Burning Truths (Consume Me #2)

22. Oakley

Chapter Twenty-Two

OAKLEY

Mud squelches under shoes outside the old building, making the only sound in the dark night. Licking the back of my teeth, I scrape my brain for the last memory I have of speaking to Jax. Shit. Coming up empty, resignation slowly settles into my bones, guilt that I sent him here completely blind, consumes me. Sighing, I blink my eyes trying to force them to adjust to the pitch black night.

“The smell.” Havoc grunts under the weight of a bloated body.

Groaning from the sudden shift, Silas stumbles, almost dropping the dead body. “Goddamnit, Vic. Steady hands man, the last thing we need is a bloated body popping.”

“Do we need help girls?” I laugh.

Skipping around the two, I try not to think about the person they are getting ready to dump in a shallow grave. The way his body is carved into pieces infuriates me. The sooner we get Kenna out of here, the quicker we can get some answers. Starting with what the hell happened in this building. A door closing behind us has me spinning on my heels. Headlights beam directly in my face, coming straight towards where I’m standing at the back of the building. Silas and Havoc have started digging in the soft dirt a yard or two away. Moving away from the red brick building, my hands find my hips and I tip my head looking directly into the blinding headlights. Swerving the car just to the right, barely missing my leg, the driver slams on the breaks and rolls down the tinted windows.

“Stone Manor. Meet us there when you’re done dealing with this mess. Ryker has the family doctor coming to take a look at her.” Gio says from the driver seat.

My eyes move from him to the man in the passenger seat. He doesn’t speak, only assesses the scene around him, so I look back to Gio.

“Hank?” I ask, twisting my lips to the side.

Looking to the ceiling of the dark car, he shakes his head, “He’s in the trunk. Don’t worry, we’ll let you have a playdate before Ryker has a talk with him.” Gio huffs out a shallow laugh.

Leaning my arms on the window, I’m brought closer to green eyes and scarred skin. Tapping my nails on the metal window frame, I blow them both kisses flashing my red painted lips.

“Don’t worry boys, I'll save some of the fun for you.” Pushing off the car I head over to my men.

The car's engine revs a few times before the tires squeal, leaving a cloud of dirt and mud splattered over the pavement. Fucking boys.

“I’m not leaving the damn room.” Ryker spits.

“We need to examine her.” The doctor states. His tone is anything but pleasant, but he knows who he works for, so he steps back with his words.

The party has moved back to a mansion in the center of Del Mar which I’m positive is the Stone residence. West is leaning against the wall with both hands in his pocket while Ryker is going toe to toe with the good ole doctor. Fucking menaces, all of them. Rolling my eyes I stand from the small white chair beside Kenna stopping at the foot of her bed.

“Doc, he’s not going anywhere. I’m guessing you knew that already, so do us all a favor and get to fucking work.” Turning to West, “You aren’t needed.” I wave my hand to shoo him out the room. “Go make yourself useful.”

Brown eyes darken his gaze, lighting a fire on my skin, “Careful what you wish for, Blue.” He rumbles.

There’s a threat layered underneath his words and it shoots excitement down my spine.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for.” I wink.

I’d eat him alive and enjoy each second of watching my men savor every single taste from my tongue.

“You too.” I say, pointing to Ryker.

Ryker turns on me spewing venom, “Watch who the fuck your talking to. You’re in my house, in my town, running my streets.” His jaw ticks.

“Maybe it’d be best for the patient if she had some privacy due to her condition.” The doc says. His white lab coat is unnecessary on a house call, yet here we are. In a fucking reality T.V. show filled with personal doctors, mansions, and filthy money. Ryker shoulders past me grabbing the doc by his jacket, shoving him against the pale blue wall.

“Keep in mind who lines your fucking pockets and looks the other way when certain parts show up on the market.” He seethes.

“Let the man go so he can do his fucking job.” I exhale. “Stupid, pushy, bossy bastards. All of em.” I mumble under my breath.

A small moan pulls my attention back from the darker parts of my mind. Spinning on my heels, hazel eyes meet mine. Kenna Kingston. My father promised to keep an eye on her if anything happened to the Kingston family, so here I stand keeping his promise. My phone vibrates in my back pocket, reminding me how much I have on hold back in Seattle while I’ve been here playing detective. I force a smile from my face when I think of all the fun I’m about to have.

“Ms. Kingston, my name is Dr. Munford.” The doc moves around a red faced Ryker to slip beside Kenna.

Her eyes leave mine to look at the tall sturdy male beside her. She goes to jerk back, but lets out a groan from the pain. She hit her head pretty fucking hard. Luckily head wounds bleed a lot, and it doesn’t always mean disaster. I’m still positive she has a concussion though. Making my way back to the chair on the opposite side of Dr. Munford, I make sure to keep my movements slow and obvious. Having experience with trauma comes in handy with situations like these. It's why I don’t think Ryker needs to be in the room. I’d remove him myself if I knew it wouldn’t freak the little princess out over here. I’d enjoy finally getting in the ring with the hot head and putting him in his place. A smirk creeps up my face and I squish it back before anyone notices.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you, I just need to take a look at you.” He lowers his voice into a calm tone. Far from the deep one he held for Ryker.

