BLOODHOUNDS #2: THE TAKER

Chapter 22 - GLIMPSE OF PAST

Tatiana Knight

My plan for today was to make my statement.

I jumped into the shower to freshen up, and when I saw myself in the mirror, I almost screamed murder. Kayden gave me so many hickeys on my body that it looked like someone beat me.

It's on my neck, my collarbone, my shoulder, my breast, my stomach, and my chest. I looked like a map of bruises. I ran to my room and tried to cover it with makeup, but I couldn't fully cover it.

I jumped into the shower and put my hoodie and sweatpants on. I'm trying my best to hide it because it's too much. I went downstairs with my iPad and phone, which Kayden picked up in the lobby last night. The smell of coffee lured me down, and Kayden was sitting at the dining table with his laptop.

"Where are you going?" He asked without turning to me.

"Somewhere when I can write my statement."

"Do you want to follow me to the headquarters?" His attention fell on me, and he judged me right away. He furrowed his eyebrows because he didn't see his creation on my body.

"You gave me too many hickeys!"

"And you're hiding it?"

"It looked like someone had beaten me up, Kayden."

"It looked like I own you, Mon Avenir. Change!" I put my hands on my waist, glaring at him.

"I'm not changing-" He got up from his seat, and I found myself running up the stairs. I decided to change my hoodie to a simple black top. I walked downstairs, and he smiled.

"Let's go." We went down, and Hugo was already waiting for us. He greeted me with a smile and drove us to the headquarters.

"I'm curious about the cafeteria," I said, remembering he told me he didn't need me to bring him food because they have their cafeteria. "Can I write my statement there?"

"No. You're going to work on it in my office."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not working in the same room as you."

"And why is that?"

"I need to concentrate," I said, apparent.

We arrived at the headquarters, and many people gathered in the lobby. We got out of the car, and Kayden grabbed my hand before I could hold my bag.

"Kayden!" I pulled him, and he turned to me. He let me grab my bag, and when I closed the car door, everyone turned to us.

Blake was there with four other men.

"Look who's here. The person who betrayed us." The blonde-haired man who was standing beside Blake said.

"Hugo, take Tatiana inside." With that, Kayden let me go. Hugo led me inside, and I kept looking back to see what Blake and his friends were doing.

Kayden Grant

After I ensured Tatiana was inside, "What the fuck are you three doing here?" I sighed long, looking at Blake Lockwood, Vincent Parker, and Liam Hastington, who never should have stepped inside our headquarters.

"That's rude, Grant." Vincent raised his eyebrows, looking at me with amusement in his eyes.

"He became a fucking ungrateful boy ever since he left." Blake never liked the outcome of everything that happened.

"You're getting married. Don't forget to send us the invitation. We were your friends first." Liam patted my shoulder before giving Mason a nod. He turned his body and walked to his car.

"Tatiana!" Blake called her, and Tatiana turned her head for a split second. He was waving at her, and she was busy glaring at her.

"Fuck off, Lockwood!"

"Don't make take her away from you, Grant." Vincent, who was standing in the middle, chuckled.

"If you two want to reconsile, we don't mind," Mason said flatly, causing us to turn our heads to him. Mason handed Vincent a thin black envelope, which Vincent took.

"Just say that you miss him, Lockwood." Vincent patted his chest with the back of his hand and took off.

"I'll see you in hell, Grant." Blake joined Vincent, and they left.

"What did you let them in? Did Asher know about this?" Mason nodded, and he threw his phone at me. I looked at the screen, and a man named Sergei had stolen something from us.

"Asher was the one who asked them to come. We're exchanging information since we're looking for the same person. He's good at manipulating the cameras, too." I gave the phone back. "I can't believe you used to be a part of them, Grant."

"Maybe I just hate Blake too much." That's not true at all. Blake was my best friend at some point. We shared a lot of things and had each other's back.

But sometimes, it's wiser to go our separate ways.

"Make him your best man. He'll forgive you." He led me back into the building, and I walked to my office, where Tatiana was already waiting for me.

"Was that Blake's friends?" Tatiana asked curiously, and I sat beside her. "Yes, why?"

"They're rude and scary. You knew them?"

"Yeah. They were my friends before joining the Bloodhounds." Her jaw fell, and she gasped.

"Blake, too?" I nodded.

"No wonder." Her statement made me raise my eyebrows.

"No wonder what, Mon Avenir?"

"I don't know. You two are too similar." I shook my head, disgusted by the thoughts of it.

"You're close with them?"

"I was close with Blake and Liam. I knew Vincent for a few months." I answered as I pulled her into my lap.

"What went wrong?"

"Why do you care so much about my relationship with Blake?" Curious, what will her answer be?

"Because you both used to be friends. I mean, I could understand why you don't want to be friends with Blake. He's an asshole."

"Did you just call him an asshole?" She nodded proudly, making me chuckle.

"Well, I agree that he's an asshole. Next time, you should say that in front of his face." She giggled and hugged me. Then she realized something. She tried to get up. I stopped her.

"Okay, I need to concentrate on writing my statement."

"5 minutes."

"More like 50 minutes."

"You guessed it, Mon Avenir."