Page 64 of Splintered Desire

I hadn’t heard back from her since my last text, and I’d tossed and turned a good portion of the night, worried she would never talk to me again.

I’ll take bratty Zela, and I’ll say thank you, and if she gives me the chance, I’ll never let her go. She’s faced more than a girl her age should have, and that’s just from what I know. I’m sure there’s more she never shared, especially since Ozy left.

She met her demons and fought them; she deserves to be safe and cared for, and judging by the texts and the fact that she had a mix-up with some blood, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that’s not what's happening.

“Reed!” If it were anyone else, I would have kept walking, but I’d prefer to keep this job, and Kolson is the boss.

“What’s up, boss?” I call back as I make my way through the crowd over to the steps he’s currently coming down.

“We're leaving. I trust you can handle shutting everything down?”

He hardly looks at me, but that’s not too far out of the ordinary. Ever since his old man passed, the kid's been running himself into the ground in an attempt to make everything the best it can be.

He’s done a damn good job, too. The Pit has never been busier and is attracting attention from a lot more than just locals. People travel from different states to watch these fights now, to watch her.

“Of course,” I tell him with a nod as Jace all but skips down after him with a smile on his face that unsettles me. Kid’s got screws missing, not just loose.

Sensing him at his back, Kol turns and meets his gaze. “Isaac’s ‌grabbing Ze. Grab the car and meet him in the back to grab her. I need to talk to two of our sponsors for next week before we go.”

Neither of them gives me so much as another look as they move to do what they need. It’s just as well because if they did, they would see that I’m spiraling.

Ze isn’t a crazy nickname, but it’s way less common for a girl, and what are the odds of another girl here tonight…

No, that's crazy. I would know if they took an interest in her, right?

The moving, their new obsession with a sister I had yet to see. I’d overheard Isaac and Kolson talking about how she was busy at school on Saturdays.

Or was she lying to keep them off her back?

Fuck.

I run, shoving my way through groups of people, unseeing of the people around me, uncaring of their shouts and curses that follow me as I beg the universe to let me be wrong.

“Vixen!” I shout as I burst into the back room, my eyes frantically bouncing around. Her bag is still here.

Maybe she went to the bathroom?

I run and check before checking the weight room down the hall and everything in between, but she’s not here.

Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I stand, spinning in a circle as I try to think of what to do, how to find her and save her from them.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I pull up my texts with Zela and press the call button.

“Come on, Vix, pick up, kid.”

The shrill sound of her ringtone echoes off the walls behind me, and I spin to find her phone on the ground by the door.

Fuck.

It’s cold, I’m wet, my head is throbbing, and it feels like I just got done choking on a razor blade.

What the hell is going on?

I push up and balk when my hand sinks into the ground beside me, my mind scrambling to remember how we ended up in the mud…

With a groan, I manage to sit up, peeling my eyes open as a flash of lightning lights up the sky, and I quickly squeeze my eyes closed against the pain it sends shooting through my skull.

The fight. I’d won, but Widow sure as fuck wasn’t pulling punches.