Her gaze flits from him to Ryker and her eyes widen. When her breathing picks up and her fingers start to pick at the skin around her nails, reopening the cuts there, I turn to look at him.

“You need to go.” I snap.

Pausing his pacing, he starts to storm towards me when Kenna shrinks against the bed. Hand on my blade, I quirk an eyebrow, daring the little fucker to make another move towards me. Del Mar doesn’t want the attention of the wolves on them and he knows it. Looking back to Kenna, I rest my arms on my knees, showing her I’m not a threat.

“The doc here is going to check you out. You hit your head pretty hard and might have a concussion. You’re also dehydrated and-” Looking her over, I hesitate on the right words. “You’ve lost a lot of weight. We want to make sure you are okay and have medical treatment. We will give you privacy-” I pause again looking back over my shoulder at Ryker who is pacing again. “We will both give you privacy with the doc so he can examine you. If you need anything, call for me and I’m here.”

Tears form at the edge of her eyes, but she lays there silent. Looking away, her gaze floats to the ceiling, ignoring me completely. Whatever this shit-fuck did to her, she doesn't think she can trust any of us anymore.

Standing, I push the chair to the wall and walk to the door. “I want her neck and head assessed first. If she says no to any treatment at all and you don’t stop, I’ll cut your fucking hands off an ship them to your family. Understand?”

The doc looks from me, to Ryker, to Kenna before nodding. Pulling Ryker out of the room by his shirt, I shove him against the wall outside the room.

“Swallow down that alpha bullshit you have flowing off of you like a damn river. She’s been kept captive for months with no other human contact than the asshole who’s been hurting her. You saw the room, the photos, the collar. She trusts me and you about as much as she trusts the damn devil.” My finger digs into his chest.

Pressing into my touch, he walks me backwards until I’m the one pinned. Caramel brown eyes peer into mine, the pain behind them fighting for dominance with the absolute rage he has caged.

“Don’t touch me again, Oak.” He snaps.

Smiling, I shove my knee into his thigh forcing space between us, “You only had me pinned because I let you.” I laugh dancing out of his reach. “I’m going to go pay my boys a visit.” Blowing him a kiss, I bound down the hall ready for a different kind of fun. “Pace the halls if you need to, but give her time, Ryker.” I shout behind me, my voice reverberating off the walls.

The hallway is long and opulently decorated with expensive art pieces and dusty hanging pendant style lights. You can tell the home hasn’t been lived in because fuck, have they ever heard of a housekeeper? Rich people problems I guess. Passing a few closed doors, I follow the hallway down until it opens into a massive great room with smokey grey tile and black furniture. The lack of a T.V. is a little boring, but I guess when you have everything you ever wanted watching lesser people on a square box is boring. I giggle to myself.

Voices float from a space off the great room towards the right, so I follow the sound. Passing a long marble table with black Esther Wingback chairs lined up along both sides for dining, my finger trails along them as I continue past them. Expensive taste for sure. The walls are painted a dark brown almost black. Only a few shades lighter than the ebony furniture scattered across the room. Stepping through another doorway getting closer to the voices, I can hear Havoc and Silas arguing about something, making me smile.

A white door on the left side is cracked, leading to a bedroom where Havoc, Gio, Silas, and Haven are all spread around the room. Pushing it open with my toe, I lean against the trim watching them go back and forth about fuck knows what.

“Where is he?” I ask no one in particular.

“Basement.” Gio answers looking up from his phone. The tension rolling off this one clouds the room.

Licking my lips, I quirk a brow, “A certain pussycat getting under your skin?” I joke.

It’s a call out that only he would understand and the moment his eyes meet mine, I can see how right I am. I hope I’m around to see the disaster this is bound to be. Silas jumps off the arm of the couch and stalks towards me with hooded eyes. Reaching me, his warm breath fans over my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps.

“Blue.” He rasps.

Tis-king, I lean away, “It’s not fun unless someone’s covered in blood.” Pressing forward on my toes, I kiss the edge of his mouth. “I want to get a little dirty first, Si.” I whisper against his lips.

Groaning, he pulls me against him, giving me an idea of how bad he wants to see me lose control. Havoc can feel the change in the air because he’s headed towards us rubbing his hands together with a dark grin.

“For fucks sake.” Haven groans, plopping backwards on the couch.

Ignoring her snark, I move out of Silas arms and step towards Gio, giving him a serious look. “We need to have a little chat about what you saw soon. For now, I’m going to pay a visit to our new friend.” Turning to Haven, I level her with a look, “I need you to go bat your eyes for a certain playboy.” I wiggle my brows with a smile.

Havoc jerks his head, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, “His bark is worse than his bite.” I reassure him. Rubbing my hands together I snicker, “Let’s go spark up some chaos.”