Overwhelmed by You (Tear Asunder 2)

“He was supposed to rape her so Ream wouldn’t want her. The scars were your gift. Now look at what we’ve had to do.” Molly flung her hair back over her shoulder and crossed her legs, the gun resting on her thigh. “I didn’t want this problem. Now we’re going to have issues with that military guy. I don’t like issues.”

Lance scowled and tapped his fingers on the armrest while he stared at me. “We’ll deal with it. It will be fine.”

“How so? Kat vanishes and Deck will hunt us down.”

So what were they planning? To take Ream? Deck would come for him too. How did she think she’d get away with this?

“Listen, Alexa, I wasn’t the one who struck her. You’re the one who lost your cool over your little obsession.”

I figured she had to be some psychotic fan of Ream’s. Found out where he hung out and got a job at Avalanche and was waiting for him to come back from tour. Shit, maybe this bitch had been following Ream for years. The bad news was I was a threat to her.

She picked up her gun and pointed it at my head. My heart started pounding unsteadily and the gag was all wet from my saliva. I breathed so hard it made a slurping sound with every breath.

“Alexa, don’t be stupid.” He put his hand on her arm.

I heard the hammer cock.

“Alexa. You want issues, then killing her will give you them,” Lance warned.

“This is your fault, Lance. You were supposed to have her fall for you. Keep her out of the picture until I got him back.” She turned to me and the gun wavered as she spoke. “And you. Dancing provocatively right in front of him—repulsive slut. He had to get up and hold you, didn’t he?” At Avalanche. Oh God, she’d been watching us. “Didn’t he,” she screeched.

She was insane. I stared back at her; the rage teetering on edge as my mind whirled at what she’d done. The hurt Ream and I had been through, the betrayal. My brother took her in. We trusted her. I wanted to wrap my hands around her fragile neck and squeeze the life out of her.

“Didn’t he?” she yelled.

I slowly nodded, my eyes watching her finger on the trigger. Not that I could do anything if she pressed it. At the moment I was more concerned about what else they had planned because whatever it was involved Ream and it made me ill thinking that he’d be subjected to this crazy bitch after all he’d been through in his life.

She lowered the gun and started rambling to Lance about what it was like having to be nice to everyone at the bar pretending she liked us. “I waited too long for this to have her screw it up.”

“Alexa,” Lance soothed. “You’ll have him back. Calm down.”

Back? What did he mean back? Had Ream slept with this crazy ass chick? He told me he hadn’t slept with anyone since the first time he’d been with me. Was it before that? But then he’d remember her even if it was years ago. Okay, guys drank and slept with random chicks and maybe didn’t remember much in the morning, but Ream … Ream I knew without a doubt wouldn’t do that. Oh God, why didn’t I see the truth? Why didn’t he? He’d never cheat on me no matter how fucked up he was.

She nodded, her eyes gleaming wild. “Yes. Yes. He should’ve never left me. Now, look what I’ve had to do.”

I had no clue what they were talking about, but I wasn’t putting up with the saliva dripping from the corners of my mouth any longer. I turned my head to the side and used my shoulder to roll the gag from my mouth, not caring if they saw me do it. I wasn’t sitting here drooling like some dog, and I suspected if they wanted me dead they’d have easily done it by now.

Neither of them said anything, and I suspected because wherever we were no one would hear me scream anyway.

“He’ll cause problems for you, Alexa. He’s not like how you remember him. It’s been a long time and you were just kids. He’s not going to do whatever you say.”

A slow smile formed and her eyes gleamed as she looked at me. “Oh, I think he will. We may be able to use her as an … extra insurance policy.”

“We have insurance. We don’t need her to get to Ream.” Lance kicked the back of the vinyl seat. “I say, dump her, get Ream on the phone, and play our ace card. Then let’s get the hell out of here before we have that bastard Deck and his cop friends on our ass.”

“We have time. That guy is in the Middle East and I’m paying you to shut the fuck up and do what I say, not for advice.”

“If we have Deck coming after us, you’re not paying me enough.”

I hated her perfect white teeth, and I wanted to kick them out and watch her smile with a blood-filled mouth. “Kat, did he tell you about his colorful childhood? How he used to kneel in front of the toilet and throw up every Friday night. Do you know where he went? Or was that too much for your princess ears.”

“Fuck you, Molly.”

“Alexa,” she corrected.

“What-the-fuck-ever, bitch.”

I had nowhere to go as she hauled off and slapped me. Fuck. My cheek was going to have welts from this woman.

“What did Ream ever do to you?” And then it hit me so hard it felt like she slapped me across the face again.

She knew about his past.

She knew where he’d been forced to go every Friday and Saturday night.

Matt said she was twenty-four. I remember because he had her driver’s license checked. She must have had her name changed or was using her middle name.

She laughed and the sound made me gag. “He did tell you? Fascinating. Yes, I think this will turn out better, after all.” She clucked her tongue and sighed. “Poor Ream. But he will have me now.”