Ruthless Angel (Gods of Ravencrest University #5)

CHAPTER NINE

CLOVER

Video chatting with a balding, red-faced middle-aged man was not fun. Trying to be girlish and sound younger than my age proved to be a challenge. He seemed to buy it. Once I suggested meeting, he was all for it. I told him that my parents were out, and I was able to get out of the house undetected. The cretin practically salivated.

Although the guys planned to hide in the park amongst the trees before the man arrived, Daire still insisted that I carry a gun. Having only had one proper lesson, I wasn’t comfortable with that plan.

“I’m not asking,” Daire said as he pressed the gun into my hand. “I’m not taking any chances here. Hide it in the waistband of your skirt.”

“What if it goes off?” I paled at the thought.

“It won’t. There are built in safety features. It won’t fire unless you pull the trigger. You probably won’t even need to use it. Take it for my peace of mind. Please.” The unspoken pleading in Daire’s eyes cut through my resolve.

“All right. I’m trusting you.” I tucked the gun into the waist of my skirt, pulling my hoodie down to cover it. I’d dressed in what I thought may appeal to the creep. A short skirt and cutesy pink hoodie.

We drove to the park half an hour before the man, Dan, was set to arrive. Both the Angels and the Sinners hid themselves in the trees. The darkness helped keep them hidden. I sat on a bench beneath a park light, doing my best not to freak out.

The Sinners had found a few addresses linked to Brady. One of them had been for a restaurant that shut down a few months ago. Daire felt strongly that may be where they’d taken Blaze. He was certain they hadn’t taken him out of the city.

It blew my mind that the Sinners had demanded ten grand. Cash and Daire had paid in full. I guess vigilante types had access to a lot of money.

Blaze was worth it though. That’s what I told myself as my adrenaline began to spike. He was suffering. Helping to trap a predator was the least I could do.

As I waited, I felt the watchful stares of all five guys upon me. I should have felt safe. I wasn’t alone. The gun digging into my stomach should have added to that security. It didn’t. The thought of using it made me nervous. Everything about this made my stomach flip.

I pulled out my phone, pretending to surf social media sites while waiting. That was normal, right? In my peripheral, I kept an eye out for Dan. I didn’t want him to take me by surprise.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he did. Approaching me from behind, his hand suddenly fell upon my shoulder. I jumped, letting out a small shriek.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” He gave my shoulder a creepy rub before rounding the bench and sitting next to me. “You look cute. I like your hair.”

Knowing what men like this preferred, I’d tied my hair up into pigtails atop my head. Cash had made a gross remark about using them as handles which made Daire chuckle darkly. Sickos.

“Um, thanks.” I didn’t have to pretend to play coy and shy. It came naturally.

Dan wore jeans and a polo shirt. He stunk of cheap cologne and cigarettes. Placing a hand on my knee, he grinned. “Did you wear this skirt just for me?”

This guy made me sick. Would it be terrible if I vomited in his lap?

Swallowing hard, I asked, “Do you like it?”

“I love it.” Dan tugged on one of my pigtails and slid closer to me on the bench. “Would you like to come back to my place? We can order pizza and watch movies.”

I’d never really been much of an actress. Playing along was harder than I’d expected. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to do it much longer.

“Sure, that sounds fun.” I tried to make my voice a little higher and lighter. I didn’t want him to hear my disgust.

Reaching for my hand, Dan rose, pulling me with him. He seemed to be in a hurry to get me to a private place. Fuck that. I let him lead me away, expecting the guys to make their move.

They did.

The Angels seemed to materialize in front of us, stepping from the shadows like ghosts taking form. Behind us the Sinners gathered, trapping Dan between both groups.

“Step away from the girl,” Daire barked. He held a gun in one hand. “I won’t tell you again.”

Dan panicked at the sight of the young men surrounding him. He’d come more prepared for trouble than I’d anticipated. Pulling a gun from his pants, he jerked me against him and pressed the barrel to my temple.

“Back off,” he hissed. “Try anything and I pull the trigger.”

“Do it and you’re a dead man.” Cash’s tone was thick with the need for violence.

Dan dragged me with him as he turned sideways, trying to keep both groups in sight. “I don’t want any trouble here. Everyone stay calm and nobody has to get hurt. We’ll just be on our way.”

