Page 83 of Burned
Erin’s name in his depraved mouth. I cannot breathe. The recording continues.
“Erin thinks she’s brave, doesn’t she? Always stepping in. Always playing the hero.”
Caleb laughs again, and bile rises in my throat. “But we both know what happened when no one was watching.”
The room disappears. Only rage is left.
I know the things he did to her. I killed him for them. Yet, it’s not enough.
No punishment, no torture would be enough.
The recording stops. Silence slams down.
No one moves. No one breathes.
Then another voice comes over the screen.
Carlos.
Smooth. Controlled. Almost bored.
I can’t tear my eyes away from his face. I want to reach into the screen and rip his eyes out of their sockets.
“He’s live,” Gregory gasps. “The feed is live.”
“Can he see us?” I ask.
Gregory fiddles with the keypad. “He can see us. But there’s something wrong with the sound. We can hear him. He can’t hear us.”
I stare at the screen, trying not to punch right through the glass. And wait for him to speak. He has all the control right now.
And it’s going to kill me faster than any gun would.
Finally, Carlos says, “Lucian thinks he knows what Caleb took. He doesn’t.”
“Bastard.” My teeth grin. My jaw locks.
A photo shows up on the screen. Grainy, angled, like taken from a hidden camera or a phone held by someone who wanted proof without being seen.
Erin.
Younger. With shorter hair, her smile sweeter than it is now. Caleb sitting next to her.
His hand on her thigh.
My knees buckle. My stomach sinks. My fists hit the tabletop so hard that my knuckles draw blood.
Gregory moves. Rafe catches me first.
“Do not,” Rafe says, grabbing my arm. “Do not lose control.”
“Fuck!” I rip it away, punching the table again.
Gregory panics. “He’ll smash the computer, and then we’ll lose connection.”
“Lucian,” Bayne’s heavy voice sounds from across the table. “Get a hold of yourself.”
I look up at him, and for one second I think I might kill the wrong man simply because the right one is not here. “He touched her.”
