Page 18 of Resolve
I step around the blood spots while moving through the room. I’m not squeamish when it comes to blood. It just seemswrongfor me to step on it. Disrespectful to Harvey or something like that. Fuck knows why, but I avoid it anyway, moving closer to the entertainment unit. He’s got a decent set of video games, but unsurprisingly they’re all low stakes or family-friendly types.
One of the games on the other side of the unit falls. Did I bump it?
A random breeze sweeps through the room, and a few more cases drop. Jackson waves his arm toward the open door into the apartment. There’s an immediate relief from the stagnant smells in the room, and I take my first large breath since coming inside.
Before I’ve finished exhaling, something squeezes around my throat—cutting off my air at the same time as something sharp presses along my cheek, ending right below my eye. Another weight pushes into my lower back. I grab at my throat and whatever’s there, when an unfamiliar voice whispers in my ear, “Don’t. Move.”
Fuck.
Did I miss a portal opening somewhere? The voice isn’t Charles or anyone else I recognize.
“What are you doing?” Kellan calls from the kitchen. I glare at him, waiting for him to fuckingdo somethingabout this, but he’s just looking at me, confused.
The arm around my throat presses harder, and black spots appear in my vision.
Fuck staying still. I pull and shove back, trying to loosen their grip so I can do more than this gasping wheeze.
Kellan finally gets the hint that something’s off and leaps over the kitchen island to rush toward me.
“Dane!” Raegan shouts, running into the room before Jackson bands an arm over her chest and yanks her against him. “Jack,what—”
He pulls a handful of throwing knives free and they fly toward us.
“I’ll shoot!” a young, feminine voice screeches behind me. The knives and Kell freeze. “Move another step, and I’ll shoot him!”
I’m the only one who knows she’s bluffing, but her arm’s still trapping my throat.
Grabbing the wrist holding the knife, I push and hold it away and then throw all my strength forward, flipping the person over my head. The glass coffee table shatters as she crashes through it to the floor.
I jump on the arm with the knife, pinning it down as I heave oxygen back into my lungs.
“Dane! Are you okay? Who—” Raegan stops.
Ripping the knife from the attacker’s hand, I toss it away and turn to look at her.
She’s young; probably still a teenager. The rest of her is covered in sweatpants and a hoodie. Her long black hair is wild and unkempt, and her eyes... her ocean blue eyes are angrily locked on Raegan. The girl lunges for her, screaming, “You, bitch!”
We all move at once, either shifting between them like Aiden and Jack, or grabbing the girl like Kell and me. I hold her arm against my chest, even as she flails, still raging at Raegan. “It’s all your fault! You did this! You tricked him! He’s dead because of you! Because ofyou!”
“That’s enough.” Aiden’s sharp command cuts through her cries. He’s stepped directly in front of her, blocking her view of Raegan, as he grabs her face with one hand and forces her to look at him. “Did Charles leave you behind to spy on us?”
She spits in his face. “I’m not telling you shit.”
Aiden releases her, wiping his face with his suit jacket sleeve while in the same second, Jackson’s suddenly there, squeezing her throat with one hand and wearing a chilling smile. The girl’s eyes widen with fear, her mouth opening, but no sound comes out.
“If you’ve nothing useful to say, then you don’t need your tongue.” He flips a knife where she can see it, and her body starts to shake.
“...lying...” she croaks through his grip, trying to call his bluff even though a fine tremble overtakes her body.
Unfortunately for her, he’s not bluffing.
Jack cocks his head, his smile sharpening.
“Wait! Stop!” Raegan pushes through, grabbing Jackson’s arm with the knife. “You’re not cutting her tongue out. She’s just as much a victim of Charles as Harvey was!”
“Harvey didn’t push blame on others for his own failures,” he replies coolly.
“She’s just a kid,” Rae counters. “And she doesn’t deservethat. She’s not our enemy.”
