes. The fuckhead is clearly jacking off. I glance at Dom, who is wearing a half pained, half disgusted expression and motion for him to stay behind me. I’d rather this guy only think one of us is here… for now.
Dom slides in step behind me and I take one large step into the doorway. This fucker is too busy to even notice I’m here. He’s hunched over, pants around his ankles and fucking his fist like a junkie that needs his next fix as he stares at what I’m assuming are depraved images on his phone.
“Nasty,” I mutter, grimacing at the horrific sight before me.
He finally notices I’m here and with cock still in hand, he straightens. “Who the fuck are you?”
My mouth twists into a grin.
“Hey, Brad. We’ve got some things to discuss.”
I didn’t need Dom to take Brad down. He stupidly came–mostly willingly.
He’s now zip tied–naked–to the desk chair.
Once we had him secure, I grabbed his phone and found hundreds of photos of passed out women in various stages of undress.
Sick fucker was in some of them, but most were either fingers or dildos being used on what I assume were unwilling participants.
I shove the device at Dom. “Scan this and remove any evidence of Arabella.”
“Shit,” he winces in response. “You got it.”
He moves to the other side of the room to do as I asked and a wave of nausea runs through me at the realization that my sister could have been a victim of this freak show.
“Do you know who I am?” I ask, placing my hands on the armrests and leaning over to get close enough so he feels more caged in than he already is.
I can already see his pulse pounding in his carotid artery and sweat forming on his brow.
Good.
He should be scared.
“Nothing here, man,” Dom shouts.
“You’re lucky my sister isn’t on your phone, you piece of shit,” I spit.
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, man.” His words are rushed like he’s worried I’m about to pounce. He may be right.
“Arabella. My sister. You went on a date with her and drugged her wine.” I cock my head to the side, waiting for him to remember her. “I’m assuming you did because you had plans to do what you did to those women in your phone. Am I right?”
His eyes scan my face and the room surrounding us but he doesn’t answer. When his eyes lock back on mine, his eyes go wide and he swallows slowly.
Yeah, he remembers her.
“Admit you were planning on raping my sister while she was unconscious and I’ll make your punishment quick and mostly painless.”
His breaths quicken and his chest heaves before he lets out a heavy puff of air.
For a moment, I think he’s going to do the smart thing and just fucking admit what a sick fuck he is.
Instead, he gathers the saliva in his mouth and spits it into my face.
“Look. I didn’t really want your sister or her fat ass.
I tried to switch girls with Thadd, but he wanted her friend.
I even tried to pay him to switch with me.
My dick got hard just looking at her tight ass.
Plus, I heard she was a virgin and I’ve never had one before. ”
“Dude,” Dom interrupts. “You should stop talking.”
“I’m just trying to say. I didn’t really want his sister. I wanted her best friend more.”
“You think you’re helping your case right now?”
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to–”
It all happens so fast it actually feels more like slow motion.
My skin feels hot as my pulse thunders through my veins at top speed and my vision begins to blur around the edges, my pulse spiking and adrenaline driving me forward until my hands are on his head and I twist in one quick movement until his neck cracks and his body goes limp beneath me. Good fucking riddance.
Dom is at my side in an instant, making quick work of cutting through the zip ties. “We’ve got to get him untied before blood pools and it’s more than obvious that he was restrained.”
“Shoot him up, leave the needle in his arm and his phone open to that folder he was fucking his hand to, lying on his chest,” I order, adrenaline still speeding through my veins.
I wrench my head to the side and crack my neck.
“Don’t cover him up. Let anyone that comes in here, see what a tiny dick, piece of shit he was. ”
“I tried to warn him,” Dom mumbles.
“It doesn’t matter. I deviated from the plan, but he was marked for death anyway. He didn’t deserve another breath for talking about her .”
It doesn’t take long to set the room up the way we want, but I imagine it will be a while before someone finds him.
Time to go home to my girl.