CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

COLTON

THE GUYS AND I stand down in the basement of Blackout when Alex’s cell rings.

“It’s Mike.” He frowns, looking up at me.

What the fuck does he want?None of us ever talk to him.

“Put it on speakerphone,” Finn suggests.

Alex answers and holds it out so we can all hear. “Hello?”

“Hey, man. Is Colt with you?” he asks, sounding out of breath.

“What the fuck do you want, Mike?” I’m not in the mood for him right now. Especially after the morning I’ve had.

He grunts. “I have a situation here at my house.”

“Why the fuck call me?” I demand, watching Tyson cut open a man who is strapped to a metal table. The body not even cold yet.

“Because it involves Raylee.”

I yank the phone from Alex’s hand. “What the fuck do you mean it involves Raylee?” As far as I know, they don’t talk. I know this because I go through her cell sometimes. After what he did to her that night at his party, she’s never cared much for him.

He takes in a few deep breaths and answers, “She’s here.”

Alex’s eyes widen, and I grit my teeth. He has to be mistaken. Mike got released from jail earlier this morning and is already high. “Why would she be—?”

“You guys need to get here, and now,” he interrupts me.

Finn is already grabbing our backpacks and shoving shit in them.

“How the fuck did she get there?” Alex demands.

But Mike ignores the question. “And Colt. She’s going to need medical attention.” He hangs up.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jenks asks.

“Let’s go.” I snap my fingers. Medical attention? What the fuck is going on? Why wouldn’t he answer Alex on how she got there?

“Colt?” Tyson hollers my name as we go to leave the basement. We turn to look at him. “Bring her to the Cathedral. I’ll call Gavin and meet you there. It’ll save you time.”

________________

“WHAT THE HELLis going on?” I demand, rushing into Mike’s house but come to a stop at what I see.

Mike sits at the kitchen table, holding his right arm as blood runs down it, dripping on the floor. A man who looks like Nate is lying facedown on the tiled floor. Raylee sits up against the side of the couch next to him. Her knees pulled up to her chest. She’s got her arms resting on them with a nail gun pointed at me. Duct tape is wrapped around her wrists, mouth, and head, and she’s covered in blood.

The sight of her has my heart racing. My legs momentarily unable to move.

“What the fuck?” Finn whispers, entering behind me.

Blinking, I pull myself out of whatever daze I’m in and take a slow step toward her. “Princess…”

“Be careful, she’ll shoot you,” Mike warns, grunting.

I swallow and crouch down to her level, staying several feet away from her. “Hand me the nail gun, Raylee.” I reach out my hand.

It starts shaking in her grasp, and I look over her busted face, wondering what the hell happened. How did she end up here? Tears silently run down the tape that covers her cheeks, and she sniffs. “Hand it to me, princess. And I’ll remove the tape,” I tell her.

“I think she’s in shock,” Finn states, looking her over.

Jenks moves to my right, and her eyes go to him. He throws his hands up and slowly walks over to the other side of Nate and lowers himself, checking for a pulse. He shakes his head at us, and I swallow the knot that forms in my throat. Is this what Mitch tried to warn me about? I should have taken him seriously. But instead, I was blinded by my anger toward her.

She rejected me, so I ignored what could have prevented this.

“What the fuck happened?” Alex demands, removing his belt and securing it around Mike’s arm to help stop the bleeding.

“I don’t know. I just showed up, and they were like this. I tried to help her get the tape off her mouth, but she shot me.”

Her watery eyes to go him, and they narrow.

“Raylee?” I demand, and they snap back to mine. “Hand me the nail gun.” I reach out farther. I could rip it from her hands, but I don’t want to do that. I want her to trust me enough to hand it over. Let her know that she has control of the situation. “Give it to me, princess. Come on. I’ll get the tape off your mouth and your wrists, okay?” Whoever wrapped it around her face didn’t intend to take it off. It starts under her chin and wraps all the way around right up to her nose.

The nail gun rattles in her grasp, but she closes her eyes and lowers it to the floor. I slide it out of the way, falling to my ass and pulling her onto my lap.

Her body shakes in mine while Finn walks over to us, pulling his pocketknife out and flipping it open. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” I dig my fingers between her cheek and the tape, pulling it off her skin the best I can—it’s on there pretty tight—and Finn slides the blade down it, cutting it away.

I yank it off as quick as I can, making her cry out, but some gets stuck in her hair. She sucks in a breath followed by a sob. I rip what’s left off and push all the wet and matted hair from her face before grabbing her hands for Finn to cut that as well. She immediately wraps them around my neck once they’re free.

“Someone find me a blanket,” I bark out to anyone who is listening. Lowering my voice, I begin to rock her back and forth. “Shh.” I run my hand down her bare back, and my teeth grind over the fact that she’s fucking naked. My eyes catch sight of her shredded shirt, shorts, and underwear on the floor. I hold her trembling body tighter to me. “You’re okay, princess. I got you. You’re safe.”

“Here.” Alex comes over and drapes one across her body. I stand, lifting her into my arms.

“Colt?” I hear Finn call out behind me as I exit the house.

I spin around with her in my arms, giving him my attention.

His eyes go to Raylee hanging on to me for dear life with her face shoved into my chest before they meet mine. Coming face-to-face with me, he lowers his voice. “What do you want to do with Mike?”

“He was lying.” I saw the way she looked at him when he said he just got home and found them here. I don’t know why he would lie when he knows she knows the truth, but I’m going to find out. “Drive him in his car to the Cathedral. We’ll take care of him afterward.”

He nods. “Got it.” Then turns and goes back inside.

I walk to the back of the Escalade SUV just as Alex exits the house. “Open this for me, please,” I ask, nodding to the back hatch.

He rushes over and opens it up. I crawl in with her and stretch out my legs with her now on my lap, wanting to give her as much room as possible.

“Here, I grabbed her a water.” He places it down next to me since my hands are full and closes the hatch. Once he jumps in the driver’s seat, the vehicle comes to life and then starts backing up. “Jenks and Finn are making Mike help clean up and take care of Nate.”

She flinches in my arms at the mention of his name while she continues to softly cry.

He goes on, “Then they’re going to bring Mike to the Cathedral.”

I nod, letting him know I’m listening, but I really don’t give a fuck. I know my friends will make sure everything is taken care of.