Bad Taste (Part II) // Colby Brock

214 - Rebecca

Dad understood why I had to leave shortly after hearing what he'd said. I explained to him that now wasn't the time for finding a way to get over Mom, but rather a time for avenging her. As soon as Julian was ash, I'd be "happy" to sit above a grave and let everything out. I needed the bitch now more than ever, and if all went to plan, it would be the last time she'd come up.

Colby knew there was something I wanted to say the whole car ride back, but he kept his mouth shut as he drove. Kevin was still in the back tapping his leg to the beat in his head and I kept my annoyance about it to myself. He wasn't the one who deserved my anger, nor was he the one who needed to hear what I had to say yet.

When we arrived at the house, Colby followed me silently into the red room with Kevin a few steps behind us. The atmosphere changed the moment we entered, and the spotlight was on me.

"We're finding Julian," I said, "and I don't care what else is going on in your lives." I glanced half at Elton, who'd been suspiciously going missing sometimes lately. "Stay the fuck in this house unless we're going out to attack him or investigate." I looked back at Colby. "You got my back on this?" He nodded silently.

"We've been trying to find Julian this whole time, Beck. We can't-"

"You haven't been using Angela or me. She knows him best and I'm fucking pissed. I'm going to get her down here and she's going to help us, then she can do all the mourning she wants."

"I don't think just Angela could change anything, Becky," Sam admitted, speaking to me in a condescending voice. I knew they all thought I was grieving and delusional, but I didn't care what they thought. As long as they went along with it.

"Maybe not but she can help. Have you looked into finding Emily?"

"She's with him, that's all we know," Elton told me.

"Anyone associated with him?"

"He didn't have many friends."

I narrowed my eyes. "I remember something about club membership cards in his wallet. I know I wasn't dreaming it. Have you checked if anyone there knows him well enough?"

No one said anything, so Colby stepped up behind me. "She's as much in charge as I am. Any lead is something."

Sam was alarmed but he controlled his features. They were still playing along and that was all I needed from them right now. He told us they'd checked the club he was said to be at most but no one knew him well, so that was technically a dead end. The other clubs would be no different—I understood that and didn't want to waste any time, so I shifted to my next focus: his old house.

They'd yet to return to he ruins after what'd happened, which baffled me, so Colby sent Corey, Mike and Sam to check it out. Sam gave him a look on the way through the door; a look I ignored for his sake. I still wasn't happy with him.

With them gone to explore that possibility, I texted Angela to get her down here and, in the process, ended up going through my contacts to find one person who'd been doing his own investigations all this time. It was a long shot that he'd have any information on Julian, but I still had to find out.

Any lead is a lead.

Colby let me step out of the room to take the call, though he wasn't happy about it. I walked into the kitchen and hopped onto the counter, kicking my legs like a child as I waited for my ex-employee to answer. When he did, I almost yelled at him for being so slow.

Reserve the bitch, I reminded myself.

"Jax," I said and waited.

"Sorry, Jax isn't here right now," an unfamiliar voice replied. I tensed, staring at my phone to check I had the right number. I did. "I'm a friend, Thomas. Can I help or take a message?"