He kept dragging me along with him as he inched backwards. My heart thundered in my ears. Should I pull the gun in my skirt? Would that help or hurt this situation? I didn’t want to take a bullet in the head.

Daire’s eyes met mine. He nodded ever so slightly to where the gun was hidden on me. Frozen in fear, I did nothing. Dan kept dragging me away, slowly but surely putting space between us and the guys.

“We’re going to ruin you, Dan,” said Riot. “We’ve already got your license plate number. We have the power to destroy your life. Ruin your credit. Empty your bank account. You’ll lose everything. Does your wife know about your sick interest in underage girls? She will now.”

That made Dan pause. He sounded unsure when he said, “You’re full of shit. You can’t do a damn thing.”

Riot laughed. “I love it when people underestimate us. Let her go and maybe we’ll leave you a few bucks. I’m sure you’ll want to drink yourself to death after we fuck your whole life over.”

Brimming with impatience and frustration, Daire took a step forward. “Fuck that shit. He’s going to die tonight.”

My breath caught when Daire raised his weapon. He’d have to be a perfect shot to hit Dan and miss me. Dan didn’t want to give him the chance. Taking the gun from my head, he aimed at Daire and pulled the trigger. No hesitation.

I screamed as the bullet nailed Daire in the shoulder. Dan pulled the trigger again, this time missing completely. He was in panic mode, ready to go down shooting. I couldn’t let him hurt anyone. I refused to lose anyone else.

Pulling the gun from my waistband, I jerked free of his hold and whirled around to face him, firing at the same time. The kickback would have shocked me if the bullet hadn’t hit him right in the forehead. Watching it smash into his skull stole my focus.

Dan’s mouth dropped open as he fell straight backwards. The gun fell from my hand to land on the grass next to me. I struggled to breathe. I’d just killed someone.

“Holy shit. Good job, Sunshine. That was fucking amazing.” Cash rushed over to pick up my dropped weapon. After shoving it into his pants, he put both hands on my shoulders, turning me toward him. “Are you okay? You did great, Clover. One less piece of shit roaming the planet.”

“We are not fucking part of this.” Raising both hands, Riot began to back away. “We didn’t agree to murder.”

Clutching the bloody wound in his shoulder, Daire snarled, “What did you think we were here for? You think messing with his bank account is enough to stop a creep like him? Grow the hell up.”

“Whatever man,” Felix joined in. “You got your information. We’re done here.”

The Sinners took off, not wanting to be around if someone heard the shots and called the cops. Daire shouted obscenities after them. I stood there in shock, unable to speak. Staring down at Dan’s body, at the blood streaked across his face, it all became too much. I blacked out.

Cash must have caught me because I don’t recall hitting the ground. I had a vague awareness of being put in the car. When I came to, we were back at the Angels’ house.

I woke up on the couch. Slowly I sat up to find Cash standing over Daire who sat in the armchair. Using the tip of a knife, he worked on digging the bullet from Daire’s shoulder.

“Goddammit, that hurts.” Daire clutched a liquor bottle in one hand, chugging back the contents. “Hurry it up, would you?”

“Trying not to make things worse, dude. Don’t be a dick.” Cash glanced over as he noticed my movement. “How are you doing, Clover?”

Reaching up to grasp one of my stupid pigtails, I pulled the hair tie free and shook out my hair. Then I did the same to the other side. “I killed someone. I can’t believe I killed someone.”

“Congratulations. You made the world a slightly better place.” The intensity in Daire’s stare made me uncomfortable. “You did a good thing. Don’t feel bad about it. He didn’t feel bad about abusing young girls.”

Deep down I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d been a bad man. He deserved it. Still, I couldn’t help but stare at my hands, seeing them differently now. I felt different now.

“I can’t believe that happened,” I murmured, lost in the replay of that moment.

Daire said something else that I didn’t hear. Lost inside my mind, I slipped into a catatonic state. Reliving the moment I pulled the trigger. It had happened so fast. I hadn’t thought, only acted.

Now it was too late. No going back. Although I knew Dan had deserved it, I hadn’t thought myself capable of such a thing.

I stared off into space, seeing and hearing nothing but the sound of the gun firing as Dan dropped to the ground. Over and over I saw the scene play out. I couldn’t escape.