Page 64 of Affliction
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, barely maintaining my composure. Beady, shit colored eyes look up at me, and he lets out a dark laugh. His laughter quickly stops, and he smiles smugly at me.
“I told her she’d regret it.” He says and rage overtakes me. My fist slams into the side of his face, and blood sprays out of his mouth. He lets his head hang, blood and drool dripping from his chin onto the floor. He laughs again and looks back at me.
“What’s so special about that fucking tease anyway? She’s just another whore.” He deadpans. Red fills my vision as I lunge forward, and wrap one hand around his throat, forcing him backward in the chair. He slams into the ground and air escapes his lungs. Coming to a stand, I straddle his legs and twist his shirt in my fists.
“Where the fuck is she?!” I scream in his face. Letting go with one hand, I raise my fist and rein heavy blows to his face, ribs and stomach. His blood splashes in my face and all over my shirt, but I don’t give a fuck. I should have killed this prick when he touched her that night in this very bar. Should have gutted him like the animal he is and let the Oregon wild life handle his remains.
“Mav!” I hear Slater shout from somewhere in the room. Tilting my head to look at him, he stands at the front door with the phone up to his ear.
“Jeremy and the other guy I put on the Hellcat, they got something. There were two men and they were paid off to try and take you out. They wouldn’t give a name, but I have a feeling it’s that piece of shit.” He juts his chin toward Alex and I nod. Turning back to look at the slimy, red headed fuck at my feet, I notice he’s laughing between gasping for air.
“Thought you could just take me out, huh? Guess what?” I whisper harshly. “You failed. Where the fuck is Parker?” I ask and yank his chair back upright. The four legs teeter before the chair settles, and he throws his head back. He coughs, then lets out a sinister chuckle. He brings his head back down to look at me with a straight face. His eyes are the size of saucers, and overcome with inky black replacing the brown.
“You’re never going to find her.” He tells me through a smile that makes my stomach churn, then spits more blood onto the floor. Without hesitation, I reach for my gun, cock it back, and put a bullet right between his eyes. Ashlynn screams from somewhere in the room as blood and brain matter splatter on the window behind him, and his head snaps backward with the force. My chest heaves as I holster my weapon and storm toward the front door.
“Maverick!” Karson yells after me, but I don’t stop. Shoving through the door, I walk until I’ve reached my bike. Tugging on my helmet, I mount the R1 and fire up the engine before pulling my phone out of my pocket. Tapping the screen a few times, I tap on a contact and it rings on the other line. Revving the engine, I peel out of the parking lot and fly back in the direction of my house.
Two Days Later
Dismissed-Alisxn Gray
Chapter thirty-five
The call
“Parker is missing.” Igrit out, speeding back to my house.
“Who the fuck is this?” A deep voice booms on the other end.
“I could ask you the same fucking question, but that can wait. Right now, Parker is missing. I don’t know how you know her, but I have a feeling you’re the one behind her bullshit identity. Which tells me you’re probably the only person who can help me fucking find her. Now, are you going to fucking do that or not? Because she’s gone and I don’t have time for games.” The line goes silent for a moment before he speaks again.
“I’m on my way.”
“No fucking need. I’ve got people here looking for her, but I have a feeling I won’t find her here. I’m coming to you. In the mean time, do whatever the fuck it is you do, and find her.”
“I’ll send you details of where to go.”
The guys and I spent all day yesterday scouring the area to find Parker. Slater pulled cameras from the bar, but the one behind it where I found her phone was out. After checking traffic cameras, he caught a car speedingtoward the airport. I wasn’t sure my phone call two nights ago would prove to be helpful, but it was. Sitting in the back of a blacked out SUV with Karson behind me, we exit the airport parking lot. I drag my eyes to the man sitting next to me, my hands fisting by my side.
“Who the fuck are you, exactly? Who are you to Parker?” The man pockets his phone inside of his suit jacket, then turns in his seat to face me. His dark hair is lightly gelled and pushed out of his face.
“Nick Rossi. I’m her uncle.” He states and looks me up and down.
Her uncle. I knew that background check was bogus.“And who the fuck are you?”
“Maverick Cain. She’s mine.” I clip. “Why does Parker have a fake identity?” I’m now staring at the face of the person behind it, so I’m going to get the answers I’ve been wanting. Truth is, after our trip to the beach house, I never got the chance to open Slater’s email. I also was waiting for Parker to be ready to tell me herself, but things have changed. Who better to ask than Nick Rossi himself. He sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose, then starts.
“When Lizzy was twelve, her parents passed away. Murder/suicide, that’s what the coroner said anyway, but I dont’t believe it. Anthony loved Tanya and Lizzy more than anything in this world, he would have never done something like that. I’ve been trying to figure out what really happened that day ever since. Anyway, Anthony was my best friend, and had been since we were young. When they passed, Lizzy moved in with me. When she was fourteen she met a boy at school, Preston, and they started a relationship.”
“You keep saying Lizzy. Is that Parker’s real name? Why would she need to start a whole new life?” I ask and he nods.
“Elizabeth Ann Moretti. And I’m about to tell you why.” He tells me with a hint of irritation, and I sit back in my seat as the vehicle speeds onto the highway.
“Lizzy and Preston were together until she left two years ago. When she was sixteen, our relationship became strained and I believe it was due to him. She moved in with him when she was nineteen. I started seeing less and less of her as time went on, and the last time I saw her–before the day she left–she was twenty one. She called me crying, and I brought her back home. She wouldn’t say what happened, just that they had fought and she needed some space. That night, she slipped out of the house while I was asleep, and that was it.”
“I don’t understand.” I say, shaking my head.
“I have my suspicions that Preston was abusing her, at the very least he manipulated and isolated her from everyone. She sent me a text that night letting me know she was going back home, and that was the last I heard from her. I’d show up at their house only to be turned away at the driveway by Preston’s fathers security. Her phone was shut off. It didn’t matter what I tried, they made sure I had no contact with her.” My blood boils listening to his story.
