Page 33 of Gabe
“Vance, Ricco. With me, we are taking the bottom floor,” Elio yells, hoping to be heard when another scream comes from the house.
“We'll take the basement,” I say, correcting my course of action to head around the house. When the hatch door comes into view halfway down the house, it's thrown open and I motion for Reed and Demon to watch out. There is a Lincoln Town car parked next to it with Louisiana plates. I come to a stop right beside the vehicle and take a quick look inside. “Empty.”
“Go, I'll check the trunk and meet you down there,” Demon says, moving to the driver's side.
Reed and I turn and head down the steps. Neither of us has drawn our guns, but I'm confident we can handle whatever we find. There is no one else I would want beside me when shit hits the fan. Reed is quick to draw and an accurate shot. “Stop right there.” A feminine voice comes from the shadow, and my feet instantly stop moving, but my blood keeps rushing fast.
“Look, I don't know who you are, but I suggest you step out of the way and let us get by.” My voice is low and dipped in anger, making the threat clear as day. “I don't want to hurt you, but if you continue to stand between me and my girl, I will eliminate you. Permanently.”
“Y… your girl?”
“Tara,” I say. Reed hasn't said anything as he stands right beside me. I'm thankful he is letting me take the lead here, even though I can feel the tension and anger radiating from him. He knows I need to be in control right now. Tara might be his sister but she is going to be my wife and the mother of my children. I’m the one who is supposed to protect her now.
“Oh shit,” the female says, then steps closer to us. Another scream that ends quickly, comes from behind the closed door just to the girl's left. Being closer, I can tell that the scream is coming from a man, not Tara.
“Reed, take…” I motion toward the woman, hoping she will fill in her name.
“Heidi,” she says.
“Heidi and I'll go check on Tara.” Reed steps forward at my statement.
“I promise I won't hurt you,” he says while holding out his hand.
“I'm not scared of you, but I'm not going anywhere but right back in that room. I deserve to see the end of that fucker’s life,” Heidi basically growls before turning around and heading straight toward the door. When she turns I see a revolver gripped tightly in her hands.Smart girlI think to myself.
We quickly follow her, and the scene that we step into is gruesome, but it doesn't turn my stomach. Actually, my whole body swells with relief and pride. My girl is standing in front of Miles, bathed in blood and spinning a hunting knife in her hand. I take in the man chained to a support pole in the corner of the room. His shirt is ripped down the middle, exposing multiple shallow cuts alongside what looks like deep stabs. Blood has soaked the waist of the man's jeans, making them darker in color. Speaking of color, the man is almost gray. I estimate that he has minutes left before he dies from blood loss.
“Now, tell me the truth. Where is Ned?” Tara says, bending down to get into Miles's face as she plunges the knife into his side.
“Princess.” The strong control over my emotions that has held steady since the moment Reaper woke me up cracks as the nickname I gave Tara a year ago slips from my lips.
Tara swirls around. Her blue eyes are stormy, almost turning to a light gray. She blinks twice and shakes her head slightly as if she doesn't believe what she sees. “Gabe? Reed? How… What?”
I shake my head and hold up a hand. “None of that matters right now. All that matters is that you are safe.”
She points at Miles. “He knows where Ned?—"
“No, he doesn't,” Carlos says from somewhere behind me, but I don't take my focus off Tara. “My men found him.”
“Is he dead?” Tara crosses her arms and stares at Carlos while we ignore the groans of pain and sniffles from Miles.
“No—"
I hold up my hand to stop Carlos while taking a step forward. “Princess, why don't we wrap this up. Let Elio take a look at Heidi and then go put an end to all of this.”
With a sharp nod of her head, Tara turns to look at Heidi. “Are you ready for this?” She pulls the knife from Miles and he slumps over.
Heidi strides forward, looking stronger than someone with the injuries I can see should be. Her wrists are bruised, along with her face and legs. There is dried blood on her upper thighs, just visible under the hem of the t-shirt, that is barely covering her bottom. Her long auburn hair is matted on one side, and there seems to be a small patch of hair that has been ripped out in the back.
“It will be an honor,” Heidi says as she takes the knife Tara just pulled from Miles from her outstretched hand. Tara pulls another one from underneath her dirty shirt.
Reed, Demon, Elio, Carlos, and I stand shoulder to shoulder, watching these two strong women take back their control. Miles starts to thrash around while his hands and feet are bound. His head is not, and it makes contact with Tara's forehead. “Shit,” Tara cradles her head for a second before she throws an elbow against Miles's face, hitting his nose.
Miles mumbles something but with all the blood coming from his mouth his words are indiscernible. A quick glance to the left of Miles and I see why there is so much blood. His tongue lays discarded on the floor. Fuck me, my girl is a beast.
After Tara has a good hold on Miles's head movements via the grip on his hair, she looks up at Heidi. “Anything you want to say to this piece of shit?” Heidi shakes her head.
Heidi's back is to me, so I can't see the look on her face as she bends down, grabs Miles's dick, and starts to slowly slice it off with a knife that I hope is dull. The air is filled with the tangy, coppery smell of blood and the acidity smell of urine. Tara waits up until the point where Miles is surely about to black out before she sinks the knife in his neck and pulls it across. Heidi finishes sawing Miles's dick off as the last of his life drains from his body. She collapses onto the ground as loud, ugly sobs rip from her, and her body shakes from the force of them.
