Reed (Book 2, Southern Royals Saga)

Chapter 21: Fear and Loathing

Royce sped down Hwy 31 as the sun sank from the sky, ending another day.

His ratty old truck skipped every few miles, jolting me until I wanted to put a bullet in his brain.

Might do that anyway.

I played the radio loud, hoping to tune out the sinister thoughts I was having.

I hated Royce for what he did to Rose; despite his story of Luke attacking them.

I found holes in every sentence of it.

"Do you mind?" He shouted over the vibrating speakers; I shrugged, clutching my fists.

He turned the music down, now the only sounds being the loud muffler and an outdated engine.

"I was hopin' we could talk. Man to man."

"'Bout what?" I stared straight ahead, growing confused when we passed a sign,

Welcome to Historic Selma

"Common interest." Thunk.

I saw Liv as I blacked out.

~

"Out like a fuckin' light," Royce laughed richly, "This kid ain't shit."

Through blurry vision, I saw Royce sitting in a chair, talking on his phone.

"No, but I bet diamonds to nickels that's who he was goin' to see... Hmm."

A sharp pain shoots through the base of my skull, black dots filling my vision as I back out again.

"...Hey... Hey!" I'm shaken awake by Royce later on, the jolt causing the back of my head to throb. He smirks devilishly, "Evening is upon us, my friend."

"Fuck you." I grit out, my throat feeling ablaze.

Royce grips the back of my head, and I spat in pain, "So fuckin' hostile. Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"

"Help? You fuckin' clocked me!" He shoves me away.

"Still alive, though." He argued, sitting in his chair across the room, "Adrian would have my head if I offed you."

Adrian?

"Why does keepin' me alive help him?" I asked, fidgeting in the rope he held me hostage with.

If he were smart, he'd kill all of us.

Anthony assured me Adrian would get his. And soon.

"People are an asset," Royce faced me in the rickety roll chair, "Adrian, though I'm not sure why, sees promise in you."

I leaned my back against the steel, "I see promise in killing you."

Royce's gaze snapped to mine, his texting coming to a halt.

"Maybe," he muttered before throwing his phone on the ground and crushing it with the heel of his boot, "I'll be back. Don't you go nowhere."

Royce laughed, shrugging on his jacket, and leaving me in the dark.

I was in a basement of some type, like in a warehouse or something.

Loathing and fear are what I was left with; loathing the mess I've created, and fear for what that mess is going to do to the people I love.

Mostly to Liv.

If I could speak to her right now, I'd tell her to run. Run somewhere I could find her when this was over. Over, as in I've killed every person that posed a threat to her, and our happiness.