Mr. Ruthless

Chapter 16

Zander's POV

I slammed the door shut, tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for Bjorn to enter the car. When he finally did he expertly avoided my glare. He buckled up and opened his mouth to speak. He didn't, he took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

I knew what he wanted to ask but was glad he didn't. I started the car and drove off. There was tension in the air but I welcomed the silence.

"You should slow down."
Silence gone I thought annoyed but I knew Bjorn was ready to shit his pants if I kept driving like this, so I did.

"Thanks." He muttered, I knew he was waiting for me to say something and I was getting tired of his 'subtle' glances towards me.

"You told the others to clean up the body." It didn't sounds like a question, Bjorn nodded.
"Good." I forced the words out of my mouth. My hands were still shaking in anger. I couldn't believe what I had seen in that file. That scumbag.

"Zander..." I sighed, I knew he was going to ask but just the thought of answering had my blood boiling in anger again. I stopped the car abruptly knowing I was going to lose control of my own body if I kept driving.

We sat in the car in silence, the car parked in the middle of the abandoned road. Rain was pouring down on my car and only now I realized how damp my clothes were. How could I not have noticed it was raining?

I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands over my rugged chin. I wanted to calm myself, keep control but those pictures of Eleanor kept flashing in front of me. Those pictures of her –

"I can't." I hadn't realized I had said that out loud until Bjorn spoke up.

"Zander, what happened in there." I shook my head. I stared at the file on the dashboard.

Bjorn reached out for it.
"Don't" I snatched his arm away, twisting it, if he moved it an inch further, his bone would break. His eyes were wide. Curiosity clear in his eyes, along with pained confusion. He just wanted to help.

"Zander." He begged. I sighed and let go, giving him a curt nod. He took a deep breath and reached for the file again. I wanted to look away when he opened it but knew I couldn't.

He gasped and for the second time I was staring at a picture of Eleanor. Half-naked, cuts and bruises decorating her skin. My jaw tightened and my hands balled up into fists.

Bjorn didn't turn the page, he just looked at me, I could feel his eyes bore into my head but my eyes were solely focused on the picture.

Bjorn hesitantly flipped through the pages showing other pictures of Eleanor. Her being tied up to a bed with just a sheet covering her body, tears streaming down her face, her eyes so fearful looking straight into the camera.

I gulped and closed my eyes as more pages with similar photo's followed. Bjorn flipped faster through the pages clearly not wanting to inspect them all in detail.

"I can't believe this." He gasped, almost choking on air. I didn't answer. I looked down at the file in his lap, growling in anger when I saw a picture of her, naked, lying unconscious on the floor.

"You've seen enough." I snatched the file away from him, not wanting anyone to see her like that. I didn't want anyone to see any of these pictures. She looked so vulnerable.

"No wonder she's so scared of us." Bjorn commented sadly. I glared at him. If looks could kill. He had no idea how bad I felt for scaring her even more. I had threatened to hurt her, kill her.

I shook my head. I just wanted to go home. I started the engine again and drove off.
"I'm going back to the mansion, you wait for Finn and the others, I'm going home." Bjorn nodded, understanding I wanted to be alone for a moment.