Kyle Thorne

“If you need anything, just call,” I remind Brooke as I leave her on the couch. After the first few days when she basically just slept, the blonde was slowly recovering, spending her days in the TV room, watching romantic comedies and resting.

“As if one of you wouldn’t show up here in five minutes with some lame excuse to make sure I’m okay,” she replies, rolling her eyes.

“I thought we were being discreet,” I joke, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. “Liv wants to see you.” I recall the threatening text message from the brunette demanding that we let her see her friend, not trusting us when we said she was recovering and wasn’t ready for visitors. Understandable, given that we had spent three days lying to her, saying Brooke was ill and had lost her phone.

“I know, we’ve been texting all day. I think she’s coming by tomorrow,” she says, adjusting the cushions to support her back and torso comfortably and help alleviate the pain.

“Great,” I reply, leaving her in the company of her loyal bodyguards. It was nearly impossible to find her without at least one of the dogs around her; they had become even more protective since she returned.

They weren’t the only ones.

We combed through the house, removing any and all weapons from the common areas. The cutlery was put in cabinets, and any pins, needles, or similar items were stored in the office.

Brooke hadn’t gone into detail about what happened, but her injuries spoke for themselves. That’s why we were determined to minimize the number of triggers as much as possible.

“Thorne.” I turn to find Raffi and Seth with serious expressions. “Where is she?” Raffi asks in a whisper.

“In the living room. What’s up?”

Raffi gestures for me to follow him and heads down the hallway, entering the office.

“What happened, Seth?” I ask the younger brother, who shrugs.

“I don’t know. He showed up like this at the gym and said I was supposed to come with him,” Seth replies, following our brother.

I enter the office and close the door.

“Why the secrecy?” I question.

“Because of this.” Raffi pulls an envelope from his pocket. “It arrived this morning. Delivered in that same style, addressed to Brooke with no return address. The guys at the front desk gave it to me when I got back from the store.”

We knew it wasn’t over, not when Derek, Alan, and Mark hadn’t been at the warehouse and were therefore still breathing.

“You opened it?” Seth asks, and Raffi nods. “What does it say?”

“They’re playing mind games with her,” Raffi says, handing the envelope to the younger brother.

“They got what they wanted; they should be expecting retaliation. Why would they stick around when they know their days are numbered? It’s too bold even for their insane minds,” I comment.

Seth opens the envelope and reads aloud.

“‘Good to know you’re home, but remember that all this happened only because you chose them.’ Chose them?” I question.

“Those three cowards operate through surprise, speed, and brute force. This.” Seth shakes the card to emphasize. “Makes no sense.”

“It wasn’t them,” Raffi says darkly.

It was the only option that made sense, but how? Since when?

“All this time?” I voice the question that sends a chill down my spine.

“There have always been two threats,” Seth declares, with aggression in his tone. “And only one of them has names and surnames so we can hunt them down.”

"Exactly, this is much deeper and more twisted," Raffi declares, and all I can think about is how this other person was close enough to see Brooke’s presentation at school, followed her when she went out with Liv, and how all the gifts are extremely personal. "And has gone unnoticed for too long."
"She isn’t safe," I say, terror lacing my voice, a deep fear of seeing that level of horror in her eyes again.
"Not yet. But she will be. I’ll make sure of it, even if it’s with my last breath," Seth vows, slamming the card onto the table with one of the knives from the rack behind him.
"Let’s go," I correct. "Three go in."
"Three come out."

Continues!