Torn (Dark Desires Duet, #1)

Chapter Twenty Six

We all gather around her, peeking through the side. Brandon stands as far as possible from me but I don't want to make a big deal out of it. We have more important things to worry about.

Inside is a small room, old and musty. Filled with cracked sofas and broken closets. Almost like an attic. Tara steps in carefully, making a gesture, telling us to follow as well.

Taking a deep breath, I go behind her, making as little noise as possible. Kier's hand is on my back, supporting me.

A shadow moves in the corner and I whisper in Tara's ear, letting her know what I saw. She nods once and makes some complicated gestures that only Leo and Julian understand.

Then she tugs on my arm, pressing her finger to her lips. Grimly, we move towards the shadow, making no noise absolutely. My eyes move to the side to see Brandon walking casually, his gait graceful and quiet. I'm jealous. How does he walk like that? Since my mind wandered, I trip on my own feet and stumble.

Shit.

The noise of my feet clattering on the steel floor alerts the person and we all rush forward, since there is no point in hiding.

Leo attacks who I highly suspect is Benedict and they fall to the ground, grunting and hitting. A minute later, Benedict is on the floor, his hands above him and Leo seethes, blood dripping down his chin. With a punch to Benedict's face, he gets up and dusts himself off.

Somehow, Benedict gets up and looks at each one of the men. He addresses Leo. "What are you doing here, brother?"

"I'm not your fucking brother." He deadpans. His voice is so cold and detached which is very much unlike him. It's still shocking when he swears.

"We have the same father." Benedict goads, his eyes crossing, face whitening. He sways and falls into Leo.

Leo tsks loudly and pushes a weak and frail Benedict on the floor. "You sent out a thug to harm a little girl?"

Why isn't he asking about the killings? But then again, who else would it be? There is no point in asking.

He shakes his head and pales even more. If I hadn't been felt up and attacked by him then I would've felt pity for him. Benedict looks a lot different than the last time I saw him. He was a bit fit and strong looking but now he looks worse than a drunk who's beyond gone.

Black, greasy hair falls around his face, same haunted dark eyes staring at the floor. He staggers behind and finally looks up, his eyes meeting mine. There is no recognition or any other emotion for that matter.

"What do you want?" He says hoarsely. "I don't have anything to give you."

Anger surges and boils within me. "You touched me, you freak and you think kidnapping other innocent girls and raping them is okay?"

My sentence echoes around the room and an awkward silence ensues. Benedict laughs loudly, shocking us all.

Six against one drunk ass dickhead and he's laughing? He really seems to be mentally ill. He chokes three times before speaking. "Is that what this is all about, brother?" Benedict looks up at Leo and sneers. "Because I touched your pretty little friend?"

Brandon steps ahead and smashes the man's face into the wall. "You find this funny, huh? Not only are you hurting her, you're exploiting dozens of other women as well."

With an uppercut to Benedict's jaw, and a kick to his knees, Brandon steps back, glaring at him but refuses to meet my eyes. Benedict spits blood to the side and Brandon winces.

What is he doing? He is always so in control but now rage...and grief?.. just seems to seep through him. I really want to go and hug him, tell him all will be okay, but I don't even know what's hurting him. There is something off about him. So many emotions cross his face, and I hope we can talk about it later. Now is so not the time.