Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,107
The distance between the plops was probably a roof leak, because it had rained overnight.
Creaking of boards. The wind hitting the building?
Crying. Almost inaudible.
Freddie.
Now that I’d heard it, the sound scraped against my senses. It was coming from the right. Eyes open again, I found the dark less ominous and just harder to see in, but I could make out enough to navigate.
This time when I moved, Milo tapped my shoulder and stuck with me. I didn’t worry about what was behind us because he’d warn me while I made sure we got where we were going. Back-to-back, we weaved a haphazard path through the dilapidated building and its abandoned shipping containers.
The jagged sound of crying grew louder. The hammer of my heart thrumming in my ears threatened to drown out the sound, but we needed to find the person sobbing so brokenly.
After what seemed like an eternity, the sobbing was right next to us. We moved along the side of the shipping container when the first end we’d reached was closed and smooth, no doors. On the opposite end, we found it was cracked open like the door had been.
More, there was some kind of light in there. It burned my eyes so adjusted to the dark. Behind me, Milo had begun typing something on his phone. I dug my hand into the pocket and looked for the button on the side to turn it off. I didn’t want mine to ding.
Done, Milo shoved his away, and when I glanced back at him, he nodded. The crying shredded me. It was too close to how my mother would sob after one of Dad’s beatings. How she would try to stifle the sound, smothering it, even if I was right there trying to hug it better.
My stomach rolled, and the sound of my father’s fists raining down blows as she tried to cover her face with her hands and arms flooded through me. Not worried about the quiet anymore, I raced forward.
We had to get in there and save…
The metal of the door screamed as I yanked it open. The light inside came from a couple of portable lanterns. Their dim light was still too bright against my dilated eyes, and tears gathered as I squinted to find Freddie curled in the corner with some filthy bedding.
He was naked, and he had his arms around his knees, rocking himself. The sobs grew louder and his whole body flinched as I rushed toward him. I skidded to a halt and stared around the empty space.
Only it wasn’t empty.
Freddie wasn’t alone.
A man lounged, half dressed on another pile of blankets.
Hate swelled within me as the man opened his eyes. “Shut your fucking crying,” he muttered. “You know you wanted it, and I told you I’d bring you back home.”
Then it registered I was standing there as the guy’s unfocused eyes locked on me.
Freddie let out another sob that he choked off. The man growled and lunged toward me, and I swung the crow bar. It connected with a meaty thunk, and a spray of warm blood hit my face. The man howled, more in pain than fury, and I rammed into him and swung the crow bar again. Bone crunched and more blood sprayed.
I wasn’t alone. Milo was there, cutting off the guy’s escape, and he crashed his pipe to the guy’s kneecap. The sound was vicious, visceral, and so fucking satisfying.
He needed to hurt. Like he’d hurt her. Hurt Freddie. My father’s eyes blazed fury up at me as the guy roared, and he took a swipe at Milo with a fist. The blow missed when Milo danced back out of reach, and I swung the crow bar again. This time, I got his wrist and shoulder.
The man went down. My next blow missed because he managed to drive his shoulder into my chest. I couldn’t breathe as all the air whooshed out of me. The move slammed me into the side of the shipping container. Something cut through the shirt and bit into my skin.
One minute, he had me against the wall, and the next, he was howling on the ground. Vaughn let out a damn near preternatural growl of sound that made my skin shiver. He’d broken the guy’s arm, and it was twisted at an unnatural angle.
I felt my brothers more than saw them.
Liam. Rome. Kellan. Vaughn. Milo. We were all here, and the predator had become the prey.